Lenten Devotional - Tuesday, Mar. 30

Day 36 - Tuesday 

March 30

Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, "Is it not written,'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."  Mark 11:15-17

One of the first things that Jesus does after his "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem is to enter the temple and begin driving out the moneychangers and those selling the sacrificial animals. Some gospel accounts indicate that Jesus is offended by the corruption of the system, while elsewhere it seems that he is disturbed by the intrusion of the commercial activity into the sacred place of worship. But in any case, this scene has historically been described as the "cleansing of the temple," as Jesus chases away the business and busyness that has distracted from the true and pure worship of God. As the Messiah entering the city, Jesus does not go first to the places of military or political power; instead, he goes to the temple, the spiritual heart of the people, because what we worship determines who we are.

To Do

Imagine yourself as God's temple - your heart, mind, and body. If Jesus were to enter in and cleanse this temple, what are the tables he might overturn and what are the things that he might drive out?