Why Did Jesus Turn Over The Tables?

Jesus turning over tables?

Aug10 Why did Jesus order the tables in the temple to be turned over?Is it because He didn’t care about the temple or the people of God that He did this?Or was it because He did it?Was it because of love or a lack of love that He produced such a commotion, that He drove everyone to begin asking themselves and each other new and tough questions, or was it because of both?We are aware of the answer to this question.Because Jesus cherished the temple and the people of God, He threw the tables in the air.

They had strayed from the path, lost their bearings, and settled for much too little.As a result, Jesus flipped a few of tables.He did not do so in order to call into doubt what His Father had ordered for His people, but rather in order to call into question what the people had done with what His Father had ordained.Some of those who witnessed Him do it were outraged.

In situations when individuals are content with or accountable for the way things are, new but challenging inquiries might annoy and worsen the situation more.People would rather cast doubt on the loyalty or sanity of people who ask such questions than sit down and begin to answer them directly.Jeremiah had a similar experience.

As did the vast majority of prophets.In the temple, Jesus was acting in the capacity of prophetic leader.Many people were irritated by His presence and queries.He, on the other hand, did not come to insult but to awaken.

Many people were offended by this.They would have been insulted no matter how politely Jesus posed the questions in the first place.It wasn’t the questions themselves that were offensive; it was the manner in which Jesus posed them.

It was the fact that the questions were ever posed in the first place.
But the very act of turning over tables and asking difficult questions began to shake up and awaken the very individuals who would later become part of the 3000 who were baptized on Pentecost and sent forth to be the Church rejuvenated and on mission as a result of that activity.
So much did Jesus care for the temple and the people of God that he flipped their tables over and called into question their way of life.
Infuriated, the Pharisees demanded to know who the troublemaker was.

The common people have been roused.
It is the nature of human beings in all ages to want to be assured that everything is OK and that we are doing a fantastic job of taking care of ourselves.
God’s nature is to call us to something more than what we have settled for at any given time.

Maybe the Lord has sent prophets to His Church once more, this time in order to force us to confront difficult issues and stop settling for too little.May we be able to put aside our annoyances and get down to business answering the difficult but vital questions of the day.We are compelled by our love for His Church.

Why Did Jesus Get Angry and Flip Tables?

The temple courts were full with individuals selling animals, lambs, and doves, as well as people sitting at tables trading money.Thus, using ropes, he whipped everyone from the temple courtyards, including animals and oxen; he dispersed the coins of the money changers and threw their tables to the ground.John 2:14-15 (KJV) Please bear with me as I quote some nonsense.″Jesus turned the tables on you to demonstrate that He would not put up with your nonsense!Don’t want to repent?That is exactly what you will receive!″ ″Jesus was filled with righteous rage because you were attempting to make money!

That’s why He flipped the script on us!″ ″You are not permitted to sell items or coffee in your church!″ You have the audacity to say that!″Christ would come in here and turn everything upside down!″ ″Jesus flipped the script to demonstrate that He was no pushover!And so, whoop, your, butt!″ I’m going to do the same thing.The thought of penning such crap makes my stomach flip a little.

When it comes to Jesus being enraged, I’ve heard it all: he whipped people, flipped tables, and drove them out of the temple courts.Immature individuals who don’t grasp the New Covenant, insist on the Old Covenant, and demonstrate a lack of self-control will turn to Jesus turning the table whenever they seek an excuse to be a jerk.This part of the Bible will be highlighted and taken out of context, with the question ″What would Jesus do?!

You know what he’d do?He’d take a swing at your skull!″ He wouldn’t do that, my friend.He’s courting unbelievers on this side of the Cross, not attempting to bring them suffering, and He never tried to cause them agony on the other side of the Cross.Jesus doesn’t inflict misfortune on a person and then fly over to the other side of the disaster to console them, as some people believe.

What a terrifying creature He would be.It’s bad enough that this world is full with problems.His mission was not to add to our misery, but rather to save us from it.

So, what is the right historical background for Jesus Christ’s deeds on that particular day?
Is it possible that He went mad because they were gambling, price gouging, or conducting commerce on sacred ground?
The truth is as follows: His actions were in defense of you and me, my beloved Gentile.
Non-Jews were only permitted to enter this one portion of the temple.

We weren’t permitted to go anyplace else for prayer except for this tiny location where we were being held.
It is understood that the Gentiles who came to this section of the temple courts believed in Yahweh–the God of the Jews–but that they were aware that they were not a part of their Covenant.
They didn’t follow Moses out of Egypt, they didn’t tread through the mud at the bottom of the sea, and they didn’t pledge God that they would keep every commandment in the Book of the Law (see Exodus 19:8, 24:3).

Despite everything, they maintained their faith in God.They had trust in what they were doing.Throughout history, faith has always justified a person, rather than the law, but that is a topic for another day (see Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38).Jesus saw that just one tiny component of the temple offered people reason to be hopeful.

Jesus was well aware that a large number of Gentiles who had been rescued by faith had gathered there to pray.
Their prayers were answered there; it was a geographical spot of solace, a place of yearning for something greater than being rejected because of their ethnicity.
It was particularly created for the promise God gave to Abraham before Israel was ever established, and this section of the temple was dedicated to that promise (see Genesis 22:15-18).

As Jesus looked around, he realized what the Jews had done in desecrating this zone of promise where the Gentiles may be rescued!They couldn’t care less about the Abrahamic covenant since He was so gorgeous!It was being wiped out by money-hungry bigots that God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many countries via Abraham’s offspring (Jesus), not only the nation of Israel, as he had promised Abraham.

(See Galatians 3:29 for further information.) Let’s have a look at what Jesus said to these morons who were attempting to cash in on the Law of Moses by setting up business in an area of the temple reserved for Gentiles: ″Doesn’t it say in the Bible: ‘My house will be designated a place of prayer for all nations’?″ he asked them as he was teaching them.You, on the other hand, have turned it into a ″den of robbers.″ (Matthew 11:17) Isaiah and Jeremiah were two of their own prophets, and Christ was citing them from their own scriptures!His roaring at them was something I could picture: ″ALL NATIONS!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL NATIOOOOOOOOOOONS!″IT’S NOT ONLY YOURS!″ He was really insane.I’m completely insane.

That was being trampled on by his own people, their own sacred scriptures, which included prophecies about God that included the Gentiles as well.
They would rather earn money from the need for animals than recognize that Jesus would abolish that need for all time in Himself, which would bring everyone into the kingdom of Christ (see Hebrews 10:4,10-14, John 1:29, 19:30, Galatians 3:28).
So today, my friends, be aware of the following: After getting upset and flipping the tables, Jesus expressed his desire to include all countries in His family, not only those who believed in Him and His teachings.
Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus express resentment toward a Gentile who has reached out to Him.

He was simply enraged because the legal professionals refused to include us.They want religion, and Jesus desired interaction with them.When this promise was not followed through on, Christ became enraged.His commitment to this particular vow has not waned since then.

I think that, via you and me, dear Christian, He is still reaching out to others who have not yet accepted Christ.
Continue to be yourself.
You are carrying out God’s original promise, which was to include the entire world in His family, via grace and trust in Jesus Christ.
I’d want to say a prayer for you: Dad, thank you for granting me the privilege of addressing you as such.

Someone sent me an angry email the other day, expressing their displeasure with the fact that I refer to you as Dad.
But that is exactly what you are.
You’re my father, after all.
You’re my Father, after all.
You’re known as Abba.

I adore you, and I’m overjoyed that you recognized me as your son, despite the fact that I am of Gentile descent.
Right now, I am lifting up everyone who is reading this, and I am addressing you specifically.
So many of these lovely readers are under the impression that you are a jerk.
Those have been misled into believing that you are enraged as a result of people who have misrepresented you; nevertheless, you are not.
During the Crucifixion, all of your rage was directed at Christ.

But you’re overjoyed to think that every nation, every people group, and every race will be welcomed in paradise.Continue to use our hands, feet, and lips to complete this incredible achievement.Dad, you’ve done us a favor.Amen.This devotional is taken from The Christian Identity, Volume 3: The Way of the Cross.

Get your hands on a copy right now!

Why Did Jesus Drive the Money Changers From the Temple?

Not only did Jesus expel money changers from the temple, but he also expelled those who were engaged in the business of selling animals.When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to observe the festival.Among the vendors in the temple courtyards were those selling livestock, lambs, and doves, as well as those seated at tables trading money.As a result, he fashioned a whip out of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, even the sheep and calves; he also dispersed the coins of the money changers and threw their tables over.– John 2:13-15 (New International Version) When Jesus entered the temple courtyards, he expelled everyone who was buying and selling goods there.In the process, he knocked down the tables of money changers and the benches of those selling doves.

Then he told them that ″it is written that my house would be called a place of prayer,″ but that they were turning it into ″a den of thieves.″ – Matthew 21:12-13 New International Version

Why Did Jesus Drive Them Out?

1. They were taking advantage of those who had traveled long distances to celebrate Passover.

Two things were required of these foreign worshipers: an animal to sacrifice and Temple currency that might be exchanged for goods at local commercial establishments.In most cases, selling animals or conducting a legitimate money exchange were perfectly legal activities.However, according to Jesus, these specific sellers were a ″den of thieves″ who likely charged outrageous fees in order to take advantage of individuals who appeared to have no other alternatives.

2. They were doing so in the Temple.

They apparently established up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, thereby displacing individuals who had come long distances to attend the temple’s services.Besides that, they were perverting the whole purpose of the Temple itself; Jesus screamed that they were transforming the house of worship into a den of thieves.This is not good!In summation, these ″businessmen″ were guilty of committing a double whammy: they took advantage of people while also interfering with God’s intentions.It’s no surprise that Jesus was enraged!

What Should We Learn?

1. Don’t make the same mistakes.

Of course, we will not be selling sacrifice animals or offering money exchange services to devotees, but we will be taking advantage of those who are less fortunate.Do you ever take advantage of people in order to further your own objectives?Is it possible that you’ve borrowed money from a kind friend with no intention of repaying them later?Do you assign less desirable jobs to your subordinates just because you have the authority to do so in your place of employment?What percentage of the population asks for favors from those who don’t know how to say no?

2. Speak up when others do the same thing.

On the other hand, if you observe someone else taking advantage of you, you should speak out and point it out. Perhaps we should follow Jesus’ lead and speak up in no uncertain terms?

3. Anger can be a good thing.

Rage is sometimes depicted as a bad feeling, yet the God who created us and gave us our emotions wants us to be stirred to anger from time to time.Jesus was enraged because people were abusing the privilege of using his Father’s dwelling.What are your thoughts?Do you become enraged when you see children being abused?When you hear of human trafficking, what are the first feelings that come to mind?If rage isn’t something that comes to mind when you think about it, you might want to consider why.

That rage may be a powerful motivator for us to become engaged in issues that we might otherwise overlook.

4. We are the Temple.

Even while I recognize that we must exercise caution when it comes to the activities that take place in church facilities, the larger point is that today’s believers in Christ are the church.When a result, as we meet with people from all walks of life, we are promoting the church.Do we believe that because the Temple was built for prayer, we, as God’s children, have any less of a responsibility?Consider whether we may be guilty of perverting the term ″God’s home″ when we make our prayer walk a priority over all else.

The Rest of the Story

When Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the Temple, what occurred next was a mystery.There was probably a startled hush as everyone nervously waited to see what would happen next.The Bible informs us that the blind and the lame flocked to him, and that children recognized him as ″Hosanna, son of David,″ according to the text.Consider the following: As soon as Jesus dealt with the opportunists, he became a magnet for the very people who were previously taken advantage of by others.Taking a strong stand for righteousness may be recognized and appreciated by others, depending on the circumstances.There are plenty of oppressed individuals in the world who are yearning for someone to speak out for their rights.

Who will take our place if we don’t?Are there any more applications that you can draw from Jesus’ expulsion of the moneychangers from the Temple?Every one of your thoughts is appreciated.What a wonderful lesson!

Learn more more about what the Bible teaches about money in this free online course!

Background Briefing: Why did Jesus turn over the tables of the money-changers? – Bible News

Prior to understanding why Jesus engaged in such violent behavior within the Temple grounds, it is necessary to review some historical context for the event.Mount Moriah, where the Temple of Jerusalem stood at the time, had a magnificent view of the whole city and was a dominant feature.Previously, in around 20 B.C., Herod the Great undertook an ambitious reconstruction of the Temple in order to restore it to its former Solomonic splendour.With the addition of retaining walls of incomparably fine craftsmanship and impressive height, the precincts were significantly expanded.There were large colonnades or porticoes on the inside of these walls, the most important of which was Solomon’s Portico (where Jesus lectured on occasion, according to John 10:23).Despite the fact that the Temple area was considered sacred, there was a thriving commerce in sacrifice animals in the Court of the Gentiles (also known as the Outer Court).

There were stores where visitors who had traveled to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple could purchase oxen, lambs, and doves, which they might then give up as sacrifices in the Temple.There were tables where money changers exchanged money in order to pay the Temple tax, which was collected once a year.The majority of the currency in circulation in Judea was Roman money, but because the coins bore a portrait of the Emperor, they were generally considered unacceptable for use in sacrificial offerings because they were in violation of the second commandment, as was the case in the rest of the Roman world.In order to pay Temple dues or make sacrifices, the Roman coins had to be converted into an unique currency that was the only legal way to do so.

First held in the Temple precincts, this rich commerce, which was backed by the powerful high priestly family of Annas and Caiaphas, was taking place in the Temple grounds for the first time.Caiaphas, the High Priest, had also instituted the selling of animals on the Temple courtyard, which provided him with significant financial benefit but reduced the forecourt to the status of a cattle market.That it was being used for commercial purposes that drove Jesus to take decisive action was because he believed it was an outrageous misuse of the Temple grounds, which he believed to be the case.

Jesus Turns the Tables

Then he entered the temple and proceeded to drive out both the sellers and the purchasers from the temple, and he threw overturned the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold pigeons.(Matthew 11:15) Depending on how you looked at it, this particular Monday morning may have seemed like any other in the modern Western world: it was time to go back to the grind and get back to work.Jesus did, in fact, travel into Jerusalem to attend to the needs of the people.He was nowhere to be found when he messed with the money-changers, which is ironic given how many of our contemporary contemporaries have come to associate Jesus with meek and polite progressive ″tolerance.″ When Jesus, in a Jeremiah-like way, delivered a thunderous judgment on Israel, there was nothing gentle or tender about his words.His chastisement was delivered in no clear terms to their place of worship.

Pigeons! Get Your Pigeons!

In the Christian tradition at which I was reared, touring musical ensembles would perform on a regular basis in our church.As you might expect, these bands would have records and other stuff to promote on the road, but they weren’t permitted to sell them at our local church – at least not in the church foyer, where the majority of attendees arrived.The biblical justification for this was found in Mark 11:15–19, when Jesus cleaned the temple.People hawking their products around the temple evidently offended Jesus, and as a result, we should refrain from doing so in the vicinity of the church’s sanctuary.Certainly, a Jewish temple’s worship space and the auditorium of a rural Baptist church in America aren’t quite analogous, but, in keeping with Jesus’s instructions, my local church did not want its place of worship to be co-opted as a site of commercial activity.And you’re absolutely right about it.

So this was one of the temple issues that Jesus was dealing with at the time.It’s easy to envision that the city would have been jam-packed with pilgrims due to the holiday of Passover.They would have come to the temple to make sacrifices, and pigeon-vendors would have taken advantage of the situation by setting up shop.Far now, when sweating salespeople roam the aisles and trumpet their popcorn, it may not have seemed that different — except that these were sacrificial birds, their goal was malevolent, and the prices were almost certainly even higher than they are today!

″Pigeons!Pigeons!Get your pigeons!″ they would have yelled towards the sky.

The fact is that this is an extreme departure from what the place of worship should have been, and Jesus would not have approved of it.Jesus, with his claim of power, turned heads as he spoke for God and threw tables into the crowd.It was his quotations from the Old Testament, namely from Isaiah and Jeremiah, that served as the foundation for everything: ″Is it not written, ‘My home shall be called a place of prayer for all the nations’?″ ″However, you have turned it into a nest of robbers.″

Out of Sync

Although the cooperative for trade was a concern, it was not the only or even the most important one that Jesus was addressing.This was a major failure because it demonstrated how Israel’s worship was out of sync with the grand end-times vision promised by prophet Isaiah — the new age that Jesus had come to establish.In Isaiah 56, Jesus cites a section of the vision, which reads: ″My home shall be considered a place of prayer for all peoples.″ More information can be gleaned from the context of Isaiah 56.God’s covenant would be upheld by ethnic minorities (Isaiah 56:4), and strangers would come to him (Isaiah 56:6), and the outcasts would be joined among his people (Isaiah 56:7), according to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 56:8).However, when Jesus neared the temple, it was teeming with people buying and selling.The court of the Gentiles, which had been set up specifically for foreigners to assemble and for people from all over the world to seek the Lord, had been overrun with opportunists looking to make a quick buck.

And it was the Jewish authorities who had allowed this to happen.As a result of their economic zeal and their erroneous belief in the temple as a symbol of blessing (Jeremiah 7:3–11), they had made it impossible for the nations to approach, and Jesus was driving them away.Although there were rows of merchandise and price gouging going on, the greatest tragedy of this sight was that it left no place for Gentiles and outcastes to come and worship with the community as a whole.According to Isaiah 2:2–3, this place of worship should have foreshadowed the hope of God’s restored creation — a day when ″all the nations will flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob’″ (i.e., ″Come, let us go to the house of the God of Jacob″) As a result, the eventual picture of God’s people in God’s place would appear a bit more jumbled than it did when Jesus first walked through the city gates.

In addition, because their worship was so far from this goal, Jesus was fed up with them.God’s people’s worship was so out of sync with God’s plans that it devoured God’s messiah with zeal for God’s intentions.It had to come to an end.

What About Us?

And here’s the lesson for us on this first Monday of Holy Week, or, more accurately, here’s the question we need to answer.Is our worship a good prefigurative representation of the prophetic vision of the new creation?Whether we realize it or not, our personal investments and corporate meetings mirror the heart of a God who seeks out and gathers the outcasts.This topic is especially pertinent during the Easter season, when our churches put up their best efforts to appear exceptionally beautiful.This weekend, when we come together for worship, no one will be setting up tables to exchange cash with us.No one will bring their oxen into a field in the hopes of becoming wealthy.

A cage of high-priced pigeons will not be carried by anyone.Our decorations, on the other hand, may be lavish.Our clothes may be of a high caliber.Our music has the potential to be world-class.

We can pour out enthusiastic energy into these endeavors and create a visually stunning display, but if Jesus were to appear, if he were to walk into our churches this Sunday, he would be on the lookout for the hordes of the unwashed.So, where have all the misfits, the socially downtrodden, and the outcasts vanished too?With lots of life in the veins of Easter, we can be propelled out of our comfort zones, our social circles, and our Sunday best, and sent forth to do what we can to help those who have the least to do.

049: Why Did Jesus Flip the Tables?

Skip to the main content Listen to The Stewardology Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Buzzsprout, or online, or search for ‘The Stewardology Podcast’ in your preferred podcast application.You may get our Free Stewardship Ebook by clicking here: God’s Priorities for Our Stewardship are as follows: Are you aware that God might become enraged from time to time?God is not merely a nice, soft-spoken grandparent-figure who sits up in heaven with a careless disregard for what is going on on the ground below.God is completely enraged when the things of this world are twisted and severely deformed from what He originally intended for them to be!Some of this may be seen in the life and work of Jesus, for example.Consider the question of whether, if Jesus was enraged by what happened in the Temple then, is anything happening in the church now that may lead Jesus to get enraged with us.

There are four instances in the Bible when we see Jesus removing the temple tables from their positions.According to our findings, one of these occurrences occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ career, as recorded in John 2:13-16, and the other three are synoptic (that is, they are all based on the same experience) and can be found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.Although there are some significant differences between the early temple clearing and the later one (most of which are theological in nature (for example, in John’s Gospel Jesus claims that the temple was HIS Father’s house), our time on this episode will be devoted to the similarities between the two.This will allow us to focus on one of the three synoptic sections, which will be Mark 11:15-17 in this case.

Mark 11:15-17

″When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he entered the temple area and immediately began expelling people who were buying and selling there.″ During his reign, he toppled the tables of money changers and the benches of those who sold doves, and he forbade anybody from transporting products through the temple courtyards. ″Is it not written: ″’My house will be designated a place of prayer for all nations’?″ he asked them as he educated them. You, on the other hand, have turned it into a ″den of robbers.″ (NIV84) Let’s look at this text in more detail. There was one place where the Jewish people had dominion away from Rome, and that was in the temple
Rome’s tolerance of the Israelite leaders, along with a desire to keep the temple pure, is the reason why there were money changers in the temple. When it came to money, there was only one kind of cash accepted in the temple: Tyrian coinage, which were Jewish coins with no idolatry human images on them (they believed that idolatrous human representations desecrated the temple and prevented them from purchasing sacrifice animals).

The Priests had to agree to the presence of the money changers in the temple, therefore this was not something that they were able to do on their own will. The Priests may have had a ″hand in the exchange″ of the money, which would have benefited their bottom line, according to some speculation (which has not yet been substantiated).
The tables of those selling doves were also thrown over by Jesus in this chapter, and he also drove away others who were ″selling″ stuff in the temple, according to the synoptic Gospels.
This is the one place in the synoptics where we can discern that Jesus single-handedly shut down the temple in order to provide a short-cut for traffic and tourists. It was common practice in those days to travel from one location in Jerusalem to another by passing through the Court of the Gentiles of the Temple, which was the location where the Market was set up
Jesus goes on to quote two different passages from the Old Testament: ″My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations″ (Isaiah 56:7)
and ″You have made it a den of robbers″ (Matthew 23:23). 7:11
Jeremiah 7:11

Why, specifically, did Jesus flip the tables?

First and foremost, they were converting what was supposed to be God’s house of worship into a market!It was more than just a marketplace; it was a den of thieves, according to Jesus, where people selling items/animals and exchanging cash were ripping off those trading and purchasing, hence his description of it as a ″den of robbers.″ In this way, the temple courtyard had begun to resemble an open-air marketplace.Most likely, greedy merchants took advantage of their customers whenever they had the opportunity, especially during the feasts when pilgrims from far away flocked to the temple region.Jesus’ fury was stirred by the fact that Sadducean priests enabled merchants to do business in the Court of the Gentiles, rather than by the manner in which the merchants conducted their own business.″ (According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary) Could it be that Jesus was dissatisfied with the Temple’s transformation into a marketplace?Sure!Is it possible that Jesus was displeased with the fact that ″robbery″ and dishonest gain were taking on in the marketplace?

Absolutely.Is it possible that Jesus was displeased with the fact that the religious authorities of the day were complicit in the situation in the Temple at the time?Yes!It was most likely a mix of all of the factors listed above.

Secondly, the market effectively shut off the gentiles from their place of worship for the God of Israel.A place of sales and theft was established by the Jewish authorities in the spot where Gentiles were permitted to congregate and worship God.A promised worship space for Gentiles, the outer court (also known as the court of gentiles) was erected expressly in the Temple for people outside of the Jewish religion to come and worship the God of Israel!Gentiles were unable to and did not have a place to come and worship God in their temple court as a result of the disturbance and loudness in their temple court!They were meant to be involved, but their participation was hindered by the rituals going place in the Temple.

3. The temple was also used as a shortcut for travelers, rather than as a place of devotion, reverence, and regard for the Lord!

Does this have any crossover applications to the church today?

Are we erecting barriers in the church that cause people to become distracted from their worship? Is it possible that the programming of today’s worship services is creating one or more barriers, or distractions, for those attending? Are we doing business in the church in a way that prevents people from attending services? By informing the congregation that a dollar put in would result in ten dollars coming out (God as a cosmic vending machine), are we distorting the offering collecting process? Is it possible that church leaders are promoting ″Health and Wealth″ teaching as a means of enriching their own pockets? Is the church’s financial resources (as well as other resources) being used in a wise and God-honoring manner? When it comes to stewardship, the church today should be an outward manifestation of the stewardship that is prescribed for believers in the Word of God. That which God has written for the believer is also written for the church
that which God has written for the believer is also written for the Pastor and Church Leaders to follow
that which God has written for the believer is also written for the church is written for the pastor and church leaders to follow

Jesus made clear that “my house will be a house of prayer.”

Let us live and govern our resources in a way that gives respect to the Lord and takes others along with us.Consider the possibility of restoring our churches to their original role as God’s ″house of prayer.″ We are confident that doing so will bring happiness to the Father’s heart!The Stewardology Podcast is a ministry of Life Financial Group and Life Institute, and the material given is their intellectual property.Any content that is not expressly written permission of The Stewardology Podcast may not be copied, reproduced, modified, or otherwise used without the full written permission of The Stewardology Podcast.Contact us at [email protected] or (800) 688-5800 if you require further information.The issues covered in this podcast are meant to give basic information only, and are not intended to provide particular investment advice or recommendations to listeners.

Investing and investing methods are fraught with danger, including the possibility of losing one’s money.The past success of a company does not guarantee future outcomes.Members of the FINRA/SIPC Tyler Rutherford provides securities and advisory services via GWM, Inc.Member FINRA/SIPC 2022-03-01T14:39:13+00:00

Why Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple – Catholic Strength

1.Jesus’ supreme authority over the Sabbath (see Mark 3:28) 2.Jesus’ Authority in Relation to Marriage and Divorce (see Mark 10: 6-12) Third, Jesus’ authority over the Temple (see Mark 11: 15-18 and 13: 1-37) As a result, what exactly is going on between Jesus and the money-changers in the Temple?Is it possible that Jesus is merely irritated by the fact that there is trade taking on in the Temple?Is it possible that Jesus is thinking about something far more serious?The Scriptures had predicted that one day God will bring Jews and Gentiles together to worship together in one place in the Temple (see Isaiah 56: 7).

Furthermore, the Scriptures predicted (at the very least typologically) of a day when the Messiah would conduct a ″divine inspection″ of the Temple (see Mal.3: 1-4).″Is it not written: ‘My house will be designated a place of prayer for all nations’?″ Jesus asks as the day of the inspection comes around.You, on the other hand, have turned it into a ″den of robbers.″ (Matthew 11:17) For the Gentiles, the outer court of the Temple, where the buying and selling took place, was meant to be a place of prayer and devotion.

This isn’t simply a narrative about money; it’s also a story about salvation.The conversion of the Temple’s outer court into a market area severely slowed God’s plan of redemption for the Gentiles to an unacceptable level.The following is included in the commentary of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, as an example of this:

“Because Israel failed to repent, Solomon’s Templewas destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Jesus similarly confronts Israelites who presume their covenant relationship with God will remain secure despite their sin….Their impenitence will result in the Temple’s second destruction in A.D. 70 . *** Here too the mountain of Jerusalem and its Temple must be pushed aside to make room for a new Temple: the true house of prayer built of Christian believers quarried from all nations….” (Gospel of Mark, Chapter 11 footnotes)

The cleaning of the Temple by Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple.According to the author, ″Jesus’ dramatic act of overturning tables foreshadows the Temple’s horrific destruction in the year A.D.″ Jesus was not just breaking tables in the Temple, but he was also overturning the entire economy of the Old Testament.It is not possible to put new wine into old wine skins.The new and indestructible Temple will be built by Jesus himself.The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which occurred less than four decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, would be foretold with amazing accuracy in Chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel, according to the Gospel of Mark (see Reference below).APPLICATION IN THE PRESENT DAY: If today’s Church is preoccupied with the spirit of the world rather than the salvation of souls, does this mean that it is failing to fulfill its fundamental role as a soul-saving institution?

In a recent newsletter, Peter Herbeck (of Renewal Ministries) stated that the Church is already going through a painful cleansing as a result of the clerical sex abuse epidemic.Former Cardinal Dietrich von Hildebrand observed long ago that the Church was suffering from a morals crisis that was potentially lethal to its members.He was correct.For this reason, I’d like to conclude this message with an excerpt from his book, Trojan Horse in the City of God: ″ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS sign of degradation in the Church today is the adoption of modern amoralism,″ writes the author.

Many amoralistic elements might be observed sneaking into sermons years before the Second Vatican Council.The amoralism that is growing popularity among Catholics is, without a doubt, one of the most worrying signs of a decline in real Christian belief….goods such as the earthly welfare of mankind, scientific progress, and the dominance of the forces of nature are…considered to be far more important than moral perfection and the avoidance of sin….He who is more impressed and thrilled by ‘cosmic processes’ and scientific speculation than by reflections on Christ’s humanity in a saint and by the victory over the world that the very existence of a saint embodies, is no longer filled with the Christian spirit.

″He who is more concerned with the earthly well-being of mankind than with its purification has lost sight of the Christian vision of the cosmos,″ says the Apostle Paul.Tom Mulcahy, M.A., is a professor of English.References: I am fully reliant on the notes in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible for the Gospel of Mark for this essay.Likewise, see: Share on social media by clicking on the ″Leave a remark″ or ″Comments″ buttons below (and this will bring up social media icons if they are not already present).

Would Jesus Turn Over Tables in Today’s Church?

There’s a narrative about Jesus that’s always bothered me for some reason.Nonetheless, it appears in every Gospel, and any portrayal of him would be inconsistent and fragile if it were absent.When I started composing songs for a Jesus-themed album, I knew I wanted to attempt to replicate this event in musical form as best I could.However, the process of creating this song (which you can see in the lyric video included on this page) just made me feel more upset.In it, Jesus enters the temple and erupts in a righteous passion, tossing furniture and wielding a whip, driving out the moneychangers and merchants from the building.He had a burning in his gut and a jealous glint in his eyes when he saw her.

When was the last time you thought about why Jesus was so enraged?Consider this: these merchants were supplying sacrifice animals as well as temple coinage, both of which were essential resources for believers seeking to come closer to the Almighty.Similar to this, modern Christian leaders supply God’s people with books, podcasts, music, Bible studies, and other resources to aid us in our worship.These resources include: What exactly is the problem with that?

In my position as someone who works in the Christian resource ″industry″—performing God’s story at concerts, releasing new albums and merchandise, giving talks, and leading worship at conferences—writing a song from this story prompted unsettling questions in my mind about what it means to be a faithful servant of Christ.Would Jesus be willing to flip the tables in our congregations?What about our social media feeds?

What about our conferences?What about my concerts?What about my heart?

Important Context

Year after year, travelers from all across the Ancient Near East made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover holiday.The animals required to be kosher and suitable for sacrifice in order to worship Yahweh in line with Jewish tradition.Because many were going considerable distances, it was not practicable for them to carry sacrifice animals with them; thus, they would purchase the animals when they arrived.In addition to exchanging their national cash for temple currency in order to pay the appropriate temple tax, pilgrims were obliged to exchange their native currency for temple currency.Sacrifice animals and temple cash were given by the merchants and moneychangers in the outer courts of the temple.They prepared the pilgrims for their religious ceremony.

According to Leon Morris, a commentator, they ″served a valuable, if not absolutely vital purpose.″ In and of itself, there was nothing wrong with the commodities, or even with the buying and selling process.In reality, without the assistance of these merchants, the pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem would have no means to approach God.

Reasons for Jesus’s Rage

So, what was it that caused Jesus to become enraged at them? I can think of at least three causes for this.

1. Tarnished Witness

The merchants and moneychangers had set up business in the Gentiles’ court, which was a convenient location.Think about it: you’re a foreigner who wants to worship the God of Israel in this outer court, but you’re not allowed to walk any further into the temple.I couldn’t imagine how you were expected to worship and pray in this busy marketplace, replete with the loud cries of people buying and selling, the odor and commotion of cattle, and the jingling of cash.Jesus was enraged because the ″house of prayer for the nations″ had been transformed into a place of commerce (Mark 11:17).God’s purpose had been for Israel to be a magnet for all countries, but because of the flurry of economic activity, the nations were unable to enter the edifice.

2. Hollow Worship

On the same day that Jesus cleaned the temple, he cursed a fig tree that was barren of fruit.A wonderful parallel for Israel, and farther than that, for those who profess to be God’s people yet do not yield fruit for him, according to Tim Keller.The cleansing of the temple served as a scathing criticism of religious activity that was only for show, lip worship, and pointless ceremony.Rather of worshiping in God’s temple of prayer, the merchants turned it into a market, providing a hollow, transactional, get-in-and-get-out kind of devotion.The cleansing of the temple served as a scathing criticism of religious activity that was only for show, lip worship, and pointless ceremony.

3. Self-Centered Why

When Jesus claims that these businessmen were transforming the temple into ″a den of thieves,″ he is quoting from Jeremiah 7:11.It was they who took advantage of the pilgrims’ devotion by offering services and resources in exchange for extravagant prices for their goods and services.Instead of assisting in the worship of Yahweh, their motivation was just financial and personal gain.It is at best an attempt to transform worship into a business opportunity.When they are at their worst—and this appears to be the impression we get from Jeremiah—they are antagonistic to God and ruthlessly selfish.That is, they deprive people of their money while depriving God of the praise that he is due as well.

Turning Tables in Today’s Church

Is it possible that the present Western church culture resembles the busy outer courts of the temple more than we would want to admit?If we come across examples of more extreme behavior, such as greedy false instructors who prey on the needy by promising health and fortune, we are eager to point our fingers.What about a more subtly pernicious, devious, and widely prevalent culture of commercialism in today’s church?Have the mercenary practices that roused Jesus’ wrath seeped into our churches and into our hearts today?As a singer-songwriter who makes money by singing God’s narrative, promotes my music on social media, and operates a ″merch table″ after performances, the account of Jesus purifying the temple serves as a cautionary tale for me.It should serve as a warning to all of us, especially Western evangelicals who are surrounded by Christian celebrities and a plethora of Christian stuff.

Have the mercenary practices that roused Jesus’ wrath seeped into our churches and into our hearts today?What will be our reaction to this warning?Would it be OK for us to quit writing and marketing our Christian books and music?Should we shut down the publishing firms, the record labels, and the conferences, among other things?

Would Jesus throw my merch display to the ground?Perhaps.These are hyperbolic issues, and we should refrain from making direct analogies between the temple and the church in this context.

But, for the time being, let’s embrace the discomfort.Let us grapple with the following question in front of God: What has caused us to become like the merchants and moneychangers that Jesus was so enraged at?Is it possible that our churches, activities, and social-media accounts have become so overrun with commercial pitches that the voice of the gospel for the countries and our lost neighbors has been drowned out?Worship resources have been prioritized over repentance and wholehearted discipleship in places where we have not done so.

In what instances have we placed the pursuit of riches, platform, and our own glory ahead of the pursuit of God’s glory?It is necessary for everyone of us again to beg God to wash our witness, worship, and why in the same way Jesus cleansed the temple.This is a lifelong process.

oh, that we would beg him to turn the tables on us in our hearts, congregations, and organizations, purifying our motivations so that our innermost desire would be to worship him.

Jesus: True Temple and Our Only Hope

Jesus is the more authentic and superior temple.As the law’s completion, he is also the ideal high priest, as well as the immaculate lamb.He is the more trustworthy and reliable testimony, and it is through him that people of every country, tribe, and tongue may and will come closer to God.Moreover, Jesus lived a life of perfect worship, driven not by selfish gain but rather by self-sacrificial love and obedience to the Father.In order for this to be true of us, Jesus, you must turn the tables if you have to.Watch the lyric video for ″Turn the Tables,″ which features artwork by Stephen Procopio, below: Lyrics: Verse 1 of the psalm You take advantage of those who would idolize you.

Make a penny by putting your faith in God.Sell the sacred in order to make a profit.Make sacred items available for purchase.When the entire globe wants to enter the building, they are unable to do so since the building is overcrowded with merchandise and salespeople.

In the presence of the Lord’s sacred temple Verse 2: Jesus enters and begins to turn the tables.erupts in a fit of fierce anger Makes a whip and drives the idols out of the temple.He is envious of his Father’s good name.

Because of this, when the entire world seeks to enter inside the building, He will stand like an open door.Three days are going to send out a signal.This is the path that leads to the Lord’s home, according to the Chorus.Turn the tables, turn the tables over, turn the tables over.

Turn the tables, turn the tables over, turn the tables over.Verse 3: Would you like to make a change to the story?Do you want to see your name flashed on the screen?

Is it possible for you to receive a portion of the glory?
It is not something that can be commodified.
Don’t you realize that your heart is a temple of sorts?
Please let him in since he is pounding on your door.

He will then turn the tables on you.
Construct a sanctuary in your heart for the Lord’s Chorus.
Two-fold tag: Turn the tables over, turn the tables over, and turn the tables over again.

Toss the tables around, toss the tables around, turn the tables around

Cleansing of the Temple – Wikipedia

Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple tale describes his driving the merchants and moneychangers from the Temple.It is recorded in all four canonical gospels of the New Testament, and it is one of the most famous stories in the world.The scenario is a popular motif in Christian art, as may be seen here.After traveling to Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus and his disciples expel the merchants and consumers from the temple, accusing them of converting it into ″a den of thieves″ (according to the Synoptic Gospels) and ″a house of trade″ (according to the Gospel of John) through their commercial activities.According to the Synoptic Gospels, the tale is found at the conclusion (at Matthew 21:12–17, Mark 11:15–19, and Luke 19:45–48), while it is found close to the beginning of the Gospel of John (at John 2:13–16).Given that the Gospel of John contains more than one Passover, some scholars assume that these two passages allude to two different episodes in the Bible.

Description

Several sources claim that Jesus paid a visit to the Temple in Jerusalem, where he found the courtyard to be crowded with cattle, merchants, and the tables of the money changers, who were busy converting the standard Greek and Roman currency into Jewish and Tyrian shekels.Jerusalem was jam-packed with Jews who had traveled to the city for Passover, with estimates ranging from 300,000 to 400,000 travelers.In the end, he drove them all out of the temple with a whip made of cords, along with the sheep and oxen.And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and threw them to the ground, knocking them over.Then Jesus commanded those who were selling the pigeons, ″Take these things away; do not turn my Father’s home into a place of business.″ After that, Jesus walked into the house of God and drove out everyone who sold and purchased in the temple, overturning the tables of the money changers as well as the seats of those who sold doves, among other things.He then told them that it was written that My house would be considered a place of prayer, but that they had turned it into a den of thieves.

In Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47, Jesus accuses the Temple officials of thievery, and this time he identifies impoverished widows as their victims, and he goes on to offer proof for this accusation in Mark 12:42 and Luke 21:2, among other places.Dove merchants were selling doves that had been sacrificed by the poor, who couldn’t afford more elaborate offerings, and notably by female pilgrims.According to Mark 11:16, Jesus subsequently imposed a ban on anybody bringing any item into the Temple, a measure that would have caused complete disruption to all commercial activity.This occurred in the gentiles’ outermost court, which was the most remote.

According to Matthew 21:14–16, the Temple elders interrogated Jesus about whether or not he was aware that the children were chanting ″Hosanna to the Son of David.″ Jesus answered by adding, ″You have appointed praise to come from the lips of children and babies.″ According to followers, Jesus’ acknowledgment of divinity was made through the use of a line from the Psalm 8:2, which reads, ″from the mouths of youngsters and babies.″

Chronology

Some scholars disagree on whether or not the Temple was cleansed in two stages, and whether or not there were two different occurrences.Thomas Aquinas and St.Augustine both believe that Jesus performed a similar act twice, with the less severe denunciations of the Johannine account (merchants and sellers) occurring early in Jesus’s public ministry and the more severe denunciations of the synoptic accounts (thieves and robbers) occurring just before, and indeed expediting, the events of the crucifixion.Combining the claims about the Temple cleaning story in the Gospel of John with non-biblical historical sources can yield an estimate of the time period during which it took place.As recorded in John 2:13, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem’s Temple at the commencement of his career, and as recorded in John 2:20, he was informed, ″For forty-six years, this temple has been under construction, and you want to raise it up in three days?″ The first-century historian Flavius Josephus wrote in the Antiquities of the Jews that the temple reconstruction was begun by Herod the Great in the 18th year of his reign in 22 BC, two years before Augustus arrived in Syria in 20 BC to return the son of Phraates IV and receive in return the spoils and standards of three Roman legions (Ant 15.380).(Ant 15.354).

Expansion and rebuilding of the temple were continuing activities, and the temple was under constant reconstruction until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.In light of the fact that the Temple had been under construction for 46 years at the time of John’s visit, it has been suggested that the visit occurred sometime between 24 and 29 AD.It is probable that the Temple complex had barely been constructed for a few years before it was demolished by the future Emperor Titus in the year 70 AD.

Analysis

Professor David Landry of the University of St.Thomas proposes the following solution: ″The fact that Jesus dies within a week of this occurrence indicates the significance of this story for the Christian faith.The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all agree that this was the event that served as the ″trigger″ for Jesus’ execution.″ As explained by Butler University professor James F.McGrath in his explanation of the animal sales, they had to do with selling animals to be used in the Temple’s animal sacrifices.The moneychangers at the temple, he further says, were there to convert the many currencies in circulation into the approved currency for the purpose of paying Temple taxes.According to E.

P.Sanders and Bart Ehrman, Greek and Roman coinage was changed into Jewish and Tyrian money.[source: Sanders and Ehrman] Although it is widely assumed that Jesus was reacting to the practice of money changers routinely defrauding the populace, Marvin L.Krier Mich posits that a significant amount of money was stored at the temple, where it could be loaned by the wealthy to the poor who were in danger of losing their land due to debt.

Consequently, the Temple establishment collaborated with the nobility in the exploitation of the poor and working class.One of the first acts of the Initial Jewish-Roman War was the destruction of the debt records in the archives, which was one of the war’s first acts.Pope Francis does not consider the Cleansing of the Temple to be a violent act, but rather a prophetic demonstration, according to the Vatican.

Aside from communicating God’s words through writing and speech, Israelite or Jewish nevi’im (″spokespersons″ or ″prophets″) frequently lived out prophetic activities in their daily lives.A popular theory held by D.A.Carson is that the reason that Jesus was not apprehended by Temple guards was due to a show of support from the multitude.According to Maurice Casey, the Temple’s authorities were probably concerned that sending guards against Jesus and his disciples would spark a revolt and a carnage, whereas Roman soldiers in the Antonia Fortress did not feel the need to intervene for a minor disturbance such as this; however, Jesus’s actions are likely to have prompted the authorities’ decision to arrest Jesus a few days later and later to have him crucified by Roman prefect Pontius Pilate.

Interpretation of John 2:15

A history of the understanding of the Johannine passage since Antiquity was presented by Andy Alexis-Baker in 2012 at Loyola University Chicago, where he is currently a clinical associate professor of theology. It is Origen (3rd century) who makes the first remark on the passage: he rejects the passage’s historicity and sees it as a metaphorical representation of a person who has been set free from worldly things as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice. The contrary is true: John Chrysostom (v. 391) defended the historical authenticity of this passage
however, when considering whether Jesus had used the whip against the merchants in addition to the other beasts, he specified that it was done in order to demonstrate his divinity and that Jesus was not to be imitated
and
According to Theodore of Mopsuestia (in 381) – who responded, during the First Council of Constantinople, to the bishop Rabbula, who was accused of striking his clerics and attempting to justify himself by the purification of the Temple – and Cosmas Indicopleustes (in 550), the event is non-violent and historical: Jesus whips sheep and bulls, but he does not speak to merchants and does not overturn their tables
Augustine of Cato the Great, Donatist bishop of Cirta, espoused a non-violent Christianity and criticized Catholic Christianity for transgressing this non-violence. Petilian of Constantine was born in a non-violent Christian family. The Bishop of Hippo responded by reading the cleansing of the temple as a time when Jesus was acting as a persecutor against the merchants of the temple, which the Bishop of Hippo agreed with. Following Augustine’s interpretation, according to Alexis-Baker, Christians have justified ever-increasing violence. For example, Pope Gregory VII (in 1075), quoting Pope Gregory I, relies on this passage to justify his policy against the simonic clergy, who he compares to merchants in terms of wealth and power. Another group of medieval Catholic personalities, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, who preached the crusade, arguing that battling the ″pagans″ with the same passion that Jesus demonstrated against the merchants was a means of redemption, will do the same.
When accused of aiding in the burning alive of Michael Servetus, a theologian who denied the divinity of Jesus, during the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin (in 1554), following in the footsteps of Augustine of Hippo and the Gregories, defended himself by citing (among other things) the purification of the temple.
After doing a grammatical examination of the text, Andy Alexis Baker claims that, while the bulk of English-speaking Bibles depict Jesus lashing people as well as animals, the original text is more complicated, and that the text does not depict a violent deed by Jesus towards the merchants.

According to later sources

Toledot Yeshu

Several later additions to the story of the episode are widely viewed as mythical or polemical by academics, and thus are not included here.Yeshu is said to have entered the Temple with 310 of his followers, according to the Toledot Yeshu, a parody gospel that was probably written down about 1,000 years later but that may have been based on second-century Jewish-Christian gospel if not oral traditions that may have gone back as far as the formation of the canonical narratives themselves.In addition, Epiphanius claims that Christ’s followers had entered the Temple, and in particular the Holy of Holies, and that James had donned the high priest’s breastplate as well as the high priestly diadem on his head and had actually entered the Holy of Holies, and that John the Beloved had become a sacrificing priest who wore the mitre, which was originally the high priest’s headdress.Yeshu was also accused of stealing the shem hamphorash, the’secret name of god,’ from the Holy of Holies in the Toledot Yeshu, which is located in the Temple of Solomon.

In art

The purification of the Temple is a typical occurrence in the Life of Christ that is presented under a variety of titles. El Greco painted various variations on this theme: In the paintings Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, London), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, Madrid), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, Minneapolis), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, New York), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, Washington), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, New York), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Gre

Gallery

Temple purification is underway. Unknown artist
Giotto’s ″Casting out the Money Changers″ (Casting out the Money Changers).

References

The Complete Gospels, Polebridge Press (1994), ISBN 0-06-065587-9
Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament, Doubleday (1997), ISBN 0-385-24767-2
Brown, Raymond E. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall (1990), ISBN 0-13-614934-0
Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus, Orbis (1998), ISBN 0-88344-6220
Miller,

Notes

Page 49 of The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary by Craig A. Evans, published in 2005 u