JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE

Matthew 21:12-13 "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He said to them, 'It is written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers."

I Corinthians 3:24 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

CLEANSE ME

Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.

The temple in Jerusalem was the place where God chose to dwell with His people. To the Jews, it was a sign of God's love--a sign of His commitment to be with them at all times. It was a place of prayer and worship. That is why Jesus became so angry with the money changers and merchants. They were selling Passover sacrificial animals there in the very place that was to be called a House of Prayer for everyone. And, they were cheating the people.
They were desecrating the sacred place God Himself had designed for everyone to pray and worship. They were in the area of the temple set aside for the non-Jews to come and worship. What kind of testimony were they making to the world?
I Corinthians tells us that we are now the temple of God. When we allow sin in our lives, we too desecrate the holy place where God has chosen to dwell. What kind of testimony is that to the non-Christian world?

THINGS TO PONDER

1. Will I allow God to search me and show me areas of sin in my "temple" that need to be
cleansed?
2. Will I allow Him to cleanse me--even if He chooses a drastic method to do so?
3. Is prayer a very important part of my life?

After cleansing the temple, Matthew 21:14 says that Jesus focused His attention to the blind, sick and lame. When we allow Him to cleanse us, we too can concentrate on the needs of others. And, as the hymn says, we are set free.
-jl