Jesus in the Temple

Jesus in the Temple

“Jesus entered the temple area 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.’’” 
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’ ?” 
And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.” 
                                                                                                 Matthew 21:12-17.
Here Jesus shows his righteous anger in that he gets upset at those who were selling things in the temple, specifically the court of the gentiles. The only place gentiles could worship God within the temple itself.
There was a need for these people they sold doves and other animals to sacrifice in the temple, to people who’d travelled a great distance.
They also exchanged money to a currency acceptable to the temple authorities. These traders should have been near the temple not in the temple itself.
This is what Jesus got upset not the fact they were selling, but that it was being done in a place of worship.
Today especially in larger churches things are sold in the church. I think there has to be a line drawn with respect to the sanctity of the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is a place of worship and should be just for that. I know in the large church were my sons attend there is a book store set aside specifically for selling Christian things.
If there is a guest speaker and they have a book to sell they will set up a small table in the foyer of the church for that person.
Nothing however is sold in the sanctuary itself. That is for worship.
In small churches I know this can be a problem due to space. In our tiny church we don’t sell anything.
If a guest speaker comes with a book to sell it’s done at the very back of the church after the service when everything is completed.
If we do fund raisers they are done in the basement or outside of the church. No money changes hands in the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is to be a place of worship not profit taking.
The other part of this portion of scripture reads,
“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’ ?”
The Chief priests and the teachers of the law don’t seem to have been upset at him tossing out the merchants and the money changers. They were however it seems upset about what those Jesus had healed were saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David”.
Those people were giving praise to Jesus something that once again was bringing Jesus in conflict with the religious authorities.
Today we have people, non-believers in Jesus who wonder why we praise Him. They question that he is God.
All we as believers in Christ is to continue to worship and praise Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, while at the same time pointing the unbeliever to the Salvation that comes from Christ alone.
Think about it.