Holy Monday
4/11/22
Read Matthew 21:12-17
Jesus cleanses the temple, but there is so much more going on here than what meets the eye. This was prophesied in Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 56:6-8, and Psalm 8:2. I want to point out a few things that will give us a more profound respect for this moment. First, selling at the temple was not necessarily a bad thing. After all, many people would have to buy the animals they would offer to the Lord. Also there was a half-shekel "Temple Tax" required for atonement that went all the way back to Exodus 30:13-16 and they would have to exchange money to get the correct currency. One commentator suggested that it was the place at the temple that they were buying and selling that made Jesus so upset. In 1 Kings 8:41-43, we see a location outside the temple where outsiders from Israel, also known as Gentiles, could come and pray. The area that the money changers were selling just happened to be that place, effectively eliminating the place of prayer for the Gentiles. Imagine if someone set up a McDonald's drive-through in your prayer closet. This was a place of worship, and the Jews had ruined it. Ultimately this points us to salvation being offered to gentiles and perhaps gives us a little more insight into why Jesus was so upset. Second, Jesus also called this place a den of robbers, which refers to Jeremiah 7:11. In Jeremiah's day, the people were neglecting the poor and abandoning widows and orphans, yet they showed up to worship as if they had done nothing wrong. And that is what we see here.
Jesus' righteous anger at the temple shows us His zeal for righteousness. He was cleansing the temple to show some pretty big truths about Himself. He said in John 2:19 that they could destroy this temple, His body, and He would build it back up in three days. Jesus is the true and pure temple, He would die for the Jews and the Gentiles, and He has great expectations for how His followers should live and treat others. He is God with us, and one day, all who follow Him in faith will be joined with Him forever.
Do you believe that? Does that affect your life? Are you concerned with the lost, or the "least of these?" Or have you, like the Jews at the temple, made God into someone only for you while neglecting others for whom Christ also died to save? Is there any unconfessed sin, or sin that perhaps you haven't recognized until this moment, of which you need to repent? Spend a few moments thinking of these questions and then spend some time in prayer, asking God to help you respond in a way that is pleasing to Him and worthy of the Gospel of Christ.
Jesus cleanses the temple, but there is so much more going on here than what meets the eye. This was prophesied in Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 56:6-8, and Psalm 8:2. I want to point out a few things that will give us a more profound respect for this moment. First, selling at the temple was not necessarily a bad thing. After all, many people would have to buy the animals they would offer to the Lord. Also there was a half-shekel "Temple Tax" required for atonement that went all the way back to Exodus 30:13-16 and they would have to exchange money to get the correct currency. One commentator suggested that it was the place at the temple that they were buying and selling that made Jesus so upset. In 1 Kings 8:41-43, we see a location outside the temple where outsiders from Israel, also known as Gentiles, could come and pray. The area that the money changers were selling just happened to be that place, effectively eliminating the place of prayer for the Gentiles. Imagine if someone set up a McDonald's drive-through in your prayer closet. This was a place of worship, and the Jews had ruined it. Ultimately this points us to salvation being offered to gentiles and perhaps gives us a little more insight into why Jesus was so upset. Second, Jesus also called this place a den of robbers, which refers to Jeremiah 7:11. In Jeremiah's day, the people were neglecting the poor and abandoning widows and orphans, yet they showed up to worship as if they had done nothing wrong. And that is what we see here.
Jesus' righteous anger at the temple shows us His zeal for righteousness. He was cleansing the temple to show some pretty big truths about Himself. He said in John 2:19 that they could destroy this temple, His body, and He would build it back up in three days. Jesus is the true and pure temple, He would die for the Jews and the Gentiles, and He has great expectations for how His followers should live and treat others. He is God with us, and one day, all who follow Him in faith will be joined with Him forever.
Do you believe that? Does that affect your life? Are you concerned with the lost, or the "least of these?" Or have you, like the Jews at the temple, made God into someone only for you while neglecting others for whom Christ also died to save? Is there any unconfessed sin, or sin that perhaps you haven't recognized until this moment, of which you need to repent? Spend a few moments thinking of these questions and then spend some time in prayer, asking God to help you respond in a way that is pleasing to Him and worthy of the Gospel of Christ.