Fully Devoted: JesusSample

Confronting Corruption

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Matthew 21:12-13 NIV 

After arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus heads to the temple to confront the corruption of the religious leaders. It’s a scene where the typically gentle and compassionate Jesus flies into violent motion, flipping tables and disrupting the business of the merchants because of how disgusted He is with the corruption that is taking place in the temple courts. Or at least that’s how this moment is often thought of. 

Don’t misunderstand, this isn’t Jesus coming unhinged in a fit of rage. This is Jesus taking prophetic action. He quotes from two different prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, to explain what He’s doing. The prophets were God’s spokespeople. They would relay the words of God to His people. Sometimes they were messages of warning, sometimes calls to repent, and other times, promises of hope. 

Jesus first quotes verse seven of Isaiah 56, a message of hope pointing to the day when the Messiah would arrive and God would gather people from all over the earth to Himself. The chapter begins with these instructions for the people of God to follow while they wait for the day of the Lord to arrive: 

… “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this … and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:1-2 NIV 

Jesus knew exactly what He was doing, and the priests of the temple would absolutely have understood what He was doing, too. Jesus is prophetically demonstrating how badly these priests have missed the mark in fulfilling their purpose as God’s representatives. Rather than maintaining justice and doing what’s right, they’ve turned God’s temple into a money-making scheme. Rather than keeping their hands from doing what’s evil, they’ve actively participated in the exploitation and abuse of the people they’re supposed to serve! 

Then Jesus quotes verse 11 of Jeremiah 7. This entire chapter is a word of warning and rebuke to the people of Israel because of their worship of false gods and their repeated acts of injustice toward people in need. Jesus is channeling the harshness and candor of Jeremiah to break through the stubbornness of the religious leaders so that maybe, just maybe, they will recognize the error of their ways and turn back to God. Just before the part Jesus quotes comes this appeal:

“‘If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.’” Jeremiah 7:5-7 NIV

But sadly, just as in the time of Jeremiah, this message of warning would be ignored by the priests. Sin had twisted these men of God into monsters captured by the empty promises of status, wealth, and power. The pursuit of those empty promises resulted in the oppression of the people they were supposed to protect. Most agree that it was this event that sealed Jesus’ fate. His confrontation of their corruption convinced them that Jesus was too big of a threat to be ignored. He needed to be dealt with. So they began looking for a way to remove this rabble-rousing rabbi before He could do any more damage. 

When Jesus was clearing the temple courts, He wasn’t just fulfilling the role of a prophet, He was also fulfilling His role as King. 

Hezekiah and Josiah are considered two of Judah’s greatest kings because of their faithfulness to God and their commitment to their people. And both of these kings cleansed the temple of idolatry and injustice. Because that’s what kings are supposed to do. Resist the temptations of idolatry and lead the people to follow God. 

Jesus was making a statement. The time had come for the people to turn back to God and a life defined by loving others. 

Journaling Questions

• What verse or passage stands out to you the most from today’s reading? Write it in your journal.
• When you look out at the world, what are the things that break your heart? Where are people suffering unjustly? What one small step can you take to help those people?