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 Christians call it Holy Week, but for the Jews it was Passover Week. Jews from all over will flood into the city of Jerusalem for celebrations and sacrifices. Hundreds of thousands of lambs will offered to God in praise. For what? For rescuing the Israelites from Egypt when Moses led them through the Red Sea (do you remember that story?).
On Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. On Monday morning Jesus will walk back into Jerusalem and go straight to the Temple.
At first the temple was a big tent that Moses built in the wilderness. There the priests would offer sacrifices to God. They would also celebrate all the amazing things God did for them there. Later, King Solomon had a large stone temple built in Jerusalem. It was spectacular! For years God and man would meet at this temple. People sang. The priests offered sacrifices. And all the holidays were celebrated.
But outside of the Temple the people were constantly sinning. So God let Israel be defeated by some bad guys called Babylonians. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple, burning it all to the ground. Then, seventy years later, God let the Temple be rebuilt in Jerusalem. It was much smaller than Solomon’s Temple, but at least the people had a place to worship God again.
While Jesus was alive King Herod made the temple bigger and more beautiful than ever. Herod’s Temple was an ancient wonder. It was huge. Some of the stone blocks were 30 feet long and weighed 500 tons. And it was coated in white and gold so that it shone in the sun for miles and miles.
Sacrifices were back. Festivals returned. People flooded in. But God did not return.
Until Holy Monday.
That’s when Jesus walked in. Mark says 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 do you think made Jesus so angry in the Temple?
Jesus wanted the Temple to be a house of prayer. He wanted everyone to be able to worship God there. But instead people were using it to buy and sell animals for sacrifice. It would be like selling donuts to people who came into your church instead of singing songs to God.
Sometimes this story is called “Jesus cleansing the Temple.” But Jesus wasn’t just cleansing the Temple and making it better. He was saying that the Temple needed to go away. Forever. What he was really saying is that HE is the new temple of God.
When we receive Jesus as our Savior, we become the new temple too. How? Because now God lives inside of our hearts. God doesn’t live inside a building, not even your church. He lives inside of us. That’s how he changes us. He drives out our sin and replaces it with his love.
Now we can become a “house of prayer” like the temple is supposed to be. We can talk to God anytime because he is always with us. Jesus has moved in and he will never leave us alone. Not even for one second.
You: Do you like to worship God? In what ways?
You with Jesus: Do you ever pray to God? How does knowing that God is always with you make it easier for you to pray?
Prayer: Jesus, now that you are living in my heart, please drive out my selfishness and sin like you did in Herod’s Temple that day. I know I can pray to you anytime, so help me to talk to you more and more too. Amen.
TLICfamily 