“God does not want His temple to be a trader’s lodge but the home of sanctity. He does not preserve the practice of the priestly ministry by the dishonest duty of religion but by voluntary obedience. Consider what the Lord’s actions impose on you as an example of living…
He taught in general that worldly transactions must be absent from the temple, but he drove out the moneychangers in particular. Who are the moneychangers, if not those who seek profit from the Lord’s money. and cannot distinguish between good and evil? Holy Scripture is the Lord’s money.”
Ambrose of Milan (337-397) in Exposition of the Gospel of Luke as recounted in Ancient Christian Commentary on the Scriptures: Luke, Vol. III, ed. Arthur A. Just, Jr. (Downers Grove: IVP, 2003) 301.
On Holy Week Monday, Luke 19:45-48 records the famous scene where Jesus drives out the merchants and moneychangers (cf. Matthew 21:12-17). Why? Ambrose reminds us that the preservation of God’s work and it’s ongoing sustenance is not rooted in money making ventures but rather voluntary obedience. But why would Jesus take such strong measures to cleanse God’s house?
In the first century, religious leaders believed (wrongly!) that money made ministry to happen. Thus, they allowed a wide range of activities to fill God’s house that were focused solely on bringing in cash. This worldly thinking is known as “the love of money” and though the religious leaders in Jesus’ day exhibited it (Luke 16:14) those who oversee God’s work must not (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).
Is it time for a house cleaning? Does your heart feel more a trading post than a place of prayer? Are you fixated on getting money or obeying God? What about your church? Father, show us by your Holy Spirit where dishonest duty prevails in our hearts and replace it with voluntary obedience. Do this in our lives and at our churches we ask in the name of Jesus, so that sanctity and community may be restored. Amen.