Well, our text tonight is found in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11, verses 15 through 19. You'll find that on page 1078 in the Pew Bibles. I'll be reading it now. The Word of the Lord. And they came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple. And he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a den of robbers. And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him. For they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came, they went out of the city. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Holy Father, I thank you. We thank you for the great gift of your Son, the Word Incarnate. We thank you for the word given to us, so that we may know your will, and through your power follow it. Lord, I pray that as we approach your word, that we may find joy and peace in what is to be said today. We pray that your word will fall in open ears and open hearts. Lord, speak truth from this pulpit. Let the goodness of your gospel be an encouragement to all that are here today. I pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. The temple, the tabernacle, the building that God had designed so that men could approach him to make sacrifices for his sins, the backbone of the nation of Israel. This building that was the height of holiness and spirituality is the centerpiece for our sermon today. The importance of this building to the people of Israel cannot be expressed enough because it is through this building that the Israelites had their only connection to God. He was dwelling among them in the Holy of Holies, separated but still dwelling among them. Their beliefs stemmed off of what occurred surrounding the temple. Entire sections of the Old Testament surround the proper way in which to enter and exit the temple and to make sacrifices before the holy God. And with that being said, let us take a trip down the proverbial memory lane of the temple and find the importance of it to these Israelites. Now when you ask a first century Israelites what their mind immediately jumps to when you bring up the temple, the thought will jump straight back to Moses, the father, the patriarch, to Exodus 25, the time of the giving of the law. and to the Mount Sinai. The time in which this cloud falls down upon this mount as the rest of the people stand around the base of the mountain as Moses walks up to receive the law of God. And in a way, pointing back to the first man, Adam, in which God dwells with his created beings. We see Moses up on that temple receiving the law and the people below immediately breaking that law, crafting a false idol. Yet Moses continues forward, re-receiving the law after breaking it in anger and heading out into the desert with his people, having the tabernacle, having the glory of God dwelling among them in this tabernacle and also leading them by cloud in the day, by fire at night. We think further down in the kings of David. Think of 1 Chronicles 28, where David pleads with God, allow me to build you a house in your land so that you might dwell with us. But God says, no, your ideas are good. but you have blood on your hands. You are a sinful creature. It is your son who will make my house. And so we jump to Solomon in 1 Kings 6 and his glorious temple where blood, sweat, tears, money all poured in in which to make this glorious temple so that God may dwell with their people. But not a few generations pass And what happens? Another occurrence at the base of Sinai. The people rebel. The people sin. And God sends judgment. This time tearing down the temple. Sending them off into exile. Babylon coming in, tearing down this temple. Watching all that that they had worked at to let their God dwell among them, torn down. But in this anger, in this sadness, there is hope. You can jump forward to Ezra, Haggai, Zerubbabel. The men sent back from exile to lay the foundation of this temple. The second temple is said that the elders returned from exile and there were tears coming down their eyes as they saw this foundation of a temple, knowing that once again their God can dwell among them, but also knowing that it is not to the beauty that Solomon had. And so we enter into the second temple of the Jewish faith. We jump forward into the New Testament, and we find Herod wanting to please the Jews, desires to dress up this temple, this second temple, Attempting to make it just as glorious as Solomon's. Knowing that it can't be done, but still trying to scurry their favor. And this, this is where we enter into the scene of our text. Second temple. All that history being packed into the minds of the people of Israel. And we see, because of this desecration in our text of the temple, Christ cast judgment upon it one last time in showing that he, in fact, is the true fulfillment of the temple. He is the better temple. And we find that through three actions done within our text. Verse 15 and 16, we have the action of the Gentiles. Verse 17, we have the action of Christ. In verse 18 and 19, we have the action of the Jewish leaders. So let us jump ahead into our first action. Verses 15 and 16, the action of the Gentiles. In order to fully understand the action that occurs, because in 15 and 16 we are immediately pushed into a very tumultuous scene, we have to understand the layout of the temple that Christ and his disciples are walking into. The temple in that day had a series of courtyards for people to dwell in. The first and largest of the courtyards was the courtyard of the Gentiles. This, where they welcomed Gentiles, Jews, men and women, children, teenagers maybe, as long as they don't roll their eyes, probably. In here, we have selling, buying, a large amount of action going on within the courtyard of the Gentiles. Off to that, we have the courtyard of the women. This is where the nationality plays a role. The women of the Jewish faith may come forward into here, but the Gentiles are barred. This closer to the sacrificial area. We then have the courtyard of the men. This the closest to the sacrificial area. men gathering forward, bringing forward their beasts, laying their hands upon it and putting it forward to the priests. And the priests bring that beast into the final area, the sacrificial area. This is where God dwells in the Holy of Holies. This is where the sacrifices are made. This is where the heart of the Jewish faith is found. All this occurs within this temple. We have Christ walking in to the courtyard of the Gentiles. And here we have Mark laying out a group of four people that Christ immediately casts judgment upon. We have the buyers, we have the sellers, we have the money changers, and we have those who are carrying things through the temple. So beginning, the money changers, these people are within the temple. And to understand this, we need to see that the money changers are people who work specifically with the currency of the temple. Now this is Passover week. There are thousands of men, women, and children coming, flooding in to Jerusalem. Their desire is to sacrifice or to come close, to find family, to come into the temple, bringing their sacrifices. But within that, the temple has specific currency in which to buy, sell, or to offer financial aid in which to the temple. When we think about it, these thousands of people are coming from possibly hundreds of miles away with 10 to 20 different currencies. Of course, the use of a money changer makes sense. It's a need. Those who want to give money, those who want to give things to this temple or buy things from this temple. It's a need. Then we have those who are buying and selling. The second temple, we have people who are selling animals for the sacrificial area. The sacrificial series within Israel was very specific. Entire books written about how to properly sacrifice before God. And what animal, and what gender, and what age, and whether or not it's pure or not. And so we have the temple selling animals that are of the proper age, that are pure, that are of the proper gender. As people are coming forward from hundreds of miles, of course they want to buy these animals and bring forward their sacrifices. Who would want to drag some goat, some animal, carrying doves for hundreds of miles? It's a need. Yes. Then we have those who are walking through, carrying things. To this, we need to understand where the temple is. The temple is placed at the heart of Jerusalem, hills all around. And in Jerusalem, first century, the safest roads are the roads most traveled. And the roads most traveled are the roads that lead to the temple. So, if you're an Israelite or a Gentile living in Jerusalem at that day, and you live on this side of Jerusalem and need to get to this side of Jerusalem, and the temple's right here, easiest, quickest way to walk right through. Take the road. It's the easiest, quickest way. It'll save me time, save me money, and you may not get robbed. That's a need. That's an important part. of the system of this. So why? Why do we have Christ walking in, casting these people out? It seems like a necessary aspect of this temple. On the cursory, yes. But when we go a little deeper, absolutely not. The action occurring in this temple is far from okay. The money changers, these people have been known for charging exorbitant amounts of percentages for this exchange of money. These people are benefiting from a desire in which to give to the temple or to sacrifice to the temple. This underhanded action is an affront to God. It's a lack of awe for this temple and for the action that is to occur. The buyers and the sellers? Now, the sellers, that makes sense with the money changers. They're most likely following within the same footsteps, undermining the system, benefiting from it. You're selling beasts for large amounts of money. But why the buyers? These people have to be good. They're wanting to come forward and offer this sacrifice to God. Why would you cast these out, Christ? To this we need to look. Sacrificial system. Exodus 25 lays out a law within the Israelite people. It's a brief statement saying, for those who are coming forward to Passover, to the holy feasts, don't come with your hand empty. These people aren't preparing. These people aren't expecting to come into the house of God. They're looking at it as a grocery store. Let me walk down to the temple, I'll buy a beast, sacrifice it, we'll move on. Where is the preparation? Where is the awe? This is the temple of God. There needs to be a preparation. And then we have those who are walking through. These people just want to save their lives, save time, save money. They don't want to be attacked by robbers on the outskirts. But what will we do? Would we walk through this building just to get to the back side? Do we not have an understanding? These people are looking at it as a road. It's just one way in which to get from one place to another, finding their own benefits, not understanding that you're stepping into the house of God. You're stepping into the dwelling place of the Creator. How do we approach the church? How do we approach the spoken word? When we walk into this building, there are churches sprinkled throughout this country that have coffee shops, restaurants, recliners, just placed throughout their building, this church, hoping to draw in thousands. Do we sit back and think, we're better than them? We have a high liturgy. We appreciate the word of God. But how much do we approach into this church? How much do we approach into any church and think the word is being preached here? God is speaking to us. This is the awe. This is the hope. This is desire that Christ is bringing into this temple. As he walks in, it's no wonder then that we see his action. The action of Christ stepping into the temple, the house of his father. Flipping tables, standing in the way of those who are walking through, telling them to get out. No! This is my father's house. This is where my father dwells. And so we see this. We see this anger pouring forward. Now Mark doesn't give great details about it. Was it right away or did he walk around and just stare in amazement at what is occurring within his father's house? No, he goes, flips those tables, casts those people out. Now a slight sidetrack needs to be said about this. The anger of Christ. There are those out there who will look at this and say, this is an anger of a man. Where is this even coming from? This anger, how can you say that he is God when he is so unjust in his anger? This seems unrighteous. These people, they're just doing what their daily lives are. No, this is the righteousness of a just man. This is the anger of a just man, a righteous man. His desire is not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of his father. His anger is just. His anger is true. You can't look at this and say, no, no, that's just a man's anger. That is the anger of a God who is casting those out of his house. On the other side, there are those who would sit there and say that Christ is some 1970s, long-flowing hair, some kind of strange feminine man, child, who all he desires is to sit among beggars, giving them food, love one another just like I love you. That's all he is. I don't know what this is going on. This isn't Christ. No, this is a reaction of a true Christ. The Christ that they describe is a false Christ. This is a Christ who is loving in that he sacrifices himself and a just Christ who casts judgment upon those who are sinning in the house of his Father. And so it is with that justice that we move forward into the teaching that Christ lays out. Christ says here in verses 17 that he was teaching them and saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers? These short, two quick statements by Christ, quoting the prophets. First, the house of prayer from Isaiah 56. Here Isaiah, having the word of God preached through him, calling out to the Israelites and to the whole world. This house, this temple, is a house of prayer for all the worlds. It's not merely for those Israelites, but for those who can come forward, come into the dwelling place of God and pray, offer up thanksgiving and requests to have communion with God and to offer these prayers to him. This is an opening up of this temple. This is a place in which we will be able to approach God in his dwelling place. this house of prayer that Isaiah speaks about. And just immediately after, saying that this is instead a den of robbers. This is where he looks to Jeremiah 7. Actually, if you will turn to Jeremiah 7, we can read about four or five verses to lay out exactly how he is calling these people a den of robbers. If you're still using the Pew Bible, you can turn to 806. That is where Jeremiah 7 will be found. We'll start in verse 8. I'll read to verse 11. Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known? And then come and stand before me in this house, which is called my name. And we say, we are delivered, only to go on doing all these abominations. Has this house, which is called my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. Here, Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah casting judgment upon the Israelites, for going out and living a life that is pleasing in their own eyes, worshiping false gods, murder, adultery, stealing, and then turning right around, coming into his temple and saying, you know, I'm clean now. I offered my sacrifices. Let me move on. This is the den of robbers that Christ has come upon. And how much more can this hit home for us? How many of us go home and say, you know, Sunday's done. I got my assurance. I was hit home with the law, but right afterwards, my assurance is done. I can go forward for the rest of the week, live my life, do what I need to do, and then Sunday next week, come back, let me get that assurance again. That's all I want. Making this place a den of robbers. That is what Christ is calling out to these people. This judgment found upon them. Saying that this place is not worthy of the holy God to live here. We can move forward from then to verses 18 and 19. And the action of the high priests and the Jews. The scribes and the high priests coming out, responding to this teaching of Christ. First we see their actions, their hatred. this sudden desire in which to kill Christ. But they did not. At that point, they stopped themselves because they knew that the people had been swayed by his teaching. You can see that his truth, the truth of the word being brought to these people is swaying them. But these high priests are so caught up in there, in their own sin, in their own confusion of what is going on, their only desire is to have that power. Now a question arises, the sudden desire to kill Christ. And yes, they had threatened it, but this is when it says here, it was at that point that they feared him, it was at that point that they desired to kill him, seeking a way to destroy him. Why this sudden hatred, sudden desire to get rid of him? To this we need to understand that, The high priest, the scribes, these are the ones that run the show. They know everything that's going on in that temple. And I mean everything. Those money changers skimming off the top, taking a little bit more, I think some of that percentage is going to be going and lining the pockets of that high priest. There's a reason why those things are being allowed. There's a reason why Christ is coming in here and being the only one casting judgment. So when Christ casts judgment upon these people, he is casting judgment upon those high priests too. Those scribes, he's calling them out as those who are making this a den of robbers. Not only that, but also tearing out the lining of their pockets, saying, no, you're not getting this anymore. You need to have this stopped. And so with the response of this, the high priests have this fear of Christ and fear of the masses. We need to find one last aspect to look to. And we need to remember where we are and what week it is. Ten verses earlier, we have Christ walking, rather riding, into Jerusalem on a donkey. Palm Sunday. Them welcoming him as the King of the Jews. But that means this is Passion Week. This is the time, five days from then, Christ was crucified, he came into Jerusalem the last time. He came in to cast this judgment upon the temple, casting them out one last time. And they say it is a cleansing of the temple, it is more of a judgment, saying that this place is not worthy. Rather, I am worthy. And that's why we can look in John 2, in which at an earlier point Christ casts out others out of this temple, saying, tear this temple down and in three days I will rebuild it. This calling us to look and see that Christ, He in fact is the true temple. He in fact is the true high priest. And He in fact is the true sacrifice. So when He walked up those mountains to be crucified, sacrificing himself, giving the perfect sacrifice so that we might be clean, be sinless, be looked at as righteous in the eyes of God. We can look at that temple. We can see that Christ has fulfilled it. So that when he cried out, it is finished. That sheet tore in half. The Holy of Holies was spread open. The presence of God was laid bare so that we may have it within us. That it is through him, Christ, our temple, the presence of God might be with us. So this is why when we approach and talk of the house of God and the house of prayer, our prayer is in Jesus' name because we are constantly able to approach the Father. For it is through Christ that we are laid bare, that we are able to come forward, presenting our requests, presenting our thanksgiving, confessing our sins to the Father. And so when we approach our church, when we approach the table, when we approach the Word, we can constantly remember the good news of Christ being our high priest, being our perfect sacrifice, being our temple, knowing that he has taken all sins upon himself, knowing that we are able to approach God clean and free. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the work of your Son. the perfect atoning sacrifice that has ended the need for any more sacrifices we praise you for the gift of prayer so that we may approach your throne and offer our requests knowing that it is through Christ and the Holy Spirit that we are able to commune with you we thank you again for the gift of your word and the truth of the gospel that is within it In Jesus' name, amen.