John 2: 13 – l6
Every year, Jewish people from far and near went to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate a special feast. Long ago they had been slaves in Egypt and God saved them. The feast they went to celebrate was called the feast of the Passover’ Jesus had been visiting Capernaum with his mother and his friends. When it was time to go to Jerusalem for Passover.
They walked from Capernaum to Jerusalem. When they got to Jerusalem Jesus went into the temple. There Jesus found people selling cattle, sheep and doves. Money changers were sitting at a tables collecting money. Some of these money-changers were cheating the people who were trying to buy animals and birds to offer as sacrifices for their sins.
Jesus was very angry when he saw that the people were showing no respect in God’s house, in fact they were using it as a market place. The temple was meant to be a place of worship. A place were people could come and pray and talk to God.
Jesus was so angry when he saw the people being cheated and the fact that the temple had been turned into a market place that he made a whip out of pieces of rope he drove the animals out of the temple. He then over turned the tables of the money changers and spilled the money they had collected all over the floor.
He said to the people who were selling doves and animals, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house into a market place!”
“God’s house is to be a house of prayer for all people”.
Thank you to Revd Peta May for this week’s Sunday School lesson.
