Kamp Kids Book of John StudySample

Does Jesus ever get upset? In these verses you will see He does. It was Passover time. Passover was a time when the Israelites celebrated what God had done for them in Egypt. On the very first “Passover,” Pharaoh would not listen to God. God had told Pharaoh repeatedly to “let His people go.” Pharaoh was enslaving the Israelites and mistreating God’s people. God had sent many plagues to Pharaoh to show Him His power and to deliver His people from Egypt, but Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. So God sent the final plague—the plague of the “First Born.” (Exodus 11-12)

Every first born male in every family would die when God’s Spirit passed over their house. This included animals, too. The ONLY WAY that the first born sons would be safe, is if the people killed an innocent lamb and put the blood of the lamb over their doors that night. At midnight, God’s spirit went through Egypt and it killed the first born son of every family. It didn’t matter if you were rich and powerful, like Pharaoh, or poor. The ONLY thing that could save you was your Faith in the Blood of the Lamb. The blood over God’s people kept their firstborn safe that night. Pharaoh was heartbroken at the death of his son and decided to FINALLY let Moses and God’s people leave Egypt. The blood had set them free. Since that day forward, God’s people have celebrated this occasion and call it “Passover,” a time when God’s spirit “passed over” their houses and saved them.

So, again, why was Jesus so upset? He was upset because people had taken God’s temple that was to be used for prayer and connection with God, to charge poor people extremely high fees for buying animals to sacrifice at Passover time. Essentially, they were taking advantage of the poor and changing the purpose of His Temple.

In verse 19, Jesus predicts His own death and resurrection. He was God’s temple on Earth—where God lived! Now, Christ calls each believer “His Temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16) This is why we must treat our bodies well and remember the purpose He created it for: to glorify Him! He is not okay with anything less.

Questions:

1. Have you trusted the blood of Jesus to save you?

2. What things are you putting in your temple this week? Prayer? Worship? Acts of service? Love? Gossip? Slander? Disrespect?