ODJ: the whole picture
October 11, 2011
[Jesus] said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (v.46).
READ: Luke 19:45-47
In the church where I grew up, a painting of Jesus hung on the Sunday school wall. It portrayed Him with long, flowing hair and a sheep draped across His shoulders. This piece of artwork accurately portrayed only one side of Jesus.
You see, Jesus is indeed gentle and compassionate. For example, as he was looking down on Jerusalem, knowing the Israelites had turned away from Him, He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let Me” (Luke 13:34). In a day when children were often ignored, Jesus made time for them (18:15-16).
It’s true. Jesus is tender and nurturing. But that is not all He is. For the same Jesus who made time for children would also get into people’s faces and say, “If you cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).
The same Jesus who wept over Jerusalem, seized a whip and drove the money lenders out of the temple. The less-than-virtuous lenders had been ripping off the poor by selling articles used in worship (doves, bread, etc.) at inflated prices. Jesus accused them of turning His Father’s house—a house of worship—“into a den of thieves” (Luke 19:46).
Yes, thankfully, Jesus is gentle and mild. But that’s only half of the picture. And a half picture, presented as a whole picture, is a wrong picture.
Jesus is also strong and righteous. His divine power can be seen in how He watches over us. —Jeff Olson
How do you tend to see Jesus? What do you need to add to your view of Him in order to see the “whole picture”?
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