Holy Week Series - Pt.2: Monday

Happy Monday of Holy Week! Today we will be talking about what Jesus did on the Monday of the first ever Holy Week, cleanse the temple. 

The day after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, on Palm Sunday, He went to Herod's Temple and saw that the temple had been turned into a market. John 2:13-16 says, "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!'” Jesus was a perfect, non-violent man. So when He did this, those around Him were stunned. But none were as upset as Jesus was. Think about it...He was seeing His Father's sacred temple being used as a casino and market, and He was disgusted. 

Matthew 21:13 says, “'It is written,' he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’"

This was one of the last lessons that Jesus taught, and because He knew what would eventually happen to Him, it makes this story very important because He knew He had to teach it before He was crucified. Jesus valued the true purpose of the temple and how we as Christians treat the temple. His goal was to teach those who were lost about God, and He knew that if the church became a store, Christian practices might die with Him. So Jesus capitalized on the importance of respecting God's place of worship to show everyone how important God really is.

All in all, this lesson shows that it's important that we remember to respect God.