Holy Monday: The Simplicity of Faith, A Lesson from the Little Ones

Matthew 21:12-17 (ESV)
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
    you have prepared praise’?”
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.”

DEVOTION

In this passage, readers are drawn into a week that led to Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice for mankind's salvation. Here, Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem, the heart of Jewish worship, and finds it filled with corruption. Instead of being a place of prayer and connection with God, the temple had become a marketplace where merchants manipulated worshipers. Jesus, in anger, drives them out, overturning their tables.
This act of cleansing shows Christ’s desire for pure worship. The temple was meant to be where people encountered God, not a place of greed. Jesus’ passion for His Father’s house reminds readers that worship is sacred—it’s not about rituals or traditions, but about drawing near to God with sincerity.  
After cleansing the temple, Jesus immediately turns to those who are hurting. The blind come to Him, and He heals them. In this, Jesus displays His deep compassion. Jesus, who had just confronted corruption, now brings restoration. His righteous anger toward sin is balanced with His mercy for the broken.
The pinnacle, however, lies in the response of the children. As they witness these events, they exclaim in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” They recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah. The religious leaders, however, are blind to the truth that even the children see so clearly. Jesus affirms the children’s praise, quoting Psalm 8:2: “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise.”

Reflection: Jesus desires that Christians come to Him in truth, free from selfish wants.  The drive behind the pursuit of a relationship with Christ should come from the heart, not when it suits worldly standards.
Taking this step requires a great deal of trust.  Blindly trusting anything is already an incredibly difficult task by itself.  However, a key takeaway made ever so clear in the passage is the faith of the children.  The blind faith of children is exemplary in the Christian faith; they completely believe and follow through with their actions by declaring the legitimacy of the Messiah.  All believers should strive and truly exercise a belief in Jesus, similar to the children depicted in the passage, who both loudly and proudly proclaimed their joy and celebration.  

Prayer: Oh Lord, The world has defiled Your house, Your creation. Let us turn back what has changed into praise and worship. You are our healer and our savior. Let our praises be heard at the gates of heaven, and allow us to worship you in all we do. Amen.

POETRY

When You Come by Maya Angelou

When you come to me, unbidden,
Beckoning me
To long-ago rooms,
Where memories lie.
Offering me, as to a child, an attic,
Gatherings of days too few.
Baubles of stolen kisses.
Trinkets of borrowed loves.
Trunks of secret words,
I CRY.

Analysis: Capturing and understanding Jesus’ emotions is something impossible for humans to grasp. This poem by Maya Angelou was our attempt to use a poem that we believe conveys a similar emotion to Jesus in the temple. The loss of love that Maya talks about is similar to the love that Jesus wasn’t receiving. Temples were made to praise God, and with all that being erased from the temple, Jesus would feel sad. The line “stolen kisses” relates to the stolen praise from Jesus. The mood of this poem fits Holy Monday very well, reminding us to give God our attention. 

MUSIC

St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach

We chose this musical piece because of the mood it brings to the listener. When Jesus casts the money changers from the temple, he is angry. Jesus’ anger would not have been a happy sight, and the mood in the temple would have been very solemn. In our imagination, many of the people would have gone silent after seeing Jesus angry. This song by Bach gives a feeling of silence, but it also brings in anger and intensity. Which we feel sets the mood of Holy Monday.

ART

Jesus casting out the money changers at the temple by Carl Heinrich Bloch

We chose this painting because of its detailed depiction of what happened in the temple. We can see the bird Jesus released, and we can see the greed of the men in the temple. We see the man on the bottom left reaching for his spilled money and what appears to be a golden watch. We saw many different merchants and all the items they were selling. Of all the paintings we have seen depicting this scene, Carl Bloch captures the emotion on Jesus’ face the best. Overall, this painting shows the emotion and corruption in the temple on Holy Monday.