15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Mark 11:15-17
Impressionable Minds
At the age of 17, I read this passage of scripture with a renewed sense of reality concerning not just Christianity, but who Christ was while he was on this Earth. You see, I’ve always seen Jesus, or Yeshua, as a man of humble and meek design. He was always seen as God in man form, brought upon this Earth to be a shining example of how one who believes in His word, death and resurrection should conduct themselves as a representative of His ministry. Many Evangelical Christians love to quote passages from the Beatitudes as an example of how and why we should remain meek and merciful, even to those who show us none. We are also shown how Jesus would turn the other cheek in situations where we would normally have trouble restraining force and therefore, we were always given a whitewashed, passive interpretation of a Christ who only showed mercy and compassion to those who persecuted and vilified Him and His legacy.
The Revolutionary
But then, I read about a Jesus who held true to His love and loyalty for His people and the culture in which he believed so much, that He stormed the temple with righteous indignation and turned tables over and beat those who were building commerce in a place of sacred worship, something his Father was against. I learned through exploring the word that Jesus came to fulfill that which He held true to His heart, even to the point of death, something He knew was imminent. Jesus understood that in order to save the entire world, he had to save the most marginalized group in that era he dwelled within a human form. I learned from Jesus how a true REVOLUTIONARY looked while having many other revolutionaries to admire. The above scripture is what I built my movement on. I vowed to fight for the people I identify with while understanding if the most marginalized group of folk in our country and planet are free, we all are free. To identify as a Christian means to understand true freedom fighting. It means utilizing what you were blessed with to bless others, not hoarding your resources, but truly giving them to those in need. What we see in Christ continues to be what we need for our people: salvation and liberation. I look to Him as a guide to be used as a tool to achieve that for us.
About the Faith & Justice Series
We are publishing a series of posts under the topics of faith and justice as we engage members of various faith communities in the Pensacola area about how justice is viewed through the lens of their faith. If you are interested in writing for Bantucola.com on this topic please see our submission guidelines and write for us. We look forward to hearing from you about how faith justice impact your life and others from your faith community.
