Mark 11:15-19. 15And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19And when evening came they went out of the city.
We call it Holy Week, but for the Jews in 33 AD it was Passover Week. Jews from all over the empire will flood into Jerusalem for the celebrations and sacrifices. Hundreds of thousands of lambs will be bought, sold, and slaughtered this week.
It’s Monday morning and Jesus has left Bethany and headed back to the Temple, the bridge between God and man.
At first it was a simple tent in the wilderness known as the Tabernacle. There the priests of Israel would serve God, standing between him and man. Man’s sins would be atoned for and God would be worshipped. Celebrations took place, including the Passover celebration that memorialized the Exodus from Egypt.
Later, God’s glory left the Tabernacle and filled the newly built Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. For years God and man would meet at this temple. And for years the Israelites would sin against God outside the Temple. Eventually the glory of the Lord left Solomon’s Temple and it was razed by the Babylonians. Seventy years later the Temple would be rebuilt by Zerubbabel. But God’s glory would not return.
Then came Herod’s Temple. Herod, the King of the Jews, was Rome’s puppet king. Herod did what Rome wanted so they let him rebuild the temple for the Jews. Herod’s temple was an ancient wonder. It took almost fifty years to complete. It was massive, built with giant stones some 30 feet long and weighing 500 tons. It was big and it was beautiful. Sacrifices were back. Festivals returned. People flooded in. But God did not return.
Until Holy Monday.
That’s when Jesus walked in. Mark records that Jesus began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
What made Jesus so angry in the Temple? Was it that they were buying and selling? Not entirely. The law allowed people to sell animals for sacrifice. Jesus wasn’t angry that they were selling animals for sacrifice but he was angry about WHERE they were selling animals. All the action was taking place in the Court of the Gentiles – the part of the Temple where non-Jews were supposed to be allowed to go to pray to Yahweh. But the Jews were taking this access to God away from the nations by turning it into the market place.
We often call this story “Jesus cleansing the Temple.” But Jesus isn’t cleansing the Temple; he’s condemning the Temple. He’s saying that this temple never was and never will be the dwelling place of God. And then he claims something even more radical – that he himself is the true temple.
John 2:19. Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
The incarnated Jesus was and is the true dwelling place of God. The meeting place of God and man. Now the Spirit of Christ lives in all who have faith in Christ. Even us Gentiles.
In Christ, our access to God will never be blocked again. Why? Because Christ has cleansed this temple – his church. Like Herod’s Temple we had to first be condemned. Torn down. Then we could be rebuilt into a whole new structure. That is what Christ allowed to happen to himself and it’s what he did to us when he saved us. He crucified us. Raised us. And built us into a glorious church. A new temple of the Holy Spirit. A new dwelling place for God.
Sin has been driven out. Prayer has resumed. God’s glory has returned.
It’s in you. It’s in us. Never to leave again.
You: How often does it come to mind that you are the temple of God?
You in Christ: Where can you recognize the presence of God in you, his dwelling place?
Christ in you: In what way is Jesus cleansing you as his temple? How is prayer involved in this cleansing?
Prayer: God, you do not live in temples made by hands anymore. Jesus we are your temple. Your Holy Place. Continue to purify us by your grace. Tear down every wall that separates us. Reveal your glory in our purity and unity. Amen.
To Live is Christ 