We begin our time together for Holy Week by looking at the cleansing of the Temple. This is an interesting story, and also one that can be a danger to us. We see Jesus flip tables and make a whip. It is tempting for us to run first to “that” Jesus. If we are going to be honest, very few of us have the spiritual maturity to run to flip tables. I know that I don’t. But what is actually happening here? We’ll take a few minutes to talk about what the cleansing of the Temple is really about, and how this affects our prayer.

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As we begin Holy Week, we take time to reflect each day on the key moments in Jesus’ final days before the cross. While days like Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are rich with meaning and tradition, the earlier days—Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday—often go unnoticed. Yet, the events of Holy Monday are powerful and significant, revealing deep truths about Jesus’ mission and heart.

On Holy Monday, two primary events are recorded in the Gospels: the cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree. Today, we focus on Jesus cleansing the temple, as recorded in Matthew 21:12–17.

“Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying… He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves… ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ he said, ‘but you are making it a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:12–13)

This moment has often been misunderstood or misapplied. We are quick to picture Jesus flipping tables and driving people out with righteous anger, which can give us license to act with similar intensity when we feel morally justified. But as author and podcaster Phil Vischer once said, most of us are not spiritually mature enough to be the table-flipping Jesus. We often lack the grace and restraint that accompanied his passion.

What Jesus was confronting was not simple wrongdoing—it was a deeply unjust system that had corrupted the very purpose of the temple. Worshipers traveled from far and wide to offer sacrifices, but many couldn’t bring animals with them. Upon arrival, they were required to exchange their Roman currency (which bore the image of Caesar, considered a god by the Romans) for temple currency. Then, with that temple money, they had to purchase sacrificial animals—often at inflated prices and of poor quality.

This system, intended to facilitate worship, had become a barrier. It exploited the poor and made it harder, not easier, for people to connect with God. Jesus’ righteous anger wasn’t about personal offense; it was about access to prayer being obstructed.

“My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”

Jesus wasn’t just cleansing the temple. He was making a way for people to come and pray. And that brings us to the heart of Holy Monday.

Two Questions for Reflection

1. Am I creating barriers that prevent others from encountering God?
   As individuals, and especially as the church, we must ask ourselves whether our words, actions, or systems are making it harder for people to pray, worship, and find a relationship with Christ. Are we welcoming the marginalized, the hurting, the overlooked? Or do our preferences, pride, or assumptions quietly exclude them?
2. What barriers exist in my own life that hinder my prayer life?
   Sometimes we allow distractions, guilt, shame, or simply busyness to become obstacles between us and God. Are these barriers external—placed there by others—or internal, of our own making? Either way, Holy Monday reminds us that Jesus came to remove these obstacles. He desires us to come freely and confidently into the presence of God.

The Invitation of Holy Monday

As Holy Week begins, Jesus is not flipping tables in anger for the sake of spectacle. He’s fighting for access—for the hurting, the poor, the hungry, and the spiritually thirsty to find their way to God. And he’s doing the same today.

Let Holy Monday be a reminder to examine our hearts. Let us ask: Are we helping clear the way for others to pray? Are we removing distractions and idols from our own lives? Jesus’ actions call us to clear the clutter—externally and internally—and return to the simple, profound act of communion with God.

Let this Holy Week be a time of deep prayer, reflection, and welcome. Jesus has made a way. Let’s walk in it.