“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.”
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On this Holy Monday, we see a Jesus not always depicted in Sunday School—not meek and mild, not quietly teaching on a hillside, but righteous, fiery, and uncompromising in His holiness. The Messiah enters His Father’s house not as a visitor, but as its rightful Owner. But what does He find? Corruption.

The money changers and merchants alone were not the problem, but they had become corrupt by overcharging and taking advantage of the faithful. A place that was meant to be the holiest had become defiled.

In righteous anger, Christ throws them out and flips their tables. He quotes Isaiah 56:7: “My house shall be called a house of prayer”—and with it, condemns the religious leaders who had allowed and profited from the desecration of the temple.

Let this be a lesson to us: not to allow the corrupt practices of the world into our lives, which are meant to be set apart in Him. As 1 Peter chapter 1 says: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (verses 15–16).

Jesus’ example to us is also one of righteous anger—to “be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). Our hearts should feel sadness, pain, and yes—even anger—when we see things that are holy being corrupted to suit the will of men.

Lastly, as we move through this Holy Week and consider each day of Jesus’ journey to the cross, may we remember that even in His final days before His death and resurrection—and knowing full well what He was about to suffer—He remained faithful to His calling. He put first the spiritual and physical well-being of His followers.

Let us take this to heart as we live our lives in Him, with that same calling: to be holy as He is holy, and to put first His Kingdom.