Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.
Prayer: Make us a House of Prayer– Daniel Brymer
Make us a house of prayer / That we might meet you there / On behalf of the nations / A dying generation / Make us a house of prayer
Dominus Flevit, which translates from Latin as “The Lord Wept”, was fashioned in the shape of a teardrop to symbolize the tears of Christ. Here, according to the 19th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus, while walking toward the city of Jerusalem, becomes overwhelmed by the beauty of the Second Temple and predicting its future destruction, and the diaspora of the Jewish people, weeps openly. (Luke 19:37-42)
One of the newest churches in Jerusalem, Dominus Flevit sits atop an ancient site. During construction of the sanctuary archaeologists uncovered artifacts dating back to the Canaanite period, as well as tombs from both the Second Temple and Byzantine eras. Wikipedia
But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.
“Man of Sorrows” James B. Janknegt (1990)
“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation.”
O Yahweh, God Almighty, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Father of all who confess with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus is Lord; We pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. We pray, that by your sovereign mercy and grace, you would visit the land of Israel with your powerful presence.
We pray you would restrain the diabolical evil, and contain the demonic violence present in the land. We pray you would confirm the decisions and policies of the elected leadership, the Knesset and the courts, that are in keeping with your perfect will. We pray you would purge from leadership positions, and constrain the excesses of those who will not submit to your will.
“O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people. They plot against those you cherish. ‘Come’, they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.’ With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you. … Let them know that you, whose name is Yahweh — that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”
For you, our Father, have declared, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”
“Can a mother forget the baby nursing at her breast or have no compassion on the child of her womb? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
We pray O Yahweh, a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. O God, we who call upon the name of Yahweh, will give ourselves no rest – and will give you no rest, till you establish Jerusalem and make her a praise in all the earth. Be pleased to hasten the day when all Israel will cry out, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh.”
Hear our prayer O Yahweh, for we pray in the strong name of Jesus our Redeemer and Messiah, our risen, reigning and returning Prince of Peace. Amen and Amen
Spiritual Song:“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” – Jose and Kathy Jimenez
After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”
Palm Sunday pilgrims enter Jerusalem though St. Stephen’s Gate (March 28, 2010)
And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.
As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Fill me with an overwhelming sense of joy for all the wonderful things you have done… in me, around me, and through me. May I sing and shout your praises now… and forever. Amen.
Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.”
But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Give me the willingness to follow you… to obey you… even though I don’t understand where we are going, or what will happen when we get there. You alone are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You alone hold the key to eternal life. Truly Lord, I have no where else to go. Amen.
Beneath the cross of Jesus / I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock / Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, A rest upon the way
From the burning of the noontide heat / And the burden of the day.
Upon that cross of Jesus / Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One / Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears, Two wonders I confess:
The wonders of His glorious love / And my unworthiness.
I take, O Cross, thy shadow / For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than / The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by, To know no gain or loss,
My sinful self– my only shame, My glory– all the cross.
Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
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