Matthew 21:12–13 (ESV) ~ And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

What a scene. The whole thing seemed to have been one giant, jumbled mess. People shrieking and diving out of the way. Others pointing and staring like they had just seen a ghost. Never had they seen Him like this. So emotional. So angry. So full of rage. The look in His eyes had scared them, and now they sat like school children and recalled their own versions of the same story. 

“He flipped the table!” 

“He threw that guys money!” 

“I think He might have killed that pigeon.” 

“No way.”

“It wasn’t moving…”

It’s not that they didn’t think He was human, it’s just that He hadn’t been in the habit of giving them reasons to remember. It seemed as though the weight of the whole world had been resting on His shoulders, and it finally over took Him – and for just a moment, He could no longer carry its load. Not that they expected Him to, or that they even understood why He tried – but it seemed that up until now He had always been able to. And now His humanity had them all wondering if something bigger, something greater was going on. 

“It was just so — out of character.”

“I’ve never seen Him like that before.” 

“I didn’t think He had it in Him.” 

“Well, it wasn’t ALL bad…” 

They were ALL right. This part of Him they were seeing now was something new to all of them. It was something saved for the right circumstances and the right moment – and though it had felt unplanned, it was really anything but. His anger, while completely authentic, was a response to the unrelenting reality that for THREE YEARS, people had heard His message and for THREE YEARS, they were unable, or perhaps unwilling to understand. Instead they did what they had always done, and when He had finished with His “spectacle” – they came to Him, not for what they could give, but for what they could get. And He had done what He always did – He healed them, as only He could, and only He would. But even that couldn’t end the drama of the day.

Matthew 21:12–13 (ESV) ~ And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”

And so the day concluded much as it began – with confusion in their hearts and frustration in His eyes. They did not know what they did not know, and He did not know how else to tell them. Just a few more days now and they would finally see. They would have no choice but to understand. The culmination of three long years is on its way, and it is weighing heavily on His heart. 

“Maybe some sleep will help Him.” 

“I hope tomorrow is better.” 

“I still can’t believe it happened.”

“Man, what a scene…” 

What a scene indeed.