Making Room for Others

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During the time of Passover

When the people gathered and presented yearly sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sin.

Why is Jesus seem so angry that he would make a whip and clear out this Temple courtyard?

People, Animals, and Money; It all got thrown out!

Gut Reaction:
What a waste of resources!
Why is he terrorizing those providing necessary things for worship?
These are not trinkets and tableware

They were exchanging money and selling animals to be used for worship with the prescribed Temple sacrifices.

They weren’t making using the Temple court for secular purposes
There is no mention of extortion by the moneychangers.
“Den of Thieves” does not represent the oldest language presented by Jesus here. He called it a marketplace.

Jesus did not tell them NOT to worship at the Temple or not to offer sacrifices.

Jesus was probably there for that purpose, having been a Jew himself.

The Jews were simply worshiping God, in the way God had prescribed, in the very place God had prescribed it.

Just the same as The Ten Commandments, and all the commands of God were for their good, so was the Temple provided for their good.
He did not overturn tables in the Sanctuary or enter the Holy of Hollies

He was in what was supposed to be the Courtyard of the Gentiles

They sold things used for worship of God, but something did not sit right with Jesus.

Zechariah & Malachi had looked ahead to a day when no merchant would be in the “house of the Lord,” the Temple, and one who would come to “purify the Levites,” yet, anticipated the continuation of Temple sacrifices that were “acceptable to the Lord.”
Psalm 69 spoke of the one who would have ZEAL FOR the house of the Lord

This holy place of worship for the Gentiles was being used to sell things.

They could have sold them anywhere else, just not inside the Temple.

Sometimes we turn the good things of God that benefit all into things that just benefit ourselves.

The modern equivalent: they turned a sanctuary into a Christian Bookstore.

Some have used Christian bookstores, Christian Media or Christian Radio as if it were a place of worship.
Others have used their place of worship as a means to make a profit.

Because of these things many have found no room to share in the grace and blessings of God.

They have found more space to live out their faith outside of the church.

Who can hear a sermon about Jesus’ strength in humility to the point of death, while their pastors roll up in a fancy car and wear an expensive suit, telling them that they just have to believe enough, and God will give it to them?
Who can hear a sermon from someone profitting off of them?

This scene of people selling things inside the Temple did not sit right with Jesus.

Was it really about people selling things, or was there something more?

Jesus was zealous for the Honor and Worship of His Father.

The merchants showed a blunted sense of reverence for God and a lack of understanding for others as they sought to worship God.

But, the merchants would not have been allowed to sell their wares there if the Chief Priest of the Temple did not allow it.
This Unholy Arrangement and hardness of heart prevented other from worshiping God.

Being zealous for something good, as God has prescribed, is never a sin.

Jesus did not “lose his temper,” “blow his top,” or succumb to blind rage.
There is no hint of Jesus whipping anyone or any animal.
Jesus showed thoughtful restraint, even in his zealousness.
He “drove all from the Temple courts”
He “scatted the coins” and “overturned their tables”
They would have to humble themselves to bend down and pick up each coin.
Then they chose to make the same weak demand from Jesus as before,

“What sign can you show us to prove your authority”?

I imagine Jesus pointing to himself saying,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three day.”

Jesus recognizes that his body is a temple for the Lord.

In this way, he calls those who would listen to understand that their body can be a temple of the Lord

Jesus points to what he must go through for their bodies to also become temples of the Lord

Only through Jesus’ Death and Resurrection:

Their bodies be able to be a temple of the Lord
They can worship and pray wherever they go and know it will be answered
They can have access to the wisdom of God that was given to Jesus Christ
They can join together in divinely gathered and empowered action

God made a place for the Gentiles to worship in the Temple

Jesus Christ cleared the way for the Gentiles to worship the Father and receive wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

If God creates space for people to get to know and worship God, how are we to make space for others as well?

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