Bible Passage: “When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and He stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, ‘The Scriptures declare, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,” but you have turned it into a den of thieves.’” (Mark 11:15–17 NLT)
Scripture Reading: Mark 11:15-19; Matthew 21:12-17; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:13-22
In 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger safely landed a disabled plane on the Hudson River, saving all passengers.
His calmness and decisiveness under pressure turned a potential disaster into a survival story.
There’s something significant about men who are calm under fire.
With only five days left until Calvary, Jesus makes His way to a familiar location.
The cleansing of the Temple has sometimes been viewed as the moment Jesus saw the injustice happening and “cleaned house.” We accept His “righteous indignation” as He furiously and passionately flipped tables.
But was there more going on than anger?
Earlier in the chapter, we see the setup of the Temple scene one day earlier:
“So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, He left because it was late in the afternoon. Then He returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.” (Mark 11:11 NLT)
Jesus’ actions did not happen as a raging reaction. They were a holy, reflective, and calculated response.
They were more than a protest of commercialization, unjust practices, or institutional reformation.
This was a demonstration aimed at the center of power in Israel.
Scholar David Garland states, “Jesus does not seek to purify current temple worship but symbolically attacks the very function of the temple and heralds its destruction. The temple’s glory days are coming to an end.”[1]
Jesus would be raised to life as the new Temple (John 2:19-22), as described in Hebrews:
“By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.” (Hebrews 10:20–22)
Passion Monday is more than table-turning.
It is a new Temple grand opening.
Jesus’ act wasn’t a reaction. It was a declaration. The Kingdom was coming near. A new Temple and a new High Priest were being revealed.
We, too, can be men who have emotional equilibrium under pressure.
Jesus witnessed injustice and dysfunction yet remained centered, balanced, and controlled.
Jesus’ example challenges men’s excuses for wild outbursts, temper tantrums, or self-righteous anger. It gives us a new way to respond to the world: prayerfully, thoughtfully, and strategically.
It allows us to deliver a hopeful message to a hurting world: the Kingdom has come, and the King reigns in us.
Prayer: Lord, please help me become a man who is calm under fire. When life’s pressures come my way, please help me to display the fruit of Your Spirit’s deep work in me. Amen.
Reflection: What kinds of things trigger you to react in harmful ways? Are there areas of unforgiveness with people you have offended or hurt? How can you respond in a Christlike way to the injustice around you?
[1] David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV Application Commentary: Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 437.
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