Clay in the Hands

As we continue into Holy Week, we turn our thoughts to the activity of that last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry before his crucifixion.  We are told in Matthew 21 that Jesus entered the city and went into the temple courts and was angered by what he found there.  Right there in the courts of the holy place of God, robbers had set up shop.

While what was going on had begun possibly as a good idea – to make worship more convenient for those traveling long distances to offer sacrifices – the results were profiteering.  Foreign currency was being exchanged to temple currency at exuberant exchange rates.  Animals necessary for sacrificial worship were being sold for exponentially more than their true value.

James Tissot – Merchants Chased From The Temple

What was meant to be a worship experience had been turned into a money making enterprise and Jesus made a point to expose this inconsistency.

In reading Dr. Jim Dennison’s Lenten devotion this week, he pointed out something that has caused me to pause.  Jesus made the point that the temple was meant to be a house of prayer but the religious leaders had allowed it to become a “den of thieves.”  Dennison reminds us in his devotion, that through the new covenant, we as believers have become temples of God’s spirit.  He asks the question – and I ask you – is the temple of your heart a “house of prayer” or is it a “den of thieves?”

Have we allowed our hearts to be consumed with things other than the pursuit of God?

Jesus died to free our hearts and lives and he rose to give us life in relation to God.

We must not allow our hearts to become distracted from what Jesus died to make possible.