It is interesting that pretty much every year during the period of Lent we are presented with this story of Jesus taking a whip to the Money Changers in the Temple in Jerusalem. I am not sure about you, but I don’t find it easy to hold on to this image, as it is totally at odds with the meek and mild portrayal of Jesus that we are used to.

Though cleansing of the temple is the common title that has been given to this passage, I do not believe that is all that is going on here. Whenever we think of cleansing it implies that something has been cleaned up or changed in some way. But, in John’s depiction, Jesus doesn’t appear interested in cleaning up the market system in the Temple but more in highlighting a situation to the authorities who either no longer saw or, more likely, were protecting the powerful by simply choosing not to see.

We have to wonder how it was that Jesus saw what no one else wanted to. How could His perception have been so radically different to the Temple authorities whose role it was to serve God? They should have been setting the standards which others followed instead of turning a blind eye to it. This was one of the reasons why Jesus made the decision to act with such forthright certainty to make right that which He saw was so clearly wrong. Of course we know that the Temple held precious memories for Jesus. It was the destination where every Jewish child knew that they would make at least one pilgrimage in their lifetimes. It was the place where He had become so involved in conversation with the teachers when He was a small child that his parents lost track of him and were frantic with worry until they found Him again. For Jesus was unlike any who had come before - this was His spiritual home before any other home, for He understood it to be His Father's house. So perhaps it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus would show His outrage at what was going on there. It had now become, for some at least, a place to sell animals and undertake business transactions. The sellers sold the animals which were then sacrificed in accordance with tradition. Of course, the size of the animal would depend on how rich you were. The money changers were needed because neither the animal offerings nor the temple tax could be paid for with the Roman currency because it had the Roman Emperor’s image depicted on it. Because he claimed to be a God, it was considered to be a graven image, and so the money changers provided a currency exchange service. There appears to be nothing wrong with that on the face of it, but of course commercial exploitation has been around for millennia. The money changers had been given a free rein and had increased the surcharge for exchanging money into currency to such an extent that the poor were not able to afford to encounter God in the Temple. This was entirely contrary to God's intent, and Jesus saw all of this as standing in the way of it being the holy place it was meant to be. So, is it any wonder that when Jesus enters the Temple and comes face to face with this blatant corruption that He saw red and lost his temper, throwing the money changers and those selling sacrificial animals into chaos. So, when I sat and reflected on this story, it prompted me to ask the question of what do we need to do to develop the eyes of Jesus? How can we gain sight or the insight which is not content with us turning away or ignoring that which could get in the way of others encountering Jesus? How do we gain the courage or the will to see what is needed to reach out and inspire those around us?

Well perhaps one of the ways for us to achieve this is that when we start to return to normality over the weeks and months ahead, is for us to take a look around us with fresh eyes at what we see and experience in our churches. Whilst we may or may not actually have the 'eyes of Jesus,' it should not stop us looking at ways in which we can improve both our own experience and that of others in becoming closer to God. Because after all it is our call to make and maybe in doing so, we will be like Jesus and see ourselves, our church, and our relationship with God in new ways. 

Nigel Hughes