Jesus will not put up with injustice

"11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the Temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve."
                                                                                                   Mark 11:11 & 15-19  NKJV

This piece of scripture is usually viewed together with the account of The Fig Tree verses 12-14 & 20-24. But let us look at the account of Jesus in the Temple and then we'll look at The Fig Tree account tomorrow.

Jesus went into Jerusalem and entered the Temple there. Note that, 'He looked around at all things, v11. What He was doing was summing up the situation - doing a recce. He would have heard so many rumours about what was happening there that He wanted to check out the situation Himself. William Barclay states, 'When He looked round everything, He was like a Commander summing up the strength of the opposition and His own resources, preparatory to the decisive battle.'

After Jesus had done this, because of the hour, and the knowledge that they had three miles or so to walk back home, He decided that they needed to get back before it became dark. He also needed to rest and recuperate for the task He had the next day. He needed strength and courage for what He had to do. He also needed to spend time with His father.

The next day, rested and ready for the job ahead, Jesus and His disciples set off again for Jerusalem. By now the disciples must have been thinking that He acted quite weird at times. Going into the Temple and just staring around, going back home and now returning there. They just couldn't figure Him out. Yet, they couldn't leave Him. He was irresistible to them; they just had to remain with Him. They were free to leave Him at any time. No one would have stopped them, but they were faithful to Him. Many times, we can't figure things out; why He allows this or that but seems to ignore other things. We have a choice, we could easily desert Him. The thing is, once you have experienced life with Jesus, there really is no other way of life.

The Temple area is known in Hebrew as Hieron and translated as 'a sacred place'. It would have been around 30 acres in size. There was a wide outer area which was called the Court of the Gentiles. Anyone could enter this - Jew or Gentile. However, if a Gentile went past a certain point, it was punishable by death. People went there to pay their taxes which was half a shekel for the year, which was quite expensive. The coinage had to be a shekel, nothing else was accepted. This is why there were many money changers. They charged exorbitant prices for this exchange, sometimes up to three times as much. Also the people could purchase doves outside of the Temple, quite cheaply. However, it was rare for the Temple Inspectors to accept these owing to blemishes that they would find. They sold their own doves which cost fifteen times as much. It really was a thriving yet unfair business.

Jesus had witnessed all of this the day before and He was angry. Also, His anger grew because Gentiles were not allowed to go to areas in the Temple where a Jew could go. He knew the scripture that said, 'My house shall be called a House of Prayer for all people (nation).' Isaiah 56:7, and He considered this discriminatory. Put together with the way the people were being ripped off at high costs, He took action. He drove out of the Temple, the money changers and overturned the tables of those who sold doves until it was empty.

Jesus will not put up with injustice. Sooner or later He will act or use one of us to step up and take authority. Today's text shows us how He looks around and takes note of things. We can always expect Him to shake up the applecart where injustice rules.

Perhaps He is showing you something that needs to be challenged!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com