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When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to commemorate the great exodus by observing the Passover, He found that the temple complex more resembled a marketplace and banking center than it did a place to offer worship to His Father (John 2:13-22). The place was filled with corrals full of livestock and kiosks for exchanging currency. With a whip that He crafted Himself, the Prince of Peace made quite a scene. He turned the animals loose and drove them out, overturned the tables of the money-changers, and told the people, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (v. 16).
Take note of the phrase “My Father’s house.” By choosing those words, Jesus staked a claim to a relationship with God – and therefore, a relationship to the temple – that others did not possess. God was “His own father” in a way that did not apply to any other (John 5:17-18). When He came to the temple court that day, He took charge of what belonged to His family. He cleaned house. His house.
Parents, let me encourage you to do the same. Take charge of the house. Take charge of the spiritual direction of your children. Take charge of the television. Take charge of the computer. Take charge of the cell phones. Take charge of what your children wear. Take charge of the spiritual tone within those walls. It’s YOUR house. If it needs to be cleaned out, do it!
Eddie Parrish
Brown Trail church of Christ
Bedford, TX