Jesus at Passover

Written By Kaitlin Miniutti

(John 2)

October 25, 2026

Sunday Recap

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Sunday Recap •

Hey Fams!

Jesus’ cleaning of the temple reveals His holiness as the Messiah and His willingness to take on our sin so that we, too, may be cleansed. In this passage, Jesus demonstrated His desire to honor His Father and do His will—a foretaste of the lengths He would go to cleanse us of our sin when we trust Him by faith.

Jesus confronted the immorality taking place in His Father’s house; however, He was not reacting rashly. Scripture tells us He took time to fashion a whip out of cords. Imagine Jesus weaving each cord while He pondered the holiness of His Father in heaven. Christ displayed His authority as the Son of God as He fulfilled the Passover tradition of cleansing one’s home of leaven.

God’s temple was to be a place of worship and prayer, not a marketplace for people to turn a profit. As the disciples witnessed the scene unfolding before them, they recalled the words of Psalm 69:9, that zeal for the house of God would consume the Messiah. They watched Him cast off the sinful social norms of their day as He fulfilled the will of the everlasting Father.

When the Jews questioned Jesus’ authority in the temple, He responded with these prophetic words: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” They failed, however, to realize that He wasn’t speaking about the structure in which they stood; rather, He declared that though His body would soon be destroyed on the cross, He would rise again after three days’ time.

Pray that the children you teach will recognize the holiness of God and the willingness of His Son to take on the punishment we deserve for our sins. Lead them to see that Christ has already borne our shame on the cross and completed the work needed to secure our salvation. May they turn to Him to be cleansed of their sin.

***Next Week: Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3)

Family Discipleship Plan

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Family Discipleship Plan •

  • Read John 2:13-25 from the Bible.

  • Have you ever had a messy room that needed a serious clean-up? Maybe toys were everywhere, dirty clothes were on the floor, and snack wrappers were hiding under the bed. Sometimes, a room gets so messy that it takes energy and focus to clean it up and make it right again.

    That’s kind of like what Jesus saw when He went to the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was supposed to be a holy place where people came to worship God, pray, and bring offerings. But when Jesus arrived, He saw people buying and selling animals, cheating others for money, and treating the temple like a marketplace.

    Jesus was filled with righteous anger—not because He hated people, but because He loved God’s house. He flipped tables, cleared out the sellers, and said, “My house will be called a house of prayer!”

    This story shows us that Jesus cares deeply about how we treat places meant for worship—and even more, how we treat our own hearts. The Bible says that now, our hearts are like temples, places where God’s Spirit lives when we trust in Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19). He wants to clean out anything in us that doesn’t belong—like selfishness, dishonesty, or unkindness—and fill us with His love and truth.

    Jesus showed His desire to honor God by cleansing the temple of sinful practices.

    All sin offends God’s glory and will be punished. Jesus took the punishment our sin deserves so that anyone who trusts in Him will be cleansed of sin.

    Pray: Jesus, help us love what You love. Make our hearts clean so we can worship You with joy and honesty. Amen.

  • Preschool:
    ”He was revealed to take away sins, and there is no sin in him.”
    1 John 3:5

    1st-5th:
    ”But you know that Christ came to take our sins away. And there is no sin in him.”
    1 John 3:5 (NIRV)

  • Mornings

    Ask Jesus to help you live with a pure heart today—free from selfishness, distractions, or anything that doesn’t honor Him. Pray for a heart that’s ready to worship, listen, and obey.

    Evenings

    Thank Jesus for showing you what matters most to Him. Ask Him to reveal anything in your heart that needs to be cleaned out so you can grow closer to Him.

  • For Fun

    Choose a room in your home that needs tidying up, like the living room or a playroom. Set a timer for 10–15 minutes and have a fun “clean-up race” as a family. Play worship music while you clean. When you’re done, sit together and read Matthew 21:12–13. Talk about how Jesus cleansed the temple of all the things that distracted people from honoring God and how He wants to do the same in our hearts so we can focus on loving and honoring God.

    To Serve

    Volunteer as a family to deep clean a designated space in your church, like the nursery, the kitchen, or storage closets. Make sure toys are clean, clutter is organized, and spaces are free from distractions, so people are free to worship God and make ministry happen in those spaces. Talk about how important it was to Jesus—and how important it is for us—to have space where we can focus on God and worship Him for His goodness.

Kaitlin Miniutti
Next

Jesus’ First Miracle