# 35 Not In Anger, But In Purpose

Joh 2:12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"

This is the first cleansing of the temple by Jesus. The second would occur three years later during the last week of His ministry. That second cleansing is reported briefly in all the other gospels, and this cleansing here at the onset of Jesus’ ministry, is only recorded in John’s Gospel.

In this first cleansing Jesus actually makes a whip of cords, which would indicate that He used it to drive the larger animals out of the temple. Unfortunately, most artist’s conceptions of this event picture an angry Jesus lashing out at people and animals alike.

I grew up on a farm and have “driven”’ cattle and it’s not something you do in anger, you usher or guide the cattle in the direction you want them to go, typically using some kind of a rod.

Obviously, you don’t use a whip to move doves, so Jesus simply asks those who sold them to take them away with the rest of the animals.

So, this first cleansing was Jesus making a statement about His Messiaship tying it in to His ultimate sacrifice. He was in effect saying, “I am here! I am the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, you won’t be needing these any more. These animals, and subsequent money changing will no longer be necessary.”

Animals ushered out, money tables overturned, not in anger, but in painting a picture for us to see. In the first coming of Christ, animal sacrifices will no longer be needed. It is the blood of Jesus that will cleanse us from all our sins!

In the second cleansing, it is the people, (buyers and sellers) who are ushered out with this stern warning! “It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"(Luke 19:46)

In the first cleansing we have a picture of the first coming of Jesus. The blood of animals will no longer cleanse from sin. In the second cleansing, we have a picture of the second coming of Jesus. Whereby those who “buy and sell” are a picture of those who think they can “steal” their salvation with the merchandise of good works, apart from Jesus. They will be driven out on that final Day.

But those who are trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross will be saved!

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.