THE COST OF WORSHIP
Kendra Intihar
Today’s Scripture: “And 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.” Matthew 21:12, ESV
Theme: Jesus leaves a legacy of integrity.
THE FIRST CENTURY TEMPLE
In the first century AD, the Temple was a place of commerce, law, and learning. It was an economic center in Jerusalem where people were taught, disputes were decided, and local artisans and skilled workers were employed. Pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora came to the Temple to worship and make sacrifices to God. The Temple was much more like a self-contained city than any sort of church building we might be familiar with today.
The outer courts of the Temple were set up so that there were currency exchange tables and booths where the various animals acceptable for sacrificial offerings could be purchased. Just as today, economic currencies varied, depending on where people were from. Also, people couldn’t very well bring their sacrificial animals with them on long journeys. The animal sellers and money changers in the outer courts were a necessary part of the Temple experience and were meant to be a helpful convenience to those who had made the pilgrimage to worship and make sacrifices there.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, however, the sellers of animals, particularly doves, had inflated their rates so preposterously high that poor people – the people most likely to need their services – could scarcely afford them. One ancient rabbinical account, for example, states that a pair of doves in the temple courts would cost 25 gold denarii or approximately $3,500 in today’s money. Imagine paying over three thousand dollars for a pair of birds. The poor weren’t just being taken advantage of; they were being actively excluded from participating in worship unless they could produce exorbitant amounts of money. This was not the way of the Kingdom, and Jesus wasn’t having it.
HOSANNA, INDEED
Jesus had just ridden into town on a donkey to shouts of “Hosanna” (which meant, “Save us!”). Immediately thereafter, Matthew tells us “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:13, NIV). The merchants were robbers – stealing from God’s people.
We often read about Zechariah’s prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, but check out what happens when we include verse 8:
“But I will encamp at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:8-9 (NIV)
Yes, Jesus fulfilled the words of the ancient prophet by riding into town, lowly and riding on a donkey, but that wasn’t the only prophecy He fulfilled that day. He also made good on His promise to guard the Temple against marauders and expelled the oppressors that had sought to overrun His people. Jesus expected there to be money changers and sellers, of course, but He would not allow them to exploit “the least of these” for their own selfish gain.
THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TEMPLE
In Jesus’ time, the Temple was the place where people traveled to sacrifice for forgiveness of their sins. It was the earthly place where people could meet heaven and make atonement. Today, you and I are the true Temple of the Living God. The way we, the Temple, treat those who need to experience Jesus is eternally important. We are living emissaries of Jesus Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, called to care for others by practicing integrity and righteousness in His name.
Make It Personal: Jesus said that the most important commandments were to love God and love others. Today, as you consider these commands, remember that nothing – not money, not status, not success – nothing is more important than caring for the people God has created for us to love. When we love others, we show them what Jesus is like, and our lives invite them to experience salvation and forgiveness that doesn’t cost them a thing…not even a pair of birds. Jesus paid it all.
Pray: Father, search my heart and root out all the ways that I am making the cost of knowing You prohibitively high to those who desperately need You. Make me an ambassador of Your love in this broken place. Help me to hold myself to the highest standard of loving others, loving them more than I love worldly things. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: Proverbs 11:3; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Proverbs 21:13
Weekly Memory Verse:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9, ESV