Don't Miss a Single Syllable

 It must have been building over time; the injustice and desecration of it all.  Every time Jesus would climb the Temple steps, He'd see "it," again.  Today, however, He would do something about it.

He had made His whip and went to work, cleansing the Temple Court of the Gentiles of the money changers and merchants before they even knew what had hit them.  What a kerfuffle!

How could the Court of the Gentiles be used in such fashion?!  It must have been rather smelly.  After all, the sheep, cows and doves would not "hold fire" even in the Temple.  Then the money changers' jingling and jangling of coins would not be quiet and therefore not conducive to prayer.  There was money to be made and they intended to capitalize upon it.  Forget about those Gentiles.  We really don't want those unclean folks here anyway.

This was a far cry from the Court of the Gentiles' purpose of existence.  This, Jesus said, was His Father's "House of Prayer"!  This was NOT a venue for a marketplace.  How insulting to His Father.

No doubt there was corruption going on there.  Some worshipers would bring a perfectly good animal of their own to sacrifice.  However, the powers that be at the Temple would pronounce it, "unfit".  This I surmise...

"Sorry, you'll have to purchase one animal from this marketplace as your sacrifice.  You know it has to be perfect."

Would the money changers give fair exchange?  That is the question.

The Jewish leaders were using the Temple wrongly.  They were all out for economic gain and power.  What's more, they were disrespecting the foreigners.  There were laws to protect the foreigner within their midst too which seemed to have gotten tossed aside.  What were those non-Jews, who sincerely wished to worship and to pray to the One True God, supposed to do?  If their 'spot' was used for other things, how could they worship and pray at the Temple of God's presence?

Jesus shooed the offending "robbers" away.

This is a good lesson for us as we go to the building we all "church".  Come with respect, reverence and purpose to pray and offer our sacrifices of praise to our Heavenly Father through Jesus and to remember Jesus death and resurrection through the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup.

Uncluttered minds.  Cleansed minds that don't "stink" of offending thoughts garnered by things we've seen or occupied ourselves with that are contrary to God's Word.  Have we taken the "whip" to them?

Note what Jesus did after the cleansing.  He taught.  He taught and the people hung on to His words.  They did not want to miss a single word.

Imagine!

Do we have "thieves" that steal our hearts, minds and time away from the Lord and/or churches?  Let Jesus cleanse your heart and mind through His Word and the working of the Holy Spirit within us.  With clean, clear minds we too, can sit at Jesus' feet and hear what He has to say to us.  Perhaps from our own meditations at home, or at church, from a speaker anointed by God to impart His words.

Listen with rapt attention.

Do not let our minds wander to negative things, thinking of motives of this or that person in the audience might have for doing this or that.  

Look at what the chief priests, and teachers of the law were doing.  They were contemplating and plotting how to kill Jesus!  This, in the House of Prayer!  Murder in the House of Prayer.  That may sound like the title of a detective novel but no, this was NOT fiction!  What a paradox! 

Indeed, may we cleanse our minds and hearts and let Jesus and His word teach us.  May we not want to miss a single syllable.

                                                            ~ERC  July 2020~

Based on Luke 19:45-48