Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Matthew 21:12-16

If you have many conversations with people about religion, you will find that it does not take very long before "I feel..." or "I believe..." comes into the picture. This will be contrasted with what the Bible says. Many people honestly think that their feelings or opinions on a matter overrides what God's word says. Jesus had an encounter with some people like that just days before He was arrested.

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Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

Matthew 21:12–16

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If you could have seen Jerusalem at that time, it was a bustling place of religious activity. Many people would have called it a wonderful experience in which "the Holy Spirit was truly moving". The problem is, God was not in what was going on. People were playing church, but it was just an act. Their hearts were far from God, even though their mouths were saying His name. Religious activity does not equal obedience or worship.

As Jesus entered the city that day, He made His way to the Temple. Upon entering the courtyard, He saw something that angered Him. There were merchants extorting the people. Many of the pilgrims had traveled great distances because it was required for them to be in Jerusalem for Passover. It was not feasible for them to bring their own sacrifice, so they chose to purchase one when they arrived. Knowing that these travelers were caught between a rock and a hard place, the merchants were charging high prices and the money changers were not using a fair rate of exchange.

Many theologians believe that the religious leaders were profiting from this practice as well. This is why they became upset when Jesus flipped the tables. He was not just disrupting the business of a few corrupt businessmen, He was interfering with their profits. In their eyes, nobody had a right to do that. Jesus's actions were about restoring holiness to God's house. The religious leaders did not want anything, including God's word, to get in the way of their gain. Sadly, many "Christians" today think the same way of the religious leaders of Jesus's day. If God's Word is truly God's Word, then we should not get angry when someone draws our attention to the fact that we are doing something contrary to what it says. If the Bible is the Word of God, then it is the standard by which everything is to be judged. Anything that is contrary to that standard is called sin. Rather than correct the behavior, they try to silence the messenger.

Our feelings, beliefs, and greed do not change the value of God’s Word.  If they are contrary to God’s word, and we refuse to change them, they reveal that our heart is not truly God’s.  We are putting something (ourselves) above Him.  That is a dangerous place to be. 

Father, it is so easy to fall into unBiblical teachings because they sound close to what Your word says.  Often these teachings benefit our flesh in some way.  I pray that You deliver us from evil and help us to walk in the light, as you are in the light.