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Humble Hero
No one by himself can cast out the evil agencies that have taken
possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple.
[67]
But He will not force His way in. He says, “Behold, I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him.”
Revelation 3:20
. His presence will cleanse
and sanctify the soul so that it may be a holy temple to the Lord, “a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:22
.
A Preview of the Final Judgment
Overcome with terror, the priests and rulers had run from the
temple court and from the searching look that read their hearts. In
this scene, Christ saw a symbol of the dispersion of the whole Jewish
nation for their wickedness and unrepentant rebellion.
Why did the priests run away? Why did they not stand their
ground? The One who commanded them to go was a carpenter’s
son, a poor Galilean. Why did they not resist Him? Why did they
leave their wrongly acquired profits and run at the command of One
whose appearance was so humble?
Christ spoke with the authority of a king, and in His appearance
and the tone of His voice, there was something that they had no
power to resist. At His word of command, they realized their true
position as hypocrites and robbers. When Divinity flashed through
humanity, they felt as if they were standing before the throne of
the eternal Judge, who had passed sentence on them for time and
eternity. For a time, many believed Him to be the Messiah. The Holy
Spirit flashed into their minds the words of the prophets concerning
Christ. Would they yield to this conviction?
They would not repent. They knew they had been guilty of
extortion. Because Christ knew their thoughts, they hated Him.
His public rebuke was humiliating to their pride, and they were
jealous of His growing influence with the people. They determined
to challenge Him regarding the power by which He had driven them
out.
Slowly and thoughtfully, but with hate in their hearts, they re-
turned to the temple. What a change had taken place! When they
ran, the poor remained behind, and these were now looking to Jesus,
whose face expressed His love and sympathy.