I T may TAKE courage for us to admit it, but have you ever been proud of the wrong thing? Have you ever put a great price on that which has turned out to be valueless or unim portant while that at which you have been indifferent you have discovered to be most precious? Matthew 24:1 reveals that the dis ciples were in this very same position. The Person they should have valued greatly, was ignored. They were in different toward Him. He was none other than their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. These men were inter ested in brick and stone, in their tem ple which symbolized their status as Jews. The Lord Jesus loved it, too, for it was there that He delivered one of His greatest sermons. It is recorded in Matthew 21:23-39. Here the warn ing and judgment of Christ is called forth. It was so powerful that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians, all natural enemies, joined forces to seek to put Him on the defensive, try ing to trap Him. He answered every one of their questions with authority. They wanted to make a heretic of Him. Each time, however, He quoted the Law and the Prophets. The Lord opened the sinful hearts of these men who professed to be religious, but were really “whitened sepulchers.” Following this He went to the Mount of Olives where He looked over the city and wept, “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not” (Mat thew 23:37). The disciples couldn’t understand why this beautiful edifice, the temple, should be destroyed. They sought to point out its value to the Lord, not realizing perhaps that He, tot>, loved it. The temple was made up of a number of buildings, none of which
were small. Historians tell us that the temple grounds alone covered more than 30 acres. The structures were magnificent in splendor. Both Mark and Luke verify this evident fact. But while things were beautiful on the outside, there was a sordid pic ture on the inside. John records the words of Jesus when He called it a house of merchandise. This is when THE PILGRIM WAY Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Psalm 1)9:54 If all my years were summer, could I know What my Lord means by His "made white as snow?" If all my days were sunny, could I say, "In His fair land He wipes all tears away?" If I were never weary, could I keep Close to my heart, "He gives His loved ones sleep?" Were no griefs mine, might I not come to deem The life eternal but a baseless dream? My winter and my tears and weari ness, Even my griefs may be His way to bless, I call them ills, yet that can surely be Nothing but love that shows my Lord to me. Christ threw out the money-changers. Like the inside of individuals, it was sorely in need of cleansing. In Mat thew, He refers to these businessmen as operators of “a den of thieves.” All of this crookedness was carried on in the name of religion. And in Luke it is referred to as “a nest of hypo crites.” Here were actors playing at religion. How sad that such has often been
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