Lent Day 17. Matthew 21

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 21:12-13)

◇ When Jesus came to Jerusalem, the first thing he did was to restore the purpose of the temple. The temple was a place where God's people could meet God. It was a place to give thanks for joyful things, to shed tears for sad things, and to ask for help with painful things. The temple was a place to talk to God freely and to pray.

However, the temple was filled with people selling doves and exchanging money. It was full of merchants. Jesus became angry and overturned their tables, saying, "This is supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers."

Who were the people who were angry at Jesus for doing this? They must have been the merchants, right? However, the Bible does not mention the merchants, but it says that the chief priests and the teachers of the law were angry. Shouldn't they be happy that the temple was being restored? Why were they angry?

It was because the chief priests and the teachers of the law were like robbers themselves. They were the bigwigs and the black hands behind the merchants. They wore the holy clothes of the high priest and spoke the holy words of God in front of the people, but their hearts were filled with the wickedness of robbers.

Jesus saw these robbers. While people only saw their appearance, Jesus was the one who saw their hearts. They had turned the temple, a place where people prayed, into a den of robbers. He couldn't leave it like that. He wanted to take it back from the robbers and give it back to the people.

What are we doing in the house of prayer that Jesus has restored for us?

♧ Thank you, God, for restoring the house of prayer. Holy Spirit, guide us with truth!