Why Couldn’t They Recognize Jesus?

Matthew 21

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers.”

The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did and heard the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself’?” (Matthew 21)

I couldn’t understand why the grown-ups were so angry. Yes, they were shouting in our temple, which was supposed to be a sacred space, a place for worship and prayer. I had never before heard anything like it. Honestly, their anger seemed like a white-hot rage and it was aimed at this one man, Jesus. Why were they so angry at him?

None of this made any sense to me, not at all. But you should know that I was only ten years old at the time. I’m older now, and in some ways, I can better understand just what happened and why it happened. But still, I have to admit that even now, I don’t fully comprehend. I mean, why did us children recognize who Jesus was, when the adults could not?

Allow me to look back for you and paint a picture of what I saw through the eyes of a ten-year-old. See what you think!

First, why were they so angry at Jesus? After all, he had just given sight to the blind and made the lame walk again. Shouldn’t they have praised him? I mean, those were nothing less than miracles! The other witnesses, including us children, were astounded, moving us to shout “Hosanna to the Son of David.” But strangely, our praise for Jesus seemed to set the adults off even more in their anger. Why didn’t they join us in praising him? They should have. But instead, they commanded him to tell us to stop.

To fully understand, we must back up and start with the temple itself. In your time, you may not grasp its importance to us first century Jews. I mean, the temple was the literal dwelling place of our YHWH God. The first temple had been built centuries before, by Solomon, and after it was destroyed, a second was built. There was only one temple and our religious leaders jealously guarded it. As an adult, I can look back and see that they felt a great sense of ownership over the temple and its grounds. In their eyes, the temple literally belonged to them.

Yet, corruption had crept in to the temple complex. There was profit-taking: money from the sale of sacrificial animals was finding its way into the purses of these very same religious leaders. And it was no secret, just something that the ordinary worshipers accepted out of respect for our chief priests and scribes. Or maybe, it was from fear. They were, as you will see, powerful, and they used their power; ultimately, they used it against Jesus.

But Jesus saw it all. And as you can tell, he was very angry at the corruption. So, you see, when he challenged the selling and buying in the temple, he was calling them out. And of course, they felt very threatened. Couldn’t they recognize Jesus as we children did? Didn’t they see that he was the Messiah? Apparently not.

Cleansing of the Temple

6th century

And one more thing: the “blind and lame” were not welcome in the temple. No, not at all. Our religious leaders considered them to be outcasts, unclean and not deserving of full access to the sacred space. In fact, in the minds of our religious leaders, such despicable people should not be allowed to fully participate in our Jewish faith. In their minds, these outcasts should not have even been on the temple grounds.

But clearly, Jesus did not agree. When the blind and lame people came to him, he did not turn them away, as our chief priests and scribes would have done. No, instead, he welcomed them, he touched them and he healed them. To Jesus, these were people to be accepted, not excluded.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? The blind and lame folks just seemed to recognize who Jesus was, the Son of God. And so did us children. That’s why we shouted out “Hosanna to the Son of David.”

But the chief priests and scribes? To them, Jesus was a usurper, a man who threatened not only their livelihood, but who also challenged their very authority. And of course, as you know, they were already planning to have Jesus killed. Why couldn’t they recognize the Son of God?

As I look back on this experience from today, I can see myself, along with the other children, and also the ones whom Jesus healed. What was common to all of us was that we had nothing: no respected position, no financial resources, and in the case of the blind and lame, not even good health. In effect, we were all unburdened by the very sense of importance that the chief priests and scribes worked so hard to protect.

In so many words, we were empty vessels, eager to be filled up by Jesus. And the chief priests and scribes? They were already so filled with their important positions, their wealth, and their authority that there was no room left for Jesus. And I might add that they were also filled with their blatant corruption. They simply could not allow themselves to recognize Jesus.

And so, he called them out, using the harsh words that you can read above. Of course, his words changed nothing, other than to harden them even further against him.

And, what about me? What about now? Yes, I am older. I have to work, to support a family, and I have responsibilities. I’m no longer ten years old, the empty vessel that Jesus filled up. Though I can wish for the freedom of a ten-year-old, I cannot go back. Now, I am the grown-up.

But as I reflect on those events of years ago, it occurs to me that something of Jesus did get inside of me, and that it’s still there. My childhood wonder of him hasn’t faded and I can still claim to be a vessel, still eager to be filled up with Jesus. And I have to add that I can take no credit for that. Somehow, the spirit of Jesus lives in me, just as it did in the temple long ago. I can’t explain that, but perhaps it’s just another of the miracles that Jesus has given me. Perhaps that’s why I could recognize the Son of God when the chief priests and scribes could not.

The greatest desire of Jesus, it seems, is to fill us up. Not with power or position, or wealth, but with life, a spirit of life that can’t be named or contained or even seen. It must be felt and, as I have finally understood, it can only be felt if we open ourselves, in wonder, like a child. Just like we did so many years ago in the temple.

I can’t help thinking of the chief priests and scribes who were so angry. Yes, they did have Jesus killed. In their minds, they prevailed over him, in a great exercise of their power. I can imagine how pleased they must have been with themselves.

But now, they are gone, and their power is gone too, along with their wealth and their exalted positions. Even the temple is gone, destroyed by the Romans.

What’s left? Yes, after all, what’s left? For me, what’s left is the only thing that truly lasts: the spirit that Jesus somehow infused into my life that day in the temple. And that spirit, given to me in childhood, has not faded. More than anything, more than any position, more than any wealth, even more than good health, that spirit, which I will now call the Spirit of Christ, is what I treasure the most.

So let me ask: can you recognize the Son of God? I hope you can!

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
     Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger. (Psalm 8)