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. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” Mark 11:15-17 NIV
This is one of the rare occasions recording in the Bible, when Jesus genuinely appears to be angry. Make no mistake, Jesus was not flying off the handle, his emotions out of control. The text tells us in verse 11 that Jesus arrived the night before, went to the temple and looked around, then left. The verses above don’t occur until he came back the next day. When he flipped over the tables and benches it was an intentional act that he had all night to think about, not an off the cuff emotional response.
What was at the heart of Jesus anger? “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” There was a God ordained purpose for the temple that had been lost. It was turning into something else, something God had not intended it to be. God wanted the temple to be a place of prayer for ALL nations. Not only was it to be a place where the Israelites could come to seek the Lord, it was to be a place where all people could draw near to Him. This comes through even clearer in the original passage Jesus was quoting, Isaiah 56.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Sovereign Lord declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” Isaiah 56:6-8 NIV
So how does this apply to us? Paul teaches that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
God has ordained a similar purpose for all those redeemed by Christ. We should be people of prayer who seek God with all of our hearts, and not only that, but we should be impacting the world in such a way that those outside the fold of God are drawn in. We have the joy Isaiah talked about to give them.
When Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem he saw some things that did not belong there. He passionately overturned the tables of the money changers. They were a distraction and had no place in the temple. So what about us? What does God see when he looks inside our temples? What tables need to be overturned? What’s in our lives that’s distracting us from pursuing God with all our hearts, and keeping us from impacting those we know?
Maybe it’s time to clean up the temple and to get rid of everything that distracts from our real purpose. Or perhaps Jesus is already overturning the tables. Either way, let’s commit to be temples that are well pleasing to the Lord.