Mark 11:11 & 15-19 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve... 15 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 anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying 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 were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city. For today we are looking at verse 11 along with verses 15-19. We will come back to verses 12-14 next week. The entire section from verse 11 through verse 26 all go together. They are all reinforcing one main point, but that is a large chunk to take on all at the same time. So we are going to group them into smaller sections. We look at the smaller parts individually and then see how they all fit together later. Last week we saw how Jesus entry into Jerusalem was his coming as their king. It was his assertion as the rightful messiah. When he arrives in town, he goes right to the temple. Typically when people came into the Jerusalem temple, especially during this week before passover, they were coming into the temple courts as a pilgrim. In our culture we tend to associate pilgrims with turkeys and pumpkin pies. That is an unfortunate correlation. A Pilgrim is a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons. Let me say that again: Pilgrim : A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons That kind of puts a different perspective on our american view of pilgrims, doesn t it? There are still pilgrims today. Many people will make a journey to some significant religious location for a spiritual experience. That trip is called a pilgrimage. Every year all the Jews would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the various holidays. But Jesus isn t there as a pilgrim. As we saw last week, Jesus just rode into Jerusalem as its king. He goes right to the temple and surveys it, not as a pilgrim, but as its king. He is kind of taking inventory of what is going on there. When I worked in food factories, we would have audits. Different agencies and groups would come and tour our factory. Sometimes it was the USDA. Other times it was our customers like McDonalds or Nestle foods. They were checking in on us and watching us in our day-to-day operations to make sure we were doing what we were 1
supposed to be doing. This is the same idea. Jesus is auditing the people at the temple and seeing if they are using it correctly. It was already late in the day, so after he takes a good look around, he goes back someplace to spend the night. When he returns in the morning, it is in force. He proceeds to execute judgement on what he saw the night before. In order to understand what is going on here, we need to have some context of the temple and its use. So I would like to spend some time describing the area and traditions of the temple. The temple was built kind of like a group of concentric rings. The closer you went to the middle ring, the more restrictive it got. The outer court was where pretty much anyone could go. It was called the court of the gentiles because even the gentiles could go there and worship God. Going in from there was called the woman s court. Any Israelite could go there, but the woman could not go any further. Byond that was the court of Israel, where any Israelite man could go. But that is where the common Israelite man had to stop. To go further into the Holy Place you had to be a priest. At the center of it was the Most Holy Place or the Holies of Holies, where only the High Priest could go once a year. The court of the gentiles on the outside ring was a large open area. In this area there were tables and booths set up, kind of like what we experience at a fair. Some booths were selling doves, some were money changers (which was basically their version of an ATM), other were selling sheep or various livestock. All of these booths were for the people to offer sacrifices. The pilgrims would come from all around for the holidays, and a major aspect of the holiday ritual was for the people to offer sacrifices. This made for some logistical problems. First off, the sacrifices had to be specific animals, and they had to be without blemish. So if you were a pilgrim coming to the temple to offer your sacrifice, you could either bring the animals with you or buy them once you got there. Bringing them with you meant that you had to care for it on the entire journey. You had to feed and water it the whole way there. Then you also ran the risk of it not being accepted once you got there. The animal had to be without blemish. What if it got hurt on the journey? What if the priest who was inspecting the sacrifices didn t like if for some reason? It was just a huge potential hassle. To solve this issue, the Jewish religious leaders would offer sacrifices for sale at the temple. These would have been already inspected and approved. You could just show up and buy whatever animal you were in need of. How convenient! Have you ever purchased food at a fair. Do think that the prices are fair at the fair? Do you pay the same for a hamburger at the fair as you would at McDonalds? No way. Things always cost more at the fair. This was no different. They knew that they basically had the people over a barrel and they took advantage of that. 2
The other issue was that of the temple tax. The temple tax had to paid in the currency of the temple. You couldn t pay it in Roman or Egyptian money. It had to be in the temple s currency, which was basically only used at the temple. So you needed an ATM machine. You needed a way to convert your money over into temple money so you could make your purchases and pay your tax. Keep in mind that these people were still using coins that had an inherent value. What I mean by that is their coins had value in the metals that they were made out. Today we make coins out of the cheapest metal that will work in a vending machine. They only have value because the U.S government says they do. If you were to melt down 4 quarters, you would not get $1 worth of scrap metal. Their coins were gold and silver, so if you melted them down you still had something of equal value. The reason I bring this up is because of the problem that comes from gold coins. Between 1850 and 1907 the U.S. government made a $20 gold coin. The amount of gold in that coin was worth about $20 at the time it was made. Now just the value of the gold itself is over $1,000 in one coin. So if you had purse full of little coins worth $20 each, it wouldn t take long for you to realize that you could chip off a small piece of each coin and make a bunch of money. Because each coin is still worth the $20 that is stamped on it even with a little piece missing. Then you could melt down all those little pieces and have another piece of gold that was worth $20 as well, just in the weight of raw gold. If you have ever wondered why our quarters have little ridges on the edges, that is where it comes from. Those ridges are a carryover from when coins had value in their material as well as their face value. If any of the ridges were missing or worn down, then the coin lost its face value and would only retain its weight value. That was one solution to the problem of shrinking coins. The other solution to the problem of shrinking coins, was to charge more for them when converted from one currency to another. That is what was going on in the temple courts. So when someone showed up and wanted to exchange the equivalent of 100 roman dollars for 100 temple dollars, the jews would charge them more than the exchange rate dictated. The excuse being, because those other coins had wear on them and weren t really worth that much anyways. They were cheating the people. It s just like those ATM machines that charge you an extra $10 to make a withdrawal from your own account. The Jewish religious leaders were charging the people an additional tax in order for the people to pay their temple tax. They were taxing a tax. Jesus walks in and goes right to work cleaning house. He overthrows the tables and chairs. He chases the people out who were buying and selling in the booths. You can just imagine the scene that would have created. The sound 3
of money scattering across the stone ground. The sound of birds and sheep running loose and the screams of people who are either being chased by Jesus or by the animals. When I was a kid, there were only a few times where I saw my dad mad. It didn t matter if he was mad at me or at one of my brothers, my heart would sink to my stomach either way. I knew that what was about to happen was completely deserved and was going to hurt. That had to be what this was like. Here was someone who was acting out in complete righteousness and zeal for God. What most people would probably call violence, was actually not violence but justice. This brings us to point one. Point 1: Jesus is our high priest Everything that was going on in the temple was approved by the high priest. The temple was under his control and it didn t happen unless he allowed it. He knew what was going on there. He approved of it because it made him rich and kept him in power. What Jesus was doing was directly challenging the high priest's authority. Jesus was doing what should have been done by the men who were in charge of God s house. Now the master of the house had come and had to do it for them. This made them very angry and here we see where they decide to kill him. Not only were they angry at him, but they were starting to fear him. Everyone liked what he was doing. It shocked them and Jesus was acting like he had the authority to do it, which he did. This is what is says in verse 18. Mark 11: 18 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. The purpose of the priests was to intercede with God for the people. The entire Old Testament law about clean and unclean things was to teach us that we couldn t stand before God. Whether it was about unclean foods or animals or diseases or bodily fluids, the Jews were constantly reminded that they were not worthy to be in the presence of God. The purpose of the law and the priest was to step in between God and the people. The priest would make himself clean and then go before God on behalf of the people. The law showed the priest how he was to go about that. So 4
they had different rankings of priests. Different priests had different jobs or roles to play. Some would guard the temple gates, some would slaughter the animal sacrifices, some would clean out the ash piles. But there was only one High Priest. His job was to stand before the presence of God once a year as the representative of the people. Jesus had the authority to drive the people out of the temple, because he is our High Priest. Not only did Jesus become the sacrifice for our sins, but he also became our High Priest. He now intercede with God for us. We can go directly to Jesus and he is in constant and perfect communion with God the Father. The book of Hebrews talks a lot about Jesus being our High Priest. Here is just one passage. Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Jesus can sympathise with us because he is human and knows our pain and sufferings. But he can also go before God the Father on our behalf, because he is one with God the Father. Jesus is the perfect High Priest. Do you remember that I said the High Priest could only enter the most Holy Place once a year? They had to go through an entire cleansing ceremony before this. It involved animal sacrifice to cleanse the High Priest. Jesus entered the true most Holy Place for us. Hebrews 9 tells us this. Hebrews 9:12 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. We often talk about Jesus being our sacrificial lamb. That he was the sacrifice that took away our sins. That is true, but it doesn t stop there. He is also our High Priest who goes before God the Father on our behalf. This gave him authority to do what he did on that day in the Temple. Something else that I would like to point out, is that back in the Old Testament the Israelites had two branches of government. Today at the federal level in the United States, we have three branches of Government. We have the 5
executive or the president. We have the legislative branch which is the senate and the house of representative, and finally we have the judicial branch. This is the court system. The Jews had the two. They had the king and they had the High Priest. Generally speaking the King handled the civil duties like going to war, trade and commerce while the High Priest was kind of a direct line to God. The High Priest along with all the other priests would deal with the day-to-day religious needs of the people. Ideally, the king and the high priest would work together to run the nation of Israel. By Jesus time, there was no reigning Jewish king. Rome had stepped in and assumed that role. This left the Jewish religious leaders as the only Jewish leaders other than the elders, and they liked it that way. Last week we talked about Jesus being their king. This week we see that Jesus is also the High Priest. That means that Jesus fulfill both roles of government. We as mankind are now starting to get back to the way it should be. If you remember back to the Garden of Eden, it was just mankind dealing directly with God. With Jesus being our king and our high priest, we can now once again deal directly with God. In God s kingdom, with Jesus as king and high priest mankind once again has direct access to God. This is God restoring his kingdom. He is fixing what we broke back in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. You see that the entire law and the Old Testament was pointing to this. Everything from Genesis 3 to this point in Mark has been building up to this conclusion. The Mosaic Law wasn t about rules to follow. It was to show us the reason we need Christ. It was to show us the reason why Jesus Christ is our king and High Priest. This brings us to point two. Point 2: It s about the heart. As Christians we need to keep in mind that the New Covenant is about the heart, not the rules. We evaluate things from that perspective. We dig down to the heart of an issue when we are trying to discern truth or teachings. We not only look at what did the law say, but we also look at the reason behind the law. The selling of animals in the temple court had a valid reason. There was too many logistical reasons for people to travel with the animals. People weren t sinning by purchasing their sacrifice animals. But the Jews did not have to sell them inside the temple courtyard. They didn t have to cheat the people and charge them extra just because they could. 6
The temple was made for prayer. Having the court of the Gentiles turned into a marketplace kind of ruined the atmosphere for prayer. This was the only place at the temple where the gentiles could go to worship God. How conducive to prayer and worship is a fairground? Would you want to go to the Colville fair and try to pray and study scriptures right in the middle of all that activity? It s hardly a tranquil place for worship and meditation. The Jews weren t just robbing their own people in the court of the gentiles, but they were robbing the gentiles of their place of worship. Jesus says this in verse 17. Mark 11:17 17 And he was teaching them and saying 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. Why didn t the religious leaders rejoice when their Messiah showed up before them? Because their heart was not following or seeking God! They said that they were waiting for him, but that wasn t really true. They looked like they were following God, but it was just outward actions. Their hearts were not seeking God at all. The heart of the Old Testament was all pointing to Jesus. The laws, the sacrifices, the holidays, the temple, their clothes and rituals were all about Christ and his coming kingdom. He is the fulfillment of it all. This is why the Old Covenant is complete. This is why we are no longer under the Mosaic law. This is why we don t make animal sacrifices and we no longer make pilgrimage journeys to the temple. Jesus told us this back in Mark chapter 1. Mark 1:15 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. Jesus told us from the beginning that he was bringing the kingdom of God with him. That the time is fulfilled. In AD 70 Jerusalem was attacked and the temple was destroyed. The animal sacrifices stopped. The priests no longer carried out their duties. The incense no longer burned. Jesus told us this would happen in Mark 13:1-2 7
Mark 13:1-2 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings! 2 And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. Why did this happen? There is at least two reasons. The first is that it was judgment on Israel for rejecting her king, Jesus Christ. The second reason is because they were no longer needed. At Jesus death, the curtain that separated man from God at the Most Holy Place of the temple was torn in two. Matthew 27:50-51 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The curtain splitting in two shows us that God had accepted Jesus as our payment of sins and was now allowing us into his presence. The animal sacrifices were no longer needed because Jesus was the final sacrifice, once for all sins. The burning incense was no longer needed because our prayers are to constantly be going up before God. The priests were no longer needed because Jesus is now our high priest and we have direct access to him. The temple was no longer needed because we, God s followers, are his temple. All of those things were pointing to the true heart of God s kingdom. Which is a restored relationship between God and mankind. Final Thoughts: For our final thoughts today, I d like us to leave with the reminder that not only is Jesus our king, but he is our high priest as well. He is the total embodiment of our government as citizens in the Kingdom of God. This is the only kingdom or nation that will last. Whatever nation you live in today will pass away. God s kingdom is eternal. I invite you to become a citizen in his kingdom. To become a disciple of Jesus Christ is to become a citizen of God s kingdom. 8
If we humble ourselves, and submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, as our King and as our High Priest, God will accredit Christ s righteousness to us. It is all about Jesus. He is the only way. There is no other way to God. All religions do not lead to God. A rejection of Jesus Christ is a rejection of God himself. The doctrine of Jesus Christ is crucial. I mentioned earlier that as New Covenant Christians, we are all about the heart. We are all about the relationship with God, with Jesus Christ. How can we have a proper relationship with Jesus Christ if we do not understand who he is? It is our belief about who Jesus is, that forms our doctrine. Different people say different things about the man Jesus of Nazareth. I ve heard that he didn t exist. I ve heard that he was just a prophet. I ve heard that he was simply a nice guy who had good teachings. I ve even heard people say that we are god s just like Jesus is god. These are all lies. This is what Jesus says about himself in John 14. John 14:6 6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus warned us that people would come who lay claim to the name of Jesus, but teach something contrary to the Bible. Matthew 7:15 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. He goes on to say in verses 21-23: Matthew 7:21-23 21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? 23 And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Miracles and signs are not evidence of a relationship with God. A relationship with God is built on knowing who Jesus Christ is. The teaching of the basic Gospel message is not popular, even among many so called Christian circles. The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is God, he is the very image of the invisible God. That he bore the punishment of God s wrath in our place, for our sins. That because of this he is now our King and the sovereign 9
ruler of all creation, both spiritual and physical. That he is our High Priest and no one can come before God except through his intercession for us. These are the truths about Jesus Christ that are taught in the Bible. These are the character traits of the man who loves us. It is with this man that we desire to have a deep relationship with. Don t be fooled by false teachings. There is no other way to find peace with God except through Jesus Christ. There is nothing that we need to do in order to be forgiven, because Jesus has already paid for our sins. There is nothing in us or about us that deserves to be saved, but that is what makes his love for us so great! That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We are nothing, Jesus is everything. 10