Yesterday, I posted some thoughts on Palm Sunday.
Today, I want to look at what Jesus did on Monday during Passion Week (Mark 11:12-19). There’s so much here, and I apologize for the length. I pray that this can become kind of a devotion for you today, and that you might not feel the need to hurry through it.
You’ll also discover that I don’t really come to any conclusion, only some suggestions.
So here’s what happened that Monday…
15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written:
” ‘My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations’[c]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[d]
Jesus went to the temple courts, saw what was going on in the name of God, and got really, really ticked. He went on a rampage.
But why?
The classic interpretation suggests that people were buying and selling stuff in God’s house, and that’s not okay. So for churches that have a coffee bar, Jesus might toss the latte machine out the window.
I wonder if something else is going on here, and I wonder if the Old Testament passage Jesus quotes informs our understanding? The passage Jesus quotes is Isaiah 56. There’s not enough room to print it all here, but you should really go read it for yourself, then come back.
In verses 4-5, Isaiah addresses eunuchs. He says that, if these people who are ceremonially incomplete (and perhaps even considered to be unclean) pursue God, and honor Him by keeping the Sabbath (an issue of dedicating themselves to Yahweh in addition to the King they serve), then God will call them “sons and daughters”, and they “will not be cut off” (that’s some really funny wording for eunuchs, but I’m not going there). Here’s the point:
Those who are considered ceremonially incomplete or unclean, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out. They’re in.
Next, in verses 6-7, Isaiah addresses the foreigner – the alien – the non-Israelite. He basically says the same thing, adding that they will find “joy in the House of Prayer”.
Those who are considered nationally unclean, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out. They’re in.
He ends his thoughts with this: “For My house will be called a House of Prayer for all nations.”
ALL nations.
Back to the Temple, on Monday.
The mention of selling doves is important. Because of God’s grace and kindness, this was the only sacrifice God required from the poorest of the poor. Not a fattened lamb, or bull, or scapegoat. And the mention of Temple “courts” is important too. The courts of the Temple were where everyone was invited to come, pray, and experience God. Nationality or social status was never meant to exclude people (maybe that’s why the Acts 2 church met there – so everyone could come).
Those who are considered marginalized and not worthy of love, but who love God and are pursuing Him, are not out. They’re in.
But because of a pricing issue, the poor were actually excluded from experiencing atonement (the sacrifice of a dove) because they couldn’t afford it. Even more importantly, they became excluded from the Grand Invitation of becoming sons and daughters.
Do you see the heart of God? From the beginning, God’s heart was for Israel to become a light to the world, not an exclusive club. And when well-meaning people block that invitation, God gets really, really ticked. That’s why the religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus – their club was being compromised.
Wanna apply this to the Christian church today?
God’s heart is for Christ’s Church to become a light to the world, not an exclusive club. And when well-meaning people block that invitation, God gets really, really ticked.
Jesus did nothing by accident. And it was certainly no accident that, four days before opening the way for everyone through the cross, He turned the tables on people who had blocked the way of the Old Covenant.
When our churches invite “anyone” to come, we really need to mean that. God’s heart is, and has always been, that for people who are willing to experience God on God’s terms (even if they’re not sure what that means), they are invited to come, learn, grow, and worship.
Dave Wilkins – one of the Partners at Floodgate, created this video. It expresses the invitation better than I ever could.
Come As You Are from Floodgate Productions on Vimeo.
