“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area
and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers
and the benches of those selling doves,
and would not let anyone carry merchandise
through the temple courts.
And as He taught them, He said,
' My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
But you have made it a den of robbers.'”
Mark 11: 15-17

Those who were buying and selling in the temple area
had their excuses for doing so:
people needed animals for sacrificing,
money needed to be changed so people could pay the temple tax.
Perhaps they said, “Needs needed to be met,”
thereby seeking to explain their desecration of the temple.
(Never mind that it was taking advantage of the poor
and pushing the Gentiles from their place of worship in the temple.)
And it was “business as usual” until Jesus entered the scene.
He called them thieves, those who were there for selfish gain,
interfering with the purpose of the temple court,
a place of prayer for all people.

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
was followed by this reminder that He was not yet
Lord of the lives of all who gathered in the temple.

As Jesus walks into my life and looks around, what does He see?
Are there things I am doing in my life
(my home, my mind, my time, my church...)
that would cause Jesus to judge me a thief,
misusing what He provided, ignoring His mission,
and seeking to justify my actions?
What does Jesus need to do, or say, to get my attention,
to bring about a change in my modus operandi?

Twila Charles Leichty - L3