John Burnett:
Matthew 21:12-13
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Cleansing the Temple
12 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’ [a]den.” I
would bet that he will say something similar to prosperity preachers
one of these days. I tremble thinking about what will happen to them.
Matthew 11:15-17
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 He who has ears to hear, [a]let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not [b]mourn.’ This
description of the generation of the time is appropriate for describing
today’s children as well. More and more I see children who are not
happy or have no feelings toward something that should stir emotion.
God says in the last days that people’s hearts will grow cold. The
school shootings in Connecticut and just recently by the young man just
shooting a crowd a people on the street are examples of what Matthew was
talking about.
Luke 19:45-46
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Traders Driven from the Temple
45 Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ [a]den.”
John 2:14-22
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them
all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out
the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a [a]place of business.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us [b]as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this [c]temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this [d]temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the [e]temple of His body. 22 So
when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said
this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had
spoken. Just a reminder that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. I don’t show the Zeal for the temple that I should.
I
recently had someone ask me if I thought the prayer at our graduation
ceremony would be offensive to non-Christians in the audience. I told
them I didn’t care which is probably a little harsh but sometimes the
truth is harsh. This person asked if that would be Jesus’s response and
I said I believe it would be. This passage above shows me that He did
not care if he offended anyone in the Temple.
Today’s
word of faith/prosperity preachers resemble those removed from the
Temple by Jesus that day. They have made merchandise out of people and
their main objective is how they make more money (plant more seeds or
sell more books).
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Rachel Workman:
Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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| 12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the
people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables
of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said
to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of
prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”[f] |
15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the
Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for
sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs
of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple
as a marketplace.[c] 17 He said to them, “The
Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all
nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[d] |
45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the
people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The
Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have
turned it into a den of thieves.”[d] |
14 In the Temple area he saw
merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw
dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from
some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and
cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over
their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told
them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a
marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered
this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume
me.”[c]
18 But the Jewish leaders
demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us
a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied.
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It
has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in
three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own
body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he
had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
I really like John's account here for obvious reasons. But it's
interesting that this is the first act Jesus does as he starts his ministry.
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