Buying+Selling: Moneychanging In The Temple

They were cheating and defrauding the people and were full of greed.

 

Where does it say that the moneychangers were cheating and defrauding the people, or were full of greed?

Andy

 

MATTHEW 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

MARK 11:17 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

LUKE 19:46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

 

From my experience of Churches and Christianity Michael, God has shown you a valuable lesson there. Hang on to that and dont be talked out of it. Build that house on the rock!

 

But if you read Mark 11 carefully, you will notice that Jesus didn't just cast out those who sold. He also cast out those who bought and those who were carrying things through the Temple court. It wasn't just the sellers that Jesus identified as robbers.

Andy

 

The Temple was the place of Worship and they were using it for their own personal gain. It is a principle of focus. Do we use our religion or relationship with Christ as a door to prosper ourselves, or are we concerned with the true treasure of Christ Himself? Everyone has to make a living. Is this our one goal is the question?

 

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

>>>>>>>>Buying+Selling: Moneychanging In The Temple (Mind/Body)

Today, moneychanging (buying and selling) is a powerful force in the world. The impact of commerce is global in reach.<<<<<<

I think you should be careful to not draw more lessons from this incident than are actually in it. There is a strong possibility that had the "money changing" not taken place in the temple that Jesus would not have objected to it. I don't think you can assume from this incident that buying and selling is evil. It is in fact a necessary part of life.

 

I understand what Jesus did, but how does that affect us in our churches today? In Jesus' day you could exchange your money and buy sacrificial animals at the Temple. Jesus drove them out.

Do you allow buying and selling at your church?

Perhaps at church, but not in the Sanctuary?

Where do we draw the line? Is it acceptable for a church to operate a Christian book store as a ministry? Can you charge for tapes and literature? Can a traveling evangelist sell taped messages or books he has written? What about Christian themed t-shirts and neckties?

 

Should churches sell "Worship Aides"?

Look around your Christian Bookstore, what would you categorise as a "Worship Aide"?

Should people make profit from selling the Word?

 

I'm not sure what the issue is in the opening post. Is the OP referring to a church having a church bookstore or gift shops? Even at a literalist level, Jesus wasn't addressing this, as Churches usually don't have their bookstores in the temple (sancurary). They're usually in an outbuilding.

 

People did have to have these animals to fulfill the law of Moses. They also had to have the coin-exchangers because the religious authorities would not accept Roman money in the temple.
There were two cleansings done by Jesus and John only mentions the first where he quotes Jesus as saying, "...make not My Fathers house a house of merchadnise!"
Now, no doubt the people were getting soaked in all of this, but the big problem was the location.
Outside the temple was the place for markets, not inside.
Let's keep man's business and God's business in perspective.

 

The Scripture that I provided answers your question,

 

But Jesus cast out three groups of people in Mark 11: (1) sellers, (2) buyers, and (3) those carrying loads through the temple court. How do you know which of the three, if not all three, Jesus was referring too?

In fact, the term actually refers to a robber's cave. What do robber's do in a cave? Is that where they steal? What did David do in a cave? What did God mean in Jer. 7:11 when He used the expression the first time? How were the people in Jeremiah's time treating the temple? What were the crimes of the people in Jeremiah's time who used the temple as a den of theives? Were they swindlers or something else?

Andy

 

It's pretty simple when you realize that someone who is buying something isn't a thief or someone on the receiving end of a money exchange isn't a thief.

 

I would still suggest that you read Jer. 7, study the context in which Jeremiah uses the term, "den of robbers," and answer my other questions about the text. I think you will find that it does not implicate the moneychangers and sellers like you think it does.

Andy

 

I think one must also look at the historical aspects. During this time sacrifices were still offered for the forgiveness of sin. Instead of bringing sacrifices in from the field, just buy some "doves" or a "lamb" at the temple where sellers are like ticket scalpers.

Some Bible scholars and historians think that many of these people might have sold blemished animals; overcharged (hey its convenient to buy at the temple and not walk 20 miles with a lamb tagging along); and just flat robbed people.

People who bought these animals were often just as guilty to buying animals when they probably should have brought their own.

These things, along with possible temple prostitution that went on in some areas (not documented so much in the first century in Jerusalem--at least that I know of), but other acts made Jesus throw these people out.

He called them "robbers", "thieves", etc. What and who were they robbing? If they were indeed swindling people with sacrifices and the people were taking the easy way out of just purchasing a lamb at the temple, when they could have brought their own; I could see Jesus becoming very upset about the misuse of His Father's house.