This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
In another confusing scene, the typically calm Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem and tears the place apart. Just as people love to think that Jesus got mad at a fig tree because He was hungry, they also enjoy the picture of Jesus being a bit chaotic. But, just like the fig tree, there is so much more going on here than we may first realize.
Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He was not permitting anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. 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 11:17-19)
The temple in Jerusalem was central to Jewish life. In simplest terms, the temple structure had a main temple area and courtyard surrounding it. Steps led up to a temple surrounded by stone walls, with sections inside designated for women, men, and priests. The temple area was so sacred that historians found a sign saying, “No alien may enter within the balustrade around the sanctuary and the enclosure. Whoever is caught, on himself shall he put blame for the death which will ensue.”[1] The temple was such a sacred and holy place that Rome allowed the Jews to kill any outsider who defiled it with their presence.
A flat, expansive courtyard wrapped around the temple, like a giant sidewalk surrounding a football stadium. This courtyard was set apart for non-Jews, often called “Gentiles,” who wanted to worship the God of Israel. Although God favored Israel at that time, He still provided a place for all nations to worship Him.
However, High Priest Caiaphus viewed this area as less important than the area for Jews. Rather than reserve it for Gentiles who wanted to worship God, He allowed people to set up market stalls to sell animal sacrifices for visitors. There were also places to exchange Roman or Greek money for Jewish shekels so visitors could pay the temple tax (and the temple could make more money through an uneven exchange rate). On top of that, they allowed pedestrians and animals to cut through the Court of the Gentiles to shorten their trips through town.
Notice the words of Christ’s chastisement. The issue here wasn’t only that they were conducting business, but that they completely disrespected one area of the temple while zealously protecting another. The temple was to be a place of worship for all nations, yet the area set aside for Gentiles was crammed with animals, noise, excrement, and greed. The Jewish leaders would kill anyone entering the Jewish section, yet they didn’t mind if people treated the Gentile area as a shortcut on their journey through the city.
The Jewish leaders hated Christ for this because He claimed the authority to overturn what even the high priest declared. Dispersing the dealings in the Court of the Gentiles would be a blow to the temple’s income. Without saying it, Jesus also reminded them that the Gentiles weren’t a lesser class of people and were just as worthy of worshiping God. And as Jesus returned to the freshly cleansed temple throughout the week to teach, they would hate Him even more as He continued to upset their comfortable, unfruitful lives.
Stop and think: God extends salvation to all people and worship to all believers. Broken people aren’t more or less worthy of hearing the gospel, nor are certain types of Christians unequally valuable to God. Consider how you’ve seen this imbalance in your own life, either with believers you share the gospel with or other Christians you show favor to.
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[1] Nylund, J. H. (2016). Court of the Gentiles. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
