When Jesus entered the temple it was
buzzing with activities. Bear in mind that at this point there was a huge crowd.
This was Passover time and the huge crowd could well be around two to three
millions. Then there were those who were buying and selling in the temple,
making it a place for their commercial activities.
In Exodus 30:13-16 the nation was
instructed that any male above twenty years old had to pay half a shekel of
temple tax at Passover. And now for this tax and all other offerings, only
prescribed coins could be used. Why? That’s because foreign currency would bear
idolatrous images and could not be used. The people would then have to change
their offering or temple tax into the prescribed coins. We can imagine that
there were tables set up for this purpose. To change into the prescribed coins,
the people had to pay for the service. All this increased the coffers of the
scribes and priests. The people who came to worship were exploited.
Just imagine the great din and ruckus
that were generated by the heap of commercial activities. The whole compound of
the temple was grossly desecrated. This was holy ground. This was the very
place that the prophet Isaiah caught a glimpse of the Holy and awesome Lord,
high and lifted up. The place where the angels incessantly crying out, “Holy,
Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!” Now this holy place was treated with such
flippancy and careless attitudes.
It must have brought great agony to the
Lord to see all the sacrileges taking place in His house. So we are told that
the Lord bee-lined for the people who were busy trading in the temple and drove
them out. He also overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of
those selling doves. He was probably more concerned for the poor who could only
afford to offer doves and yet were being exploited. Forbidding the people from
carrying their merchandise through the temple, He then began to teach them. He
referred them to prophets who foresaw this and had written that they would turn
the house of prayer into a “circus.” Both in Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, the
prophets had made allusion to the temple as a House of prayer but they made it
into a den of thieves.
What the establishment committed was a
massive sin against the Holy God and the people. There was probably a sense of
foreboding among them. So Mark said they were then seeking to destroy Him. But
were afraid to do so for the huge crowd was astonished by His teaching.
This account underscores for us the
importance of proper corporate worship. Each time we come to church, we must
come with a worshipful attitude to honor the Lord. We must come not only to
listen but also to absorb His instruction. All our attendance must be
accompanied by a willing offering of ourselves for His service. We want our
minds fed, our conscience sharpened, and the truth lived out willingly. It’s
easy to come to church with the “I-have-been-here-and-done-that” attitude.
Hence, we must prepare ourselves and bring our very best attitude to Him. May
the worship we bring to Him be a reflection of a heart that truly loves Him!
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