In the week before Jesus was crucified, Jesus committed the most physically violent act of His ministry: He cleansed the Temple. Many scholars believe He did this twice, once at the beginning of His ministry and the other at the end. Jesus created a whip, knocked over tables, tents, and money booths, let animals out, and made a huge ruckus. But there is no description of Jesus ever attacking a single person or releasing His anger toward any individual. Jesus had repeatedly expressed His disgust towards the teachings of the Pharisees and others, but Jesus never physically assaulted anyone in a violent rage.
The arguments for having these be separate events include John’s record of Jesus continuing to teach, eat, and feast during the Passover, something that would have been difficult while being crucified. The arguments against and that these two are actually the same event would have been the perception of Jesus throughout His ministry, especially when He would return to Jerusalem for the feasts and which would give the picture of Jesus being a violent man, totally contrasting how He actually lived. Which one is which? I’ll let you decide, but I am going to emphasize the finale here just a couple of days before Jesus would be executed.
Jesus is the Son of God, so imagine the situation of an adult son of a family who rented out their house to another and found them partying and trashing the place when the son returned home unexpectedly. That is what Jesus saw here. They took the place that was meant for worship and turned it into a circus, a zoo, and an excellent setup for extortion. Jesus was livid. He knew it was going on all this time. He was in Jerusalem for previous feasts, one of which would have included His visit to the Pool of Bethsaida to heal a lame man, not to mention that He was there as a 12-year-old teaching the teachers. But when He entered Jerusalem this time, He did so with grief, not just knowing He would die there within a week, but knowing that this city would and had already rejected Him.
I was very impressed with The Chosen’s depiction of this scene (well, most of it) and Jonathan Roumie (portraying Jesus) showcasing both the rage and sadness at the same time. But the setup was even better. Bringing in previous characters from earlier events, the disciples walked these people who hadn’t been to Jerusalem yet through the process, and their eyes showed what most of us would be thinking to: “What is the point of all this?” They were walked through the rituals, which involved going through the money exchangers to get temple money to get temple-raised animals to do a sacrifice. And for what point or purpose? We theologians know it, but for each person there, really, what was the point? It was all lost, and Jesus saw it.
Sure, there was singing going on with the choir. Sure, people were talking about God and came for a genuine desire for worship, but there was nothing real going on as a whole. I have said this multiple times, but I only found two people in the Old Testament who understood the whole point of the sacrificial system better than anyone: Abel and David. Everyone pretty much did it for worship and ritual, but Abel and David understood why the sacrifices were needed. And it was in this atmosphere that Jesus’s lid flipped, and He went into a fully controlled berserk mode.
I always wondered how this scene ended because anyone seeking order there would have arrested Jesus on the spot, but no one touched Him. The Chosen ends the scene with a face-off between Jesus and Caiaphas, and Jesus declaring that all the markets were to be shut down so worshipers could be allowed to worship as they were supposed to. However, in the show, they did ask how Jesus had the authority to do this, and the show fumbled that one. Jesus in the show did not answer how Jesus in the Bible answered, though in the next episode, Jesus is asked the question again, and it shows that “Jesus” answers correctly the second time.
I cannot imagine what Jesus would be thinking about the Church He sees in America today. But one thing God did make clear: judgment begins in the house of God. When God comes to clean up a place, the first place He is going to come to is His Church. Why? Because the Church is the Bride of Christ. She is going to be presented to Christ as a pure virgin, and right now, we are not that pure. When men who are overall solid preachers turn to idols, God is going to shake things up. We have had numerous Christian leaders take a hit lately, and I am not just talking about the crazy ones. There are some big names who have been exposed for sexual immorality, and they all gave red flag warnings that something was going on. But no one was willing to pay attention to them or say anything if they saw it, so God had to expose it. And in light of the passing of John MacArthur a few weeks ago, there is a pressing question of who is going to be that pillar and voice for truth within the church. Very few young voices are standing up. A comment has been made that God may be taking away the lampstands from America, and when this generation of preachers passes, there may be none with any platform to make a stand.
If we do not take seriously our responsibility and obligation to keep things cleaned ourselves, following God’s principles, then God is going to come and clean house Himself. He won’t care what you think about your precious things, such as your money, your platform, or your reputation. God would rather all that be tarnished and His name glorified than for you to bear His name and live a life that does not honor Him. There is discipline and restoration involved, but there is also permanent destruction. When a minister falls, there are few who could be truly restored because when the office is violated, it takes something significant to be worthy of having it again. That is why most true teachers who do fall into such sin, once they repent and are restored, if they start a new ministry, it will be on a different topic, or they begin teaching to help others not do what they did. Why? Because their name will always be associated with that immoral violation of the office. They need a new office or to be in active protection of said ministry.
Jesus cleaned house at the Temple, but He did so without any physical harm to any individual. The Temple was designed for worship, and it was turned into a thieves’ den. What has happened to our church? It’s run like a business, not a place for worship. What has happened to the Temple that is our body? Is it a place for worship or a place for human consumerism? Jesus would return to the Temple, where He would be tested one last time with many questions, and then unleash His most furious curses upon the false teachers.
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