When Jesus Made a Whip

Inclusion, Abundance, and God's Goals for Us

Third Sunday of Lent: John 2:13-22

I was about eight years old, my slightly tattered, bonded leather King James Bible tucked tightly under one arm, and I was shopping in church. Now I’m not referring to just a bookstore like you sometimes find in larger churches, maybe a few bibles or prayer books, or where you can conveniently grab a copy of the books for a book study, no this was a large, brightly light affair with everything from tshirts bearing the catchphrases of the tv-star minister, to solid gold reproductions in rings and necklaces of the organization’s logo. People traveled from all over the country at one time to fill this almost stadium-sized auditorium and the church made good money off these events. I have to wonder what would have happened if Jesus had walked into one of these gatherings in the flesh as he did that spring in Jerusalem when what he saw disturbed him so that he went outside and made a whip. 

The cleansing of the temple is a colorful and dramatic little narra…