John - Day 5: The Temple Cleanser

The next picture of Jesus is the most unusual picture. It’s a picture of Jesus getting mad. You can tell a lot about a person by what makes them mad. Anger can be the emoting of a passion that represents what is a priority and of utmost importance in your life!! Someone starts picking on and mistreating one of my children, I will become irate. On this occasion, Jesus enters the temple (Mark 11:11), but does not do anything, He simply observes. But the next day it becomes apparent that He did not like what He saw!! When He entered the temple this time, the Bible says He turned over tables, upset money buckets and started driving out people who were selling and changing money! Then, it says, with the voice of authority He would not let them carry their merchandise through the temple!! Why was He so mad? He says in verse 17 what is sticking in His craw. Jesus is mad that they have substituted God-centered worship for religious busyness and activity—they were robbing men and God in the process. And He says you have taken what was meant to be set apart for prayer and distorted, minimized, and polluted it. YOU QUIT PRAYING!!

Read John 2:12-25

Q: How does this particular picture of Jesus impact you?

Q: Why do you think Jesus was so frustrated at the absence of prayer?

Q: What does the fact that Jesus desires to hear from you convey about His character?

Q: How does this picture help me process anger and the purpose and reason for anger/emotion?

For Further Study: Matthew 21:12-17