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.

I hadn’t seen this one detail before. But when I saw it I could understand Jesus’ anger even more.

Jesus entered the temple area and instead of being a place of worship, it was a place of commerce. Money changers were there for all the people coming in and pigeons were being sold. Instead of being a place of prayer, it was the local convenience store.

Not only that but it was all about money. The religious leaders were making some serious money at these holy days.

Of course there is going to be an increase in business. But this business was about wordly gain and less about worship of God.

Jesus rightly destroyed it all. And those with any sense of godliness were likely cheering him on. Finally someone had the courage to stand up to the mess.

Yes, he would have to pay the price with his life. But better that than the place of worship to be desecrated.

And then there’s that little detail that I missed. They were selling pigeons.

The pigeons were not being sold for pets. They were being sold as offerings.

But then I remember Jesus. And I remembered the offering his parents presented. In Luke 2:22-24 we read this:

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)  and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

Did you read it? It’s two pigeons. That was not the actual sacrifice that was to be offered. It was the sacrifice of concession.

When a son was born, the sacrifice called for was a year old lamb and a pigeon. That was the original sacrifice. BUT, if someone was dirt poor so much that they didn’t even have a single lamb, they could offer instead two pigeons. Jesus’ parents offered two pigeons. That’s how poor a family he grew up in.

So when he saw those pigeons, I wonder if he thought of his parents. He certainly and other certainly knew that they could only bring pigeons for sacrifice for their newly born son. They were terribly poor.

And yet here in the temple, he walks in, and they are selling pigeons. Likely at a ridiculously high price as he called them “robbers.”

So they were not only profiting but they were taking advantage of the poor. The poor could barely make it to Jerusalem anyway. Hardly afford even two pigeons. And when they arrived, corrupt religious leaders were making money off of them and causing even more hardship.

He was furious.

I would be too.

Yet the truth is it is still happening today. Instead of religious leaders living humbly, they line their pockets with wealth. They live in mansions while the people they serve can barely afford to pay for groceries.

Just a few weeks ago I saw a photo of a mansion of a famous preacher. His mansion was over $10 million dollars in value. It was sick.

It’s not that leaders have to live in bad places. But that kind of lavish spending on the money of others is grotesque.

Paul says this of bad teachers:

They are….imagining that godliness is a means of gain (1 Tim 6:5)

This is exactly what is happening. People are using godliness and religion for gain instead of service. People then says to be like this:

But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

It’s not just leaders. The business men and women were profiting as well. I’m sure the high priests were getting a kick back. But everyone was profiting.

If you are a human which I hope you are, and you are a follower of God, let’s together be the people that do not profit from godliness or from other people in unrighteous ways. Let’s commit to lifting up one another. And especially serving the poor. And giving every the dignity they deserve.