On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus cleansed the Temple. He drove out the sacrificial animals for sale and turned over the tables of the money changers, who exchanged Roman coins for Jewish coins.
Jesus declared that his Father's house should be a "house of prayer," but these people had turned it into a "den of robbers."
It looks like the Passover Feast was prime time for cashing in on the religious faithful. People were using religion for unfair personal gain. Jesus did not like that.
He still doesn't like it. We can all point to some of "those people" who take advantage of religion as a way to line their pockets. But there are other ways to misuse religion. And it's not just those people.
Some use faith as a weapon to manipulate others.
Some hide from real life and stay too busy with church activities.
Some let their politics rule their faith.
Some pay for ministers and missionaries to do faith for them. Then they don't have to feel guilty when their own faith is empty.
There are so many ways to misuse religion. Jesus comes to rescue us from our own hypocrisy. We all need some temple cleansing.
