LISTEN TO COME AND SEE! CHAPTER 2 – PALM BRANCHES AND PIGEON POOP
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Welcome to this special Easter edition of Redeeming the Chaos with Laurie Christine!
A FAMILY DEVOTIONAL FOR EASTER
For 30 days leading up to Easter, I will be reading to you from my easter devotional book, Come and See! 30 Family Bible Stories for Easter.
Today, I am reading Come and See! Chapter 2 – Palm Branches and Pigeon Poop.
Come and See! invites families of elementary-aged children to experience firsthand the anticipation, the sorrow, the tragedy, the fear, and the ultimate triumph of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Through the eyes of six eye witnesses, you will be led on a journey through the busyness of the streets of Jerusalem, to the despair of Golgotha, and finally to the celebration of the empty grave.
This book includes 30 short devotional stories, each with accompanying Scripture references and questions for discussion and imagination.
We are going to be reading one story each day leading up to Easter. You’re welcome to grab the kids and listen together for your family Bible time. Or, if you would rather read to your kids on your own, you can DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY OF THE ENTIRE EBOOK HERE.
LISTEN TO COME AND SEE! CHAPTER 2 – PALM BRANCHES AND PIGEON POOP
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READ COME AND SEE! CHAPTER 2 – PALM BRANCHES AND PIGEON POOP
PALM BRANCHES AND PIGEON POOP – Told by John, Disciple of Jesus
“What on earth is going on here? And what is that stinky smell? This looked more like the marketplace than the temple!”
JOHN, DISCIPLE OF JESUS
The very next day, after visiting Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, Jesus and the rest of us disciples headed into the city of Jerusalem. (The town of Bethany was only a few miles away). It was the week of Passover, so the city was bustling with business. Jews from all over the country had been arriving for weeks to celebrate the Passover feast and commemorate the night that God had delivered our ancestors from slavery in Egypt.
As we approached the city, Jesus sent two of the disciples to a nearby farm to borrow a donkey for him to ride. A large crowd of Passover visitors came rushing out to meet us on the road as we approached.
“Praise the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel! Give glory to God!”
My brother James and I exchanged glances. Where are all these people coming from? How do they know who Jesus is? We determined that many of the people in the crowd had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead just a few weeks earlier. Word had spread that Jesus was arriving in the city, and the crowd had hoped that Jesus might perform another miracle.
As we walked, men, women, and children began to take off their outer cloaks and lay them on the dusty road in front of us. Some even cut palm branches from the trees and waved them in the air.
“Hosanna!” they cried. “We bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
It seemed they wanted to make Jesus their king, right then and there. Some of the chief priests and Pharisees saw our entourage as we entered the city gates. I leaned over and whispered to James, “I’ll bet you ten shekels that those religious leaders won’t be happy about this. They hate that Jesus is getting all this attention.”
James smirked and shook his head. “Oh, my brother, they most definitely will not be happy.”
Later that afternoon, Jesus took us all to the temple to pray. As we entered the courtyard, the clatter and chatter of hundreds of people overwhelmed us. Tables had been set up around the outer edges of the courtyard, stacked high with sacks of grain, flour, herbs, incense, and other items for sacrifices. The frantic bleating of hundreds of sacrificial lambs, waiting to be sold for the Passover feast, mingled with the cooing and flapping of wings. As we entered, I was overwhelmed by the conflicting scent of freshly baked bread mixed with the pungent odor of a barnyard. Vendors called out over the clamor of the animals, trying to attract the attention of nearby visitors:
“Get your Passover lambs right here! Straight from Bethlehem!”
“Swaddled lambs for your sacrifice! Guaranteed — no blemishes!”
“White doves! Two for the price of one!”
What on earth is going on here? And what is that stinky smell? This looked more like the marketplace than the temple! I glanced over at Jesus, wondering how he felt about all this. His fists were clenched at his sides, and his eyes were gleaming with fury. I could almost see fire and smoke pouring out of his ears.
“You will NOT disgrace my Father’s house in this way…” he uttered through clenched teeth. Pushing his way through the crowds, he approached the vendor tables.
What was he going to do? I ran after him.
Jesus confidently strode up to the first table, stacked high with crates full of squawking, fluttering pigeons. Suddenly, he grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it completely over, sending its contents crashing to the floor. Cages broke open and I covered my face as a flock of birds flapped in my direction. Coins clattered across the marble floor of the courtyard.
“Jesus, what are you doing?!” I cried out. I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back. The commotion had drawn the attention of a crowd of people around us, including the irate vendor, whose pigeons were now flying away over our heads. Splat! I felt something warm and sticky oozing down the back of my head. Lovely. Pigeon poop. So disgusting.
Jesus’ eyes burned like torches, and his face was the color of fire. He turned to the crowd. “This is my Father’s house!” he screamed. “My temple is a house of prayer! How dare you turn it into a den of thieves!”
Jesus stormed down the row of tables, flipping each one in turn and screaming, “Get out of here! You pack of dishonest thieves! Get out of my Father’s house!”
Vials of scented oil, baskets of spices, and stacks of freshly baked bread scattered to the floor. Bleating lambs cried out in terror.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. James and Peter ran up to me after forcing their way through the crowd. Finally reaching Jesus, we left the temple and the chaos behind us.
On our way, we passed a group of the chief priests and Pharisees, all huddled together, looking very secretive. Caiaphas, the high priest, turned and looked at us as we walked by, his eyes narrowed into tiny slits and his arms crossed over his chest.
Oh, they were definitely not happy about any of this.
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