Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Jesus at the Temple

  • Between Lent 1 & 2

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    2 min read

    Before we get John 3:16, we have the signs and the Temple and dealing with uncertainty, and a lot of questions.

  • The Disruption of Jesus

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    6 min read

    We’re tempted to see the clearing of the Temple as something other than disruption. We’re afraid of what it reveals about Jesus. When the Shepherd clears the TempleLent 3B | John 2:13-22 Jesus walks into the Temple, makes a whip, and drives the animals, tax collectors, and dove sellers out and then flips tables. Objectively,…

  • What goes to the emperor?

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    8 min read

    We forget the question of taxes is a trap. And Jesus’s answer isn’t a solution to modern society. It is, however, essential.

  • This Tuesday of Holy Week 2019

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    5 min read

    When the authorities confront Jesus in the Temple, they find a popular teacher warning them not to choose the way of death.

  • By What Authority?

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    5 min read

    Who authorized Jesus to teach? We shouldn’t forget that the chief priests and the scribes (in other words the Temple leadership) ask Jesus a pretty fair question: ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ They didn’t authorize this. They don’t know him. Who is Jesus to…

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  • A Den of Robbers

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    4 min read

    I don’t think Jesus cleanses the temple in this morning’s reading. It often goes by that name. But if cleaning is what he’s doing, it is in the full understanding that it will be dirty again the next day. What is cleaning, but wiping away the dirt, scrubbing the scum off of the tub or the grease…

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