Daily Devotional Details

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Not with weapons

“Making a whip of cords…” (John 2:15). The word cords literally means “rushes” or flowering plants often laid on a muddy floor. Jesus would have picked some up, twisted them together, and used them to drive out the animals. It is important to understand that Jesus was armed, not with weapons, but with vegetation!

Not with armies

Christ acted entirely alone. His disciples were present (John 2:17), but they were only observers. They played no active role. Leon Morris is surely right when he says, “It is clear that it was not so much the physical force as the moral power he employed that emptied the courts.”

With his glory

Jesus Christ cleansed the temple by the sheer force of his personal presence. We see other glimpses of Jesus’ glory when, for example, the people from his hometown try to push him off a cliff and he walks right past them (Luke 4:28-30), and when Malachi says, “Who can endure the day of his coming… For he is like a refiner’s fire…” (Mal. 3:2).

When Jesus comes in glory, he will overthrow all his enemies with the breath of his mouth! Think of what Jesus Christ can do if he is present in your life. Make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life and he will put the traders in their place.

Why would you not want this Jesus to be in charge of your life?