The Week that Changed the World (Part 2)

In my last post, I examined the polarizing social figure that Jesus was in his world and in ours. Today, on the day after Easter, I will ponder the polarizing effect Jesus had (and still has) on religion.

Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the cheering of the masses. Rather than indulge in their adoration, Jesus’ first destination was the temple, the center of religious life in first-century Judea. There the priests offered the blood of bulls and goats to meet the requirements of the law, and there the people came to bring offerings of thanksgiving for God’s blessings.

Jesus would have visited the temple many times in his life, and only he out of all the people who did so truly understood the significance of what went on there. Perhaps that is why he was driven to confrontation when he saw the temple being desecrated by money changers and the noise of animals. But take note that the temple was not being desecrated by those outside the faith; it was being dishonored by the leaders of the very faith the temple represented. The leaders of the temple were using the house of worship and prayer to conduct business. They were profiting financially from the system, and they were doing it at the expense of the people. (How else can you interpret Jesus’ reference to a “den of robbers”?) And because they were doing it directly in the temple courts, the noise of the animals and the financial transactions was distracting those who came to truly worship. Jesus responded with a whip and angry words until the temple was cleansed. So much for Jesus being a soft-spoken pansy. This guy did not hesitate to do what needed to be done, even if it meant making a scene. And yet through it all he did not sin or lose control.

Jesus reacted differently than anyone else when he walked into the temple. I sometimes wonder how Jesus would respond if he walked into some of our churches today.  I think he would be much different than we expect. Some of the things some churches care the most about would not really concern him, and the things closest to his heart may seem strange to many sitting in the pews. Would Jesus really care about what style of music is played in the church service, or would he care more about making sure each heart in the pew was touched by the finger of God? Would Jesus spend time debating a proper interpretation of a certain line of Scripture or the nuances of a segment of theology, or would he focus more on the needs of the hurting people both in the pews and outside the church walls? Would Jesus spend time arguing about what type of carpet to put in the new addition, or would he focus the church’s budget on the mission field and assisting the needy in the local community?

Many people today like to think that Jesus was against religion. “It’s not religion; it’s a relationship.” While that does have an element of truth to it, the statement is not entirely accurate. Jesus was not anti-religion. He himself said he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. In a way, Jesus is the Ultimate Religion, the culmination of thousands of years of religious tradition. So Jesus’ temple rant with a whip is not a condemnation of religion in general. It was a condemnation of a religious establishment that had become stagnant, entrenched, and worldly. There is much value in religion. It can help discern truth (creed), guide to morality (code), and provide a structure for worship (cult). But religion must always be infused with the Spirit of God or it becomes nothing more than a shackle.

Jesus brought the Spirit of God into religion. Actually, he brought the Spirit of God into every area of life. I mean, after all, he was God. But in the realm of religion, too often we miss some of the impact of what it means to be infused with God’s Spirit. Sometimes that involves cutting out things that should not be there like the moneychangers in the temple; other times it involves putting things in that are not there like reaching out to the Samaritans, lepers, and prostitutes. May we always be mindful of treating religion—and all areas of life—the way Jesus would treat it: love, service to others, and devotion to God.