We all have our domain, which we call our house. It may be a rented space, a tent, a mobile home, a motor home, or a mansion. Whether we own or rent it, no matter what the structure is made of or how big it is, it is our home. Our home will always have some established rules to follow. When people come to my home, I expect them to follow my rules. For instance, we don’t run in my home or jump on the furniture. These are simple rules, but they are guidelines my guests must follow. In Matthew 21:12, Jesus is angry because His house is being abused.
In verse 12, He has entered the temple, and He threw those out that were taking advantage of the opportunity to make money in His house. These merchants were selling doves that were to be used for sacrifice. There was a need for the doves for people making sacrifices and, therefore, a market for them. However, those selling the doves used the temple for their business gain, their concern was not to help people it was to make money.
Matthew 21:12 “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.”
This is not the first time this has happened. In John 2:13-16 Jesus went to the temple and found people selling sheep, oxen, and doves to sacrifice. They were using God’s house to create their own wealth. In John, where He threw them out the first time, we find His indignation so strong that he turned over the tables, made a whip, and drove animals and those selling out of the temple. He then poured out the money they had collected and turned over the tables. He then tells them to take their things and not to make His Father’s house a house of merchandise.
John 2:13-16 “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 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; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.”
After the incident in Matthew, Jesus says to them in Matthew 21:13, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
How could God’s house become a place to profit from the sacrifices to God? The natural desire of men’s hearts is to prosper financially. Some are seeking wealth any way they can get it. In this passage, we find the greed of men taking over and polluting the sacred things of God. In prior times, the market was kept outside of the area of the temple, and in those places, there would be a lot of competition. Everyone coming to the Temple for passover must bring a sacrifice. If they had to travel far, they would buy a sacrifice when they got to the city. What happened here had to be approved of by the chief priests. Why would they allow this to happen? Commentators tell us it was for filthy lucre.
By allowing them to enter this area the priest would have to examine the animals to ensure they had no blemish, and certify them as such. They could also charge rent to the men for standing there. Another form of revenue was the exchange of money. Some had to pay a half-shekel in specie every year for the service of the tabernacle. A specie is a money in the form of coins. These priests and those who sold goods were gaining wealth from religious sacrifices people were required to make. Paul teaches us in I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Note that money is not the problem. It is the love of wealth. When men love money, they desire to secure all they can at great cost to their spiritual lives. These priests and merchants had fallen into the trap that money could create.
Today, it is common to find people taking advantage of a group of tenderhearted, giving people. We see coffee houses in churches open during service times. Kids and adults approach people to sell things for their benefit. Churches have fundraisers to pay bills and donate to good causes. I have been involved in such things, but I believe God had a better plan to support God’s business. In Malachi 3:10, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” While the New Testament does not say a tithe, which is 10%, it teaches us to give generously to God. I believe giving 10% is the beginning. I am to give an offering unto the Lord as He has blessed me. It is God’s people that should support God’s business. That is God’s design, and if all Christians would give a tithe and an offering, God’s plan would work, and no one would have to invade the church selling goods.
We can see by Jesus’s reaction to those selling in the temple that His house is to be used to exalt and glorify God. We are to uphold the integrity of God’s house. While I know it is just a building, because we are the church, we need to honor God by not abusing its original design. It is a place to bring people to Him. A place to offer prayers to Him. A place to give to Him. It is His house because it is bought with offerings given to Him. Out of respect and love for Him, let us enter on Sunday morning or whenever you go to worship, pray, and learn about Him; let’s do it with the desire to honor and take care of His house.
