Most paintings oaf Jesus tend to be timid and serene. People plaster their homes with portrayals of Jesus holding sheep or looking like Obi-Wan-Kenobi. You don’t see many people hanging artwork of Jesus flipping tables and running people out of the temple with a whip.
Mark chapter eleven would make for an amazing painting. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem, His first stop is at the Temple. He ties His donkey to a post, marches up the crowded staircase, and swings open the doors of the church. His face turns as red as Passover wine. He’s not embarrassed; he’s angry. People had turned God’s house into a flea market. Money-hungry vendors crammed into the courts of the temple. For context, this was the public worship area that welcomed everyone — even non-Jews. Effectively, they had turned a worship space into a market place.
Drama ensues. Jesus “overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves” (11:16). Talk about a scene worthy of a painting in Hobby Lobby. People were pushing each other, freed birds were flying, and Jesus cracked a whip over their heads (John 2:15). This was not an act of rage. Rather, it was an act of righteousness. What they were doing was wrong. Jesus, with a bit of force, made it right. He wanted to protect His temple. God cares about people — not profit.
The Bible teaches that you are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit fills you; thus, God dwells within you. That means that Jesus may decide to drive some stuff out of you. It’s probably not a thriving sacrificial dove business, but it may be idolatry, lust, addiction, or greed. When you feel conviction, that’s the crack of a whip. When you experience the consequences of sin, that’s a table being flipped.
Jesus may want to chase some things out of you. Not because he’s punishing you, but because He’s protecting you.