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House of Prayer Trumps House of Money-Makers
From Matthew 11:12 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, "It is written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a den of robbers." 14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became angry 16 and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself'?" 17 He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
The same day as the Triumphant Entry into the Temple by Jesus, we find this passage that shares what happened next; Jesus enters the Temple and drives "out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves." Quite a racket going on in the temple. Business was good. With the emphasis by the religious rulers on the Don't List of the Law, people flocked to the temple to pay for their sins. There were animals to buy and money to be changed (We can't put a $20 bill in the plate, give me four-5's!"). And these, and the temple leaders were making money from the people's sinfulness and willingness to offer a sacrifice to be "forgiven" of their sins. You can imagine this to be quite troubling for the Son of God. Besides the odors one can imagine with all the livestock in the church, the attitude was what angered Jesus the most. The temple, the crowning architectural triumph of Jerusalem, built as a house for God, is now a flea market of sort. Jesus' words reflect the truth: "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a den of robbers."
The second event of that day was the healing of the blind and lame in the presence of the chief priests and scribes. Add to this, children still giddy from the parade were still shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Not pleasing to the religious leadership. So, they become angry. Jesus asks, "Have you never heard, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise of yourself'?" He leaves them and goes to Bethany to spend the night there.
Jesus set the stage for what really mattered in this life, and that was a right relationship with God. The sacrifice of animals had for so long had its place in the religious life of Israel, but they had wandered away again from the love of God as expressed in the Law. God's purpose in sending Jesus was to restore that relationship with you and me. He wanted our hearts cleansed, like the temple, to become places of prayer. Jesus wants our illnesses and infirmities healed, like those praying for such in the temple. And Jesus wanted all of us, like those children and babies to have our mouths filled with God's praise.
Jesus is a man of action and fulfillment. His mission on earth was to make all things right between God and ourselves, and He did whatever it took to keep pointing back and up towards God. Our response is to believe and to allow Christ to be at work in us. Our hearts should be cleansed by Him, our lives made whole by Him, and our attitude be always one of praise.
PRAYER: Holy God, may my life become what Jesus meant it to be. Cleanse me. Heal me. Mold me and Use me to be one who praises You all the time. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
