BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS OF JESUS AND THE MONEY-CHANGERS
The story of Jesus and the money-changers appear three times. All scriptures are worth studying, but when God repeats himself, we do well to pay special attention to what he says.
John 2: 13-21 And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written , The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up . 18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building , and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body
COMMENTARY: To understand these scriptures it is first necessary to understand both the facts of the story and the symbolism or what those facts represent.
Fact One: The timing of the story is at Passover. Passover is one of the three feast days in which everyone was commanded to come to Jerusalem and make sacrifices. Jesus was a faithful observer of the Law that commanded going to Jerusalem so He was compelled to go along with everyone else.
Fact Two: People who came for Passover came to make sacrifices in the temple. Since they came from all over Israel, some came long distances. For those who came long distances, it was inconvenient to bring their sacrifices with them so the temple priests had established a system whereby sacrifices (doves, sheep, oxen) could be purchased at the temple.
Matthew 21:12-15 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, `MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS ‘ DEN .” 14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant.
COMMENTARY:
Mark 11: 15-18 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons; 16 and he would not allow any one to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he taught, and said to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought a way to destroy him; for they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
Matthew 17:24-27 When they came to Caper’na-um, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
Matthew 23:1-11 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. 4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. 11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
COMMENTARY: All popular, contemporary religious personalities violate these principles. If they did not violate these principles they would not be popular. In fact, if they did not do their deeds to be seen by men, they would not be even known by the general public or those who hire them to perform spiritual services – including preaching, teaching, and music.
The reason they are known and popular is that people need to know about them if the people are going to hire them or donate money to their respective ministries. This is true for missionaries, para-church ministries, pastors, musicians and any others who receive some kind of salary or income from a corporate ministry organization.
To make that point even more definitively, it can also be said that these public personalities cannot ascend to positions of leadership unless they had made an effort to reveal, and in most cases promote, their spiritual qualifications and experience. Pastors, for example, need to first report their qualifications and experience in the form of a resume in order to be considered for a pastoral position. Authors who write books about their spiritual adventures blatantly expose their deeds to entice people to purchase their books. Conference teachers/preachers boast about themselves and their spiritual successes (evangelism, moves of the spirit, etc.) in order to encourage people to attend their conferences. Missionaries continually report their activities through newsletters and itineration visits to encourage supporters to continue making donations to them. Musicians who promote their music as having spiritual content must advertise their products to entice people to purchase their products. In all these examples, and more, it is necessary for religious leaders to do all their deeds so that they can be seen while performing them or seen after the fact. And the reality is that if they did not operate publicly, they would not be in a position to continue performing their particular spiritual specialty in a way that earns financial compensation for them. This is the modern equivalent of making “their phylacteries broad and their fringes long”so that they may be seen by men.
The further reality of this situation is that in order to continue doing the things they call spiritual, they need to do many other things that have no spiritual connotations. Think about activities such as advertising, travel, support staff, websites, newsletters, bookkeeping, financial management and other line item expenses associated with running a business. The conclusion is that if it looks like a business and runs like a business, it is a business. You may call it ministry, and it may indeed do some valuable ministry work, but it is still business. And the nature of business is that it must operate in clear public view in order to survive.
MORE COMMENTARY: The business angle is not even the main point of this scripture. (We will say more about religious business later.) Jesus has two other serious accusations that can be directed against contemporary religious personalities. One accusation is about recognition for position of leadership. Jesus gives examples of loving places of honor, and sitting in the best seats. Modern applications that speak to this accusation include pastors who sit on podiums in fancy chairs, conference teachers who sit up front in the conference hall, musicians who perform on stage for all to see, pastors who have assigned parking places in the church parking lot, and on and on.
This principle has been violated since the early days of the church. First their were bishops, then there were priests and popes. These days we have pastors, prophets, apostles and evangelists who refer to themselves with these titles. They will identify themselves with this label in their websites and in their written communications. When they are introduced in church or at a conference it is as “apostle so and so” or “prophet so and so”. Whenever they can they shamelessly use these labels even though Jesus says that His followers are not to be called rabbi or master. People who might argue that they are not guilty of violating this scripture because they are not called rabbi or master, miss Jesus’ point altogether and they show their ignorance of the definitions of the words rabbi and master.
MORE COMMENTARY: Jesus ends this discourse by saying that those who would be great would be servants to the people. Servants do not receive payment for their services. Indeed they do receive care and sustenance, but not payment. Matthew 6:30 contains God’s promise regarding how He will provide for His people who are called servants of the living God.
Furthermore, servants do not demand payment for services in advance of the service being delivered. Think about registration fees for religious conferences or schools. They are paid in advance and no one can get into the conference or school without paying the fee. The same is true for music events where so-called spiritual music is performed. Can anyone really argue that the people who receive income from these events are servants as God defines servants?
The way we see it, they are spiritual entrepreneurs, not servants. If they were true servants they would offer their spiritual service without charge.
Mark 6:7-13 And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff–no bread, no bag, no money in their belt-– 9 but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.” 10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. 11 “Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 They went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
Mark 11: 15-18: Then they came to Jerusalem.And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise F193 through the temple. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, `MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN .” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
Luke 9:1-6 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece. 4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5 “And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Luke 9:57-62 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 10:1-11 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 “Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 “Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace be to this house.’ 6 “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 `Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
Luke 12:22-33 (NRS) He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
COMMENTARY: If we really believe what Jesus says here we will not need to worry about money for our natural life because God promises to provide for all our needs. Application of this belief is not that we don’t work, but that we are at rest in our work and not anxious in any way. The key to knowing if you or anyone is rightly applying this to your/their life is found in the words “worry” and “strive”. In other words, if there is any sense of worry or striving in your work, you may not be living in the truth of this scripture.