XXIX. The First Day in Jerusalem

117. Cleansing the Temple

        ¹³The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business. ¹⁵And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple, ¹²and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
        ¹⁶And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; you shall not make my Father's house a house of trade.” ¹⁶And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹³He said to them, “It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you make it a den of robbers.”
        ¹⁵But 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; ¹⁶and 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 babes and sucklings thou hast brought perfect praise'?”
        ⁴⁷And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; ⁴⁸but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words.
        (Jn. 2:13–15; Mt. 21:12; Jn. 2:16; Mk. 11:16; Mt. 21:13, 15–16; Lk. 19:47–48)

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        Increasingly yielding the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives is the law of the kingdom. It is the universal aspect of God’s will for us; it applies to each and every individual. The Father would have us all bear spirit fruit—thereby developing our spiritual character along the perfected lines taught and exemplified by Jesus.
        The Father also has a personal and specific will for each individual that is different for every personality. For example, the Father’s special mission for Jesus was that he establish the kingdom of heaven on earth.
        The Father’s unique and personal will for us is his plan for our ideal lives and careers. This is our call to service, the part that God would have us play in life’s drama. As we grow closer to him, we are increasingly able to discern the Father’s plan for our lives. His spirit lives within us, constantly seeking to guide us forward through the maze of living towards the goal of destiny.

Mt. 21:13   Isaiah 56:7
Mt. 21:16   Psalms 8:2   (173:1/1888–91)

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