And He began to teach and say 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 ROBBERS’ DEN. (Mark 11:17 [NASB])
Jesus “began teaching them.” This word
“teaching” (didasko) most often refers to the teaching of Scripture (the
written word of God) from the Bible. In this passage, Jesus was in the outer
court of the temple. The outer court was part of the temple. This outer court
is where the non-Jew believers in YHWH could take part in worship with the
Jews. It had also become the place where people could buy their sacrificial
animals for their worship. This was especially helpful to people who traveled
from afar to worship at the temple. They would not have to carry, cart, or lead
the sacrificial animal as they traveled to Jerusalem.
If these merchants offered something
necessary for worship, then in their minds, it was okay to sell the animals to
the worship attenders. So, why was Jesus angry with them in this passage? The
merchants were selling the animals for a price greater than they required in
every other day of the week. The people could have bought an animal at the
market any other day for less. In addition to this, these merchants received
permission to sell the animals and to sell them for a higher price from the
temple leaders—the priests. Why would the priests allow selling within the
temple walls and for a higher price? Because the priests received part of the receipts
from sales and the merchants had to get approval for each animal. The chief
priest determined if the animal met the standards God required according to His
law. (Remember, people often willfully misinterpret God’s laws for their own
purposes.) The merchants and priests made money in the outer court instead of
aiding the travelers to prepare their hearts, minds, spirits, and bodies to worship
YHWH.
What did Jesus teach the people in this passage? He used an
Old Testament prophecy about the temple to compare what it had become to what
God intended it to be. In Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. God spoke through these
two prophets. In Isaiah 56:7b, God said through Him, “Their
burnt offerings and their sacrifices will
be acceptable on My altar;
for My house will be called a house of
prayer for all the peoples.”
God made promises to everyone who obeyed Him and came to Him in worship. When
people—Jews and Gentiles—came to God’s house to worship Him, then He would
accept their sacrifices and people would know His house is a house of prayer. The
worship of YHWH by people would be known and told to people everywhere so that
they, too, would want to worship God in His house (Vs. 8b). Though these first eight
verses sound like Isaiah prophesied about God’s promises and joy for the people
of Judah, verse nine bursts that bubble. He wrote, “All you wild animals, all
you animals in the forest, come eat.” God told the people they could have had
the promises of their covenant with God and could have had joy in worshipping
Him. Instead, they would become prey to their predators. God would allow other
nations to overtake His people because they forsook their promises to Him.
God spoke through His prophet in
Jeremiah 7:11. He said, “‘Has this house,
which is called by My name, become a
den of robbers in your sight? Behold,
I Myself have seen it,’ declares the
LORD.”
Before this verse, God did not couch His condemnation of the people in lovely
promises, as Isaiah had done when He wrote what God told Him. Jeremiah prophesied
to Judah about the people turning their backs on God.
When Jesus spoke to the people in the outer court of the
temple—the merchants, priests, and people buying or using the outer court as a shortcut
instead of walking around the outside of the temple wall—He used Isaiah’s and
Jeremiah’s prophesies. These prophesies are the ones about which people would
have heard taught and read, that God judges people who distracted others from
the purpose His temple. That purpose is to worship YHWH. God said His temple is
to be “a house of prayer.” A house of prayer is where a person intentionally
goes seeking God by praying, listening for His voice, listening to Scripture
readings, meditating, listening to the teaching of His word. Being with God
begins with intentionality. It requires a heart seeking God, one praying and seeking
Him, His will, knowledge, understanding, and direction, and seeking to worship Him
with confession, repentance, praise, and thanks.
Jesus spoke to the people in the
outer courts of the temple before Passover week. His purpose for entering Jerusalem
then was to fulfill prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) and to make public His claim to be
the Messiah and the King of Israel. Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a king, but on
a humble donkey’s colt and not a war stallion like earthly warrior kings. He
accepted the homage of the people for the first time in His ministry. Jesus did
not tell them to be quiet about who He is. After that day, of people acknowledging
Him as the Messiah, Jesus left Jerusalem. The purpose of His entry happened.
The next day, when Jesus
returned to Jerusalem and the temple, He did so with the acceptance and
acknowledgement by the people of who He is. When He entered the temple, Jesus challenged
the priests, merchants, and moneychangers about what they were doing in the
outer court of the temple. The authority by which He did this and the peoples’
recognition of Him as King of Israel made His actions more potent and caused
more alarm in the religious leaders’ minds and hearts. Instead of the temple of
God being called a “House of prayer,” the King of Israel called it a den of
robbers. Jesus did more than that; He proclaimed that they, these three groups
of people, had turned the temple into a robbers’ lair—a place where robbers felt
relaxed and secure in what they did. This implied the religious leaders’ consent
of these merchants and moneychangers in the temple flagrantly extorting the
temple worshippers.
Whenever Jesus speaks, people
need to listen. Matthew 21:13 records this same episode in Jesus’ ministry. Matthew
wrote the chief priests and scribes became indignant after Jesus sent the “robbers”
out of the temple court (Matthew 21:15). Mark wrote the chief priests and
scribes were afraid of Jesus and began seeking a way to kill Him (Mark 11:18). These
religious leaders, by their permission, also were robbers. When Jesus spoke,
people responded. Some fled. Some fought. Some feted. Even now, Jesus calls to
each person. He speaks to them in the person’s context, whatever is happening
in his/her life and whatever he/she needs. A huge number of people run when
they feel Him convicting them or calling them to Himself. They flee. Some
people try to disprove Jesus as the Christ or that any God exists. They fight. By
doing this, they rob other people of the chance to hear about Jesus then. Other
people knew a God had to exist and waited with longing in their hearts for
there to be more to life than what they see and experience. When these people feel
the Spirit convicting them and hear Jesus calling to them, they turn to Him
with open arms and then tell everyone they meet about Him. These people fete
Jesus; they revel, rejoice, and celebrate.
Today, we each get to decide for
ourselves who Jesus is for us. People have told us of His story of love for us.
We have heard His voice and felt His conviction in our hearts. Each of us in
our own way has been robbers. We have taken our lives to live for ourselves. We
have refused to acknowledge who God and His Son are. Some of us may have even
slandered God. Those are the actions of the priests, scribes, merchants, and moneychangers.
Today, Jesus is right in front of you—in your heart, mind, and spirit. He calls
you to acknowledge Him as your Messiah and King—your Savior and Lord. Instead
of fighting or fleeing, join others and fete Jesus. Rejoice in Him and because
of Him and what He did for you.
Who do you choose to be—reveler or robber?
