“My
house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” Mk: 11:17
After his glorious entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus
Christ entered the Temple of God and went into the court of the gentiles. This
was the part of the Temple where the gentiles were confined to. This area had become
a “marketplace”, and people used it
as a short cut to cross the Temple courts to get where they wanted to go.
It was here in the gentile court that shops and animal pens,
which stank of dung, had been set for the selling of animals which were to be
used in the sacrifices that were to be offered at the Temple, also money
changers had set up tables to exchange real currency for “Temple coinage” which had no value outside of the Temple complex.
This Temple coinage was to be used in the purchase of the animals, the exchange
rate was very disproportion in favor of the money changers.
The
Zeal of the Lord’s House
The abuses of the religious system and exploitation of
the common people all for the profit and gain of the religious leaders and
their business allies ,the unsavory lot persons
which always abound where such
enterprises are being conducted and the
stench and filth of the penned animals causes a holy anger to rise within Jesus.
Jesus is moved by a holy zeal. Jesus then acts and
boldly confronting the money changers, Jesus overturned their tables and
scattering them drove out the “merchandisers”
scattering them from the Temple and put an end to persons using the Temple as a
short cut to get where they wanted to go.
“On
reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those
who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money
changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow
anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Mk: 11:15-16
The
Court Stank
This part of the Temple, the court of the gentiles,
was the place where non-Jews were given very limited access to participation of
the Worship of God. It was in this court
that the religious leaders in conjunction with money changers set their tables
and booths to exchange money and to sell animals. The presence of the animals
with this area would have created a lot of filth and a bad stench. This would
have kept some persons out of the Temple all together and cosigned the
non-Jewish worshippers to a rather unpleasant experiences and discouraged many
to stay away all together.
This
why Jesus declared in his sermon that he preached there that the worship of the
true God, that the Temple at Jerusalem was to symbolize was intended to include
people from all nation. None were to be kept out.
“And
as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a
house of prayer for all nations’?
(17a)
The type of legalist application of the Covenant
quite literally stank and keeps people out and away from the worship of God.
Legalism stinks and keeps people away.
The Religious
leaders had exploited the Covenant which God had formed with Israel and used it
to make themselves rich at the expense of the people and the virtual exclusion
of non-Jews who wanted to worship God.
“But
you have made it ‘a den of robbers” (17b)
Jesus,
in overturning the tables, was acting out why he, as the Messiah, had
come. Jesus had come to overturn the
tables of the Covenant. Jesus had come to do away with religion, which limited
the access to God and bring relationship.
The Religious
leaders had developed an “exclusive”
merchandising mind set, this “exclusivism”
kept some of the people confined in the court of the gentiles did not have
access to the court of the Priest or the Sanctuary and ultimately the Holy of
Holies, these areas belong only to the people of Israel and the religious
leaders which was reserved only to them
Jesus proclaimed powerfully by word and action and end
to that system and it’s purging. Now
through the work of Jesus all peoples from all nations could offer the
sacrifice of prayer and participate in the worship of the Great God as priest of God under the New Covenant of
Grace.
Not
a Short Cut
Jesus also shut down the uses of the Temple as a short
cut for those who wanted to get where they wanted to go and sealing their
merchandise as they went it was no longer a means for their self- advancement.
“and would not
allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts” (16)
In
Our Temple Courts
St. Paul tells us that we, the Church, Christians, are
the Temple of God.
“we
are all the Temple of God”1Crth:3:16
Do we Christians
find the same “merchandizing” attitude
in the Temple courts of our own lives, individually and collectively? Do we each and have a “money changer” attitude? Are we using the Temple Court of the
Church as means to get to where we want to go, socially finically for our own
gain and advancement? Do we each and all have a legalist “religion” that stinks and keeps some out of and excludes them from
the worship of God? Do we have an unequal exchange rate, that is, what we give
in return is useless coinage?
Jesus has come to drive out the “merchandizing” attitude in our own lives.
As we are all are the Temple of God Jesus Christ has
entered all our lives and has turns over the tables of our lives all to ride us
of system which cannot even when bring us real transformation and salvation.
Jesus rather drives out the “merchandiser” attitude, the “getting
attitude” in each one of us. We need
to let go of the old ways and become priest of God to offer the sacrifice of prayer,
to be a house of prayer so that no one need be excluded out in the court of the
gentiles all are welcome in the Lord’s house.
Jesus has entered in and turned over our tables so that
we can be house of prayer for all nations.
Benediction:
May each and all fully be that Temple where God is worshiped without “money changers” a house of prayer for
all nations today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen .
The Fountain of Life Church, a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike
Washington, Pa. 15314
www.gcfountaionoflie.org
If It is Not About Jesus, It is Not About Anything
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