House of Prayer

Intro

Do you remember a few years back when IHOP announced it was changing its name to IHOB?

The International House of Pancakes known for its 24-hour pancakes and waffles wanted to improve their lunch and dinner business by changing the P for pancakes to B for burgers. It was a marketing success and their sales increased.

In today’s portion of Scripture - we find a very different IHOP. Jesus was extremely upset - righteously angry - that the Temple, instead of being an International House of Prayer, was known as a den of thieves. Part of Jesus’ mission on earth, was for ordinary people to get a first-hand view of God’s character and His reaction to the world we live in. We’ve seen how Jesus lovingly welcomed children to talk to him; how Jesus hugged and healed social outcasts; how Jesus fed the hungry and opened the physical and spiritual eyes of the blind; and how Jesus called lost sinners to repentance. But we’ve also seen how Jesus warned people to watch out for the hypocrisy and hidden sin of the Pharisees and the Jewish King Herod. As Jesus enters the Temple, he begins to clean house and remind people what it’s there for - the worship of God almighty - and access for ALL people - including Gentiles.

Series

As we continue our series: The Crown & The Cross sermon, Mark’s Gospel shows Jesus as a man with a clear message and mission, and the reader is called to actively response to the message. Jesus’ responses always helped his listeners better understand God’s heart and his statements are typically clear commands for us to follow.

In the first half of Mark the emphasis was on seeing Jesus revealed as Messiah - the King who deserved the crown. Now in the second half the focus is on Jesus in Jerusalem fulfilling His life’s mission to suffer and die on the cross - and to rise from the dead.

Last week Jesus was publicly recognized as the Messiah and King as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Today he draws a clear line in the sand and the religious leaders are outraged.

Our parallel passages are in Matthew 21 and Luke 19 and John 2. You can turn to Mark 11. If you are keeping track, last week’s message ended with verse 11. Don’t worry! We wont skip a single verse. We will cover verses 12-14 along with 20-25 next week because they all pertain to Jesus and the fig tree.

PRAY

READ Mark 11:15-19

Jesus’ Actions:

Entered Temple

In last week’s message, after his entry into Jerusalem and proclamation as Messiah, Jesus visited the Temple, walked around a little then left. Now he returns on a mission. Solomon’s original temple was destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians. Zerubbabel built a much simpler smaller temple in 516 BC. King Herod began work in 19 BC on a new much grander temple rivaling Solomon’s that took almost fifty years to complete.

You can see the outer court of the Gentiles which was 500 yards long by 325 yards wide (about 35 acres).

Just to help you see the scale of this. You could fit three entire football fields in that space.

Next was the court of women (with signs saying no Gentiles allowed past this point), then the court of men, and the inner court of priests - finally the Holy of Holies behind a huge curtain.

This outer court where Gentiles were permitted to come worship God, is the area that Jesus was addressing. There is historical evidence leading us to understand that previously the money changing, sacrificial animal sales, and other activities were taking place completely outside of the temple structure maybe even outside the city of Jerusalem. But now the religious leaders have brought all of this activity - hustle and bustle into the court of Gentiles. How could they draw near to God? How could they pray when all of this noise and commotion was going on around them?

Drove out buyers & sellers

As I mentioned last week, thousands & thousands of people came to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover and offer a sacrifice for the their family. Booths were set up selling animals for these sacrifices so that travellers did not have to bring them over long distances. John’s gospel account in chapter two mentions oxen, sheep and pigeons. Mark only draws attention to the pigeons, perhaps because they were the smallest and least expensive animal - something the poorest of people would buy. And yet, these sellers typically overcharged everyone. We know God’s law is clear prohibiting cheating scales and not taking advantage of the poor.

Jesus began to drive out the buyers and the sellers. It was not the act of business that was wrong, it was the location. Based on the size of the outer court, Jesus had a lot of ground to cover as he sent them packing. The Greek word for drive out means to expel or throw out like fighting off invading army. It’s also the word for casting out demons. This was serious business. Jesus was not politely asking them to move - he kicked them to the curb!

Overturned tables of money changers

Every Jewish man, twenty or more years old, had to pay a yearly half shekel temple tax. Foreign coins, like the Roman coin with Caesar’s image, were refused. So money-changers would change exchange your currency with the blank Tyrian coins made just for this purpose. But they typically charged a high 10-12% fee along with an additional temple fee that went to line the pockets of the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin - temple rulers.

When Jesus overturned their tables, the money would have gone flying and rolling every where! Jesus wanted them out of there.

Stopped thorough-fare

Only Mark’s gospel adds this much more far-reaching demand by Jesus. It confirms his view that Jesus’ objection was not just that buying and selling was wrong, but to its location was the problem, since there is no trading activity mentioned in this verse, but merely the use of the temple court as a thoroughfare by those carrying loads. It is again a matter of an inappropriate use of the temple area.

Jesus stopped people from cutting through the outer courts as a short cut to another part of the city of Jerusalem. Instead of reverently walking around this huge outer court, people had begun to take their business right through it from one gate to another - maybe carting their goods, or walking through with a loaded pack animal.

Jesus was making it clear that the temple was God’s house and it was holy or set apart for worship.

Taught true worship

v 17 says he was teaching them about the proper use of the Temple. Jesus quoted a prophesies from Isaiah 56:7

“these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.””

and Jeremiah 7:11

“Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.”

God knew this time was coming when his holy temple would be abused. Later in that same chapter, Jeremiah called the people back to God.

Jeremiah 7:23 “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’”

If we ask who was being robbed of what, we would have to say that God was robbed of the worship of the nations and the nations were robbed of their place in the house of prayer.

At the end of verse 17, Mark includes a phrase that the other gospels skipped. Jesus said my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations or as Isaiah said for all peoples. Because Mark was writing to a mixed audience including Gentiles, he brings out this point that even the Jewish Temple was meant for all people - Gentile’s included.

Peoples' Responses:

Religious Leaders wanted to destroy him

Verse 18 says when the chief priest and the scribes saw him driving out the sellers and money changers and when they heard his teaching they were looking for a way to destroy him. Notice, it was not to correct him or question him anymore. It was to destroy him. The original Greek text is to destroy or kill in battle. They really wanted him dead. He was a threat to their false righteousness, their shallow piousness, their hypocrisy, and their extra money sources. They were afraid of Jesus and how he would change everything they loved and were used to.

When Jesus criticized the way the temple was being used, he was clearly pointing out their lack of spiritual leadership for Israel. Jesus was also making a point of including the Gentiles and preparing the way for the entire sacrificial system to come to an end.

Crowd was astonished

Verse 18 goes on to say because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. They could not believe their religious leaders could be so wrong. They heard the truth from Jesus and they wanted more. They recognized their outward religious actions and empty words were not really drawing them any closer to God. They wanted to worship God for real and they maybe were realizing that the religious leaders were not really leading them in true worship.

v 19 Jesus and the disciples left Jerusalem as night came. It would not have been safe for Jesus to remain in the city with the all the plots against his life. They probably returned each night to Bethany, where Jesus could spend time with friends.

SUMMARY

It was because the commercial activities had crowded out worship as the main purpose of the temple that Jesus protested, and sought to bring about Isaiah’s vision of the eschatological role of the temple

Jesus’ purpose was not to reform the temple but to abolish it. This was symbolized by the expulsion of the merchants, who in turn represent the priestly establishment and beyond that the whole nation. Israel was symbolically expelled from the temple, and it was symbolically abandoned by Jesus.

By clearing out the traders Jesus literally and symbolically provided a place for Gentiles in the temple of God.

False worship or busyness in our lives that crowds out prayer and a real relationship with God.

Take Aways

Do you have a personal relationship with God or is it a matter of busyness and religious duty? God sent his Son, the promised Messiah, not only to save Israel, but that all people and all nations would know Him, worship Him and glorify Him.

This all starts by your own repentance of sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Redeemer. The only one who can pay for your sins and forgive you, making everlasting peace with God.

Do you make room in your life for God? Do you plan time for communication with God in your daily worship a priority?

We speak to him through prayer and he speaks to us through His Word.

Do the outsiders in our community think of First baptist church as a house of prayer?

Are all nations welcomed here? Look around you - do we reflect the diversity in our local community? How can we encourage that more?

Do we just “go to church” in order to maintain our reputation or to truly worship and glorify God?

If Jesus were to physically show up in our house of worship like he did in Jerusalem that day, what changes would He make?

Let’s continue to strive to make this an International House of Prayer - for all people!

Benediction

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.