Jesus
arrived in Jerusalem for a feast called Passover and went to the Temple. There
he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, which the people used as
offerings to God. There were also many money-changers, so that pilgrims from
different lands could change their money and buy the offerings.
Why
do you think that seeing all this made Jesus angry?
The
Temple is a place of prayer and yet the money changers and stallholders made it
into a place of business. They were charging a high price for their services, which
was not fair on those people who did not have much money but still wished to
worship God.
Jesus
made a whip and drove them all out of the Temple. How do you think all the
people felt when they saw this?
Jesus
was standing up for what he believed in. He saw something that he did not think
was fair or right and so he acted to change the situation.
Can
you think of some things that you have seen that are unfair or which are not
right?
For
example have you seen people being unkind to others or not treating other
people as they should? What did you do about it?