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PRODUCTIVITY AND PURITY
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
Mark 11:12-18

Jeremiah 7:8-16

 

“…My house shall be called of

all nations the house of prayer?”

 

PRODUCTIVITY AND PURITY
 
On His way to the temple, Jesus became hungry. Chancing upon a healthy fig tree, he hoped to find figs, but found none. Then the Lord cursed the fig tree that it should no longer bear fruit.
 
Jesus used the fig tree as an object lesson. The fig tree symbolised the nation of Israel (Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7). Israel, like this fig tree, had a lot of foliage but was fruitless. Israel had all that she needed (the Scriptures, the miracles, Christ Himself, etc.) to get right with God and bear fruit for Him. Instead, she produced nothing. Israel is cursed like the fig tree. God intends to uproot Israel and make her unfruitful. Nevertheless, this curse will be lifted in the last days. The Lord will replant Israel back into the Promised Land, and make her fruitful when Christ returns (Matt 24:32, cf. Amos 9:14-15; Rom 11:26).
 
Jesus cleansed the temple once before at the beginning of His public ministry (John 2:13-17). Now at the end of His public ministry, He cleansed it again. The temple was meant to be a “house of prayer,” but the chief priests and scribes had made it into a “den of thieves.” Evidently, these temple officials had made themselves CEOs of Temple Pte Ltd, and turned God’s house into big-business racketeering. It became such because the chief priests had leased out spaces in the temple area (probably the Court of the Gentiles) to animal traders who sold their sacrificial sheep and oxen at high prices, and to moneychangers who exchanged Roman currency for temple coins at hiked-up rates. Not only were the people ripped off by those thievish merchants, the whole temple area had become a filthy and noisy market place most unsuitable for worship.
 
Like the first time, Jesus threw out all the sellers and buyers in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stalls of the animal traders. He forbade anyone to bring any merchandise into the temple. After ridding the temple of all that unholy activity, He began to teach the people therein, and all of them heard Him attentively, hanging on to His every word. For this reason, the temple authorities who desired to kill Him became afraid of Him, and could do nothing.
 
THOUGHT: “The purification of the Church is God’s own work.” (Calvin)

PRAYER: Father, we desire a pure church.

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