Joye Angel

Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. Matthew 21:12-17

Welcome to Holy Week!

This is a time of reflection as we anxiously await the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Today is Holy Monday. Commentaries say that today is the day that Jesus cleansed the temple. He walked in and started flipping tables, running out everyone that was selling something.

They had commercialized religion. You walked into the temple and were met by all of these people pushing their goods on you. The Church is supposed to be a place to go to meet Jesus. To grow your faith. To spend time with other believers and worship the Lord.

Jesus is telling all of us that our place of worship is His house and should be treated as such. We honor God, we honor His Church. When you use a worship setting as a way to make money, a way to sell your brand, a way to spread falsehoods, then sooner or later, you will see God’s wrath.

Jesus had just entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He knew His time was near. There were a few things He needed to show the Disciples and other believers before He left. One of those things was to respect the Church.

He went to the temple to show everyone that what they were doing was not what the Temple was supposed to be about. This was not honoring the Lord.

Once the Temple was cleansed, then Jesus healed. Jesus healed people physically, but also spiritually. He was getting ready to go to the cross and He was still putting others first. What a testament to the love that Jesus has for all of us.

As you reflect and meditate this week, think about your reverence for His place. Think about how you spend the time set aside for worship. Reflect on His love for you.