Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”
Matthew 21:12-15
The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”
Matthew 21:12-15
Jesus Doesn't Like Obstacles
The day after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, He headed to the Temple. The Temple was the place of worship for the Jews – it was the place where they went to pray, spend time with God, and give their offerings. In those days, people would travel from all over Judea to come and bring animals to sacrifice to God as a sign of their trust and their love for God.
If the distance was too far and it wasn’t possible for someone to bring their own animals, vendors had set up shop inside the temple to sell animals, exchange money, and provide any other religious materials someone might need. The problem was that these merchants and money changers were often corrupt and would take advantage of those coming to worship God.
So when Jesus arrived at the Temple, what He saw shocked and angered Him. What was supposed to be holy ground and a place of genuine expression of one’s love for God had been turned into a place of profit and corruption. He began to knock over the merchant’s tables and drive out everyone who was using the Temple as a place of business, then allowed all those were sick, poor, or hopeless come to Him to be healed and given hope.
Just like the merchants in the Temple, sometimes there are things that stand in the way of us coming to Jesus and experiencing the love that He has for us. That might be lies that we tell ourselves, things that have been said or done to us that cause us to close off our heart, or mistakes and sins that leave us feeling broken and distant from Him.
Here is the truth for us to reflect on today: Jesus doesn’t like obstacles. He never lets anything stand in the way of someone coming to Him. No matter the sin, the lie, or the circumstance, we can be sure that He will never allow anything to remain between us and Him. We can always come to Him and trust that He hears us, knows us, and is with us.
What is an obstacle in your life that is keeping you from Jesus?
If the distance was too far and it wasn’t possible for someone to bring their own animals, vendors had set up shop inside the temple to sell animals, exchange money, and provide any other religious materials someone might need. The problem was that these merchants and money changers were often corrupt and would take advantage of those coming to worship God.
So when Jesus arrived at the Temple, what He saw shocked and angered Him. What was supposed to be holy ground and a place of genuine expression of one’s love for God had been turned into a place of profit and corruption. He began to knock over the merchant’s tables and drive out everyone who was using the Temple as a place of business, then allowed all those were sick, poor, or hopeless come to Him to be healed and given hope.
Just like the merchants in the Temple, sometimes there are things that stand in the way of us coming to Jesus and experiencing the love that He has for us. That might be lies that we tell ourselves, things that have been said or done to us that cause us to close off our heart, or mistakes and sins that leave us feeling broken and distant from Him.
Here is the truth for us to reflect on today: Jesus doesn’t like obstacles. He never lets anything stand in the way of someone coming to Him. No matter the sin, the lie, or the circumstance, we can be sure that He will never allow anything to remain between us and Him. We can always come to Him and trust that He hears us, knows us, and is with us.
What is an obstacle in your life that is keeping you from Jesus?