Jesus Cleanses the Temple Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free Jesus cleanses the temple Sunday school lesson teaches kids that God's house is for worshipping God. At passover time Jesus found people selling oxen, sheep and doves in the temple, and the changers of money sitting there. He drove them all out, poured out the money, overthrew the tables and said, "make not my Father's house an house of merchandise" (John 2:13–16). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: an animal-sounds game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a short memory verse ("make not my Father's house an house of merchandise") with motions, and a drawing activity.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: the What Is It For? game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, the Clear the Table memory verse game with six paper coins, and an Out of the Temple review game.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a That Doesn't Belong! game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (the passover, the scourge of small cords, "my Father's house" in John 2:16, Psalm 69:9), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read John 2:13–17 out loud themselves, then look closer at the disciples remembering Scripture, "the temple of his body" (John 2:18–22) and "ye are the temple of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (John 2:16 and 2:17).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: John 2:13–17
• Main point: God's house is for worshipping God. We honor God's house.
• Memory verse: John 2:16 (KJV), with John 2:17 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about what things and places are for.
2. Bible story: the passover in Jerusalem (John 2:13), the oxen, sheep, doves and changers of money in the temple (2:14), the scourge of small cords, the money poured out and the tables overthrown (2:15), "my Father's house" (2:16) and the zeal of God's house (2:17). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn John 2:16.
5. What this means for us: honoring God's house, coming to worship, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the Jesus cleanses the temple craft, an animal review game, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching Jesus cleansing the temple

• Read John 2:16 straight from your Bible. It is the heart of the story: God's house is not "an house of merchandise."
• The Bible says Jesus "drove them all out" (John 2:15). It doesn't say He hit anyone, so the lessons don't either. Each level has a short teacher note.
• Explain the old words as you go: hence, merchandise, overthrew, scourge, zeal. Every level explains them in plain words.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.