Lesson: Isaiah 56:6-7; Jeremiah 7:9-11; Mark 11:15-19
Golden Text: “Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 7:11).
INTRODUCTION. It was God’s intent that the nation of Israel be a holy people through whom He would reach the world. His desire was for non-Jews to come to Him. For this reason the temple contained a courtyard to be used by believing Gentiles. However, in Jesus’ final week of ministry, it was necessary for Him to drive out those who had converted this courtyard into a corrupt marketplace.
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER PROVIDED (Isaiah 56:6-7). In Isaiah chapters 54-57, God is seen bringing salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. Chapter 56 focuses on extending His spiritual blessings to those who were previously excluded from the covenant He had made with Israel. In Isaiah 56:1, the Lord announced that His salvation is “near to come” and would be available to everyone who was previously left out including eunuchs and foreign proselytes (see Isaiah 56:3-5). This is where our lesson begins as the Lord continues to speak through Isaiah regarding the stranger or foreigner.
A. A place for Gentiles (Isaiah 56:6-7).
1. (vs. 6). Continuing with his prophecy concerning God giving the stranger a place in His kingdom, Isaiah writes “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant.” The word “Also” refers back to verses 4-5 where God promises to give the eunuchs a place in His house. Just like the eunuchs, God also included in His promise “the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord.” This refers to foreigners or non-Jews who decide to follow or give their allegiance to Jehovah, Israel’s God. These strangers who become Jewish proselytes (converts to Judaism), will “serve him (God)” meaning that their service to the Lord would be intentional and enthusiastic. In addition, the believing Gentiles will “love the name of the Lord.” In other words, they will have a heartfelt desire for God’s presence, and a real inner yearning to be associated with Him. The phrase “to be his servants” speaks of the foreigner’s availability and obedience in serving the Lord. These strangers are also, as God said, those “that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant.” Keeping, or honoring the Sabbath is seen here as evidence of respect for God’s covenant in general (see Isaiah 56:2, 4). Since the time that God called Israel as His own people, the Sabbath was a key sign of their covenant with God (see Exodus 31:12-17; Ezekiel 20:12-20). By taking hold of God’s covenant with Israel, the stranger demonstrates that they fully identify with Jehovah.
2. (vs. 7). Still speaking of the strangers who follow Him, God says “ Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” The words “ Even them” again refers to the non-Jewish worshippers or strangers in verse 6. God said that He will bring them “to my holy mountain.” This is a reference to Jerusalem. By using this phrase, Isaiah was prophesying worship in the temple at Jerusalem during the millennial reign (see Isaiah 2:2; 11:9: 65:25: Jeremiah 3:17). Once the Lord has brought all peoples together to Himself, He promises to “make them joyful in my house of prayer.” The believing foreigner or non-Jew will have an acceptable place to worship in the temple.Many scholars differ on whether the phrase “their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar” should be understood literally. Some scholars understand this phrase to be literal, meaning that animal sacrifices will be restored during the millennium. Others believe that this phrase is symbolic of worship during the millennium in general. Regardless of how we understand this phrase, the important message is that all believers will have the same access to God (see Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:14-22; Colossians 3:11).
III. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER POLLUTED (Jeremiah 7:9-11). The second portion of our lesson is a part of what is known as Jeremiah’s “temple address” (see Jeremiah chapters 7-10). God commanded Jeremiah to stand in front of the temple and warn the people to repent of their evil ways (see Jeremiah 7:1-3). Jeremiah also spoke against the false prophets who gave the people of Judah the mistaken belief that the presence of the temple would keep anything from happening to Judah (see Jeremiah 7:4). In verses 5-7, Jeremiah told the people what God expected from them in order to avoid judgment for their wickedness. And again in verse 8, Jeremiah denounced the people for “trusting in lying words that cannot profit.” This brings us to the second section of our lesson.
A. The hypocrisy of the worshippers (Jeremiah 7:9-10).
1. (vs. 9). In this verse, God poses a question to His people which would reveal their hypocrisy. He asked “Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not.” Believing the prophets’ false words that the temple’s presence would protect the nation regardless of how they behaved, they continued to “steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely.” All of these actions violated the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments. Six sins are listed here that the people were guilty of, but they involved seven of the commandments. The fact that they excused their sin because of the presence of the temple, demonstrated that they also took God’s name in vain. They even went as far as to “burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not.” They were worshipping and following gods that they didn’t even know, or ever knew. “Baal” was the chief male god of the Phoenicians and Canaanites. God’s people may have appeared to be worshipping Jehovah, but their hearts were with the false gods of surrounding peoples. How hypocritical!
2. (vs. 10). God exposed Judah’s hypocrisy by saying that they were involved in all kinds of sins but yet “And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?” In essence God was asking His people, “How can you come to worship me in my temple which has my name all over it and then claim that no harm will come to you even though you’ve committed all these sins?” It was bad enough that God’s people were involved in sinful living, but their guilt was made worse by practicing outward worship at the temple while they committed the sins God listed in verse 9. To them the temple was like a rabbit’s foot, or a lucky charm. The people believed that they could do whatever they wanted and go to the temple and be protected from any enemy attacks. This is what is meant by “We are delivered to do all these abominations?” As Babylon was on the verge of destroying Jerusalem, the leaders and people of Judah comforted themselves with the false belief that the temple’s presence guaranteed the city’s safety. But boy were they wrong! Note: Today, too many Christians act the same way. We go to our houses of worship once a week thinking that this will cover all the other ungodly things we say and do during the week. For some reason, many believers think that going to church will get God’s favor and prevent trouble from happening. They then go home to cheat, lie, and lust, lose their tempers, steal and speak evil of others. However, God does not owe them anything for their church attendance because their hearts are far from Him (see Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8). The truth is, a person’s true spiritual condition, not the outward appearance of religion, is what’s most important.
B. The defilement of the temple (Jeremiah 7:11). After revealing the hypocrisy of His people, God here said “ Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.” This was God’s “house” and not just another building. It belonged to Him so He could declare that it “is called by my name.” In other words, the Lord identified with the temple. But there was something terribly wrong. God told His people that the house that carried His name had “become a den of robbers in your eyes.” Note: For sure over the years, the temple had undergone unspeakable corruption and misuse. King Joash made repairs to the temple because the sons of Athaliah (wicked queen of Judah who killed all the heirs to the throne except Joash who hid in the temple: see II Chronicles 22:10-12) had torn it up (see II Chronicles 24:4-7). Manasseh desecrated the temple by putting up altars to false gods (see II Chronicles 33:1-5) and King Josiah once again cleansed it (see II Chronicles 34:1-8). But now the temple had been polluted once again (see Jeremiah 7:30). However, it wasn’t the actual pollution of the temple itself that the Lord condemned. It was the improper motives of the worshippers. It had “become a den of robbers” or thieves. “Robbers” would hide temporarily in mountain caves until they planned their next move. Likewise, these hypocrites treated this holy temple as if it was a place to hide from God’s judgment until they headed back into their sinful lives. However, the people were not fooling God. He declared “Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.” In other words, He had seen everything. God sees actions, reads motives and trust me, He also judges what He sees. Note: In verse 12, which is not part of our text, God reminded His people that He still judges wickedness. He urged them to remember what He did to Shiloh, because of Israel’s wickedness. Shiloh was the place where the tabernacle was first set up after the Israelites entered Canaan. During Samuel’s time, the Ark of the Covenant was kept in Shiloh and the people revered it just like the people in Jeremiah’s day did the temple. They expected the ark to bring them victory against the Philistines, but of course it didn’t. Israel was defeated, their priests were killed and the ark was taken. God does not play and neither should we!
IV. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER PURGED (Mark 11:15-19). The last section of our text takes place the day after Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on an ass (see Mark 11:1-10). After entering Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple, looked around, and then returned to Bethany for the night (see Mark 11:11). Our remaining text begins with the next day.
A. Jesus’ actions (Mark 11:15-16).
1. (vs. 15). Mark says in this verse “And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.” The phrase, “And they come to Jerusalem” means that Jesus and His disciples returned to Jerusalem the next day and “Jesus went into the temple.” This is actually a reference to the temple area or more specifically, the Court of the Gentiles which was the area outside the temple reserved for Gentile worship of Israel’s God. In the temple area, Jesus first “began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple.” In the large outer court of the Gentiles, the high priest had authorized the selling of animals for temple sacrifices, but that didn’t mean it was the wise thing to do. No doubt the high priest received kickbacks for allowing this practice. Pilgrims coming to Jerusalem from a distance for the feast of Passover and Unleaven Bread which would be celebrated later that week, found it more convenient to buy their sacrificial animals in Jerusalem than to bring them with them. Other items like oil, salt, and wine were probably also sold there. Jesus also “overthrew the tables of the moneychangers.” The “moneychangers” were those who converted foreign currency into Tyrian silver coins which was the only currency accepted for the annual temple tax (see Exodus 30:11-16) and for sacrificial animals. They charged very high rates for exchanging the currency as well as over pricing the sacrificial animals. Next, we are told that Jesus also turned over “the seats of them that sold doves.” The “doves” were sacrificial animals offered by the poor (see Leviticus 5:5-8). All of these transactions were necessary, but they were not appropriate for the temple area. The sights, sounds, and smells that greeted Jesus when He entered the Court of the Gentiles no doubt hindered the intentions of Gentiles who had come to worship God. By allowing this commercialism, the Jewish religious leaders were actually preventing Gentiles from the worship that Scripture had promised them (see Isaiah 56:6-7). Since all of this merchandising was taking place in the only area Gentiles were allowed to worship God, we can safely assume that proper worship by the Gentiles was at the very least hindered. All of this played a part in Jesus’ decision to clear the temple courts.
2. (vs. 16). In addition to clearing the temple area for its improper use, Jesus “would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.” This means that Jesus wouldn’t even allow anyone to continue to carry items through the temple courts. The commercial desecration of the temple court made many think that it was okay to use the outer court as a short cut from one part of the city to the other. This activity also took away from God’s holy purpose for the temple area. This shows just how much this holy place had been profaned. It was no longer honored as God’s dwelling: it was just another building with a courtyard that could be used as a short cut to another part of the city. The violation of the temple’s holiness called for righteous anger. Note: This was the second time that Jesus cleansed the temple area for this practice of buying and selling. The first time was at the beginning of His ministry (see John 2: 13-16). Of course this second time was at the end of His ministry for Jesus would be crucified a few days later.
B. Jesus’ teaching (Mark 11:17). This verse then says, “And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Being the Master Teacher, Jesus turned this into a teaching moment. He proceeded to give clear teachings about the temple’s purpose. The phrase “Is it not written” indicates that Jesus was about to use Scripture to support His words. He applied the two Old Testament texts that we’ve previously discussed in this lesson. Jesus said “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?” quoting from Isaiah 56:7. This teaching especially applied to the Court of the Gentiles, where people of all nations, or non-Jews were permitted to come. Isaiah had foreseen that non-Jews would be allowed to worship in the temple as noted in John 12:20. Yet this was the very area that had been polluted. Jesus spared no words as He quoted a second Scripture from Jeremiah 7:11, “but ye have made it a den of thieves.” The merchants and moneychangers were engaged in dishonest, fraudulent dealings and like thieves they were robbing Gentile worshippers of the opportunity to worship the true God. Thieves had crowded out true worshippers from the temple courts.
C. The reaction (Mark 11:18-19).
1. (vs. 18). After Jesus taught what the true meaning of the temple was, Mark writes “And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.” As previously noted, this was the second time Jesus cleansed the temple. The first time the religious leaders asked Him for a sign to confirm His right to do it (see John 2:13-18). This time they apparently said nothing, for when the religious leaders, “the scribes and chief priests” heard Jesus’ teaching they “sought how they might destroy him.” Their plot to kill Jesus was because “they feared him.” These religious leaders reasoned that if Jesus gained more popularity, they would lose their power over the people. They feared Jesus “because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.” Therefore they couldn’t take Him by force at that time. These religious leaders had to bide their time and wait for another opportunity. The phrase “astonished at his doctrine” means that the people who heard Jesus’ teaching about the sanctity of the temple were struck with amazement. They could hardly believe that anyone would do what Jesus had just done in the temple courts. Note: By clearing out the temple area, Jesus established His messianic authority over the temple, the high priest and the religious leaders (see Malachi 3:1-3). By staying and teaching in the temple courts, Jesus guarded against the return of the merchants. However, everything was now in place for the final confrontation with the religious leaders. But for now, Jesus had the support of the huge Passover crowds as He challenged the religious leaders. But rest assured, these leaders would try again (see Matthew 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8; Mark 14:1-2).
2. (vs. 19). Our final verse says “And when even was come, he went out of the city.” When evening came, Jesus and His disciples left the city, probably returning to Bethany as He had done the day before (see Mark 11:11; Luke 21:37).
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