Jesus at the Temple

When Jesus returned to Jerusalem, he went into the Temple and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus refused to allow anyone to carry goods through the Temple courts. Then he taught the people, saying, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be called a house for prayer for people from all nations.’ But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”

The leading priests and the teachers of the law heard all this and began trying to find a way to kill Jesus. They were afraid of him, because all the people were amazed at his teaching. (Mark 11:15-18, New Century Version)

Jesus and His disciples had just returned to Jerusalem amid the fanfare of what we now call Palm Sunday. The first place He wanted to go was to the Temple. But when He got there, He was not happy.

Because the Jewish visitors to the Temple were expected to make a sacrifice, merchants and livestock salesmen set up shop in the outer areas of the Temple. Also, many of the worshipers had traveled from afar, so they needed to have their money changed into the local currency. All of these transactions created a noisy, chaotic atmosphere in a place that should have evoked peace. And many of these transactions were ripping off honest, hard-working people who couldn’t afford the high prices or didn’t know the exchange rate in Jerusalem.    

I lose my temper fairly easily and usually regret it. But then I tell myself, “It’s not a sin to get angry if Jesus got angry in the temple.”

Wrong. My anger is way different. I usually get impatient when something isn’t working for me – something stupid like a knot in my shoelace. The next thing you know, I’m ready to throw that shoe across the room.

Jesus had a totally different and justifiable reason for His anger. He was mad because people had disrespected His father’s house and turned it into a den of thieves. 

I get mad when things happen to me that I don’t like. Jesus only got mad when things happened that went against God.

(Today’s picture was taken at a market place in Mombasa, Kenya, when my daughter was there in 2010.)