Reflective Bible Study

In the verses we skipped over during our last episode, we discover a powerful event that likely ticked the religious leaders off even more than they already were and an event that prompted them to be even more intentional about looking for an opportunity to arrest and kill Jesus. However, also included in this event is an amazing picture Jesus gives us for His temple, and by extension, we could also include other places that are built for us to worship Him that don’t happen to be the temple in Jerusalem.

Let’s read what happened and discover some things we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 15, Mark tells us that:

¹⁵ When they came to Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple courtyard and began to throw out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold pigeons. ¹⁶ He would not let anyone carry anything across the temple courtyard.

¹⁷ Then he taught them by saying, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves.”

¹⁸ When the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings heard him, they looked for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him because he amazed all the crowds with his teaching.

¹⁹ (Every evening Jesus and his disciples would leave the city.)

In this short passage, we see three distinct parts. The first part includes Jesus stopping the commerce from happening in the temple. The second part includes Jesus teaching those present, which also happens to be an explanation for why He stopped commerce in the temple. The third part is the response and reaction the chief priests and religious experts have to what Jesus did.

Prior to this reading, I had not ever noticed one word in this passage related to the chief priests’ response. Mark tells us in verse 18 that “When the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings heard him, they looked for a way to kill him.”

The key word I had not noticed before was the word “heard”. Prior to this, I had always pictured these religious leaders being the most upset with Jesus chasing out the moneychangers and the commerce, but with the way we see Mark frame this event, I get the picture these religious leaders were less upset about Jesus chasing the commerce out of the temple than they were about what Jesus said.

Immediately before this verse, we read in verse 17 that Jesus taught those present saying, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a gathering place for thieves.”

Regardless of the words Jesus used to challenge what He saw taking place in the temple, I suspect that Jesus’ challenge to the religious leaders appeared to be larger than one single idea at one single time. Instead, I get the impression that the chief priests and experts in Moses’ teachings saw Jesus’ challenge as a challenge directly aimed at their authority and their role. While Jesus doesn’t call any specific person out by name, He challenges these leaders that they are letting the temple descend away from God’s ideal and into a gathering place for exactly the wrong type of person.

While anyone and everyone are welcome to come to worship, when we come to worship God, we should bring our hearts along with a repentant attitude. It is unlikely God accepts worship from unrepentant sinners.

So does God dislike money or commerce? I don’t think He does.

Instead, God created society and everything that has been used as money over the years. I think God created commerce as a way of helping humanity understand a little bit more about His nature. Without commerce, we would have a hard time measuring value in a society larger than a couple hundred people.

However, commerce mixed with sin reveals some of the more evil aspects of humanity. When sin enters a transaction, the focus ceases to be how this transaction benefits everyone who is involved and it instead becomes how this transaction can benefit me the most. With sin involved, commerce becomes a me-first activity, and we stop thinking about others.

According to Jesus, this is how the commerce in the temple was described. At the end of Jesus’ statement in verse 17, He used the phrase, “A gathering place for thieves.”

A thief is someone who is thinking only of himself and not of the well-being of the person he is stealing from. A thief rationalizes that he needs whatever is being stolen more than the person who currently owned it. In some extreme cases, a thief simply steals because He wants to or is hired to. Thievery is a self-focused attitude and action, regardless of the rationalization or corruption involved in whatever the scenario is.

By describing the commerce in the temple as thievery, we can see that what was happening in the temple was not benefitting those who came to the temple. This also means that what was happening in the temple was not honoring God. Ultimately, what was happening in the temple stopped people from coming to God rather than aiding them to come into His presence.

In this event, we see Jesus push back against a me-focused worship experience. Worship is not about our preferences, our likes or dislikes, or about anything to do with ourselves. Instead, worship is all about God and what He wants.

Jesus’ big contrast statement here is a quote from the Old Testament that described God’s ideal for His house on earth. God wants His house on earth described as a house of prayer for all nations.

This means that prayer should be a central part of our worship, a key piece of our time focused on God, and anything and everything that pulls us away from prayer and focusing on God must be removed from our worship.

Our worship is not for our own benefit. Instead, when we worship God, we are to focus on bringing Him what He wants, and God is interested in gifts that contain our hearts. Nothing in what was happening at the temple allowed someone to give their heart to God, and because of this, everything that was happening in the temple was a distraction away from what God intended the temple, specifically His house on earth, to be!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally seek God first in your life. When you come to worship God, be sure that you give Him the glory, the honor, the focus, the respect, and the praise He deserves, and with the gifts you bring, include the gift of your heart!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. In the pages of the Bible, discover a God who gives up everything to save and redeem you from sin and discover how we can fall in love with a God who has already fallen in love with us!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or outright reject where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

At the beginning of the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, one of the most famous events is Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Tradition suggests that this happened on Palm Sunday, which was one week before Jesus would step victoriously out of the tomb.

However, as I read this event, I am amazed by something that isn’t said, that isn’t even hinted at, but something that only God and the Holy Spirit could be behind.

Let’s read this event and draw out what we can learn from what happened. Our passage is found in John, chapter 12, and we will read it using the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 12, John tells us that:

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
    see, your king is coming,
    seated on a donkey’s colt.”

¹⁶ At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. ¹⁸ Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

When we read this event from John’s gospel, I am amazed at the order of events. According to John, the people start shouting and proclaiming their praise for Jesus before Jesus has even sat down on the donkey. Part of me wonders if this celebrating began while two of Jesus’ disciples were away borrowing the donkey Jesus asked them to go and get. After the celebrating had begun, Jesus’ two disciples arrive with the young donkey and Jesus sits on it in order to fulfill the prophecy.

However, in this event, I am amazed because nowhere do I find Jesus requesting or asking anyone for praise or celebration. If it were not for Jesus’ words in a different gospel record when challenged to silence His followers and their praise, we might conclude that this was something that the crowd had prompted. Instead, when challenged to silence the crowd cheering for Jesus, Jesus told the religious leaders that if they were to be quiet, the rocks themselves would cry out. This celebration was entirely God inspired and God prompted.

However, while the celebrating was going on, John inserts an interesting detail into this event that seems out of place. In verse 16, John tells us that “At first his disciples did not understand all this [referring to the prophecy]. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.”

While on the surface, we might be tempted to think that this celebrating was the point in time when Jesus was glorified. However, looking at the details of this verse, I suspect that John really means after Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. In our next few episodes, we will discover how John paints Jesus being glorified as a future event, and not as this single celebration.

Because of this detail, I wonder if the crowd understood or remembered this prophecy about Israel’s King riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. This prophecy, and its fulfillment, is incredibly counter-cultural. The typical grand entrance for a king during that era, would be riding into the home city victoriously riding a mighty warhorse, riding in a chariot, or entering in an equally strong fashion. I don’t know of the Bible talking about any animal that would be considered lower than a donkey that could be ridden.

Not only were donkey’s considered among the least symbolically strong animals, John points us to the detail that this was a young donkey, and I wonder if this donkey was barely old enough to support Jesus’ weight. These details draw us to the conclusion that Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the weakest animal that could be ridden.

If the crowd remembered this prophecy, while the disciples didn’t, I wouldn’t be too surprised to then hear them proclaiming Jesus to be a King, especially after seeing Him riding on the donkey. However, John frames this event as the people proclaiming Jesus to be a King before the donkey shows up. This is powerful. The people proclaim their praise and belief in Jesus as someone sent to them from God before they witness the fulfilled prophecy!

By riding into Jerusalem on the weakest available animal, we are reminded that Jesus is not interested in proving His strength, His power, or His influence to us. That is something sinful people do. Instead, we are called to recognize that Jesus’ kingdom is one that challenges us to continue stepping down in order to help. We are called to help the lowest and least in society, regardless of what others think, regardless of whether we will be thanked or repaid, and regardless of what being associated with these other people means for our reputation.

Jesus didn’t focus on what other people thought of Him. Instead, Jesus focused on who He could help at each moment in time, Jesus focused on how He could step down in each situation, and Jesus focused on pointing all glory and praise upwards to God while He stepped down.

Interestingly enough, other people hoisted Jesus up onto the cross. Other people lifted Jesus up in order to glorify Him. In the same way, we are called to intentionally step down, pointing all glory and praise upwards, and let God, perhaps through other people, lift us up.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue seeking God first in your life and choose to intentionally step down when given the opportunity to. Choose to point all the praise and glory you might receive upwards to God and intentionally seek out places where you can step down and help those who need help. Choose to help those people who cannot pay you back for your kindness.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to Jesus each and every day. A personal relationship with Jesus is best formed and built on the foundation of prayer and study, and the closer we are to Jesus, the more we will recognize the opportunities He sends into our lives to help those in need.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!