I remember the first time I read this account of Jesus chasing the animals and business people out of the temple with whips and turning over tables in anger. It scared the life out of me. This did not feel like the Jesus of the other stories in the gospel. The Jesus I had come to know was a kind and compassionate man who patiently taught us right from wrong. He was a Jesus who was all about
second chances. Even the people who irritated him, like the Pharisees, were treated with a firmness that got them to think. But this Jesus seemed uncharacteristically violent and out of control. I wondered if the story had become embellished somehow or had been slipped in at some later time by someone who didn’t know my Jesus. So in my discomfort, I would avoid this story as often as possible.
I think part of my perception of how Jesus
ought to be came from the Bible stories that were often read to me as a child. And possibly even from the wording of some prayers I was taught, “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look on me, a little child…”
Another strong persuasion would have come from how I longed for my Jesus to be for me. I wanted Jesus to always be calm, supportive, and create for me an ordered, loving space to be with him.
I have, however, come to appreciate what this scripture teaches us. But it took a long time to set aside my prejudiced view to get there.
I wonder how much of God’s word we skip over because it is not packaged the way we would like.
Is the way we speak about Jesus sometimes coloured by our own perceptions of how or what Jesus should be?
I am not
suggesting we deliberately twist the truth. However, I am feeling challenged to be careful in telling Jesus’ whole story.
