Tipping over Tables



Matthew 21:12-17
12And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
13He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,
16and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”
17And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Whenever someone expresses anger in ways that go beyond words we all take a step back and wait to see what else is going to happen. Angry words – well, that one thing. But when someone starts breaking stuff we all pay closer attention and become a little more self-protective. Imagine you were in the temple court that day Jesus arrived and started tipping over tables! So far you may have seen this guy feed a bunch of people when there was no food apparently available; you may have seen him heal a chronically sick person, you may have seen him quiet a storm. But until now, you’ve never seen Him get violent. Time to pay closer attention!

Upon reading today’s passage, I was struck by the word “And” which opens the passage. Of things to pay attention to, right? But what that word “and” does in this passage is tie these temple events to the previous passage – the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem as the people raised up praise and laid down palms. He goes from those triumphant moments as the people welcome Him into Jerusalem to an angry outburst that caught everyone’s attention. Clearly, Passion week is here and Jesus means business.

There are a couple of Old Testament verses to which Jesus alludes while He is letting His anger show. The first is Zechariah 14:21b. “And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.” That is how the book of Zechariah ends! Jesus makes a clear reference to this prophet’s voice. The other important Old Testament quote that Jesus uses is Jeremiah 7:11. “Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.” He uses two words specifically from the Old Testament – מְעָרָה פָּרִיץ  – which literally mean “cave of terrorists”!

Here is what modern theologian D.A. Carson says about this verse. “Jesus is employing a vivid metaphor. By preventing the Gentiles who fear God from worshiping Him in the place especially reserved for that purpose, the temple leadership represents ethnocentric prejudice and repression analogous to literal, state-sponsored terrorism.” (Commentary on the NT Use of the OT. pg. 68) In this usage of these words, Jesus accuses Israel’s leaders of gross rebellion against Him. Tipping over a few tables is minor compared to what is deserved for this behavior. In essence, the leadership is keeping the people away from God and this behavior cannot be tolerated by our Savior. These “red Words” have some kick! Jesus is angry because the people are being kept from the Father. That still grieves Him today. When we step between someone and the Lord this is a causes Him grief. When we keep ourselves from Him, this too is a source of pain for the Savior. A few toppled tables is nothing when compared with a soul that God loves and wants with Him forever.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more