THE
next day Christ entered the temple. Three years before, He had found men
buying and selling in the outer court, and had rebuked them and driven
them out.
Now as He came again to the temple, He
found the same traffic still carried on. The court was filled with
cattle, sheep, and birds. These were sold to those who wished to offer
sacrifice for their sins.
Extortion and robbery were practiced by
those engaged in this traffic. So great was the babel of sounds from the
court, that it seriously disturbed the worshipers within.
Christ stood on the steps of the temple,
and again His piercing gaze swept over the court. All eyes were turned
toward Him. The voices of the people and the noise of the cattle were
hushed. All looked with astonishment and awe upon the Son of God.
The divine flashed through the human, and
gave Jesus a dignity and glory He had never manifested before. The
silence became almost unbearable.
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At last He said in clear tones, and with
a power that swayed the people like a mighty tempest:
"It is written, My house is the house of
prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves." Luke 19:46.
With still greater authority than He had
manifested three years before, He commanded:
"Take these things hence."
Once before the priests and rulers of the
temple had fled at the sound of this voice. Afterward they were ashamed
of their fear. They felt that they would never flee in this way again.
Yet they were now more terrified, and in
greater haste than before to obey His command, and they rushed from the
temple, driving their cattle before them.
Soon the court was filled with people who
brought their sick to be healed by Jesus. Some were dying. These
afflicted ones felt their distressing need.
They fixed their eyes imploringly upon
the face of Christ, fearing to see there the severity which had driven
out the buyers and sellers. But they saw in His face only love and
tender pity.
Jesus kindly received the sick, and
disease and suffering fled at the touch of His hand. He tenderly
gathered the children in His arms, soothed their fretful cries, banished
sickness and pain from their little forms, and handed them back, smiling
and healthy, to their mothers.
What a scene to greet the priests and
rulers as they cautiously made their way back to the temple! They heard
the voices of men, women, and children praising God.
They saw the sick healed, the blind
restored to sight, the deaf receive their hearing, and the lame leap for
joy.
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The children took the lead in these
rejoicings. They repeated the hosannas of the day before, and waved palm
branches before the Saviour. The temple echoed and re-echoed with their
shouts:
"Hosanna to the Son of David:
"Blessed is He that cometh in the name of
the Lord!" Matthew 21:9.
"Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is
just, and having salvation." Zechariah 9:9.
The rulers tried to silence the shouts of
the happy children, but all were filled with joy and praise for the
wonderful works of Jesus, and they would not be silenced.
The rulers then turned to the Saviour,
hoping that He would command them to cease. They said to Him:
"Hearest Thou what these say?"
Jesus replied, "Yea; have ye never read,
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?"
Matthew 21:16.
The blessed privilege of heralding the
birth of Christ and forwarding His work in the earth had been refused by
the haughty rulers of the people.
His praises must be sounded; and God
chose the children to do it. Had the voices of these rejoicing children
been silenced, the very pillars of the temple would have cried out in
the Saviour's praise.
