Until a few years ago, I imagined the temple scene with a big church-like building in mind. In his commentary on Matthew R.T. France, explains the setting for the cleansing of the temple.
What took place was not the temple building itself, the place of sacrifice into which only priests were allowed to go, but the more extensive area surrounding the temple building, which we refer to as the Court of the Gentiles.
The majority of the huge temple complex was about 33 acres in size. It consisted of an open space nearly a mile in circumference surrounding the temple building and its inner courtyard and their surroundings, into which anyone could go as long as they did not pass the barrier restricted to the central area for Jews.
This outside area formed a natural meeting place for visitors and locals, especially during festival seasons. It provided shaded areas for groups to gather. When Jesus taught in the temple, he may have been one of several teachers who met outside the area.
Also, there were places there for people to sell sacrificial animals and change money. This was the best place for Jesus to meet and where people could connect with him.
With that in mind, let’s join the crowd and be a part of the experience.
Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’
but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21.12-13)
In today’s YouTube video, Rudy Ross explains how people who traveled to the Passover were allowed to bring money and purchase animals for sacrifice, rather than having to bring them long distances.
The robbery part of Jesus’s statement probably referred to people using false measures and taking advantage of pilgrims from distant lands.
When I read that God’s house is to be a house of prayer, I am reminded that the greatest gift God gives us is a personal relationship with Him.
When I come to church, I like to hear a good sermon and inspiring music, but more than anything, I need to meet with God.
When we attend church services let’s be sure to ask God to encounter us, rather than just surround ourselves with the trappings of religion.
Signs of the Kingdom’s Presence
Throughout his Galilean ministry, one of the signs of the arrival of God’s kingdom was the healing and deliverance of humans. It’s estimated that one-third of Jesus’s activity involved healing and deliverance.
The healing of infirmities signaled the arrival of God’s kingdom and was like placing a sign saying “Under New Management” on the temple grounds.
The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did and heard the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” (Matthew 21.14-16).
It is clear from reading the next passages in Matthew that the religious authorities didn’t like the idea that God had placed his “Under New Management” sign in their midst.
They questioned Jesus’s authority in many instances. This is one of them.
The Book of Proverbs teaches that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1.7).
To have the fear of the Lord, we come before Him humbly, live in a close relationship with Him, and follow His direction. Had the religious leaders lived in that kind of relationship with God, they would not have resisted Jesus.
It is important that we live in the fear of the Lord, so we don’t miss what God is doing in our midst today.
Out of the Mouth of Babies
Jesus drew their attention to Psalm 8 and claimed the praise devoted to Jehovah in the Psalm as also applied to himself.
Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise for yourself’?” (Matthew 21.16)
Jesus was demonstrating God’s “Under New Management” kingdom at the place of the very heart of Jewish worship.
He overturned the money-making business outside the temple. He healed those in the temple precinct. And now, he declared praise due to Jehovah being equal to himself.
No doubt, the religious leaders were infuriated by his actions and statements. Had he not left to go back to camp by Bethany, they would certainly have seized him at that point.
He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there (Matthew 21.17).
Personal Application
In today’s article, I have tried to capture how the religious authorities may have felt towards Jesus and why their opposition to him was justified from their perspective.
We do well to make sure that we don’t imitate their behavior.
The only way to do so is to live in the fear of the Lord – to be humble before him, to live in a close relationship with him, and to follow his direction.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 