Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 19 : 28-48 "THE FIRST CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE"
Day 243 – Luke 19
Text: Luke 19 : 28-48
THE FIRST CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
Jesus had entered Jerusalem triumphantly. Whether or not the people had understood everything, Jesus fulfilled what was prophesied by Zechariah.
He entered into the Temple, and for the second time, Jesus drove out those who bought and sold in it.
The first time Jesus did this was at the beginning of His ministry. This incident was recorded by John the Apostle. Let us take time to read about the first incident.
“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And He found in the Temple
Those who sold oxen and sheep and doves,
And the money changers doing business.
When He had made a whip of cords,
He drove them all out of the Temple,
With the sheep and the oxen,
And poured out the changers’ money
And overturned the tables.
And He said to those who sold doves,
‘Take these things away!
Do not make My Father’s House
A house of merchandise!’ “
John 2:13-16
How different was the spirit of David when he taught Solomon how to prepare his heart to build the Temple. David made sure that every detail was looked into. His understanding of the House of God was correct. He had the highest regard for the House of God (Cf. 1 Chronicles 17, 22-29)
How different was the spirit of Nehemiah when he looked after the city of Jerusalem as its governor. He did not allow traders to even step into the city gates on the Sabbath. He locked the city gates. If anyone tried to sneak in or force his way in, that person would be arrested (Nehemiah 13:17-22).
The spirit that prevailed in the days of Jesus with reference to the Temple was not one of holy reverence for the Lord. The Temple precincts were utilized as a market for people to buy and sell. The Temple had become “a house of merchandise” (John 2:16)!
There was no repentance on the part of the people who were chased out! They questioned the authority of Jesus! He certainly did not have any civil authority to chase the people out. The Temple authorities benefited from the sale of the animals that were offered for sacrifice.
Nevertheless He had authority! His authority came from the Highest Source. He came in the Name of His Father and cleansed His Father’s House from those who defiled the Temple grounds with their avaricious and sometimes wicked buying and selling.
THE SECOND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
It was significant that Jesus ended His ministry on earth by going to the Temple and cleansing it. Let us take time to carefully read Luke’s solemn words.
“Then He went into the Temple, and began to drive out those
who bought and sold in it, saying to them,
‘It is written, My House is a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves’ “
Luke 19:45,46
The words Jesus used to rebuke those who dishonoured the Lord by their abuse of the Temple were taken from the Book of Jeremiah. The weeping prophet had to speak similar words of rebuke to a nation that was bent on evil. On the one hand they practised wicked deeds. On the other hand they went to the House of God as if they were pure and holy.
The cleansing of the Temple was more than just a rebuke of those who bought and sold. Let us take time to read Jeremiah and understand the context in which he ministered. The similarity is staggering.
“Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.
Will you steal, murder, commit adultery,
Swear falsely…
And then come and stand before Me in this house
Which is called by My Name…
Has this house, which is called by My Name,
Become a den of thieves in your eyes?
Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’
Says the Lord.”
Jerermiah 7:8-11
The zeal of the Lord Jesus for His Father’s House gave Him the boldness and the courage to confront those who turned the Temple into a den of thieves. Why was this phrase mentioned?
Jesus knew of the sharp practices of the people who bought and sold. Many charged exorbitant prices for the sacrificial animals. Those who traveled from afar had to pay the highest price to these merchants. Worship had degenerated into commercialism and worse.
The Jews laid a Temple Tax on all who came to worship. However, they refused to accept Roman money, for it carried the face of Caesar. They invented a coinage that had no legal tender. All worshippers had to pay the Temple tax in special Jewish coinage at a very high fee. Jesus saw this abuse perpetrated in the name of religion, and right in the Temple precincts.
The religious authorities had turned the Temple into a Den of Thieves! Jesus in a wonderful display of courage drove the merchants out of the Temple! Nobody could stand up to His power and authority. Their guilt, if not shame, prevented them from resisting the raw power used by Jesus to drive them out of God’s House of Prayer.