I’m not a big fan of bees; how about you? Now don’t get me wrong, I love the honey that comes from their comb, but I’m not too fond of the little critters their self. I guess I had too many run-ins with them during my childhood to be a fan. I can’t count the number of times that my grandad had to patch a sting wound with a Prince Albert spit wad. Frankly, I never understood how one sting could counteract another sting, but it always seemed to work.

Truly, most of the time it was the result of something innocent that led to the chase. A stray ball or arrow that landed in the wrong place and created a real dust up. For me it was more like a shotgun blast that came flying my way at supersonic speed rather than the long thin rifle like line portrayed in the cartoons. I don’t exactly know how fast a bee flies, but it’s faster than I could run for sure.

No one I know would have ever bothered a beehive on purpose. Even one sting was too painful, let alone a whole passel of them. We stayed clear of ‘em as much as possible. Can you imagine anyone going right up to the hive and giving it a big old smack? I mean a smack that rocks the hive and nearly knocks it plum off the tree? Who would do something like that?

Jesus would. In fact, that exactly what He did in our story this week. I love what Russ Ramsey has to say about it. Russ is the Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church and he puts it this way; “If Jerusalem was a beehive, with his triumphal entry, Jesus had hit it with a stick. You could hear the buzz grow as the anger within got organized.”

I would even take that a bit farther to say that He smacked it again, even harder as soon as He got into town. He went right into the Temple and smacked the hive so hard it changed history. The bees were so mad they made a pack to kill Him for it. And they eventually did.

What in the world am I talking about? Well take a look at Luke 19:45-48 and you’ll see. Bet you didn’t know there were bees in that Temple Cleansing scene. Yep, they’re there, you just have to know where to look for them. Join us for the study and we’ll see if we can spot them.

For those unable to join us in person, please feel free to download the Bible study materials for your personal use by following one of these links:  PowerPoint Slides, PDF File. Also, you can download files for previous weekly studies by visiting the following page on my blog: Doubtless Living: The Gospel of Luke.