The Gospel of Luke

This devotional is written by Sadie Windsor-Richards. Sadie is a Primary Art specialist teacher. She's been a regular member of St Mary's church for the last 20 years and is married to Matthew. They have two sons; Luke 14 years and Isaac 12 years. 

Jesus at the Temple

45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"

47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

In this passage we see Jesus challenge the merchants because his Father's temple is being misused. People were selling goods for sacrifice, rather than meeting with God in prayer.
Jesus' popularity at the time was dangerous for the religious rulers. It attracted the attention of Rome which they did not want. So they wanted to kill him.

The popularity of Jesus strikes me as being extremely poignant in verse 47-48:

".......the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. But they could not find a way to do it, because all the people hung on his words."

This last line stands out to me. It sums up:

• The fervour that Jesus automatically created in the hearts of those that heard him.
• The beauty and dynamism that Jesus exuded.
• The power that was in every word he spoke.

I find myself regularly needing to hang onto the words of Christ with my fingertips! The promises of God in scripture are an anchor for us in times of uncertainty. When I'm at my lowest, it is usually these times that I find the words of Christ to be the most powerful in my life, bringing hope in the midst of my unpredictable emotions. At the times when I'm tempted to panic, I need to call those emotions into line. Lao Tzu wrote;

'Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.'

It's good to lay our emotions before God and despite how we're feeling, choose to speak out the promises of God. His truth fills our minds and replaces panic and fear. We can hang onto the words of Christ, the sword of the Spirit, because they are life transforming.