What Can We Learn from Kids?

Matthew 21 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting "Hosanna in the highest", they were indignant. "Do you hear what these children are saying?", they asked him. Jesus replied, "Have you never read, from the lips of infants and children you Lord have called forth your praise." And he left them and went out to Bethany and spent the night. 

Dramatically Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a "war horse".  The donkey was the symbol of humility and a "beast of burden".  But lest the people think Jesus is only gentle and kind, when he goes into the Jewish temple he sees the hypocrisy which is going on. When the Jewish people came to the festivals they needed to offer sacrifices according to the Law.  The needed to exchange currency to do this and if they were poor they could buy a dove instead of a lamb.  Because of the position they were in the money changers and those selling the doves used the opportunity to leverage a profit.  Jesus is disgusted that in the place where God was supposed to be honored they were ripping people out.  So in a show of anger he overthrows the tables and benches they are working on. As another prophecy said about Jesus, "Zeal for your house consumes me." 

You might say, "Isn't it a sin to get angry?"  There is a difference in righteous indignation at how people are acting toward God, and destructive anger which is selfish and harms others.  Jesus' anger reflected God's anger that they people were desecrating the temple with their greedy behavior.  But in contrast the children were singing Jesus' praise.  They were fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies from Psalm 8 where it says, "Children and infants will call forth the Lord's praise."   Of course, this was very offensive and very ironic to the self righteous leaders.  After all, the children showing the true nature of their hearts.  

So starts the last week of Jesus' life, as he makes his way to Jerusalem.  All of the parables in this chapter have to do with the Jewish people's rejection of Jesus.  Though God went to His own people first, they had nothing to do with Jesus and would soon be looking to get rid of him.  

It is easy to lose childlike faith isn't it?  We get educated beyond our obedience.  We start trying to control Jesus, rather than live in His power and do the things he did. Where do you need to trust in Jesus like a child? Like the moneychangers do we use Jesus to get what we want? Or, does He get what He wants through us praising and trusting in him like little chidren?