THE WEEK THAT SHOOK HISTORY: A 7-Day Easter Devotion by AussieDave AdamsonSample

The Temple Cleansing - When Jesus Got Angry

Why was Jesus really Angry?

In Matthew, we read that when Jesus visited the Temple in Jerusalem, He was so angry with the "money-changers" in the temple courts that He turned over their tables and drove them out.

I've heard a lot of great messages explaining why Jesus was angry, most of which focus on the idea that these money-changers were bringing consumerism into God's House, or they were cheating people in the name of faith. But I wonder if there's more?

You see, these money-changers set up shop in what was known as the Court of the Gentiles. This was the only place where non-Jewish people who were seeking God were allowed to learn, worship and pray on the Temple Mount. But they were being squeezed out by people turning the court into a marketplace.

What if the main reason Jesus turned over these tables was because He wanted unchurched people to experience God.

In Mark's Gospel, the author makes this clear by recording that Jesus said: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations" as he drove out the money-changers.

Throughout his life, Jesus welcomed the people who were outside the church and far from God... who were on the margins of society. He met with them, shared meals with them, healed them, forgave them and loved them.

The Jesus I read about in the Bible welcomed unchurched people! He turned up at more tables than he turned over.

Jesus didn't come to make nice—He came to make space. If access to God matters to Jesus, it should matter to us too.

But are we like that? Do you engage with people far from God? Do unchurched people feel welcomed or lost at your church on Sundays?

Jesus told us to love God and love our neighbors. He said we would be known as His followers by how we love the people who worship like us AND how we love the people who are nothing like us.

How will you welcome people who are far from God today?

Reflection Question: What tables in your life might be barriers that prevent others from experiencing God? How might Jesus be calling you to overturn those barriers?

Action Step: Identify one person in your life who may feel excluded from faith communities, and take a specific step to show them welcome this week.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the times I've been more concerned with being right than doing right. Show me where I may be creating barriers that keep others from experiencing Your love. Give me the courage to overturn tables of exclusion and to create space for all people to encounter You. Help me to welcome others as Jesus did, turning up at tables rather than turning them over. Amen.