Another group of people with an agenda that Jesus threatened was the Temple leadership. They had established a system of Temple worship. But it appears the they had become corrupt having found a way to turn religion into a good and powerful living.
Jesus taught a personal religion. He taught that merely going through the religious rituals wasn’t the path to God.
The Temple leaders needed to preserve the status quo. They needed to make sure that the Romans were satisfied. If the Romans became angry, they had the power to destroy the Temple and change life in Israel forever. And, indeed, after one more rebellion by the Jews around 70 (about 40 years later), the Romans did just that.
I wonder sometimes about how Christians have erected their own versions of Temples that must be guarded against any threat by a personal spiritual relation with God. We sometimes make compromises with political leaders seeking political power. We justify it that we are doing God’s work. But we really just need to satisfy our need for power.
We really need to be reminded about Jesus’ message and why he died. He talked about tearing down the Temple and building it again in three days. What he meant was that “religion” is really a relationship with a person, not a ritual in the Temple.
Relationships are hard. Sounds easy. But this is a good week to rebuild that relationship.
Faith Venture 
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