What an amazing scene this is of Jesus getting angry and overthrowing tables in a fit of rage in the Temple. Why? Because when people came to worship God, they were met with barriers that prevented that worship. In order to get into the Temple you had to pay a temple tax, but you had to pay the tax in temple money. So you had to exchange your money for temple money and there were these moneychangers who were charging exorbitant exchange rates. You had to buy your animal for a sacrifice from the Temple and they charge far more than you could purchase an animal out on the street. This was all an injustice to Jesus. He turned over the tables. The question this raises is there anything in your life that is creating a barrier and keeping someone else from meeting God? I don’t want my life to be a stumbling block. I want it to be a stepping stone for others to meet God. I had a conversation a few weeks ago that made me sad. A person said, “I am not a Christian because the people I know who are Christians just don’t seem to be very kind.” I thought that was sad. The question is, is you life a stepping stone for God or is it a stumbling block? Ask God to take away anything in your life that may be keeping others from meeting God.
– Dr. Tim Thompson