CLEANING HOUSE
Today is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Last year, my sermon was titled, the Emotional Jesus. I focused on Jesus weeping as he entered Jerusalem. He was very concerned about people's souls. After the triumphal entry, there was another incident where Jesus got emotional. But this time he wasn't weeping, he was sweeping.
1) Cleaning house.
It's getting to be that time of year when we start thinking about spring cleaning. We're in the process of cleaning out our closets and storage areas. It's interesting what you find in these places. Well, Jesus did some spring cleaning of his own, so to speak.
Matt. 21:12-13, "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’’”
Jesus was a man on a mission. He makes his triumphal entry and his first order of business is to get to the temple. In Mark's gospel, he includes that Jesus went to the temple right after entering Jerusalem but things had shut down for the evening so he went to Bethany. Then he got up in the morning and went back to the temple and cleaned house.
The temple area included sections called courts. There was a gentile court where non-Jewish converts were able to worship. Beyond that you would go through the beautiful gate and into the women's court. No coincidence that you needed to go through the gate called beautiful to get to the women's area.
Then beyond that would be the men's court and beyond that would be the priestly court. Then you would enter into the temple itself, at the center of which behind a thick, heavy curtain was the Holy of Holies, where a priest could enter once a year and be in the presence of God.
The area where Jesus drove everyone out would've been the gentile court area. The religious leaders probably wouldn't have given it much thought that they were infringing on the gentile converts' worship space but Jesus had an issue with it. Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7 that talked about the temple being a house of prayer for all nations.
But this wasn't the only mistake the chief priests made. "You are making it a den of robbers". Here Jesus is quoting Jer. 7:11 where God was calling his people to account for sinning and following other gods and then going to the temple thinking everything was ok.
So Jesus tells the chief priests that they had turned God's house into a den of robbers. How so? They were robbing the gentile converts of worship. How could they worship and pray with all that commotion? It would be like trying to hold a church service on the Midway at the State Fair.
This was during Passover; the time of year when people, mostly Jews, from far and wide came to offer sacrifices and worship. It is estimated that about 100,000 people lived in Jerusalem. But, during Passover week, that total jumped to about 2 million. Obviously they couldn't all be in the temple areas at the same time, but I'm sure you can get a picture of how crowded the temple area would be.
So, in the gentile court area there were people, animals, those selling animals, the money changers, all that. It was normal to have the money changers and those selling animals in Jerusalem during Passover. With many of the people coming from a great distance, it would be inconvenient for them to bring their animal sacrifices all that way.
The money changers were needed because foreign currency was not allowed to be put into the temple treasury. Every man was required to pay a half shekel, as per the command given to Moses in Ex. 30. Many of the coins in circulation would be Roman. So, the money changers were needed to make the exchange.
So the money changers and those selling animals were necessary. The problem wasn't that they were doing it, it was where they were doing it. They should not have been allowed on the temple grounds. If they were somewhere else, the people would've been prepared when they entered the temple area and would've made their way in without all the chaos.
So, with the chief priests allowing these merchants to set up shop in the gentile court, they were robbing the gentiles of being able to properly worship. Think about the times you've been at church, or on zoom and something distracted you. Depending on the severity of the distraction, it might be difficult to get your focus back on track and get your mind re-centered on worship. Jesus cleaning house was calling attention to the disrespect towards people trying to worship.
But that wasn't the only robbery the priests were guilty of. It's believed that the chief priests had a little racket going on. Allowing the merchants to come into the temple area made it easier for them to do business. It's understood that the priests took a cut from their sales.
Another issue was that as an established law, priests were required to inspect an animal to make sure it was unblemished and appropriate for the sacrifice. What the priests were doing was if someone brought an animal in from the outside, they would find something wrong with it so the person would have to buy one from one of the merchants.
Another robbery the chief priests were involved in was having the money changers charge an inflated fee to exchange foreign currency. It's understood that when all was said and done, the priests took in what equated to about $300,000. The merchants and the chief priests were happy, but not Jesus.
The disrespect toward worship incited him, the disrespect for the house of God incited him and the greed and hypocrisy of the religious officials incited him. So we can see why Jesus' first order of business during holy week was to get to the temple and start cleaning house.
We have to wonder how Jesus would do this in today's church. Because we know Jesus is still serious about how things are conducted in his house. Is the church doing anything to compromise on the sanctity of God's house? Are its leaders doing anything unethical to line their pockets? Has anything happened where the church looks less like a church and more like something else? Give that some thought and we can discuss that during Sunday school.
Another amazing thing that happened here is that Jesus was successful in cleaning house. You have one man coming up against the religious leaders, the merchants and the buyers. And they all would be upset with you. In Mark's version it says after Jesus cleaned house the chief priests and teachers of the law began looking for a way to kill him.
The merchants would've been upset over the loss of revenue. Their animals were scurrying and the money was flying through the air. And don't forget the other people. It says Jesus was driving out the buyers too, not just the sellers. Mark's version states that Jesus would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
Think about it-if you were one of the ones who had to buy one of the merchant's animals, at an inflated price, along with paying a big fee to get your money exchanged and then you have this guy saying you can't go in? I don't think so. "Who do you think you are? Outta my way you crazy nut."
Talk about potentially inciting a riot?! Was he a crazy nut for going up against all these people? No. Was he brave and courageous? Yes, but more than that-he was passionate-passionate about the integrity of his father's house and proper worship.
Ok, but how did he pull this off? You would think everyone there would've run him right out of the temple. If it were anyone else, yes, but this was Jesus. No one had ever taught like him, spoke like him or done what he had done. His passion came across not in a crazy nut kind of way, but in a 'trust me, you don't want any of this' type of way.
You've seen it before, right? When people mean business you can see it in their eyes and in their expressions. There's a feeling that comes over you that tells you it's in your best interest to back away. That's what Jesus had going on, but to a greater degree. Jesus had passion and spiritual power behind what he was doing. The people saw it and they weren't about to mess with it. Jesus was cleaning house. Jesus had zeal appeal.
2) Zeal appeal.
This wasn't the only time Jesus cleaned house. Matthew, Mark and Luke all have Jesus clearing the temple after he made his triumphal entry. But John mentions Jesus doing this at the beginning of his ministry.
John 2:12-17, "After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
It's interesting that John doesn't record the clearing of the temple at the end of his ministry, just the one here in the beginning and the other gospel writers only record the one at the end. This has caused some to think they are one and the same. Although some of the details are similar, there are enough differences to determine there were actually two times when Jesus did this; both during Passover.
After reading this account, it's amazing that Jesus would need to come back and do this again at the end of his ministry. Perhaps everything was fine during the following Passover but then the chief priests went back to doing things the way they wanted to by the time Jesus needed to clean house again.
You might think they would've learned their lesson after the first time. But then again, this shows how we are sometimes. We compromise and let worldly ways creep into our 'temple'. Then Jesus comes and cleans house. And we do well for a little while but then we start compromising again and then Jesus comes back and does it all over again.
"After this". Jesus had just performed his first public miracle, changing water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Then he went to Capernaum for a few days before going to Jerusalem for the Passover. We see one difference with this cleansing is that Jesus has a whip in his hand. We need to understand that the whip Jesus fashioned was not like a bull whip, it would've been smaller than that. And there's no indication that he used it to harm the people or animals.
Why did he use a whip the first time but not the second time? Definitely the way the text reads in this account verses the latter one appears to show Jesus being more aggressive. This may have been because Jesus was just starting out in his ministry so he needed to establish himself more aggressively to show he meant business. Perhaps that's also why he identified the temple as MY Father's house and the second time he quotes scripture references.
By the time he cleaned house the second time he had become well known as a prophet who spoke with authority and a performer of great miracles and had gained quite a following so he didn't need to present himself in the same way he did here in the beginning. But just because he appears more aggressive in this cleansing over the second one, he was just as serious both times.
When we see the whip, the overturning of tables and the exclamation points after Jesus' words, we could easily get the impression that Jesus was very angry here. The picture we can get from this scene is an out of control Jesus.
Sometimes people point to this incident to justify getting angry and flipping out once in a while. "Even Jesus got angry; remember what he did in the temple?" But that's the wrong way to look at this.
Jesus may have been angry, but he never lost control. We're commanded to not sin in our anger. Being out of control would be a sin since we are to be self-controlled. And Jesus' anger was a righteous anger; he was indignant over what he saw happening. Typically our anger is a selfish anger-we didn't get what we wanted.
Even though we see exclamation points after Jesus' words, vs. 17 reveals what the real emotion behind Jesus' actions was-zeal. Zeal was the driving force behind what Jesus did that day; not anger. What's the difference? Zeal is having enthusiasm and passion.
Although I'm sure Jesus was irritated and perhaps infuriated over the disrespect and disregard for his father's house, it was his passion to keep his father's house holy that drove him to do what he did. The merchants should not have been buying and selling in the temple area. They were treating as common something that was sacred.
In allowing this to happen the religious leaders compromised the holiness of the temple so more money could go into the temple; and their pockets. They cared more about money than about sanctity. They had zeal but for the wrong thing.
Everyone has passion for something; the question is-what is that something? Does our passion lie in worldly things or spiritual things? Jesus had passion for holiness. Jesus also had passion for our salvation. That's why Holy Week is also referred to as Passion Week. Jesus showed passion when he went into the temple and he showed passion when he went to the cross.
And as Jesus drove out the things that were defiling the temple, he also wants to drive out the things that are defiling us, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1st Cor. 6:19-20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
Jesus wept over Jerusalem; he wanted people to come to him and find salvation. He went to the cross out of his great love and passion to see that accomplished. And that love and passion carries on for those of us who have been born again. Jesus is serious about us honoring his house.
If we allow things to defile our temple, then Jesus will come to clean house. He wants us to be a house of prayer and holiness. He wants nothing impure to enter our temple area. Jesus wants us to have the same zeal; the same passion he has. He wants us to form a whip and drive out anything that dishonors the temple.
When you get serious about doing spring cleaning, a lot of times you find some things that surprise you. And depending on how long something has been there, that surprise might be a nasty one. When we allow Jesus to clean house and get rid of all the garbage and clutter, we'll be refreshed, like a giant weight has been lifted off us.
Jesus wants to clear the temple. Are you ready for some spring cleaning?
A 200 year old poem by Ray Palmer, later incorporated into the hymn, My Faith Looks Up To Thee, is something we should take to heart. "May Thy rich grace impart, strength to my failing heart, my zeal inspire; as thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee, pure, warm and changeless be, a living fire."
May our love for Jesus be a living, passionate fire.
