“And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting: And when He had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, ‘take these things hence; make not my Father’s house and house on house of merchandise.’” (John 2:13-16)
As many as three million Jews came into Jerusalem for the annual celebration of Passover with some of them traveling many miles. Merchants had animals for sacrifice for sale for those who could not bring such animals with them. There were the money changers ready to make money on those who traded their currency for Roman currency.
The house of God had become a market place. There was no reverence for the purpose of the building. There was little or no thought of the sacrifices the people before them had made. Their rationale was that the end justified the means.
The church house is not the church. But the houses of God across the land must be treated as holy. We must remember why the building was dedicated in the first place. We should remember the gifts and sacrifices the generations before us made to make the building possible. It ought to be the best kept building in the community. The “welcome” mat should always be at the door inviting saved and unsaved alike to enter.
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