Self-Portraits of God

Studies in the Life and Work of Jesus

Lesson 4: Historical Portraits; Jesus the Person in the New Testament

Jesus daily life—the Acts, #1

Because it was the time for the Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. The central object of attention in the city was the Temple. Not only was it located on a high point, but the walls were gleaming white marble, which contrasted with gold-capped pillars. It has been called one of the greatest of the architectural works of skilful workmanship. Tourists from all that part of the Middle East and Western Europe came to Jerusalem at the time for Passover; some from as far away as Spain. Some came to follow the prescribed forms of worship, but many others came because of the great crowds. To be in Jerusalem at the time of year for the Passover was to be at the great gathering of the year for that part of the world, it now seems.

The Romans, after having conquered the city of Jerusalem, had taken a great interest in this building and had contributed much toward bringing it to the state it was in when Jesus went to the Passover being held there after He first started His public work of ministering to the spiritual needs of the people who were seeking for more help with there lives than they were getting from the contemporary church they usually attended.

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers money and overturned the tables.

And He said to those who sold doves, Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise! (See John 2: 13-22).

If Jesus had done this any place else in the world it would have gotten a reaction—but to do this in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover with the world watching was to guarantee there would be a reaction from those who ran the temple; they would be concerned that someone might start to wonder if the temple was being used for what it was designed to be.

But there was not only a reaction from those who ran the temple, there was a great reaction from the people in town. Prior to Jesus act of chasing the cows out of church, many people acquainted with the details of the temple worship, including some of those people not in town, had already been questioning whether or not the true purpose of the temple had been being progressively covered over until it was no longer visible.

No sooner had the cattle in the temple been chased out, along with those who took their cows to church, than there was a crush of people who came into the temple to see Jesus. The sick came, the lame came, the blind came, the deaf came; everyone wanted to see Jesus and request help with their problem- and He healed them all. There were sounds of happiness through all the corridors of the temple.

Then He did it again. He started His work by revealing the purpose of the temple and the appropriate habitants of it, and near the end of His life He again repeated the message.

The activities of Jesus were always illustrations of the messages which He taught, but in the reorganization of the temple He gave a revelation of the purpose for which He had come, and by implication He set forth the meaning of the temple.

This writer does not need to tell you that Jesus was the talk of the town-of the world! It would seem obvious that He could not do anything that would cause more reaction-but He did. All the works of Jesus were of such a nature as to cause people to wonder if their own life could be more meaningful.

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon, to seek rest (see Mark 7: 24). One can not read this account without immediately wondering who Jesus considered His friends to be. Tyre and Sidon were cities where the people worshipped and lived as do those who have no personal interaction with the God of Heaven. Yet when a woman of Canaan came from that region to the house where Jesus was staying and asked Him to heal her young daughter who had an unclean spirit, Jesus said to her, great is your faith; let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed. When the mother arrived at home she found her daughter, without the unclean spirit, lying on the bed.

However this is only part of the story! When the lady asked Jesus to heal her daughter, He said nothing! When she asked several times He said to her, in English translation, it is not appropriate to give the children’s food to the dogs! She said, yes Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table! Jesus said, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel! She heard Him say, I am not sent but to the sheep lost by the house of Israel (making the word of a genitive). The woman said, Lord help me! Jesus said to her, Great is your faith—let it be to you as you desire ( see Matthew 15, and Mark 7, for this story.).

The Self-portrait

in this dialogue, is of the One who has as His friends every one who will accept His help; everyone desiring a better life for themselves or for some one they know or love. To seek Jesus is to be His friend.