House keeping.

Matthew 21:13 
“It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

So often Jesus is painted as the casual guy who isn’t confrontational and just “turns the other cheek”. But Jesus wasn’t always so nonconfrontational. There were times, mostly when dealing with the religious rulers of the day, that He became quite angry. In this case, where He “cleansed” the temple, Jesus actually appeared to be violent.

The Bible uses terms like “cast out” and “drive out” in this story. The meaning of these words comes from the Greek word “ekballo” which means to drive out with a notion of violence. To put it plainly, Jesus was mad and He was violently removing things that shouldn’t be in His temple.

Why do you suppose He acted with such force and aggression? This isn’t the Jesus we commonly see; this isn’t the Jesus who preached “...love your enemy...”. This is a different Jesus. He’s mad about one thing: the robbery that’s happening in His Father’s house!

I’ll tell you what I think. I think Jesus was showing us what was going to happen in our lives both spiritually and physically. The Bible tells us that the body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). When we accept the forgiveness of Christ and make Him Lord of our hearts, we physically and spiritually become the Temple of God. The Holy Spirit resides within us. That being the case, Jesus has some “house keeping” to do.

That’s right, Jesus has some “house keeping” to do. If we were capable of cleaning the temple, we wouldn’t need Christ. The truth is that only Christ is worthy of cleaning the temple of God. Why was Jesus so mad; why did He call it a den of robbers? Because the Devil is the ultimate thief (John 10:10).

Since the beginning the Devil has been stealing and robbing God’s children. He robbed us of our righteousness in the Garden through deception. He still uses this tool today by manipulating people to feel guilty about their past, robbing them of the security and blessings offered through the finished, restorative work of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Part of salvation in Christ is this: He’s going to clean the temple. This is part of His saving grace. Yes, He’s mad about it. Yes, He’s going to do it violently. But who was the violence directed toward? The robbers, not the temple itself.

You see, Jesus, right now, is tipping over tables in the temple. He’s casting out, violently, the robbers in your life. Whether they are feelings of fear, depression, or anxiety, if they are addictions: He’s kicking them to the curb! Sickness and disease are also in and among these robbers. They try to take your life. They want to rob you of time with your family and friends. They want to rob you of your spiritual security. They want to rob you of your finances. Don’t be alarmed; Jesus is cleaning house.