The day after Jesus had ridden a colt through the streets of Jerusalem and all the people had called out, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” he went into the temple. And what did Jesus see in the temple? He saw lots of tables and animals and money. The outer court of the temple was being used to sell animals for the sacrifices in the temple.

According to the Old Testament, the people who had to make a long trip to Jerusalem were allowed to buy animals for their sacrifices in Jerusalem. But this should have happened outside the temple somewhere, and not in the outer court. The outer court was supposed to be a place where the Gentiles could come to pray to God. This was an area that the Lord had put aside so that people who were not Jews could still come and pray to God.

And when Jesus walks in there, he sees many people buying and selling. And they were also selling the animals for a very high price. They were charging much too much for the animals. When Jesus sees this, he is very angry. How could the Gentiles come and pray in this marketplace? And so, Jesus goes around the outer court and turns over all the tables, throwing all the money on the ground. This would have taken a while to do because it was a large area. And yet no one stopped the Lord Jesus. He had great authority that no one was able to stop.

Jesus says to the people, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Jesus wants to make this area a place of prayer again. Jesus is about to go to the cross. He is about to make a sacrifice for all his people, from every nation. Jesus is about to restore our relationship with God again. And that’s what Jesus shows by clearing out the temple outer court so that the Gentiles can also have a place of prayer.

Reflection with your child:

Why did Jesus clear out the outer court of the temple?

Source: Sermon by Rev. R.D. Anderson