Drive Out the Money Changers!

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. 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.’ ” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 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 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’?” Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.”

John 2:13-17 “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.””

John 2:18-25 “So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.”

What happened here with the money changers represents what happens in deliverance ministry.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and was bought at a price…stop selling yourself to demons and the world.

The money changers are representative of robbers and thieves.

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The money changers/demons will steal your joy, peace, blessings and purpose!

The money changers were burdening the people of God.

They were operating in the temple, but were abusing and defiling it.

The animals represent the lies demons give us.

Oxen- Burdens/Self reliance. You have to carry it alone. You will be a burden if you reach out for help.

Sheep- Good works, legalism, religion

Doves- False peace, hope, humility. Thinking you are good with God even though you aren’t.

The tables represent the strongholds in our mind.

You can cast a demon out, but unless you tear down the stronghold and change your way of thinking, they will come back!

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

1 Corinthians 10:19-22 “What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”

We are not to allow demons to sit at our table.

Psalm 26:4-5 “I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked.”

Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;”

Psalm 107:10 “Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons—”

Luke 14:8 ““When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;”

The money represents the legal exchange we make with them in order to allow them to have influence and control.

Demons are profiting off of us when we allow them to remain!

Jesus was scourged with a whip in order that we could use His whip against our enemies!

John 19:1 “So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.”

John 2:15 “When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.”

King James- When He had made a scourge

Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

If Jesus has great zeal for His Father’s house and we are His house…perhaps we should see ourselves differently!

Get rid of self-hate and unworthiness!

Jesus cleanses the temple twice to show us that deliverance is a lifestyle! Sometimes there are more demons or we allow them back in!

These 2 events have a wedding that is the bookend to each.

John 2:1-2 “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.”

Matthew 22:1-3 “And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.”

Deliverance will stir up the religious.

Matthew 21:15-16 “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 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’?””

John 2:18-21 “So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”

Some people will follow Jesus because of what He can do for them, not because of who He is. Some will want deliverance from their situation, but not be willing to live for the King.

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.”