Imagine this: You walk into your house, and it’s a mess—stuff everywhere, junk piled up, and you can’t even find a place to sit. OK, if you’re like me, that’s not a hard thing to imagine. It started out with good intentions, but somewhere along the line, clutter started piling up. Now imagine that’s your heart. We’ve all got some clutter in there—worry, bitterness, maybe a little pride sneaking around like a thief. That’s where Jesus steps in, just like He did in Matthew chapter 21, as a part of His journey to the cross. Are you ready to clear the clutter?
Jesus walks into the temple, His Father’s house, and what does He see? Not worship, not prayer, but a marketplace—money changers, merchants, turning a sacred space into a swap meet. I’m sure it started out with good intentions, but over time the clutter started piling up.
So, Jesus starts driving out the sheep, the cattle, scattering coins, flipping tables. It’s a dramatic scene! He’s not mad at the people; He’s zealous for what’s been lost—a true encounter with God. Then Jesus says Matthen chapter 21 verse 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
The temple was meant to be a house of prayer, but it had been robbed of its purpose. Sound familiar? Sometimes our hearts get crowded with things that don’t belong, blocking us from God’s purpose. Here’s the truth: Jesus clears the clutter to restore us. Just like He cleansed the temple, He wants to cleanse our temple—our heart.
What are the "robbers" in our hearts that are stealing our peace and blocking our connection with God’s purpose? Maybe it’s worry, constantly nagging at us. Maybe it's guilt from past mistakes that we just can't seem to shake. Perhaps it's the endless scrolling on our phones, the pursuit of things that ultimately don't satisfy. These things become the money changers and livestock in our inner temple.
Confession is our way of saying, ‘Jesus, come in, flip the tables, drive clutter out!’ He sees the robbers in our heart, and He’s ready to make space for what matters—peace, joy, connection with Him and His purpose.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had moments where I thought, ‘I’ll just handle this mess myself.’ Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work! And Jesus doesn’t just tidy up—He transforms. In Psalm 51:10, David prays, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God.’ That’s what Jesus does—He sweeps out the junk and restores us to who we’re meant to be. So, the takeaway? Let Jesus in to clear the clutter, because a clean heart is where we meet God. There might be some good intentions that Jesus needs to clean and that might be painful.
And Jesus didn’t just clear the temple; He pointed to something bigger—His death and resurrection. He cleanses us from sin, He flips the tables on death, and offers us rest in Him. He said in Matthew 11:29, ‘Take my yoke upon you… and you will find rest for your souls.’
Jesus clears the clutter to restore us. So, let’s take this into our prayer time today and into the rest of Holy Week. Pray for hearts—yours, mine, others’—to be open to God’s cleansing and renewal. Ask Him to drive out the robbers and restore that true encounter with Him. I know you’ve seen God move mountains in prayer before; let’s trust Him to move the mess in us too!