Jesus Clears the Temple

Scripture: Luke 19:45-48

45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” 47 After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. 48 But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said. (Luke 19:45-48 NLT)

People from all over the world were in Jerusalem for Passover Week when Jesus arrived at the Temple that day. Many of them were Gentile converts to Yahweh worship who were not allowed in the inner parts of the Temple, but only the Court of the Gentiles. Jesus walked into the Court of the Gentiles and began overturning the tables of the money changers and wrecking the stalls of those who sold animals for sacrifice.

Jesus’ anger at the money changers and the sacrifice sellers wasn’t only because they had made a holy place into a cattle market (although they had), and it wasn’t only because they were cheating the people who came to change their foreign currency into “Temple coin” (although they were). Jesus was angry because they had taken the Court of the Gentiles and turned it into a noisy, stinky cattle market and left no place in God’s house for the Gentiles to worship and for the handicapped (the blind and lame) to pray!

So Jesus disrupted the commercial operation the high priestly house of Annas had set up and made room for the “imperfect” blind and lame to come and be healed and for the “outsider” Gentiles to come into God’s house of worship and prayer. Matthew 21:14 says “the blind and lame came to him and he healed them there in the Temple.” Mark 11:17 adds “My Temple shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”. Jesus made room for the blind and lame to come and be healed in the Temple. He also made room for outsiders and foreigners like the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39) to worship in the Temple, just as God had intended.

I wonder if there’s anything I’m doing that makes it difficult for outsiders to be welcome in my world? Am I helping the “blind and lame” to draw close to Jesus and be healed? It’s so easy to get comfortable with simply doing the things we do the way we do them. What are your thoughts on this?

Prayer:

Father, Please don’t let me say and do things that hinder outsiders and weak and wounded people from drawing near in prayer and worship and coming to Jesus to be healed. I want to help, not hinder! For your kingdom’s sake!