There’s one important thing I learned about the clearing of the temple years ago that changed forever how I read the passage. I used to think that it was just a story about Jesus condemning people who were turning a place of worship into a place of profit. There may be some of that in the story, but I think there’s something more there as well. You see, the area that the moneychangers were set up was specifically designated for the Gentiles — all the nations who weren’t Jewish – so they could worship God.
I believe what frustrated Jesus most of all about what the moneychangers were doing was they were preventing “the nations” from worshipping God. God never intended the Jews to be a privileged few who would be happy just worshipping God by themselves. The intent was always for them to be a window in which God would bless the world. He wanted all nations to worship Him. These moneychangers were preventing that.
And Jesus wasn’t going to stand for that. Neither should we. Our lives should be about helping those outside of the church come to faith in Christ. Whether they are next door, downtown, or across the globe, we’ve been called to help give outsiders of the faith an opportunity to discover Christ. And we’re called to stand up against those who want to stop that.
