Last week’s newssheet looked at the wonderful celebration of Palm Sunday. Yet the placing of cloaks and palm branches, along with singing ‘Hosanna’ (save us please) was not all that happened on the very first Palm Sunday. When Jesus entered Jerusalem he went straight to the Temple to worship, but found something so disturbing that he cleared the temple of an entire market full on animals, merchants, buyers and temple tax executives. What would cause Jesus to perform such a serious act? His words give us a clue:
Matthew 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ e but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
The outer court of the Temple was where the Gentiles could draw near to worship Yahweh. Yet the Jewish leadership had decided to rent out the Court of the Gentiles to those conducting temple business. There was nothing wrong with selling animals or exchanging foreign currency for temple worship. Such things were prescribed by God. The issue was (i) Gentiles being stiffed of their opportunity to worship Yahweh, and (ii) Jews having to pray and worship amidst a noisy market. The Jewish leadership were not using the Temple for worship, but as a way of making money from the market.
One of the questions this passage raises is, are Christians as passionate about God being properly worshipped as Jesus is? If someone were to point out issues with our worship, would we work hard to rectify it? Are we willing to change our worship so that the nations can come before the Lord comfortably? How important is it to us that our God be worshipped in the manner he deserves?
May our worship always reflect that God is our ultimate treasure; not sex, money, power, time, family or career. Are we worshipping God in the way he has asked?
