4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
This psalm tells us to remember God's goodness and dependability, and then to worship with thanksgiving and praise! God alone is worthy of being worshiped. What is your attitude toward worship? Do you willingly and joyfully come into God's presence, or are you just going through the motions, reluctantly going to church? Verse and commentary above is copied from the Life Application Study Bible Reading Plan on YouVersion. Check it out at http://www.youversion.com/ .
Any Dr JOE comments will be in BLUE :0)
John 2:13-22
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!"17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."t
18 The Jews then responded to him, "What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
20 They replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
This is an example of "righteous indignation", that is, justified anger. People needed animals to make proper sacrifice for forgiveness of their sins in the Jewish tradition. The money changers were cheating people and taking advantage of the poor. They had no regard for the seriousness of sin and the need for God's forgiveness. What was it about Jesus that kept these people from just grabbing Him and knocking Him out? He was just one man and He was destroying their livelihood. Even the religious leaders who had temple guards at their disposal didn't stop Him. He must have been supernaturally scary, or God's power prevented anyone from interfering in what was a very clear statement of God's message. Jesus would become the sacrificial lamb, free to all who ask, yet the price is your whole life - everything. Even today people are taken advantage of in the name of church and God. Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of Jesus' anger. |
