Good morning. We read in the beginning of the 21st chapter of Matthew’s gospel about the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He was greeted as a hero, a miracle worker, and as the Messiah of God.
As we continue to read Matthew’s account, the next thing we read about Jesus is that He visited the temple. The following, Matthew 21:12-13, tells us about His visit:
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
This was the week of the Passover Feast, one of the three “main events” on the Jewish calendar. Jerusalem was crowded and the temple was even more crowded. Every Jewish family, including those who lived far away, were to bring their pascal lamb (or kid) to be sacrificed at the temple. The blood was sprinkled, and the meat was eaten during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
This was to be a holy time for the family, a time to recognize God’s promises of salvation, to remember how He had saved His people from Egypt, and to celebrate God’s forgiveness through the blood of the lamb. But greed had found its way into God’s temple.
When Jesus arrived at the temple, He saw tables and booths set up for the single purpose of “fleecing” the flock of God. Not the lambs, but the people who had come to worship. Jesus spoke plainly regarding what the temple had become: “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ you make it a den of robbers.” Jesus was not gentle or quiet as He corrected and cleansed, He was loud and physical. Have you ever wondered this: “Why didn’t anyone act to stop Him?”
The Pharisees were in charge, and they were profiting handsomely from the organized theft that was taking place. They complained, but they couldn’t stop Him. Why? Because it was God in action and there was an awesome power being displayed.
As we approach the Easter season with our Good Friday service, our Sunrise service, and our Easter Worship service are we ready for cleansing? Do you need to have the Lord upset some things in your heart? Do you need to have some evil practices chased away? The Lord is ready to do the job. All it takes is your earnest prayer for His entry into your heart and His work to be done.
We know that our bodies are the temple of the Lord (1 Corinthians6:19-20) and it seems fitting that we ask the Lord to cleanse His temple within us just as He cleansed that temple so long ago.
God bless you as you prepare your heart for Easter worship!
Vern