During the time of Passover, the Israelites were supposed to rid themselves and their houses of anything containing leaven, this is because leaven was symbolic of sin and Passover was symbolic of their deliverance from sin.
This is what makes the story of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple so interesting. He cleanses the temple of the sinful practices going on within it.
This story can be found in all four gospels, but the one I was reading this morning is John 2:13-22.
Here we see Jesus in an unusual state, when he sees the marketplace in the temple, he is essentially seeing indulgences being sold, many of the animals were not fit to sacrifice.
On top of this, it was commanded by God through Moses that the people must raise the sacrifice as a pet to ensure there was an emotional bonding to the lamb, thus illustrating more keenly the pain of transgression when the lamb was slain.
When Jesus sees this abomination taking place, he erupts into righteous indignation and drives them all out of the temple in a rather dramatic scene wielding a make-shift whip and turning over tables.
This got me thinking about us, when we first accept Jesus, we usually have plenty of money-changers and illegal commerce going on in our hearts too. This is where he starts his work, just like when he delivered them from Egypt they purged the leaven from their homes, so too, when he delivers us from sin, he purges sin from our heart.
Just like Jesus cleansing the temple, It can be a painful process, but it is a liberating one for all who accept it.
To strengthen this link even further, it is important to recognise that the Bible states that our bodies are the temple of hype Holy Spirit.
Let us ask Jesus today to enter into our temple and evict any remnants of our old life that may be there.