Many Jewish scholars are offended by this passage from the Gospel. By what right did Jesus attack those who were merely providing the logistics for the temple sacrifices and thus it would appear he was questioning the sacrificial rites themselves, though they were established by the mosaic law. By what right did he do these things. Contemporary Judaism of course does not do animal sacrifices any more and perhaps would not even if the temple were rebuilt. However, It is somewhat difficult to understand what the meaning of this text is, save perhaps it intends to show that for all his gentleness and kindness Jesus had a passionate and even on occasion furious side.

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  Once upon a time a high school principal discovered that someone had stolen the exam questions from her office. It had to have been the sophomores because they were the only ones whose grades shot up. She assembled all the sophomores in the gym and tore into them. I don’t know who’s more stupid she said, the one’s who stole the tests and then gave them to everyone else or the ones who use the stolen tests to improve their grades. Either way we were bound to catch you. So you’re not only sneaky and dishonest and corrupt. You’re also dumb. We’re suspending the lot of you indefinitely until we find out who stole the tests. Tell your parents not to bother to come over here and try to change my mind. I won’t talk to them. I won’t even waste my time telling them that their children are crooked and dumb. If the people who did it confess, we might not expel them, but they don’t have much time to fess  up. Then she stormed out of the gym. The sophomores slipped out in twos and threes. I agree with what she said, they admitted, but I didn’t like the way she said it.

Psalm 95:1-2,6-9

1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as at Mer'ibah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

 
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