Jesus Cleanses the Temple

And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. John 2:13-17

Steps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12

When Jesus came into the temple in Jerusalem He saw all kinds of things going on that did not reflect correctly upon His character. He knew that the temple in Jerusalem was a parable about Him (Exodus 25:8) and a parable about His relationship to the hearts of those who worship Him (I Corinthians 3:16-17; I Corinthians 6:19). What He saw was that they had turned His worship time into a time of commercial activity, which had turned the hearts and minds of His people away from Him. See Nehemiah 13:15-22. Jesus determined to take inventory of this and to heal and cleanse the temple so that true worship could occur again. Jesus’ behavior is a promise of what God will do in our hearts if we will allow Him to do so.

Prayer for Today: God, we thank You that You are the only one who knows how to do an accurate inventory of our hearts. There is so much stuff going on is us that we despair of changing, but we have hope if You do the inventory. Help us to do our part and help us to be willing to look at these things and help us to be willing to surrender all of our stuff to You for You only can deliver us from us. Thank You Lord that You are willing, and able, to enter into our hearts and minds and not be afraid of what you find. Deliver us we pray.