House of Prayer, Den of Thieves (Mark 11:17)

2023-03-20

And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. (Mark 11:15-17)

Jesus did something like this at least twice: once early in His ministry, and once before He was arrested. Some have suggested that there was dishonest gain going on in the Temple, and that was the reason for Jesus’ reaction. This is because tithes could be translated into money and back into an equivalent sacrifice if traveling a far distance: “Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose” (Deuteronomy 14:25). It may also be suggested by the phrase “den of thieves.”

Dishonest gain most certainly happened with that crowd. However, the issue is likely much bigger than this. There are two parts here: “house of prayer” and “den of thieves.” These are references from the Old Testament.

House of Prayer

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. (Isaiah 56:7)

The larger passage shows that obedient non-Jews and eunuchs would be accepted at the temple. The Ethiopian eunuch would certainly be an example of a fulfillment of this (Acts 8:27). The house of prayer would be a hub for all nations to come to the Lord and serve Him. This is foreshadowing Gentiles coming to the Lord.

Den of Thieves

Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 7:9-11)

The people of Jeremiah’s day, awhile after the words of Isaiah, thought that they could have a license to sin because the Temple was God’s sacred house. Surely God would not destroy His Temple! They could presumptuously go into the Temple with all the evil in their hearts for salvation and sanctuary. On the contrary, they made it “a den of robbers.”

Conclusions

What can we conclude? The people in Jesus’ day were like those of Jeremiah’s day. The Temple became a concourse for financial gain. The theft may have been partially financial in nature. But the theft is of the glory of God. A place where everything was supposed to be centered around the Lord was centered around people and their activity.

Also, we can conclude that people think that God is pleased because they are doing religious work in a religiously prescribed place. This is a false sense of security at best. The robbery of God is claiming God’s salvation (falsely) and then using it for evil.