The cleansing of the Temple is one of most intense moments in Our Lord Jesus’ Ministry. He turned over tables, made a whip, and freed the sacrificial animals,
“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.,” (John 2:13-17) and “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-13).
Our Lord was making two points, the first was there would be no need for sacrificing animals because He is the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29); there would be no need for the temple sacrificial system, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:23-28).
The second point Christ was making is that turning a place of worship into money changing, and a business is abhorrent to God! And yet modern churches are exactly like the temple, collecting tithes and selling sermons, bibles, and etc.
The gathering of the saints (also known as church meetings, congregational gatherings, church services) is suppose to be for prayer, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations,” (Isaiah 56:7, Matthew 21:13), to participate in fellowship, Communion/The Lord’s Supper, and the apostle’s teaching, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper) and to prayer,” (Acts 2:42), and to “worship in Spirit and Truth” (John 4:24): [3] “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, ” (1 Corinthians 14:26-33). There is nothing there about collecting tithes and offerings. Because the church is not dedicated to Mammon, but to Jesus, “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and he will love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and mammon (god of money).” (Matthew 6:24). Yes churches did collect money for other churches in famine and troubles (Acts 20:1-5), but the apostle Paul by the guidance of Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) stated you should give out of what you have, “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack,” (2 Corinthians 8:12-15) which means don’t go into debt or give so much it hurts your household. He said in addition ask ahead of a meeting what to give so as not to be manipulated, and that giving should be cheerful and of free will, not grudgingly out of guilt and resentment, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Remeber Jesus abolished tithing, “When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.” (Matthew 17:24-26); for we are sons of God via faith, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” (Galatians 3:26), and remember Jesus was addressing the temple tax, a religious tithe, and now that God lives in us and we in God (1 John 4:15) why would we pay taxes to our Father in Heaven? Do you make your children pay tithes to you, no. So now you ought to only give a financial gift if you heart desire to (2 Corinthians 9:7).
I personally believe Jesus would turn over the tables of church sanctuaries and the collection plates. For pastors and priests have turned church-temples into “dens of robbers,” fleecing the sheep with manipulative homilies, tithing dogmas (prosperity gospel & doctrine), and 501C3 statuses. The church was never meant to be business, but a house of prayer for all nations! Amen.
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