Preface for Pastors and Parents
For the third Sunday of Lent I bring you a children’s sermon on John 2:13-22. As I noted in my Monday meditation on this text, I think its odd for the lectionary to jump to John for the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. Year B is focused on Mark, and Mark has a perfectly fine version of the story. Mark even places the events in Holy Week, making it a bit more obviously Lenten.
But, as Tennyson might have put it, mine is not to reason why; mine is but to write a children’s sermon on the lectionary gospel.
But John’s version has interesting details you don’t see in the others. The challenge here, as with many passages of the Gospels, is finding something to focus on that is really kid-friendly, or which would be useful to a kid hearing this story for the first time.
It is not a passage where you say, “Go and do likewise!” I tremble to imagine kids hearing about Jesus braiding himself a whip and driving out the merchants and money changers. Will they go to coffee hour and tip over the tables for the bake sale and the fair trade coffee program?
I think there is some wiggle room for storytelling if I imagine the conversations that must have taken place between Jesus and the merchants. And it doesn’t say Jesus actually used his homemade whip on anybody. Hmm… Let’s see what transpires in my children’s sermon on John 2:13-22.
A Children’s Sermon on John 2:13-22
Good morning kids! I am so happy to see you. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.
Today is the third Sunday of Lent. Lent is the forty days (not counting Sundays) that we spend getting ready for the most important days of the Christian year: Good Friday, when Jesus went to the cross to die, and Easter Sunday when Jesus came alive again to give us new life.
Our story from the gospel this morning comes from very early in Jesus’ ministry. He got baptized by John, Then he spent forty days in the wilderness. And then he started gathering friends to be with him as he traveled around teaching about the Kingdom of God. Then we get today’s story.
Going to Jerusalem
When it was getting to be springtime, Jesus said to his friends, “Hey it’s almost time for Passover! Let’s go up to Jerusalem!”
Passover is the biggest holiday of the year for the Jews. Lots of people went to Jerusalem at Passover.
Peter said, “But it’s such a long walk to Jerusalem! How about we stay home? You can come to have Passover with my family.”
“Thanks, Peter,” said Jesus, “but I really want to be in Jerusalem. I just love going to the Temple. I think of it as my Father’s house, you know.”
“Oh, okay,” said Peter. “What’s it like being in, um, your father’s house. I’ve never been there.”
“You haven’t?” asked Jesus. “I’ve been going there since I was a kid. It’s so great. So peaceful. It’s the perfect place to pray. You’ll be amazed how close to God you feel there.”
So Jesus and his friends packed their things and headed to Jerusalem.
Outside the Temple
As Jesus and his friends walked up the stairs to the big front doors of the Temple, Jesus was telling them all about being there as a kid.
“It was so great!” he said. “It was so quiet—perfect for praying and studying.”
“Studying?” asked Peter.
“Yeah,” said Jesus. “There is a place off to one side where the rabbis come to study the big Bible scrolls. People come to ask them questions, and they study, and talk, and figure out the answers. And the whole place has this great smell! They burn special incense that you can only use in God’s Temple.”
Right about then they were at the doors.
“Here we are!” said Jesus. “Let’s go in and you’ll see for yourselves.”
So they pulled open the big wooden doors. They stepped inside. It was really noisy.
Surprises Inside
“Um, Jesus?” said Peter. “This doesn’t smell like incense. It smells like cow poop.”
“Yeah,” said Nathaniel. “Definitely cow poop. And sheep. This smells like our barn back home.”
“What?” said Jesus. “Let me see.” And he sniffed in a big sniff of air. “You’re right,” he said. “What’s up with that?”
“What did you say?” asked Peter. “I can’t hear you over all this noise.”
“Yeah,” shouted Thomas. “I can’t believe you said this was a great place to pray. I can’t believe how loud it is. Sounds like a marketplace.”
“What’s going on here?” asked Jesus. And they stepped into the big central courtyard. Jesus looked around.
“I see why it smells like a barnyard,” he said. “Those guys over there are selling cattle and sheep.”
Peter said, “It looks like they sell everything people need for the sacrifices and offerings.”
“What’s that jingling sound?” asked Jesus. “Sounds like coins.”
“I think those are money changers,” said Matthew. (He used to be a tax collector, so he knew about money.) “People bring money from their home countries. They have to exchange it for the local money to use it here.”
“Sounds very convenient,” said Jesus, “but its not the way it’s supposed to be. Come with me.” And Jesus led them back out the door.
Back Outside
“Any of you have rope belts?” Jesus asked.
Several of them did.
“Can I use them please?” he asked. So Jesus took all their rope belts and he sat down. He started braiding the rope belts together.
“What are you doing?” said Peter. “Are you making something?”
“Two things,” said Jesus. “I’m making a plan. And I’m making a whip.”
“A whip?” asked Peter “Like a cowboy?”
“Yep,” said Jesus. “Like a cowboy. To drive cattle.”
“This is going to be very interesting,” said Thomas.
When Jesus finished his whip, he led his friends back into the Temple.
The Animal Sellers
Jesus walked up to the people who were selling sheep and cattle.
“Hi there. My name is Jesus,” he said. “This here’s my Father’s house. I’d like to see your permit to sell animals in here.”
“I have mine,” said one seller. “It’s right here in my basket.”
He looked around and pulled out a piece of paper. “There you go. See? It’s all in order.”
“But this isn’t signed by my Father,” said Jesus. “I’m afraid you need my Father’s permission to sell anything here. Looks like you’ll need to pack up and go.”
“But—,” sputtered the animal sellers.
“We need this space cleared right away,” said Jesus. “There are people who need to pray here.”
“But—,” they sputtered.
“I’ll help,” said Jesus, pulling out his whip. “You just pick up your baskets and things and follow me”
“But—,” they sputtered.
And with that Jesus called out “Hey cows! Hey sheep!” He cracked his whip so it made a sharp bang that startled the animals.
“This way! Let’s move! Giddy-up!” he said. He cracked his whip again, and guided the animals out the door and down the steps. Their owners were running after them carrying their baskets.
The Money Changers
Then Jesus went back into the temple. He was still wrapping his whip into a little circle when he got to the money changers’ tables.
“Oh no!” they whimpered. “He’s going to whip us!”
“No, of course not,” he said. “But I do need to see your papers. I’m Jesus, and this is my Father’s house. Do you have a permit to run a business in here?”
Just like before, they showed Jesus their papers.
“Oh dear, oh dear,” said Jesus, “these papers weren’t issued by my Father. Who gave you these?”
“The people who run the place,” said one money changer. “Were we supposed to ask someone else?”
“Oh yes,” said Jesus. “Definitely. You have to ask my Father. It’s his house, you know. You need his signature.”
“Um…” said another money changer, “who is your Father?”
“God,” said Jesus. “If you don’t have God’s permission, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”
“Well, could you ask him for me?” said that second money changer. “This is a really good business.”
“Sorry,” Jesus said. “My Father says this is supposed to be a place of prayer. You’ll have to set up your business somewhere else.”
“Oh come on!” said the first money changer. “There’s no way to get God’s signature on that form. And you can’t make us leave.”
“I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way,” said Jesus. And he grabbed the edge of the money changer’s table and he tipped it right over. Then he went and did the same thing to all the other tables.
Afterward
Pretty quickly everyone who was selling anything packed up their things and left.
Jesus looked around with a smile and said, “Ah… It’s a lot quieter here now. Seems like a lot better place to pray.”
“Yeah,” said Peter. “And it smells better too.”
Wondering
I wonder how it happened that people turned the Temple into a kind of marketplace?
I wonder how the disciples felt seeing Jesus drive out the cattle and turn over the tables?
I wonder if you know of any special places where you can go to be quiet and pray?
++++++++++++
You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please do one (or more!) of the following.
- You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above.
- You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.
- You can support my work over on Patreon. (Just $1 per month brings my children’s sermons straight to your inbox about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)
Leave a Reply