Celebrate Holy Week! Monday: Cleansing of the Temple
Remember and retrace the Savior's steps during His final week when He finished His mission in mortality.
4/15/20251 min read
Image credit: By Ariely - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4533576
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, many expected Him to deliver them from their political troubles instead of teaching and inviting them to repent. Much to their chagrin, instead of going to the governor's palace, he went and immediately cleansed the temple of the hypocrites who obstructed true worship.
Instead of being the earthly king they wanted, He taught them the higher and holier way that would prepare them for such liberation.
It is hypocrisy to expect or demand the Savior to rescue us from our troubles, political and otherwise, if we have not repented of our sins. If Jesus drives out the oppressors from earthly governments but we have not repented of our sins, no problem has really been solved: Instead of old oppressors, we become the new oppressors, and the problem is made worse because we have not successfully discarded hypocrisy and cast the beam out of our own eyes.
As with the Fall Messianic Feasts, the message of Palm Sunday and Holy Week reaffirms that we cannot expect or rightfully receive political deliverance if we have not repented of all our sins first.
Watch a video of the Savior cleansing His Father's house here.
Activity: Since it's the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Savior just cleansed the temple, engage in some Spring cleaning to help yourself prepare for Resurrection Sunday! Purge all the old leaven and the hypocrisy from your life, get your own house in order!