WHY JESUS CLEANSED THE TEMPLE
He went into the temple and began driving out those who bought and sold in the temple. Mark 11:15, N.E.B.
To many people the picture of Jesus in the Temple turning over the money changers' tables and driving out the pigeon sellers and other traders is somewhat puzzling and "out of character" with the gentle Master of the Gospels. But is it?
One thing stands out in Jesus' ministry: the picture He gave of the Father. Everything He did and said revealed God as reasonable, compassionate, and approachable, so much so that it made the Isaealite rulers very uncomfortable. Their position of authority gave them their hold over the people, and they played their roles to the fullest. In the process they gave a very distorted and sinister picture of God.
That is the basis of Jesus' act of cleansing the Temple. Not only had the people been left untaught as to the true meaning of the sacrifices they were required to bring, But they were scandalized by the way in which they were made monetary victims in the process. Bringing a perfectly acceptable lamb, they ran the chance of having an officiating priest reject it for some obscure reason. They were then directed to the licensed vendor of "acceptable" lambs within the Temple, who would provide them with an animal--at a higher price than one would pay elsewhere. But on the other hand, they were spared the problem of going out and purchasing another animal that also might not pass the scrutiny of the priests.
The fact that the very lambs rejected by the priests managed to be "recycled" into the pens of the "acceptable sacrifice" vendors was not unknown to the people. But they couldn't beat the system. They had to have a lamb that passed the priest's inspection. Needless to say, the whole process brought reproach upon God and His dealings with helpless mankind.
Jesus reacted! Why? Because God was grieved that He should be viewed in such a light. It was like saying that He was willing to take advantage of the needy, that He was unreasonable and arbitrary, that the whole business was in service of cold legality. So God showed the people, by the measure of passion displayed by His Son, how heinous the Temple business was in His sight. When He turned the money tables over, God proclaimed, "Money is not what is important to Me. Sheep aren't important to Me. People are!"
I'm glad that God set the record straight!
He went into the temple and began driving out those who bought and sold in the temple. Mark 11:15, N.E.B.
To many people the picture of Jesus in the Temple turning over the money changers' tables and driving out the pigeon sellers and other traders is somewhat puzzling and "out of character" with the gentle Master of the Gospels. But is it?
One thing stands out in Jesus' ministry: the picture He gave of the Father. Everything He did and said revealed God as reasonable, compassionate, and approachable, so much so that it made the Isaealite rulers very uncomfortable. Their position of authority gave them their hold over the people, and they played their roles to the fullest. In the process they gave a very distorted and sinister picture of God.
That is the basis of Jesus' act of cleansing the Temple. Not only had the people been left untaught as to the true meaning of the sacrifices they were required to bring, But they were scandalized by the way in which they were made monetary victims in the process. Bringing a perfectly acceptable lamb, they ran the chance of having an officiating priest reject it for some obscure reason. They were then directed to the licensed vendor of "acceptable" lambs within the Temple, who would provide them with an animal--at a higher price than one would pay elsewhere. But on the other hand, they were spared the problem of going out and purchasing another animal that also might not pass the scrutiny of the priests.
The fact that the very lambs rejected by the priests managed to be "recycled" into the pens of the "acceptable sacrifice" vendors was not unknown to the people. But they couldn't beat the system. They had to have a lamb that passed the priest's inspection. Needless to say, the whole process brought reproach upon God and His dealings with helpless mankind.
Jesus reacted! Why? Because God was grieved that He should be viewed in such a light. It was like saying that He was willing to take advantage of the needy, that He was unreasonable and arbitrary, that the whole business was in service of cold legality. So God showed the people, by the measure of passion displayed by His Son, how heinous the Temple business was in His sight. When He turned the money tables over, God proclaimed, "Money is not what is important to Me. Sheep aren't important to Me. People are!"
I'm glad that God set the record straight!
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