April 14, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, April 14.
Hope you had a wonderful Palm Sunday, and now it’s on to Easter! As is our tradition here at the Daily Devotions, we’ll take a look at what Jesus was doing each day of Holy Week, each day leading to the empty tomb. Join us as we travel the “Road to Resurrection “.
On Sunday, after the famous palm procession, Jesus and His followers spent the night in Bethany, about two miles east of Jerusalem, at the home of good friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. But on Monday morning they found themselves back in the Holy City. They found themselves in the temple.
The first temple was built by King Solomon in about 950 B.C. It was destroyed about 500 years later by King Nebuchadnezzar during the Babylonian invasion. A century after that, as Jews returned from captivity, work on a second temple began. King Herod made major renovations and expansions to it twenty years before Bethlehem, and during the time of Jesus it was known as Herod’s Temple.
When Jesus walked in that Monday morning, He was not pleased with what He saw. During Passover, many pilgrims travelled to Jerusalem from other countries. Before they purchased sacrifices, their foreign money had to be converted to the silver shekels required in the temple. The money changers, and the animal sellers, were notorious for cheating the people, for creating a “den of thieves”. We witness Christ’s anger as He overturns the tables and drives out these evil men.
Anger is usually thought of as a sin against God, however Jesus shows us a righteous anger which can be a tool to accomplish the will of God. But when we take a stand, there is often a price to pay. On the Monday morning in Herod’s Temple, Jesus caught the attention of the Jewish and Roman leaders.
And a step was taken toward the Cross.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
