At first this Jesus is harder for me to comprehend. It's easy to think of Him riding on a donkey happily going into Jerusalem. It's harder to picture Jesus whipping people out of the temple and throwing tables over.
But what if this was yet another expression of His love? What if He was revealing how much He hates the sin in our lives and how much it damages and destroys the very places where we are meant to worship Him? What if the only way to bring us back is to forcibly kick out the junk we have allowed in? What if through this dramatic demonstration He is showing us that we must be cleansed from the inside out in order for us to enter a right relationship with Him?
Jesus is not only the God of peace, rest, and tender care, He is also the God of fierce jealousy, awe-inspiring power, and incredible majesty. God is greater than we can imagine. He is more than we can wrap our brains around. Yet He calls us into relationship with Him. A relationship that we are called to take up our cross and follow Him.
This journey is not for the faint of heart. This is for those who swear to follow Him no matter the cost. This is for those who will be with Him in the moments of happy triumphal entry and an uncomfortable and hard cleaning out of the temple. This is who He is. This is the road He has called us to. Will we follow Him through all the ups and downs and times that we don't understand? Or will we take the easy way of the crowd and only hang around so long as it benefits me?
The choice is yours. The choice is mine. I choose to follow Him. What have you chosen?
You're right, Rose.
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