Jesus Clears the Temple

During this Holy Week I thought that I would use Marks's Gospel to look at some key events. Today I start with Mark 11: 15  - 18:

Jesus Clears the Temple

15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.[a] 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[b]

18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

We have just had the Palm Sunday story and now one of the first things that Jesus does is go to the Temple.  When he arrives he sees before him the money changers and he knocks over their tables.  It is obvious that he is pretty angry about what he sees and has some sort of authority to stop it happening. We do not often think of Jesus as being angry, especially during the Easter season, but I do wonder whether this is a response to the injustice he is seeing and the misuse of power to take advantage of others. The money changers were reputed to have made a pretty penny as they took peoples daily money and turned it into the temple money needed to buy sacrifices. They were taking advantage of people.

In the early days of our current situation there were some stories of inflated prices for some goods. I wonder if Jesus would have been angry at that. I wonder if he would have been angry that the front-line workers did not have the protective equipment they need, or people ignoring social distancing instructions and putting others at risk.

The actions of Jesus in challenging what was wrong caused others to be angry as a result, they began planning how to kill him. Facing up to an injustice or challenging something we think is wrong is not always easy. But if it does not happen our world will be a worse place. To slightly update Edmund Burke:
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.

Gracious God

We pray that you will
give us the courage 
to stand up against 
what is wrong in society,
and the wisdom to know 
how to respond to it.

We pray today for those 
in positions of authority,
that they may use their power 
for the good of all.

We thank you for our Queen
and her message of hope,
and pray for your healing 
and protection for our Prime Minister.

Amen