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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling
there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those
selling doves. “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.’”
Matthew 21:12-13
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In yesterday’s devotion, the first of this special Passion Week series, we saw where Jesus had entered Jerusalem to the cries of a gathered crown who were proclaiming:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest Heaven!” Matthew 21:9
If we then go to the Gospel of Mark, we learn that it was late when Jesus entered the temple courts during His first day in the holy city and so He went out to Bethany (located 1 1/2 miles east of Jerusalem) with His disciples (Mark 11:11). The next day, the second day in what is commonly referred to as Passion Week, Jesus then returned to the temple courts and what He witnessed brought on a righteous indignation as we see in this excerpt from our passage from Matthew:
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “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.’” 21:12-13
So what got Jesus so riled up?
In order to understand His actions, we need a little background for context.
First, it’s important to know that the main part of the temple where the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies existed was surrounded by four courtyards, each with limits as to who could be within them. The closest courtyard to the temple was reserved only for the priests which made sense as they were the only ones who could perform duties in the temple.
The next courtyard outside of the courtyard of the priests was the courtyard of men and outside of that was the courtyard of women. It should be noted that not all men could be in the courtyard of men nor could all women be in their designated courtyard. Rather, only those who were Israelites, male or female, whichever applied, could be within their respective, designated places.
This left one remaining courtyard, the one furthest from the temple proper. This was called the courtyard of the Gentiles and anyone could be in it even though you probably wouldn't find any Israelites hanging out there as they typically didn't associate with the Gentiles who they viewed as unclean and spiritually inferior.
We also need to know that Jesus entered Jerusalem during Passover week and the city was filled with Jews and Gentiles. The temple itself would have been packed with Israelites who had come to offer up the prescribed sacrifices and a marketplace had been set up outside the temple with two distinct transactions taking place at tables which were located within the courtyard of the Gentiles.
The first transaction involved currency exchange. Many people came to Jerusalem from points outside of the city, points that carried their own currency. That currency would need to be exchanged to do business with the temple as only sanctuary shekels would be permitted to pay the temple tribute. Like the tax collectors of that day, the money changers had a reputation for levying exorbitant fees for exchanging currency from people who often had little money to begin with. The money changers knew the people wanted to be faithful to paying the temple tribute and would dole out whatever was required to remain faithful to God and His holy place. And so they, the money changers, took advantage of the people’s desire to be obedient to the Lord.
The other transactions that took place surrounded birds and animals that people could purchase for sacrifice. The animals offered within the temple courtyard could also be bought outside the temple grounds in the city but as a matter of convenience, people would often look to make their purchases inside the Gentile courtyard. The sellers of the sacrificial birds and animals knew this and would drastically elevate their prices, sometimes as much as twice as much as people were paying elsewhere.
And so wha we find that both of these transactions within the courtyard of the Gentiles was nothing more than an exercise in sinful money grabbing, corrupting a place that was meant for devoted hearts to lift up prayers to God…and this was something that Jesus didn’t settle for.
The Gospel of John tells us that He (Jesus) “made a whip out of cords” (John 2:15) before He drove out all who were buying and selling within the courtyard of the Gentiles, overturning the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling birds and animals. It was quite a chaotic scene, one that would have immediately drawn attention and so Jesus used the moment to make a declaration about the motivation for His behavior, proclaiming:
“‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
You see, the temple courtyards were not simply social gathering places for those who would assemble there. Rather, they were to be holy places where people could go to pray and draw nearer to God, whether Jew or Gentile. Through His words, Jesus was simply upholding the very words of His Father God who said the following through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:
“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:7b
God’s house, His holy temple, had indeed become just that for it was constructed in such a way where people from all nations could pray unto Him, even the Gentiles. This is why Jesus became so incensed about the marketplace location because the special, holy place for the Gentiles had been turned into a place of commerce and a sinful one at that. The money changers and sellers had taken the "house of prayer" that God had intended the courtyard to be and made it into a “den of robbers”.
And so Jesus took a stand, showing He wouldn’t permit anything to violate the standards set in place by His Father, even though He fully knew that His actions wouldn’t be popular.
Friends, we need to follow the lead of Jesus and take our own stands for our Father God and those He loves, reinforcing His righteousness and holiness every chance we get. And while we may not find ourselves fashioning whips out of cords and driving out money changes and sellers from sacred courtyards, there are plenty of other instances when we need to be speaking out and defending the Word, will, and way of our Lord.
One thing’s for sure. The world today is trying to force God and Jesus out of every aspect of life with every chance it gets. Persecution and godlessness are on the rise, even in nations that proclaim themselves to be democratic and free, nations that even declare themselves as being “under God”. As a result, it should come as no surprise that sin is becoming increasingly rampant, acceptable, and permissible. The name of the Lord is only invoked when it is convenient and can be used to someone’s advantage to support something that isn’t of Him.
As we continue through the Holy Week and beyond, this is not the time to stay silent and be inactive. It’s time to take a stand for our God and follow the example that Jesus set.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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