Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out
those who were selling things
Jesus was one that was greater than the temple, and therefore qualified to assess whether it was fulfilling its purpose. Although temple worship would eventually give way to worship in Spirit and truth it was still meant to be the focal point of worship in Jesus' day before the coming of the Spirit. That meant that Jesus cared a lot about what happened in the temple, since a proper attitude in regard to temple worship would more easily lead to understanding New Covenant worship when it was revealed.
It is written,
My house shall be a house of prayer
Jesus desired that the prophecy of Isaiah would be fulfilled, that even foreigners would be made joyful in his house of prayer, and that the temple would "be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (see Isaiah 56:7). Instead, what he found in the court of the Gentiles was the noise of the commerce of the money changers and those selling animals for sacrifice. It was not that there was no need of such services. But they were intruding into a domain that was supposed to be spiritual with concerns and goals that were worldly. Jesus did not wish the greed of some individuals the displace the ability of others to enter into worship of the living God.
but you have made it a den of thieves (see Jeremiah 7:11)
The correction Jesus was able to provide by casting out those selling things was only temporary and did not lead to a full rehabilitation of temple worship. It was impossible to fix that issue without transforming the hearts of those who worshipped. Without such a transformation things like greed, pride, and selfishness would always intrude into spaces meant for the worship of God. Thus a new temple was needed, the temple of the Body of Christ. Only by tearing down and putting to death the old sinful nature of humanity on the cross and by rising again did Jesus unleash the possibility of true worship that God had always desired.
The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile,
were seeking to put him to death,
but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose
because all the people were hanging on his words.
Even these people who were briefly delighted by Jesus would ultimately prove fickle and would largely side with the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people against him as they sought his death. Here, for a moment, they hung upon his words, while those words were pleasant and entertaining. But when he didn't do or say everything they desired they quickly revealed how thin their allegiance to him was. But Jesus had accounted for all of this, since he himself knew exactly what was in the hearts of women and men. Their collusion against him was taken up and transformed by his own plan to give himself for them and to save them.
We are meant to be a part of the Body of Christ and of the new temple. Our worship is meant to be worship in Spirit and in truth. But is it? Or do we allow the courts of our hearts to be so filled with worldly concerns that the true worship of God does not find a place within us? Do we only hang upon the words of Jesus when they are pleasing or do we savor the sweetness of all of his words, even those that make the "stomach sour"? His words have the power to transform us in an even more substantial way then his cleansing transformed the temple. May we be open to it.
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