HOST: Michael Whitworth
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore 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.
The scene at the temple, though it had become commonplace for the day, was a shameful and disgusting one—merchants making a profit from people’s worship; people thoughtlessly buying sacrificial animals instead of bringing their best to God. When Jesus saw the mockery and abuse with which some were treating the temple and the worship of God, He was filled with righteous indignation. In His authority and power as the Son of God, after taking the time to fashion a whip, He rid the temple of the merchants and money-changers and, in the process, made a powerful point about the importance of proper worship. God has always been concerned about how we approach Him in worship. What we bring to God in worship, and how we bring it, is vital to our relationship with Him and to the acceptance of our worship by Him. Let us always strive to give Him our very best!
Why do you think proper worship is so important to God?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
