Sunday, December 17, 2017

The Gospel According To Mark. Day 47, Jesus Cleanses The Temple

Jesus has just completed what has come to be called "the triumphal entry". He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as foretold by the prophet Zechariah while the people shouted His praises and cried out for Him to save them now. In other words, "Thy kingdom come now, today." What He does upon reaching Jerusalem must seem a bit anticlimactic to the crowds who no doubt expect Him to perform some major feat.

"Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve." (Mark 11:11) I picture Him calmly walking around in the temple courts, silently viewing the activity there. Then He leaves the city with the Twelve to spend the night at Bethany, probably at the home of His friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. It was the raising of Lazarus from the dead that put the seal on the death warrant of Jesus. It was at that point that the religious leaders decided the only way to stop Him was to kill him. When, upon the command of Jesus, Lazarus came forth from the tomb after being dead for four days, "The chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. 'What are we accomplishing?' they asked. 'Here is this man performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.' Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, 'You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.'" (John 11:47-50)

The Apostle John tells us that because of this meeting of the Sanhedrin, Jesus could no longer freely move about in public, for the chief priests and elders had given orders that anyone who saw Jesus in Jerusalem was to report it immediately so He could be arrested. (John 11:54-57) Everyone was speculating whether or not He would come to Jerusalem for Passover, Passover being one of three yearly festivals which Jewish males were required to attend if at all possible. Suddenly, He comes to Jerusalem openly. He comes riding into the city on a donkey, the animal of kings, and He allows the crowds to praise Him and to address Him with Messianic titles. These are not the actions of a man who is trying to escape death. These are the actions of a man who is determined to accomplish His mission on earth. In Jesus' case, that mission happens to be dying for the nation....dying for the world.

Our chapter contains a miracle regarding a fig tree, and it's divided into two parts with the cleansing of the temple in between. What we are going to do is study the miracle of the fig tree as a whole tomorrow, so for now we are going to skip over the next few verses in order to study this happening as one continuous narrative. Today we are going to look at the cleansing of the temple.

Mark tells us this happens the next morning. "On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts." (Mark 11:15-16) The outer courtyard, known as the Court of the Gentiles, has taken on a flea market atmosphere. Pilgrims coming to Jerusalem had to pay a temple tax at Passover, and it could only be paid in shekels, so this meant they had to have their money changed. The money changers should have operated outside the temple complex, but likely it was more convenient for them to do it inside, plus once a pilgrim reached that point and realized he had no currency in shekels, it was probably quite difficult to work his way back outside to the streets because of the crowds pouring in. This allowed the money changers to charge a higher fee than was fair for changing the money, but at that point they had the pilgrims right where they wanted them, and it was easier for a pilgrim to pay the fee than to seek other money changers in the city.

Sacrifice had to be made, hence the sellers of doves, but this was another thing that should have been done outside the temple complex. It's understandable that pilgrims coming from many miles away might not want to transport animals from a long distance, so it was easier to purchase an animal upon arrival. Because the priesthood had become corrupt, they had found a way to make money off these sacrifices. They would find fault or blemish in any animal brought in from outside, deeming it unfit for sacrifice. Then they would say, "The doves here in the courtyard have already passed inspection. You should purchase one of these."

Jesus is angry because people are being taken advantage of by the system that should be protecting them. We were told earlier in Mark that Jesus had compassion on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd. (Mark 6:34) The religious leaders have let the citizens down. They'e failed to set a godly example. They've failed to lead the nation in the ways of the Lord. The very ones who should have been looking out for the best interests of the citizens are swindling them when they come to worship at the temple. Like a person cleansing the house of all leaven at Passover, Jesus cleanses the temple of the leaven of the religious leaders at Passover. After demonstrating how much He hates unfairness and thievery, Jesus teaches in the temple courts. "And as He taught them, He said, 'Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?' But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" (Mark 11:17)

He quotes the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophets who lived in a time when the priesthood was corrupt, prophets who called on the people to repent or else the nation would fall. Their words fell on mostly deaf ears, and the nation did fall, and the temple was destroyed. Jesus' message is ignored by the religious leaders of His day, and as a result the nation will fall again and the temple will be destroyed again. Any nation can fall, especially when it falls far from the Lord. This should be a lesson to all of us today. We who trust in the name of the Lord need to remain faithful to Him, for the Lord may continue to bless and protect the United States for the sake of those who fear His name.

Jesus' enemies decide now is the time to put their murderous plot in motion. They must capture Him while He's near, lest He somehow escape their clutches. "The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching." (Mark 11:18) The fear they feel is not a reverent fear. It's a fear that Jesus will upset the status quo. It's a fear that He will usurp their authority. And it's a fear that He will manage to bring the wrath of Rome down on the nation, because they fear the wrath of man more than they fear the wrath of God. They want things to keep going on as they've been going on. Jesus is a thorn in their side that they desperately want to pluck out. They will pluck Him out, but not in a secret assassination as they hope. They will be forced to appeal to Rome to have Him crucified publicly, at Passover, for all the world to see. The One who dies for the sins of the world will not die in the night with a knife in His back, as the religious leaders would prefer, but He will die in the sight of all those, both Jew and Gentile, whom He came to save.





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