Matthew 12:12-17 Cleansing the Temple

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a robbers' den."  And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself'?"  And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. [Matthew 21:12‭-‬17 NASB]

 This is the second time Jesus has cleared the temple. The first time was at the beginning of His ministry, when He went up to Jerusalem for Passover (John 2:12-25). This second time is also at the Passover, but at the end of His ministry.

The practice at the time was for the merchants to make a deal with the priests. The priest would place a mark of approval on the offering, which was then sold in the temple at highly inflated rates. For example, a dove sold outside the temple sold for about the equivalent of 25 cents. Inside the temple, the dove would sell for $5.00. The priests would examine the offering purchased outside the temple and declare it unfit for sacrifice, forcing the worshipers to buy inside the temple. The priests got a percentage of the sale.

The priests also got a percentage of the money changers' profits. They declared that the shekel was the only money acceptable for the temple treasury. In a Roman dominated society where Roman currency was used everywhere else, people didn't have shekels so they were forced to change their denarii into shekels at an exorbitant exchange rate. While the priests only accepted shekels into the offering, they apparently had no problem spending the Roman money.

No doubt they justified their actions as "good business". After all, it was done "in support of the temple".

There is no indication that Jesus' actions that day achieved, or even attempted to achieve, true reform. Instead, it was a teaching moment for His disciples. He's saying, "See what religion has done. It has taken a place of worship and turned it into something else." He is telling us to be careful not to do the same. Don't defraud one another. Don't use religion as an excuse to grab for money or power. Don't turn the church into a marketplace, even if it's done "in support of the church".

With their religious blinders, the priests saw the wonderful things that Jesus was doing - healing the lame and the blind - and condemned Him. And in their ignorance, they chastised God Himself for receiving praise from the children.

Do you let religion lead you instead of the Holy Spirit? Do you condemn others who don't match your ideas of what religion should look like? Do you allow the traditions and doctrines of religion guide you instead of being open to the truth of the Holy Bible? Does your religion keep you from worshiping God as freely and as innocently as a child?

Don't let religion prevent you from knowing Jesus. Come to Him without expectations or preconceived notions. Pray and read the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to you. The Jesus of the Bible is very different than the Jesus who is preached in many churches.

The Bible teaches us that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus wasn't founding a religion, he was creating a family.