John 2-Drawing the Line

Jesus always has and always does know where to draw the line. I don’t. I walk into church each Sunday and often don’t question what is happening around me. I pour myself a cup of coffee from the provided push pots, visit with fellow attendees, find my seat and join in the first worship song as it begins. What I don’t usually notice is what is, or is not, happening that Jesus would disapprove of.

Read John 2:12-19. In this passage Jesus has absolutely no tolerance for the “business” taking place in the synagogue. Israelites were traveling from all over to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, particularly at Passover. Corrupt priests would tell pilgrims their sacrifice was unclean and sell a healthy, unblemished animal at an exorbitant price. Furthermore, these pilgrims would have to exchange their foreign currency to buy the animals. The moneychangers would charge outrageous exchange rates, therefore gauging them even more. The biggest problem here: abusing the worshippers for selfish gain. The people had needs and were being taken advantage of in the synagogue!

I have to ask myself if anyone was questioning these practices before Jesus came in. Was there anyone who noticed or knew better and was trying to get it to stop? Did anyone outside the priests have a voice that would make a difference? Did anyone even try?

Culture has changed so much since the days when Jesus was physically on Earth. In 30 odd years I have never seen anyone selling a dove or any other foul in the sanctuary or for that matter in the building. But I have to ask myself what is the modern day equivalent? Are there abuses happening around us at church? Do we dare try to recognize what they are?

It would be easy here to start pointing fingers at all kinds of practices happening in our churches, most of which are probably biblical. Jesus was not mad that the priests were making animals available, He was mad because they were doing it for their own selfish gain. I dare not give an example here what this could look like for your church. But I challenge you to start thinking about it.

Is there anything in your church, church community or personal life that you know is beyond the line Jesus has drawn? Are we ever making excuses for selling things in the church in the name of ministry, or comfort? Are there business deals taking place that abuse relationships within the church body? What about when we only do business with other Christians? Are we shutting out outside business and witnessing opportunities?

Take a moment this week to really look at your church service and community to examine whether anything seems to not fit with what Jesus has in mind for us. Is there something you can do about it? Are you willing? Do you know what the line looks like? What would it take for you to find out?

Lord, give us eyes to see and hearts to understand your design for the Church. May we recognize activities that are out of order and have the courage to voice it with compassion and grace.