Sacrificial Heart; Not Sacrificial Rites
- Nathan Davies
- Sep 25, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 12, 2023
Introduction
As we read the Old Testament and engage with the story of Israel we read how God gives His people a system of sacrifices. As we read that story we see that the Israelites set up the tabernacle and God takes up residence there (Exodus 35-40). Leviticus 1-7 then details the various offerings that are to be made in the sanctuary.
These are part of the terms of the relationship between God and His people. This is a relationship of God promising and the people trusting, it is a relationship of God acting and the people obeying. These offerings are there, in part, to help the people remain in relationship with God.
As the story unfolds we read of Solomon building the temple, a more permanent residence for the presence of God. The Babylonians ransacked the temple in 587 BC; 2 Kings 25 details this siege. In 37 BC Herod the Great began the rebuilding of the Second Temple. This is the temple that was in place in Jesus’ day. In this temple the sacrificial system detailed in Leviticus is still in place. These practices were still a key part of the relationship the Israelites have with God.
It is important to understand this, at least a little, if we are to really grasp the importance of what Jesus does when He clears the temple in Jerusalem.
This event is recorded in all three synoptic gospels; Matthew 21: 12-13, Luke 19: 45-48, and Mark 11: 12-19. The story also appears in John’s gospel, John 2: 12-25. In this study we shall be focussing on the synoptics, particularly Mark. But I encourage you to read all the accounts.
Clearing the Temple
(https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/221731981628815609/)
The clearing of the temple is a well known account from the latter stages of Jesus’ time on earth.
All of the synoptic accounts include the same key elements. First Jesus enters the temple courts. This refers to the outer courts of the temple, the place where the Gentiles could enter, shown on the diagram as ‘Galleries’. As such this is a public space, not a sacred space, it was a place the priests had sanctioned for the changing of money and selling of animals. Second, in all three accounts there is business being conducted - changing money and selling animals. The third key element is that Jesus disrupts this and quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah.
“These I will bring to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my alter;
for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah 56: 7
“Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 7: 11
These are the passages Jesus quotes as He clears the temple. If we consider the verse from Jeremiah, and we pause to reflect that this verse, with its particular phrasing, used only in this Old Testament passage, was delivered as a statement of Judgement against the people of Judah, we get a clearer sense of what Jesus is saying and doing. The people, at that time, had a confidence that they could get away with anything because of the security the temple offered them. (Schnabel, E.J, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries Mark, IVP, 2017, p273).
As for the Isaiah passage it seems to me that this verse emphasises prayer, and yet Jesus is finding the emphasis on sacrifice, and all the supporting activities. The temple was the dwelling place of God, the place where heaven and earth intersect. It should be a place of prayer and of worship, yet Jesus sees a market place and a focus on completing rituals without addressing the heart.
With this in mind we should look closely at what Jesus clears out. When we read Matthew's account we see that Jesus didn’t simply drive everyone away. There were children shouting hosanna, and they were left there as were the teachers of the law; Matthew 21: 15.
So what is it that Jesus clears out?
“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple area 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.”
Mark 11: 15-16
This forms part of all three accounts, Luke’s being the shorter of the three and focussing just on those who were selling. These traders were officially sanctioned by the priests. They are in the court of the Gentiles, or the outer court under the colonnades around the court. There is no evidence from the passages we have of corruption, we do not get the sense that currency exchange or animal sales were exploitative. These traders were performing a sanctioned task that was necessary for the functioning of the sacrificial system.
When Jesus enters the temple it is in the lead up to Passover. A significant festival in the Jewish calendar, and one of pilgrimage with many Jews travelling to the temple in Jerusalem. Each Jewish male needed to pay the temple tax, and this was to be paid in the Tyrian currency. Hence money changers were needed. Then there is the need for animals to be offered in sacrifice. The gospels record the sale of doves, and Josephus records that lambs were also sold at this time, and in one year as many as 255,000 lambs were sold in a passover period.
“According to Josephus there was a need for an estimated 255,600 lambs at Passover in AD 66” (Josephus, Jewish War, 6.9.3 §424)
Mark focuses on those selling doves, as do Matthew and Luke. Leviticus 12: 6-8, and 14: 22 tell us that pigeons or doves were used by those who could not afford a lamb. So there is an element of Jesus’s clearing the temple that indicates He is concerned with all levels of society, that His Kingdom is for all.
Those trading were doing so in support of the temple sacrificial system, they were providing a necessary function. What does it mean, then, that Jesus clears them out?
In short Jesus is clearing out the sacrificial system. He is saying, by this action, that these sort of sacrifices are no longer needed. This is a key moment in the opening up of God’s Kingdom for all. We see this access completed later in the gospel when the temple curtain is torn in two (Mark 15: 37-38). Jesus has, in this moment in the temple, cleared away the sacrificial system, and started to open the way for all to enter God’s family. In doing this Jesus is showing the Jews and the Gentiles that His Kingdom, His rule is not like that of the pagan gods of the day. Jesus is saying to all, the way is open, it is not through ongoing sacrifice or ritual, I am clearing that system away, access to my Kingdom is through me and is for all.
This significant act speaks of the changes that are to come and demonstrates much of what Jesus’ teaching has been about.
Personal Question/Devotion
Try to imagine the scene that is described in this passage.
Give thanks that Jesus made a way for you to join His family.
A Sacrificial Heart
Jesus has removed the sacrificial system, and clearing the temple was a key moment in that. It is Jesus’ death on the cross that completes its removal - Jesus making the ultimate sacrifice. His resurrection and ascension assures us of His victory and the promise of the age to come. But, in the here and now, what is a right response to the work Jesus has done?
Reading on in Mark we read that Jesus is returning to the temple the day after this action. It is on this day that we read the teaching that is sometimes known as the 6 controversies. These are in Mark 11: 27-12:40, and are worth reading and pondering. In these teachings Jesus is clearing away misunderstanding, and bringing challenge to the teachers of the law, showing how they have been focussing on the wrong things.
If we jump ahead to Mark 12: 41-44 and the passage known as the “The Widow’s Offering”, we see what really matters in Jesus’ Kingdom. Jesus has entered further into the temple, He is now in the Court of Women, which was a place open to all Jewish people, but only to Jewish people. It is in these verses we encounter a genuine sacrificial heart.
What is being given here is an offering, this is not the temple tax being paid.
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.”
Mark 12: 41a
It is what happens as Jesus watches that speaks to us of the right response to God who has given it all. As Jesus watches there are those who are giving large amounts, yet these are not the ones who Jesus comments on. It is the small offering that draws comment.
“But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.”
Mark 12: 42
This is the offering Jesus comments on. Reading His comments in 12: 43-44 it seems clear that the heart of the gift is more important than the gift. In making this offering the woman is declaring and demonstrating that she wants God more than anything else. Her action is showing that she trusts God for everything, after all this seems to be all she had to live on; she is committing herself fully to God and demonstrating her utter reliance on Him.
The others, though giving large amounts, amounts that no doubt could be put to good use, did so out of their wealth, perhaps they would not even miss the amount they gave. It seems that their heart was really one of making their offering because they should, maybe even to look good to others. It was not because they loved and trusted God.
Jesus is not interested in the sacrificial rites, He is concerned about a sacrificial heart. He has cleared away the sacrificial system forever, and our response to Him is to be like this widow; coming with a heart of love, trust, dependence, and desire for Him above all else. This flows from our relationship with Him and leads to a sacrificial heart.
As I consider this I wonder what sacrifices I may need to make, what could I give in response to Jesus and all He has done for me? It may be money, but that’s not what this passage is about, it may be my time, or my talents. Whatever it is I need to seek God for His guidance on that, so that I walk in step with Him and bring the offering that most displays my trust and dependence on Him and my desire for Him above all else.
Personal Question/Devotion
Thank Jesus again for opening the way for you to join His family.
What offering could you bring to Jesus in response to all He has done?
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