Jesus Clears the Temple – Mark 11:15-18
The next day after Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people sang his praises, he and his Disciples returned to Jerusalem and went to the Temple. Jesus was highly offended with the way the people were treating God’s house:
15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.[a] 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[b]
18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
–Mark 11:15-18 (NLT)
This is one of the few times in scripture when Jesus got really angry. The travelers needed an opportunity to purchase animals, but the marketers didn’t have to be inside the Temple, nor did they have to take advantage of the people by charging such high prices. Jesus’ anger was not in defense of himself, it was in defense of God’s holy Temple which was being mistreated. John’s Gospel adds this statement:
Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” (John 2:17 NLT)
When Jesus forcefully drove out the marketers and the money-changers, his actions enraged the religious leaders who immediately began to plot to have Jesus killed.
Take a few minutes to reflect on how you and the people in your church congregation show respect (or lack of respect) for their church. Would Jesus feel honored there?
Our bodies are also called “temples of God.” How can we honor Jesus with our bodies?