Today we will be reading in Mark 11:15-19. Again, before you begin this time in God’s Word, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to help you see Jesus more clearly.
We are continuing to walk with Jesus through His last week of ministry. Yesterday we watched as He entered the city surrounded by the cries - Hosanna (Come and save us)! It is now the following day and Jesus and his disciples have entered the city of Jerusalem. It is the week of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread which means that the population of the city has swelled significantly. People have come from all throughout the region to celebrate and to offer sacrifices at the temple. God-fearing Gentiles also have travelled to participate in the festival. Those who traveled from a distance would often not bring their offerings with them, but instead, would buy them when they arrived. The temple had become a market place where animals were being bought and sold and money was being exchanged so that people would be able to offer a sacrifice.
The law of Moses required a sacrifice of an animal without spot or blemish. It was not uncommon for people to bring their offering to the temple and have it rejected by the priest as “imperfect” so that they would be forced to buy another one at a much higher price only to have the “rejected animal” that had been brought resold to someone else in place of their rejected offering. Do you get the picture? The sacrificial offering system had become a huge business and the temple and the priests had lined their own pockets by extorting money from those who were coming to seek after God...many of whom could ill afford these prices.
In all likelihood this scene also takes place in the area of the Temple called the Court of the Gentiles, the only part of the temple that the Gentiles were allowed to come in. They could not come in to the inner parts of the temple for they were unclean. With this in mind read through Mark 11:15-19. Observe everything Jesus does in this passage. Do His actions disturb you? Confuse you? Why does Jesus act so fiercely in this scene? To help you with your answer, read Isaiah 57:6-8. Does Isaiah help you understand the heart of God and what He desired for His temple?
The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, is the radiance of the glory of God. Now read through Ezekiel 43:1-9 slowly...does this passage shed any light on what you are seeing in Mark 11:15-19? Spend some time reflecting on how these two passages are connected.
Our goal is to seek to know Jesus more fully as we following Him to the cross. Spend some time journaling today about what you have learned about Jesus in your time of study.
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