March 5 -- John 2:13-25

After the wedding at Cana, Jesus spent some time with His disciples in their hometown of Capernaum, and then they all went up to Jerusalem for the Passover. In Jerusalem, the disciples saw a different side of Jesus when He cleared the Temple of traders and moneychangers and confronted the religious leaders.
In the first century, monetary Temple offerings had to be made using Temple currency, not Roman. So, the moneychangers made a business of exchanging coinage for those who had come to worship, and they made a very tidy profit doing it. Likewise, the traders sold animals for sacrifice at a premium to those who came from a great distance. Both groups would give a share of their profits to the high priest and his family, and Jewish writings from this time report that the high-priestly family was despised by the people for their dishonesty and greed. The traders, moneychangers, and even the religious leaders were profiting from people’s desire to worship God in the prescribed way, and they were doing this inside the Temple. To them, worship was a business opportunity!
No wonder Jesus was angry. It was righteous anger—anger at something that was coming between God and His people. Jesus is always angered by what comes between us and Him. That anger is an indication of the depth of His love for us.
Spend some time talking to God about what tables need to be turned over in your own life. What is coming between you and God? Ask Jesus for His help seeing these things and ridding your heart of them. Thank Him for His passionate love and His desire that nothing would separate Him from His people.
Comments