This
section of five verses in MARK seems rather straight-forward; yet, to glean
what was written by the author and assist in moving ahead, it's helpful to have
a visual lay of the land.
First, a
link that depicts Jerusalem around 30 AD; the general direction of the drawing
is north -- Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. To the upper right of the drawing
is the area from which Jesus and his disciples traveled -- "Path to Mount
of Olives" and "Garden of Gethsemane" -- to get to the Temple.
Second, a
link that depicts the Temple Mount. To the right is the eastern wall of
Jerusalem -- again the direction from which Jesus and his disciples came.
Before entering
the temple precincts, pilgrims would bathe themselves (a cleansing ritual) --
lower left on the drawing. Within this formidable structure, approximately 30
acres large [i],
was the Temple Mount, which was separated by walls and gates -- a square within
a square within a square.
Third, a
link that depicts the Temple Complex in the time of Jesus.
A soreg (a low, latticed railing about
four feet high with large openings guarded by Levites [ii]) surrounded the temple
complex, separating Gentiles and non-purified Jews from entering the temple
courts and chambers. It was said if a Gentile passed this particular point, the
Court of the Gentiles, the penalty
was death. [iii]
Throughout
the complex, various chambers and courts were designated. Women may enter past
the Court of the Gentiles; however, unless they had a sacrifice to offer, they
may not proceed further than the Court of
the Women. In the Court of the
Israelities, offerings were handed by the worshippers to the priests. [iv] The inner court was the Court of the Priests. Within the Court
of the Priests was the Temple.
The
approximate size of the temple complex would be the length and width of two
football fields. The whole area, with all of the different Courts, was the
sacred precincts (hieron). [v]
Fourth, a
link that depicts Herod's Temple (otherwise known as the Second
Temple which replaced the First Temple destroyed when the Jewish nation was
exiled to Babylon). The Temple (later destroyed in 70 AD) was located on the
site now known as the Dome of the Rock.
Let's
next focus on…
Money
changing hands -- "…selling and those who were buying in the temple."
To get a clearer picture, what exactly was being exchanged and at what cost to
the individual buying?
Did
You Know…?
Only one
coin was accepted as proper payment for the Jewish Temple tax -- the Tyrian
shekel. Every Israelite male over 20 years old was required to make an annual
payment of a half-shekel (Exodus 30:13-16, 38:26). In everyday business, the Jews
used Roman coins which contained 80% silver. The religious authorities demanded
only Tyrian shekels (95% purity) be used to pay the Temple tax. [vi]
To put
this into perspective, consider a half-shekel as a sum of 6p. "This was
the equivalent to one or two days' wages for an average worker." [vii]
Adding to
this, using instructions provided in Exodus chapter 12, the Jews were to choose
a lamb for the Passover sacrifice. Only an unblemished lamb would suffice, and
it would be thoroughly checked. But what if you couldn't afford a lamb? Leviticus 5:7 allowed the poor to offer two doves
as a substitute sacrifice.
Outside,
doves could be bought cheaply for 3.5p a pair, but they also had to be without
blemish. You can imagine the "gain" game with the temple inspectors.
Because inside, the cost for a pair of doves would be as high as 75p. [viii] At that price, the low
end to afford this would be 12 days worth of wages.
Plus… there
was a fee for the exchange service "as high as 10 or 12 percent." [ix] Should the coin brought
for exchange exceed the tax of a half-shekel, there would be another fee
before the person could actually get their change. [x] Talk about a crooked shell
game. As Leah * stated, "It was a shake-down!"
A
half-shekel here, possibly 12 half-shekels there, a few more half-shekels for
this and that,… Throw in the time it took travelers to get to the Temple and
back home, plus the number of days in Jerusalem. It all adds up to a lot of
lost wages.
It didn't
stop there with the coins. "The sellers either belonged to the
High-Priestly hierarchy or paid a large fee to temple authorities for the
privilege of selling. Whichever was the case, the High-Priest's family
benefited monetarily." [xi]
Who
wasn't benefiting from this mind-boggling, sleight-of-hand scenario? Those
honestly wanting to honor God.
In verse
15, Jesus entered the temple area which would've been the Court of the Gentiles. It was the largest section of the Temple
complex and open to anyone -- not just Gentiles. With the inner Temple
precincts being relatively small, most Jewish worshipers probably ended up in
this outer court. While Gentiles couldn't go past this area, those Jews who
were ritually pure could proceed across the balustrade to the next level. [xii]
This
outer court was meant for prayer and preparation however it had to have been
utter chaos with pilgrims, merchants, money changers, authorities, animals
filling this space. With thousands of people in Jerusalem for Passover, with
thousands of animals being brought and bought in the court, visualize the
loud, crazed trading floor atmosphere of the Wall Street Stock Exchange mixed
together with a cramped, smelly Livestock Auction. How could one quietly
reflect or even think clearly enough to formulate a prayer?
And the
court was also being used as a shortcut by people carrying pots, pans and
various containers, which was actually considered a sacrilege by the Rabbis. [xiii] This refers to verse
16.
Where was
the reverence for God?!? No wonder Jesus
was angry!
In verse
17, Jesus makes mention of Isaiah 56:7. "For all nations" are
gathered together in this part of the temple, but worshipful prayer has been
replaced by greed and those openly robbing the poor.
Jesus was
defiantly challenging the sacrificial system. Jesus was defiantly challenging
the religious system so that "all nations" have direct access to God.
He was taking head-on the scribes and the chief priests.
The
people were astonished and mesmerized, spellbound and in awe. A revolution was
taking place, and fear had struck the hearts of the authorities who stood to
lose everything.
This
Jesus had to be stopped!
NEXT
On whose
authority?; facing the truth
[i]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 272
[ii] Daily Minyan, "Court of the
Gentiles in the Jewish Temple," Gene Schlomovich
[iii]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 272
[iv]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 273
[v]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 273
[vi]
The Role of Coins in the First Revolt -- USC
[vii]
Jewish New Testament Commentary -- p. 56
[viii]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- pp. 273-274
[ix] MacArthur
Study Bible -- p. 1486
[x]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 273
[xi]
MacArthur Study Bible -- p. 1485
[xii] Daily Minyan, "Court of the
Gentiles in the Jewish Temple," Gene Schlomovich
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