One hearing expert says our world is blaring with so much noise that virtually seventy-five percent of high school seniors have already begun to lose their ability to hear high-pitched sounds. In fact, exposure to extremely high noise levels can begin causing permanent damage to the ear in as little as fifteen seconds. The key is to protect the ears at appropriate times by using earplugs or earmuffs.

By and large, the people of Jesus' day who should have led His procession into Jerusalem, hailing Him as Messiah, had grown progressively hard of hearing. Their problem was spiritual, of course, not physical.

We're talking about people such as ""the chief priests and the teachers of the law"" (v. 15) who had set themselves against Jesus from the very beginning of His ministry. These men, along with the Pharisees, were the guardians of Israel's religious life and worship. They, of all people, should have recognized their Messiah and bowed in worship before Him.

Instead, they had turned a deaf ear to Jesus. And the nation's spiritual life showed the effects of their ""hearing loss.""

The temple area had become a marketplace to take advantage of the crowds that thronged Jerusalem during the Passover celebration. Animals to be used in the sacrifices were put up for sale. Moneychangers changed ordinary coins into special shekels that were acceptable as offerings.

The people had allowed the noise of commerce to drown out the voice of God, so that Jesus could no longer tolerate seeing God's house turned into a ""den of robbers."" He cleansed the temple in an unforgettable display of zeal for His Father's honor.

Even though the merchants and the religious leaders felt the lash of Jesus' anger, those who were blind and lame came to Him and found healing. And the children joyfully shouted His praises, using the Messianic title ""Son of David.""

But the leaders tuned out these praises. They heard the children, to be sure. But because these men had allowed themselves to become spiritually deaf, all they could think about was silencing Jesus' youthful witnesses.

Many people were startled by our Lord's intolerance of sin and spiritual callousness among those who should have known better.

Maybe what we need today is a little more holy intolerance for things that are clearly wrong. One result of living in a culture such as ours is that it can dull our spiritual hearing and deaden our sensitivity to sin. With that in mind, why not take inventory today and see if there has been any complacency in areas such as your personal convictions, habits, or work practices? If anything comes to light, be prepared to cleanse your temple.