Jesus entered the temple courts 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.
13 “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.’” 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” 17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night (Matthew 21:12-17, see also Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19).
According to John 2:13-25, Jesus had opened his ministry with a similar act. Now, about three years later, there was still a lot of corruption taking place in the temple. Worshippers had come from all over the world to Jerusalem for the Passover. The court of the Gentiles in the temple was set aside so that non-Jews could learn about God and learn to worship him. But how could these people get a true picture of God when the corrupt merchants and money changers had taken over that space?
The Gentiles would come to the temple and have to exchange their money into special temple currency, and they often took advantage of foreigners who didn’t know the exchange rates. And the animals brought by the people were often not considered good enough, so worshippers had to buy pre-approved animals, paying huge markups. It was a money-making machine, and Jesus wasn’t going to tolerate corruption in the temple, and the hindrance of authentic prayer and heartfelt worship.
Warren Wiersbe states: “When Jesus called the temple “My house,” He was affirming that He is God. When He called it “My house of prayer,” he was quoting Isaiah 56:7. The entire fifty-sixth chapter of Isaiah denounces the unfaithful leaders of Israel. The phrase “den of robbers” comes from Jeremiah 7:11 and is part of a long sermon that Jeremiah delivered in the gate of the temple, rebuking the people for the same sins that Jesus saw and judged in his day.”
In the final week of his life, Jesus returned to the temple and in righteous anger, he drove out the money changers and overturned their benches and tables. It certainly didn’t win him any friends in the religious establishment.
Prayer should not be neglected in God’s house. Jesus also healed people at the temple, reminding us that we need the power of God to meet human needs (Matthew 21:14). Praise is another feature of God’s house (Matt. 21:15-16). The religious leaders were angry when the children began shouting, “Hosanna, to the Son of David.” They wanted Jesus to silence the kids! Jesus stood up for the children and quoted from Psalm 8:2, “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise.”
There is no temple in Jerusalem today and no animal sacrifices are being offered. The Bible says that we as Christ followers are the temple of God. God wants to live among his people, and he wants his people to be devoted to prayer (Colossians 4:2; 1 Timothy 2:1).
Prayer is the evidence of our faith in God’s Word and our dependence on him.
Prayer
Father, we invite you to clean up your house. Fill your church with prayer and praise, that might always be the house you have wanted. Let us be a true reflection of you and be a place where lost and broken people can encounter you and be restored.
Question
God has always wanted a house to live in and his intention is to dwell with us. How can we become the house God has always desired?