Mark 11:15-19
The Bible translation before me has a heading which reads, ‘Jesus clears the Temple’. I would like to change it since it is not in the original text, ‘Jesus creating a scene’. It all seems a bit more wild to me – quite unexpected.
Not all like this kind of Jesus. Some prefer Him to be a helpless babe in a manger – cute and cuddly. Others see Him as the greatest of all teachers, a wonderful communicator, a teacher, a story teller. There are also those who claim Him to be a popular miracle worker, a nice person healing the sick and helping the poor. Most people perhaps, know Him, as the man of Galilee who died on a Roman cross as a common criminal to forgive us our sins.
But what is it that Mark is telling us about Jesus? It seems to me that the Jesus of the Bible is ‘wholly other’ – you need to find out for yourself. You can find out for yourself – if you wish. Jesus is so different from the way the majority see Him, who hate Him and use His name as a swear word.
Notice how Jesus is extremely displeased with the religion of His day. Mark points us to the time and the place. It’s Passover time when thousands upon thousands of Jewish people are flocking to Jerusalem, the temple, the most holy place on earth – to some Jews, the very centre of the universe. Mark tells us how Jesus had planned it all very carefully – we read about it in v.11 (11a-b). Done quite deliberately - on purpose – and to my mind ‘to create an unforgettable scene’. It was there (in the temple) and ‘then’ (at Passover time) that Jesus did what he did and said what he said.
The temple area – where people are supposed to worship God – was being turned into a market, where people were buying – animals for sacrifices and selling – at a huge profit. Religion, we may say, can be a dangerous thing as it so often takes advantage of the poor and the gullible. Jesus says, “I don’t want it; it must go!” And so it did – in A.D.70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans, as Jesus had predicted.
Jesus was against the religion of his day. We see it in his action when he overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. Imagine being ripped off – financially, I mean, by religious leaders for wanting to worship God. The temple itself had become a den – that is a cave where robbers meet to share their spoils. The robbers are the religious leaders – common criminals cloaked in religious garb. That’s what was happening and it is still happening today. There are many places even today where you have to pay to pray! That is not the religion of Jesus!
But Jesus doesn’t just act – He also speaks, v.17. His words explain His actions: He quotes from the Jewish Scriptures – 11:17b. May I paraphrase it for you? Church is for everybody and you cannot worship God in a place that resembles a zoo. Imagine all the animals – lots of them. Think of the noise, and worse still, the smell. Worse than a bunch of students who haven’t washed for a week!
There was no respect for God in that sort of religion! I hope then, you can see how Jesus and religion don’t always easily mix. I think Jesus is still displeased when religious people take advantage of the poor and hinder others from finding God.
But also notice not only how Jesus acts and speaks – expressing His displeasure. Did you not also notice from our reading that it happened publicly? There is nothing secret about it. It is not possible to misunderstand Jesus. He criticises the Jewish leaders for allowing it to happen. Jesus didn’t say ‘you keep your religion’ and ‘Ill keep mine’. No – he would not stand idly by - doing nothing.
He was inviting conflict, asking for trouble – and getting it. The Jewish leaders, so Mark tells us, were seeking to destroy Him (11:18). Jesus’ words and actions had consequences resulting in His death. He paid with His blood to set people free from the slavery of a religion that had turned evil! Imagine following a religion designed to keep you from God!
So what about you and what about me? What is your religion? Is religion your God or is God your religion?
