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?
