Purity from Pollution

Matthew 21:12-17 “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" 14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant 16 and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" 17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.”

Throughout Jesus’ young adulthood, He made numerous treks to Jerusalem. Worship at Father’s house was always foremost in His mind. Each time he entered the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus viewed the rabble. He watched the inspections. He saw the disappointed worshipers. The money changers’ tables were conspicuous in their exploitation. The animal vendors hawked their charges like sellers in a bazaar. The entire atmosphere was a circus—at Father’s house. Jesus grieved that Father’s house had been compromised by the idolatry of greed and power.

Both at the beginning and end of His earthly ministry, Jesus did something about the abuses of Father’s house. He cleansed the temple.

The outer court was the Court of the Gentiles. That was a near as Gentile worshipers could approach God. The next temple court was the interior court of the women. Hebrew women could enter this area, but no farther. Solomon’s porch surrounded the Court of the Women as a balcony. Israelite men mingled in the Court of the Women. They transacted business while women prayed. Inside the court of the women was the court of the Israelite. Only Israelite men could enter there. These worshipers were only separated from the altar of sacrifice by an 18-inch wall, allowing them to observe the ritual of sacrifice as performed by the priests. From the Court of the Israelite, the worshiper gazed upon the temple itself, a shining, gleaming, golden structure, visible from every angle throughout the city.

The Apostle John (John 2:13-22) describes Jesus’ cleansing of the temple at the beginning of His earthly ministry. Matthew (21:12-17), Mark (11:15-19), and Luke (19:45-48) recount Jesus’ cleansing the temple during Passion Week.

Jesus entered the final week of His earthly life with the cross clearly in view. He knew it was coming. He understood that He was the Son of God, God made flesh to become the sinless sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, just as His cousin, John the Baptist, had prophesied (John 1:29,36). His Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday sealed the deal. Everyone had noticed that, friends and enemies alike.

Monday of Passion Week found Jesus at temple. I visualize Him, standing against the outer wall of the Court of the Gentiles. The cross looming in His mind, a sense of urgency consumed Jesus. Father’s house was polluted. Prayer and worship had been comingled with pride, power, and greed long enough. Father’s house must be pure. He must purify it.

From His pillar against the outer wall of the temple, where He was leaning, He watched the scene unfold. He watched the worshipers. They entered, sacrifice in tow, hope and expectation etched upon each face. Some were allowed to pass, offering their sacrifice upon the altar that day. Others were disappointed. Rejected. No clear cause. “Blemished” was the vague response of the inspecting priest.

In disgust, worshipers sold their “blemished” animals at the vendors stalls throughout the bazaar called “Temple.”

“Temple.” Jesus nearly spat the word aloud. “More like a den of thieves. A cave of robbers,” He thought to himself. Bandits lying in wait to attack their unsuspecting prey.

The rejected worshipers cast their leather leads and cords upon the pavement as they exchanged their “blemished” animals for a pittance of coinage. Jesus watched as the scattered cords and strips of leather seemed to grow. Quietly, He strode across the pavement, stooping to retrieve first one leather lead and then another. A handful. Returning to His pillar, He began to tie, then braid. He was fashioning something. Could it be a whip?

His task completed, He cast His eyes about the Court of the Gentiles. His gaze focused upon the tables of the money changers. They charged exorbitant exchange rates, exchanging the coinage of the Roman realm for the temple minted currency. Jesus strode across the pavement like a lion tamer entering a room.

“This is my Father’s house,” He cried with a loud voice.

Every head in the court turned as if on a pivot toward the sound of His voice. All eyes zeroed in on the man with the whip. Those nearby retreated. As Jesus approached the tables of the money changes, they cowered in fear. Extending the full length of his arm, he coiled his freshly fashioned whip through the air, and struck blow after stinging blow upon the backs of the exploiters. One arm wielded the whip, while the other was turning the tables. He kicked the salesmen’s money boxes, his feet scattering the spinning coins. Wild confusion erupted as the stunned concessionaires stumbled to the floor in pain. They extended their claws grasping for rolling, spinning temple and Roman coins, only to endure yet another stinging blow of the whip.  Animals darted about, shocked by the sudden commotion. "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

His zeal for Father’s house consumed our Lord Jesus, the Son of God (Psalm 69:9, John 2:17). He sensed an urgency to declare purity from its pollution. After all, He was facing the cross. Unfinished business remained. Father’s house must be cleansed from all its double-mindedness.