This morning I am reflecting on some verses from Mark's Gospel, as well from the Prophet Jeremiah, as the two were linked by Jesus. Here are the verses from Mark 11:15-17 NIV:
[15] On 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, [16] and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. [17] 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.' ”
These verses always seemed a bit out of character to the witness of Jesus, and this morning I was reading them and caught myself wondering about the real reason for Jesus' actions. In Mark's brief account it almost seems premeditated, and so there must have been something that Jesus, at the command of the Father, was addressing. I think it is relatively straight-forward on one hand, but also has a deeper significance.
Jesus is clearly directing His actions against the business of religion that was being conducted in the temple courts. The courts were supposed to be a place for the gathering of people before God, to be reminded of His sovereignty and their relationship to Him as His people. The outer courts were called the Gentile's Courts and people from any nation could enter there and worship God. It doesn't say where the money-changers were, or those selling things, but even if they were in the courts of the gentiles, they were about the wrong focus. Being in the house of God is not about business or profit, but about relationship with God. The verses from Isaiah 56:7 that Jesus quotes first are related to those who are not Jewish. Here are the verses - Isaiah 56:6-7 NIV:
[6] And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant--- [7] these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. ”
Clearly God had made a place for all nations, even in the Covenant of the Law, and that is significant for all of us who are not Jews. The second set of verses that Jesus quotes are from the Prophet Jeremiah, and they have to do with religion versus relationship (in my opinion). Here are the larger set of verses from which His comment about the den of thieves is taken - Jeremiah 7:2-11 NIV:
[2] “Stand at the gate of the Lord's house and there proclaim this message:
“ 'Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. [3] This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. [4] Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” [5] If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, [6] 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, [7] then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. [8] But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. [9] “ 'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, [10] and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”---safe to do all these detestable things? [11] Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord."
Clearly the Father had been watching the behavior of the Jews and He was addressing it. This observation is more critical in my mind, for the issue is the heart of worship. God, through Jeremiah, is calling the people out on their empty religious observance. They were basically living how they wanted and thinking that fulfilling the religious duties of their faith was sufficient. They had lost then whole idea that God was after relationship with them, rather than just their actions towards Him. He wanted a people that were set apart, that were different from other nations, that were righteous in all their actions and ways. What they had become was a nation pretty much like every other nation, but with the addition of some special religious observances toward Him. This was not God's desire and that which He constantly was addressing, for they quickly forgot the reason they were called and chosen.
In both of these references it seems to me that Jesus was addressing the deeper issues as identified by the Prophets. He was saying to Jerusalem that there was a better way, a longing on the Father's part for all people to know Him and worship Him, and in so doing to be changed in their heart and mind. God does not just want our attendance and our money, He wants our hearts and our minds in relationship with Him. He wants us to be fully cognizant of our relationship to Him as our Father, we His adopted sons and daughters. He wants us to know Him and to love Him.
Any church that is not focused on relationship with Him is offering similar "religious fulfillment" without His real purpose being fulfilled. I believe that those who profit wildly from their churches, those who teach a false gospel of duty and giving are in dangerous waters. The Lord is watching, and He does see. He expects us to be good shepherds as He was The Good Shepherd. We are called to introduce the sheep to voice of The Good Shepherd, (using the analogy of John 10:11-18) that they might know His voice and follow Him. He desires relationship above all else, for that is His definition of Eternal life - John 17:3 NIV: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." The word know here is the Greek word ginosko and it can mean the level of intimacy between a married man and woman, clearly a deep understanding and knowledge of one another. That is what the Lord desires for us!
So, let us examine ourselves, let us look at our churches and what they teach, let us examine our own beliefs and our own relationship with the Lord. Let us endeavor to worship Him for who He is, not for a sense of fulfilling our duty. Let us be changed by our encounter with the Living God and let us introduce others to Him. His desire is for all nations, let us introduce them to Him.
Amen!
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