Bible Verse of the Day Thursday November 30th 2023

John 2:14-16 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So, he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my father’s house into a market!

Jesus saw the merchants buying and selling their trades in the Temple Courtyard. The Greek word used in the original text was hieron (Strongs 2411), which would indicate the outer courts, open to all worshipers, Jew and Gentile alike. 

 Selling the sacrificial animals was for the pilgrim worshippers who would come from countries across the vastness of the Roman empire. By the Days of Jesus, this had become a lucrative business for the Jewish Priest. They had transformed the Temple's outer courts from a quiet place of worship into a busy and noisy bazaar. This outer court was the only place available to the Gentiles who wanted to worship, and the noise and activity made that almost impossible. 

 

Jesus responded to this situation aggressively, vigorously, and verbally. He rightly claimed that God was His father, and He was doing this in His name. The first thing that Jesus did was to make a whip out of cords. Locating the cords used to make the whip takes some time, and then weaving them into a whip. It is a possibility Jesus took this vast amount of time to show that His displeasure was not an act of emotional flare-up or frenzy but a slow, orderly, and disciplined act of righteous indignation. Although somewhat violent, Jesus's action did not disturb the peace in the temple courts. Had that been the case, the Roman Officials would have dispatched the soldiers stationed at the adjoining Antonia Fortress almost immediately. 

 

There is nothing in the scriptures or outside biblical sources that would indicate that Jesus harmed anyone, or any animal for that matter, with His somewhat harmless whip of cords. This whip symbolized more of a show of Jesus's authority than any form of violence. The actual aspect of Jesus found among the scriptures is eons apart from the viewpoint and stance of the world. The world sees Jesus as meek and would not challenge anyone over any incident. However, though Jesus was the epitome of true humility, described as power under control, He was also compassionate. Jesus showed kind-heartedness and consideration to a woman caught in adultery while at the same time dealing austerely with the Jewish religious leaders (John 8:44). 

 

Jesus was, with this act, symbolically cleansing the Temple. Later in His ministry, there was another incident of this cleansing when He initiated what we know as Holy Communion at the last Passover meal that he shared with His Apostles. The Passover served as an act of purification, removing every speck of anything leavened (made with yeast) from the home, and was a symbol, a picture of cleansing from sin.

 

Jesus' ministry began with a miracle of conversion when He changed the water into wine. Then Jesus performed a work of cleansing on the Temple. These two examples of the water into wine and the Temple's cleansing are how he always works with His Children: first comes conversion, and then comes cleansing.