John 2:13-22 (NRSV)
Read John 2:13-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Verse 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Verse 15Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. Verse 16He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" Verse 17His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." Verse 18The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Verse 19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Verse 20The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" Verse 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Verse 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Devotion
What comes to mind when you read the story of Jesus
cleansing the temple? Maybe a better question would be
"What does not come to mind when this story is read?"
The notion of a "gentle Jesus meek and mild" seems
damaged by Jesus' display of brute force and hostility.
Yet beyond the display of anger, there is a message here
for us during this Lenten season. We realize that there
are things that occasion the righteous indignation of
Jesus. God is not a benevolent grandparent who simply
smiles at indiscretion. God is affected by humanity’s
actions. In this case, it appears that Jesus was displeased
with how the temple of God had been transformed to
accommodate the agenda of human desires rather than
serving the agenda of God. Jesus acted to restore the
integrity of the temple as a place of worship.
Prayer
Lord, help me to seek you first. Amen.