Purged

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

PURGED

John 2:13-16

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" 

NIV

So much has been said about this passage which has a great deal of fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies within and has been used as the beginning of the reformation of a life of faith. As these various animals were a convenience to those who came to sacrifice from a great distant, not being able to bring their own critters with them, or for those who dwelled within the city, not owning any livestock at all, it was not all a bad practice. Any market place outside the temple would not have created this scene. However having the market in one of the courts of the temple was despicable. Surely the priests had made a deal with the merchants, renting them space within the temple, as well as charging a handsome fee certifying the animals to be without blemish, not much different than certified kosher food is today. But the truth for us today is not about all the corruption within the church as a building, but the corruption within the church as a body and the corruption within our own hearts. As Jesus purged the temple, driving out that which corrupted it, so he purges our hearts. We cannot be sure of these facts, but it seems he made a whip from the cords or ropes which the sellers had led their livestock into the temple with. Jesus used their tools to purge his temple. He overturned the tables of money throwing it to the ground, demonstrating the contempt he had for using the church, using God for profit. All this was all about his desire to keep the temple of God pure, and that is his desire for us, as we are the temple of God. We need to allow Jesus to purge out all those things which we have allowed to pollute the temple. We need to allow Jesus to purge out pride, unforgiveness, greed, selfishness, self-righteousness, anger, jealously, envy, and all else which defiles the temple of God. We need to allow Jesus to keep us from turning the temple of God into a market place of world ideas.