The Journey to the Cross

Clearing of the Temple

The morning following the triumphant entry (Palm Sunday), Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. The gospel tells us that along the way, he cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than just outward religiosity; true, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life.

When Jesus arrived at the Temple, he found the courts full of corrupt money changers. He began overturning their tables and clearing the Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves" (Luke 19:46).

Temple-goers seem not to have noticed what the unscrupulous hawkers had done to the holy place, as they changed money and sold animals for sacrifice. They were offering a service, like the souvenir shops in sacred sites around the world. Commerce tends to grow and grow when it finds a market, so the Temple, the place of prayer, degenerated into a sort of marketplace. 

Jesus needed to challenge the drift and reassert its holiness. During this Holy Week perhaps we should ask, does such drift happen in my life?

I recall hearing a preacher call Christ’s Angry display as ‘righteousness indignation’ and in the gospel narrative we can feel the growing tension, as Jesus forcefully challenges the way things were done in the holiest place of Judaism. It is so easy to lose sight of the real value of religious actions and rituals, ending up sometimes in shameful compromises.

We never think of Jesus losing his temper, yet that is what he did when he entered the temple and saw it set up just like a market place. Anger is not a bad thing as some of us might believe; it is what we do with the anger that can cause pain and upset.

Lord? You desire to dwell in this temple that is my body, but first the pressure to survive, and then the appetite for more money, can so possess me that I find little space for you. Please make my soul a place of prayer. Help me to turn to you whenever we feel that we are out of control. In situations that upset and hurt us Lord help me to call upon you to be with me and help me do the right thing. Amen