On Monday, Jesus went into the Temple, and He saw something that upset Him. John 2:14 says,
“In the Temple area, He saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; He also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, "Get these things out of here. Stop turning My Father's house into a marketplace!" Then His disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: "Passion for God's house will consume Me."
Can you imagine that scene in your mind? In the Court of the Gentiles, there were money tables that were set up to convert foreign currency into Temple currency so the people could pay the Temple tax. The money had to be kosher, it had to be clean, so they did it in this place for a fee.
There were also animals being sold in this area for different types of sacrifices. In fact, during this time, people would be bringing their lamb to the priest on Friday to make sure the lamb was an acceptable sacrifice. A person was to bring their very best lamb to be sacrificed for their sins.
The Bible says without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Someone has to die for sin. In this time period, a lamb would have to die for people's sins, but Jesus is going to change all of that.
Jesus is the ultimate Lamb of God, and His bloodshed on the cross will cover all of our sins.
A person would bring their very best lamb, and the priest would inspect the lamb to see if it was worthy to be sacrificed. The priests were so greedy and evil that rarely would they let a lamb pass inspection. The priest would then force the people to buy one of the temple flock at a ridiculous price.
It's estimated that the priests made around $5 million a year just from the sale of the animals in the temple, and when Jesus saw what they were doing, Jesus got mad, so He decided it was time to clean house. Look at what He did.
Jesus sat down and made a whip. He then got up and used the whip to drive out the sheep and cattle. I want you to notice He didn't attack the moneychangers. He ran over to where they were and overturned their tables, and they scrambled down the steps for their money. And then Jesus turned to those who were selling doves and said, "Get those out of here. My house will be a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers." Matthew 21:13
In His anger, He was in complete control. Notice that no one opposed Him. They ran from Him.
This event was deliberate. Jesus knew if God's house got off track, if the mission of the church grew fuzzy, if churches became political or commercialized, the most important message of the world would be compromised or forgotten about altogether. So, Jesus made a whip, and then, He made a statement. Don't come to the house of God casually because this is the place where heaven and earth meet.
Never allow your worship of God to become something where you are just going through the motions.
Because worship without the heart is not worship.
When you come to the house of God, come to give Him your very best. Give your best singing, your best offering, your best attention, and your most receptive heart.
Let's pray.
“God, forgive us when we just go through the motions and don't give You our very best. Help us to always take our relationship with You seriously. You deserve our best because You gave us your best. Amen.”
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