We all have to deal with them. Competing agendas that produce conflict in our lives externally, internally, or with another person, or between groups of people.
Jesus also had conflicts He had to deal with. In John 2, after His first miracle when He turned the water in to wine, we find Jesus arriving at the Temple in Jerusalem for the Passover. Making this pilgrimage, would have been part of Jesus’ upbringing in a Jewish family, but what He found happening in the Temple was something He was not pleased with.
Jesus Arriving at the Temple
† The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple He found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
John 2:13-14 NRSV
For the devout among the Jewish people, it was as if the stability of the universe and the entire nation of Israel were bound together here at Yahweh’s temple. To them it was considered the spiritual epicenter of the world, the most sacred piece of ground, the holiest of all places, where heaven and earth met. It represented the heart of the nation of Israel.
Visiting the Temple was to gain a glimpse of the habitation of God here on earth, the true center of power and rule in the world.
† Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalm 84:5-7 NIV
Even more cherished was the privilege of the priests who dwelled within the Temple compound, the divine connection point between heaven and earth.
† Blessed are those You choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.
Psalm 65:4 NIV
Destruction of the Temple and A New Temple
It’s interesting to note, that when John wrote his gospel, it was late in the first century, well after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. The Jewish people of that time would have been in great mourning because of the catastrophic loss their nation had suffered.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John was very deliberate with the words he wrote. He revealed to his readers what Jesus shared with His disciples:
† “If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 NLT
Concerning the Holy Spirit, John also shared what Jesus had revealed earlier:
† On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When He said “living water,” He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.) John 7:37-39 NLT
John 7:37-39 NLT
John’s gospel also would have been written after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. This is significant because nothing in the rest of the New Testament would make sense without the Acts 2 story.
This was the moment when God poured out His Spirit upon those first disciples and announced His intention to no longer dwell in man-made structures, but rather in the human heart, within those who would put their faith and trust in His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus Was Ticked at the Money Changers
† Making a whip of cords, He drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making My Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume Me.”
John 2:15-17 NRSV
During the Passover celebration, people would have been coming from all over the world. Their currency would have been gold and/or silver coins minted in the country from which they were from.
It’s interesting to note, that the first pure gold and silver coins were actually produced in the city of Sardis in 550 B.C. This is the same Sardis where we find one of the churches mentioned in the book of Revelation (also written by the Apostle John).
The city of Sardis was well advanced in the Industrial Arts. Refining the process of producing the purest of gold and silver coins, it is now famed in history as the birthplace where modern currency was invented.
Political Propaganda
When foreigners arrived in Jerusalem with their gold and/or silver coins, more often than not, they were minted with the image of their country’s ruler. This is why the coins people used in ancient times were very much like political propaganda. As such, when foreigners brought their money to the Temple, they were not allowed to use their money, but required to exchange it.
WHY? Because no king or emperor would have wanted foreign money to be used in their kingdom to buy or sell. They didn’t want their people to know how much wealth a foreign king was bringing into their country.
It follows therefore, that when foreigners arrived with their gold or silver coins, they would have usually experienced a very unfair exchange rate to change their money into local currency.
Give To Caesar… Give to God
Another layer to this story is found during the last week of Jesus’ life before His death on the cross, when the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus.
† Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Him in His words. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are a man of integrity and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because You pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap Me? Show Me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought Him a denarius, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then He said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
—Matthew 22:15-22 NIV
Created To Bear The Image of God
We were created to bear the image of God. Christ makes it possible, and the Holy Spirit is the active agent in helping us to do this.
Our prayers were not just meant to be something we ask God to answer, but also to shape us, “mint us,” into His image; especially when we gather together to meet God in prayer, in that secret place within our hearts.
In the other Gospel accounts, where we find Jesus dealing with the money changers in the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:14; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).
John’s account also adds Jesus’ disciples remembering it is written: “Zeal for My house shall consume Me” (John 2:17).
The “House of Prayer” was meant to be a place where spiritual formation happens; where God mints His currency by fashioning us to be His image bearers.
Let me encourage you today!
What you do in service to the Lord matters. It is of great value. And we should remember that God doesn’t want us to show people how much wealth an earthly king or ruler is bringing into the country, but to show them how much our King is bringing into the world.
You are the currency of the Kingdom!
Rather than feeding conflict, let the transformation God wants to accomplish in your life through prayer, help you to add value to people’s lives. Don’t show people how much wealth an earthly king is bringing into the country. Show them how much wealth our King is bringing into the world! You are the currency of the Kingdom!!
May His grace, mercy, love and peace flow through your life and ministry, this day and always. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
Do you know the Lord? Is there someone you need to introduce Him to? —> Follow Him or tell someone about Him today!