A Major House Cleaning

Mar 11:11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

You have heard the adage: Count to 10 When You are Angry

Our Lord had just ridden into Jerusalem to the cheers of His admirers. He rode straight to the temple and took a survey of what was going on in the God's.

He witnessed that there were money changers and other hucksters making merchandise from the things of the Lord. And He didn't like what He saw, not one bit!

You know what was impending, the cleansing of the temple, the overturning of the tables of the money changers, the whipping of the religious shiesters and the sermon about transforming a house of prayer into a den of thieves.

But what many haven't thought about is that Jesus acted, He didn't react.

He actually left town and went to Mary, Martha and Lazarus' house for the night. There, He thought about what His actions would be the next day. There, He fashioned a whip, He prayed, he considered the Bible verses He would quote. That evening in Bethany, the zeal of the Lord's house consumed His spirit.

Jesus did not have a fit of anger as He cleansed the temple, as some would suppose. Rather, the occasion was a well-planned and prayed action to make a very strong point.

We may need to re-prioritize what needs to take place in the house of the Lord. Prayer, the Word and worship are foremost, then fellowship and other things follow behind. Let's think about the need for a major house cleaning at church.