Real Hope: Jesus the UnexpectedSample

How Did We Miss This?

Could this be the second time Jesus turfed out temple moneychangers during a Passover? John records Jesus making a whip and demanding the merchants leave the temple grounds (John 2:15– 16). The other Gospels describe a raid only days before Jesus died, and this repetition is debated in theological circles. Why is it so unconceivable that Jesus cleansed the temple twice? How many times did He repeat other lessons during His ministry? Humility, faithfulness, forgiveness, judgement – even His own death. Jesus was constantly shattering the stained-glass windows of humanity’s expectations to show a glimpse of God’s perfect plan. His ministry was synonymous with doing the other thing. His trademark was inverting humanity’s hierarchy of things. In Matthew 21 we see crowds singing songs written for a victorious king as Jesus rides past on a borrowed beast used to crush grain.

So why was Jesus’ ministry so unexpected after thousands of years of prophesy and libraries heaving with rabbinical Messianic scholarship? Why were Jesus’ disciples still caught off guard? Perhaps their (and our) need was to make the Messiah fit with OUR image; His ministry a better version of OUR life; to keep Him within OUR understanding. What would today look like if we allowed Jesus to be the Son of God in our own lives? Before you were born, He already loved you so much He died for your future.

Written by DWAYNE JEFFRIES