John 2:13-22, NIRV

Jesus Clears Out the Temple Courtyard

¹³It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courtyard he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple courtyard. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. ¹⁶He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.” (Psalm 69:9)

¹⁸Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do this?”

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “When you destroy this temple, I will raise it up again in three days.”

²⁰They replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?” ²¹But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body. ²²His disciples later remembered what he had said. That was after he had been raised from the dead. Then they believed the Scripture. They also believed the words that Jesus had spoken.

Objects:

Easter basket
Plastic egg large enough to hold a small pair of socks.

Message:

Raise your hand if you have ever been angry. (Allow children to respond.) Now, raise your hand if you believe that Jesus ever got angry. (Allow children to respond.) Yes, Jesus got angry. Yes, he was 100% God, but also 100% human, and sometimes people get angry.

Today’s scripture passage is one moment in the Bible when Jesus got angry. Jesus got angry because of how some people were using a house of worship, a church. They weren’t using it for worship, but instead they treated the church like it was a shopping mall. Have you ever been to a mall? (Allow children to answer.) At a shopping mall you can buy everything from clothing to toys to food.

Jesus was upset because the salespeople were taking advantage of others. Many of the money changers, whom we may call salespeople, were making money for themselves out of greed. They really weren’t helping anyone but themselves. Some people were trying to come into the house of worship to worship. They wanted to worship, and the salespeople were making it difficult for them to do that. And that made Jesus angry.

Do you know what Jesus did when he was angry? He turned over the tables with the money on them. He released all the animals that were being sold. He told the people to stop making a shopping mall out of the church. He told the people that when we are in the church, we should focus on God.

Remember that each week during Lent, I have with me this large Easter basket. So far, there are three eggs inside. Does anyone remember what is in the egg from last week? (Allow a child who was present to answer.) That’s right, Goldfish crackers. These fish are a reminder that when we feel lonely and distant from God and don’t live the way God wants us to, we will feel empty. Except, it won’t be our stomachs, but our hearts that are empty.

Each week during Lent, I will bring with me a plastic Easter egg with something inside to help us remember our Bible lesson throughout the week. Let’s see what is in the egg today. (Create some excitement as you open the plastic egg.)

Today, I have some small socks (or other clothing item) to remind us about what made Jesus angry. All of us need clothes, food, and other necessities. But we also need a strong prayer life and relationship with God. Church should be a place for us to worship God and learn how our lives can be different when we choose to follow Jesus. These socks also remind us this week to pray for those who don’t have clothing to keep them warm. Some people can’t afford to go into a shopping mall to purchase clothes. As you place coins in your Lenten coin jar this week, pray for those people.

Jesus showed us that all of us get angry. But Jesus also teaches us that with God’s help, we can turn those feelings of anger into feelings that will help solve our problems. The next time you get upset and find yourself angry, ask God to help you to turn those feelings of anger into finding a way to fix the problem.

I want to teach you a breath prayer this morning. We can use this prayer to close our time together, but you can also use it when you find yourself feeling upset or angry. Take a deep breath in (inhale). As you breathe in say to yourself, “IN.” This breathing in will remind us that we need to take in God’s peace. It reminds us that the peace of God will give us the strength to overcome the problem that made us upset. Then exhale, blowing out the breath. As you do this, say to yourself, “Out.” The releasing of the breath reminds us that we are removing the “bad” things that make us angry and distract us from worshiping God. In = Good; out = Bad. In = of God; out = not of God. Let’s pray.