Jesus Shuts Down the Temple

Monday, April 10, 2006 -- Monday in Holy Week

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 957)
Psalms 51:1-18(19-20) (morning) // 69:1-23 (afternoon)
Lamentations 1:1-2, 6-12
2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Mark 11:12-25


After his entrance into Jerusalem on Sunday, enacting the prophecy of Zechariah that a humble king would ride in upon a donkey and "command peace to the nations," Jesus re-enters Jerusalem on Monday. Mark frames the day with the story of a fig tree that does not produce fruit.

Jesus shuts down the Temple. Why? There are many interpretations.

In Jesus' day the Temple was controlled by several wealthy, elite families who were collaborators with the Romans and their occupation. The high priests participated in the Roman oppression. Though the people loved the Temple, it was also a source of anger because its leadership was so compromised.

Jesus' act echoes the tradition of the prophets who often condemned the worship of Israel when it was not accompanied by justice. The prophetic voice always demands justice, especially toward the weak and poor. The prophets proclaimed over and over, mere outward forms of worship and devotion are meaningless without just actions.

The Temple was a big multinational business. Part of that business was the legitimate work of servicing people's sacrifices as an offering of thanksgiving to God. The Temple would exchange common coinage, often with the bust of the emperor on it, for more appropriate coins. The Temple provided certification for a sacrifice that would be unblemished. There is some evidence that in Jesus' day, this service turned into economic exploitation of the peasants and the poor.

On several occasions Jesus challenged the Temple monopoly on forgiveness by announcing God's forgiveness freely given. At the end of this passage, Jesus tells his disciples, "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."

Jesus' challenges the way the Temple has been turned into an institution of economic exploitation as a collaboration of the powerful and wealthy. The Temple and its authorities are not producing the fruits of prayer and justice. Like the fig tree that has withered by the afternoon, Jesus shuts down the Temple which fails to bear fruit. The crowd is spellbound. They know what he has attacked. The chief priests and the scribes (accountants) begin looking for a way to kill him.