John 2:12-25
“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” from Mark 11:17
Do you know of any practices in the church today that might hinder non-Christians from coming to know God? Are there any practices in our lives that need to be cleaned out that might keep someone from wanting to accept Christ?
James Hoover, in his study book on Mark, wrote, “The trouble with righteous anger is that it is so much easier to be angry than righteous. But it is possible to be both.” And we know that Jesus was both as He cleansed the temple court.
There is an account of Jesus cleansing the temple at the beginning of His ministry in the gospel of John. The three synoptic gospels tell about this event, but they all place it during Passion Week. There are different opinions as to whether there were two different cleansings or whether John was referring to this incident in Mark. There is also a difference of opinion as to whether the cleansing took place the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem or on the following day.
This is what happened. The temple area mentioned was the outer court of the temple, the court of the Gentiles. This was the only place in the temple where Gentiles were allowed to go and worship. Two things were going on which caused a bazaar type atmosphere in this area. Pilgrims coming to the Passover needed animals that were acceptable as sacrifices. It would have been difficult for them to bring these animals along on their journey to Jerusalem. Also, their animals might have been rejected by the priests as unacceptable. So proper sacrificial animals were sold for the convenience of the worshipers.
Second, the annual temple tax, which all Jewish males were required to pay, could not be paid in Roman money but had to be paid in a special coin which most Jews would not have. So money changers were set up in the Court of the Gentiles. These services were needed for worshipers from out of town, but they could have easily been provided at another place in the city. The priests profited financially from these transactions. They had allowed this area of the temple to become a noisy, smelly marketplace. The atmosphere of worship had been destroyed. The sanctity of the temple area had been desecrated.
Jesus cleaned house. He drove out the people who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers. I can imagine coins flying everywhere. He drove out the sheep, cattle, and doves. He cleaned out everything that was a hindrance to worship.
If we know of anything that is a hindrance to worship in our lives or churches, we should be as forceful and as thorough as Jesus was in getting rid of all such things.
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