Cleaning Out the Temple - Bible Stories for Kids

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Cleaning Out the Temple

Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15-16; Luke 19:45

After He entered Jerusalem, Jesuswent to the holy temple. The templewas the house of God. He had called it His Father's house.

Jesus entered the temple. He wasnot happy with what He saw. Twoyears earlier, Jesus had run throughthe temple, throwing out all the loudand greedy people. Now they hadcome back.

The moneychangers forced thepeople to pay high prices for theanimals they must buy as sacrifices.Many poor people became evenpoorer whenever they went to thetemple to worship God. That was notthe way.God wanted the poor to betreated.

Jesus knew this. As he lookedaround, He was angry. "No!" He criedout. "This is My Father's house. Youcannot do this!" He ran and turnedthe moneychangers' tables over. Coinssplashed onto the ground. Peopleshrieked. They ran in every direction.Birds escaped their cages and flewfrantically out the windows. Jesuswent from corner to corner, throwingall the greedy people out.Healing 48Jesus rushed from one side of thetemple to the other. He yelled at themoneychangers, "God said that thisplace was to be a house of prayer. Youhave turned it into a robbers' den!"

When He had finished, Jesusstopped and looked around. Thetemple was empty, except for Hisfollowers and a few unhappy religiousleaders. Slowly, blind and crippledpeople entered the temple again. Theywanted Jesus to heal them. Again andagain He reached out His hand andmade sick people better.

The children who saw these things

danced around Jesus. They held ndswhile their voices rang against thetemple walls. "Hosanna to the Son ofDavid!"

Instead of a robbers' den, the

temple had become a place of joy.The only people who were not

happy about the changes in the templewere the Pharisees. "Listen to thosesilly children," they sneered andpointed.

Jesus replied, "Haven't you read thepart of Scripture which says littlechildren and babies will bring praise

to God?" Everyone who heard Himteach in the temple that day wasastonished at His wisdom.

Jesus went over to the part of thetemple called the treasury. There,people came and put money in aspecial box. It was their way of givingback to God what He had given tothem. At least that was the way it wassupposed to be. But the religiousleaders had turned the treasury into aplace where the poor became poorer.There the rich looked very holybecause they gave so much money. Itwas money they could easily dowithout.

Jesus and two of His disciples satdown and watched. They saw a poorwoman, a widow. She had hardlyanything. She did not put in greatamounts of money like the rich had.Instead she dropped two very smallcopper coins into the box. These werehardly worth a penny.

"Did you see that?" Jesus askedHisdisciples. "The truth is;11ils poorwidow put in rrrbie than all the otherpeople added together.

"They gave just a little from whatthey had left over. They gave whatthey could easily afford. She gave allthat she had left. When she gave thosetwo coins, she gave all that sheowned."

The poor woman had given out oflove. She trusted God would honorher gift. She knew He would help hercontinue on, even after she hadnothing left. She believed in God andloved Him enough to give back herlast coin. Such trust is worth than all the money in the world

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