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.
Mark 11:15-18
Jesus twice drove the traders and bankers out of the
Temple courts: the first time, early in his ministry, as a sign of his intent to
‘clean up’ people’s understanding of true religion (see John 2:13-16); the
second, during his final week, what we now call ‘Holy Week’, as a stage in
removing the kingdom from Israel (see Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17 &
Luke 19:45-46).
I can easily believe that the first bankers and traders
who set up in the Temple were providing a good service to pilgrims, exchanging foreign
money into Jewish coins that would be acceptable as offerings and by selling
sacrifices that it would have been difficult to transport from home. By the
time of Jesus’ visit, a diverse and well-established religious marketplace was thriving
in the Gentile areas of the Temple, the space where the people who were not
Jews were free to worship. This not only limited the space available for
worship but suggests that the bankers and traders were not themselves Jews. Moreover,
I cannot help but wonder whether the Temple authorities took a percentage of
their profits!
Today, a very profitable industry has grown up to supply
household gadgets, ornaments, jewellery, crockery, clothes and a host of other
merchandise especially branded for Christians. Pens, pencils, pencil
sharpeners, rulers, rubbers, key fobs, mugs, T-shirts, ties, scarves, badges,
bumper stickers have crosses, fish ciphers, Bible verses and spiritual maxims.
I am not against these things and have some for myself; I can see how they can
be helpful reminders of our faith and make good gifts. But we ought to ask some
awkward questions about the sheer scope and scale of this business.
- Who profits? Are they produced by Christians concerned with helping people? Or by businesses who would be as willing to profit from any religious group?
- At what point do we slip into disrespect for the things of God – and perhaps even into sacrilege? Most Christians seem to have no problem with the slogan ‘Jesus Saves’ on a badge – but is it so appropriate on a t-shirt or coffee mug? Or on a piggy bank?
- Would the Apostles have been better witnesses if they had worn ‘gospel’ badges and put ‘Bible’ stickers on their baggage?
I will continue this thought tomorrow.
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Scripture
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