Monday: The Mother at the Temple

The Cost of Worship

Why were you there at the temple that day?

It was Passover. To be honest, it had been a few months since we had been to the temple. The last time we came, they had raised the prices again. We didn’t have enough—not even to buy a pigeon. My son was so upset. He loved to worship, and he wanted to offer something to the God that had become our comfort ever since my husband passed.

I was ashamed. I promised myself I would never take that experience away from him again. So I worked, and I sold everything I could. I saved every single bit so that we could come back and celebrate Passover together.

Chaos in the Courtyard

We were walking up to the tables, and that’s when it happened. I had never seen anything like it. I barely noticed him when he first walked up; he came in so quietly. But then suddenly, when the first table flipped, everyone ran.

He shouted so loudly that it made me jump. I grabbed my son and tried to get away, but there were people everywhere. Money had fallen to the ground, and people were scrambling, fighting over it. Then a crack of the whip pierced our ears—it was so loud and sudden. It all happened so fast.

“My Father’s House”

I will never forget his voice shouting across the court: “Take away these things! Stop making my Father’s house a place of business!”

John 2:16 (NASB)

and to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.’

“My Father’s house.” I felt those words deep in my bones. I had never heard anyone speak with that kind of authority.

And then, just as suddenly, the violence of it was over. Everything was destroyed, and people began rushing up to him. At first, I thought they were going to try and grab him, arrest him, or beat him for what he had done.

Healing Among the Ruins

Instead, they were bringing people to him.

There were people who were sick and hurting, and I watched this same man—who had just caused so much disruption—gently touching those who were ill. And they were healed. They were completely healed. It was a sight that was hard to believe.

Matthew 21:14 (NASB)

And [the] blind and [the] lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

Hosanna in the Temple

My son and I stood back from the crowd. We had barely moved, frozen in place. And then suddenly, my son broke free from my grip. He ran straight up to this man. I yelled for him to come back, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he started crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Matthew 21:15 (NASB)

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they became indignant

I had never seen anything like this, and neither had my son. And yet, he knew something that I didn’t. He knew instinctively how to respond, while I just stood there. I couldn’t bring myself to pull him away, but I couldn’t worship along with him either.

And even now, I still don’t fully know what to make of it all.