Episode: “When Jesus Flips the Tables in Our Lives”
Welcome to Faith Talk. I’m Rev. Jay Glover, and today we’re reflecting on a powerful and provocative moment from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11, verses 15 through 18.
“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, ‘Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.’ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”
This is one of the rare moments in the Gospels where we see Jesus express righteous anger. He enters the temple courts—a space meant to be holy, a place of prayer and communion with God—and instead finds it filled with corruption.
People were buying and selling, exchanging money at unfair rates, and charging outrageous prices for animals needed for sacrifice. Historical sources suggest that when people couldn’t pay, they were driven into crushing debt—or worse, into slavery. Some accounts even speak of families being torn apart, with children sold into slavery to cover religious expenses.
Jesus doesn’t respond with quiet disappointment. He responds with holy confrontation. He flips the tables. He drives out the merchants. He puts a stop to the exploitation and declares, “isn’t it written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations—but you have made it a den of robbers.”
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