Mark 11:1-11, 15-19 (Please open your Bibles so you can read along)
Jericho to Jerusalem – 18 miles south rising 3,325 feet in elevation
It was along this road that the parable of the Good Samaritan is situated.
So, let’s go ahead and read the Scripture for today – Mark 11:1-11, 15-19
This week the Scripture readings came under the heading of
“Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King”.
And, we love to read about the colt of a donkey, and the cloaks over the donkey and on the road and the palm branches and the proclamations of praise for Jesus but today let’s look at another part of this story.
Mark 11:11 NIV
“Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”
For the first fifty years of my life I attended the Church of The Nazarene in Owego, NY and I remember getting ready for Christmas and Easter. At a minimum we would put on a cantata and often a full dramatic production with the choir in the gym. There were months of preparation and practice and staging and props and costumes. It was fun and exhausting and could even be disappointing if everything did not go well.
I remember one Christmas drama when the live donkey decided to fertilize the stage during the solo of Mary the mother of Jesus. And, of course, the donkey brayed just to make sure no one missed the event. Mary, however, never missed a note!
Now, I know that the preparations for the feasts and the sacrifices that were going on when Jesus “went into the temple courts … and looked around at everything” were entirely different from what we did in preparation for the holy days at the church in Owego.
But, I wonder what Jesus would think if He came into our church at Christmas or on Resurrection Sunday or any time when we gather.
Would He see that everything is pleasing in His sight?
What would He think about the seating being in concentric semi-circles instead of straight rows?
What would He think about the decorations?
Are they pointing to Him and bringing attention to Him and glory to Him or to us?
What would He think about the messages on the church sign?
Are they trivial or meaningful to those passing by? Do they honor Him?
What would He think about the music we sing? Does it point our hearts to Jesus and worship or does it draw attention to the praise team?
Does it honor Him or does it try to pump up false emotions?
What would He think about our SS classes? Would He find us focused on Him and His Holy Word or the hot topics of the day?
Would He find us to be a church that faithfully and diligently cares for the weekly tithes and offerings or would He find us to be wastefully squandering His resources?
All these questions give us something to think about don’t they?
Now, as we get back to today’s Scripture we see that Jesus was NOT pleased with what He saw when He went into the temple and looked around at everything. We know this because the next day Jesus went back to the temple and took some very decisive actions!
Mark 11:15b-17 NIV
“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 …”
“… and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as He taught them, He said, ‘Is it not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Now, why would Jesus call such a setup a den of robbers? Certainly the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem would not allow such a thing, would they?
From the time of Moses the law stated that three times each year all adult Jewish men were required to gather at the Tabernacle for offerings or at the Temple after it was established in Jerusalem.
Because of this ordinance Jewish men from all over the Roman empire would come to Jerusalem for the feasts and to offer sacrifices.
But, what if you lived a long distance away? What if you only lived 20 or 30 miles away and you wanted to bring a first born bull from your flock? Now, remember, you are most likely traveling by foot. Have you ever tried to lead a young bull or even a sheep or a goat for twenty or thirty miles? It wouldn’t be easy if it was possible at all.
I remember as a middle aged teenager having to lead a yearling heifer about two tenths of a mile up the road to a neighbors farm. It took quite awhile! If I pulled, she pulled back. If I got behind and pushed, she pushed back!
Consequently, many of the men opted for purchasing the sacrificial animal once they arrived at the temple in Jerusalem.
And, of course, they had to pay for these sacrificial animals and the only currency that was allowed for commerce with anyone but another Jew was Roman currency. But, this Roman currency could not be used to purchase the animals for the sacrifice so it needed to be exchanged before the purchase was made.
Now, there were several courts of the Temple, the court of the Gentiles which was large and open, the court of the Women which was inside another wall. Closer to the Holy Place was the Hall of Israelites and finally the Hall of Priests.
Now, it is most likely that the herds of cattle were being kept in the large outer court of the Gentiles. However, some of the activities to which Jesus objected may have taken place in the “Outer Court” which was in the temple proper.
Now, just try to imagine … cattle mooing, sheep and goats bleating, money changers and cattle vendors discussing business. Does it sound like a place of worship?
So, was Jesus overreacting? No, Jesus was zealous for His Father’s House!
A house of prayer and no dishonest commerce.
But, while the two outer courts, the Court of the Gentiles and the Outer Court were being defiled I am sure that all was going according to the Law in the Hall of Priests where the sacrifices were being offered and the blood was being sprinkled and the incense was being burned in the Holy Place.
So, let’s think about this … can you have corruption in the Court of the Gentiles and in the Outer Court but holiness in the Holy Place?
Is that possible??? No, it isn’t!
The priests offering the sacrifices and sprinkling the blood of the sacrifices and burning the incense were as guilty as those in the Outer Court and the Court of the Gentiles who were supervising the price gouging of the sacrificial livestock and the extortion of the money changers!
Let’s try applying this to our lives, OK?
The Temple in Jerusalem was where the Israelites would come to intersect with the Lord. Where they would worship; in essence that is where the Lord resided.
The Temple in Jerusalem is now gone.
Where does the Lord reside now?
What is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Let’s draw a comparison between what was happening at the Temple in Jerusalem and what happens with us as temples of the Holy Spirit.
Court of the Gentiles = anything physical; this world where we live and what we do with our bodies
Outer Court = our minds
Holy Place = our souls
Can we sin with our physical lives and have righteousness in our souls?
Obviously we can’t control what we see when we’re out in the world. This world parades sin as if it is something desirable; greed, materialistic possessions, sensuality.
However, we can control what is in our homes.
We can remove whatever entices us to sin.
We can cast out whatever has trapped us in the past just as Jesus cast out the vendors and money changers from the temple!
Not only can we but we must!
If I was to ask you to name what causes you to sin, what would jump to the front of your mind? You know. I know what tempts me!
If what causes me to sin sneaks into my home or my office or my car I need to get rid of it. If I can’t get rid of it myself I may need to ask others to join me in prayer and accountability to get rid of it!
Hebrews 12:1a NIV
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
Once the Lord helps us to clean up the Court of the Gentiles, the physical place in which we reside and work. Jesus will want to move to the Outer Court, the thoughts in our minds.
Here’s a warning; if you don’t clean out the physical place in which you reside don’t ever think you will have victory in your mind or soul.
If you have a problem with lust and you don’t take down the posters of pinup girls in your bedroom don’t ever think you will gain victory over impure thoughts! It ain’t gonna happen!
However, if we are obedient to the Lord and we rid our physical place in which we reside of things which tempt us the Lord WILL help us move to cleaning our minds of sinful thoughts!
Listen. Let’s just flash back to the temple at Jesus’ time. Jesus did go and clear out the temple in righteous anger. Do you believe that was His first choice? Not by a long shot!
What if, instead of Jesus clearing out the cattle vendors and money changers the priests has listened to the words of Jesus, repented and made the Temple holy again because of their desire to please the Lord? What if they had done that?
Obedience out of an awe and love for the Lord is always the Lord’s first and best choice!
And, so it is with our minds! Jesus wants to clean out all impure thoughts so that He can replace them with thoughts that are pleasing to Him for the Father’s glory!
He can do that and He will do that if we yearn for Him more than we yearn for the world. He can do that and he will do that if we love Him more than we love the things of the world that cause us to sin.
But, we can never have a pure Holy Place which is our soul until first we remove all enticement to sin from the Court of the Gentiles, our physical abode, and, from the Outer Court, our mind. It just ain’t gonna happen! Never will.
We often think that we need to be cleaned from the inside out by the Lord and that is true that the decision to be made pure happens in our souls but if we refuse to clean up that which causes us to sin the purity will never happen.
It is the acts of obedience to the prompting of King Jesus to clean up our environment and our minds that makes purity of heart possible.
It is only then that we can be holy. It is only then that we can have purity in the Holy Place, in our souls.
So, we end up with two questions.
1) If Jesus came and looked at everything in your home, in your mind and in your soul what would He find? (Would you let Him or would you kill Him?)
2) In your heart you know what He would find. Will you let Him clean it out
(He won’t force you and you could just move it back in anyway.)
Closing remarks - invitation if the Holy Spirit leads - closing prayer
