by Nathan Schwepler

Created on: July 09, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

Jesus delivered a message about worship four days before he went to the cross. It wasn't a quiet message whispered to a few of his disciples. It was a loud, public message. He acted it out as he preached; he was violent and disruptive when he preached about worship.

In many houses, April is the time to put up colored eggs and cartoon rabbits to stick to your windows. Do you have little Easter baskets for the mantle? Do you have a picture of a cross or an empty tomb? If you like those decorations, but I would like to suggest some more. How about some decorations for Palm Sunday? You could make a palm branch frame for a picture of a donkey. And then continue from Palm Sunday to Thrash Monday. To remember Jesus on the Monday before he went to the cross, turn your kitchen table on its side and scatter money all over the floor. Flip at least half of the chairs and toss three or four animal cages into the mix. It will make meals a bit of a challenge, but it is worth it to remember the big mess that Jesus made in the temple.

But why? Why did Jesus make such a mess?

He explained it this way. "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!"

On Palm Sunday, Jesus was in a little parade, and all the fans at the parade did the right thing. They praised and cheered with strength. Most parades are pointless; they go nowhere and nothing happens. In Christ's parade something happened and he went somewhere. He went to the temple.

The temple then and the church now look quite different and very different things happen in them. I have never seen a guy in a robe kill and burn a goat at church. But the purpose is the same. The temple is the place to meet God, a house of prayer, a room for worship. Jesus entered the temple on Sunday evening and looked around. The next morning, Thrash Monday, he went back into the temple and made a mess. He drove out the people who were selling in the temple. All of these people were selling animals. The people who bought the animals then took them into the Temple and gave them to God, killed them for God. Some pet lovers think that Jesus wanted to stop them from killing all those animals. Sorry, that wasn't it. Jesus wanted to take the greed out of His house. He had to get the greed out of His worship. He overturned tables. He made a mess, but he wasn't in a rage of anger. If anger had taken over Jesus, he would have torn the place up Sunday night when he went there the first

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