His Last Command: Our First PrioritySample

Day 3: Driving Out the Money Changers

Mark 11:17 NKJV

Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written,‘ My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’

We read in Mark 11:15-17 the account of Jesus in the Temple courts and his startling behaviour towards the money changers and those who sold doves. Indeed, this was not anything new to those who frequented the Temple, but on this day, the Son of God entered the courts, and wrong things were to be made right. Righteous anger was demonstrated as Jesus overturned the tables and drove them out. But why?

“I believe Jesus raged because the nations were being kept from His house because of the greed of those who dwelt there. The nations were not being brought into His house because of the pre-occupation with buying and selling and profit. He was angry because there was no mercy, compassion, sacrifice or caring extended to those outside His house.”

Jesus emphasised this purpose by quoting Isaiah 56:6-7, which describes welcoming the “sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD”. In mercy, God would accept the foreigner’s burnt offerings and sacrifices, desiring His house to be a house of prayer for all who would seek Him. Then Jesus confronted the present state by adding his own comment: “But you have made it a den of thieves.”

There was much more going on in the Temple courts than providing a service. Jesus recognised that greed and profit-taking were at the expense of those seeking God’s help, mercy, and forgiveness, and that this shifted from God’s purpose for the Temple.

Wealth and gain of any sort are age-old temptations. This raises an important question: when is enough money enough?

“We are the wealthiest Christians that have ever lived on the face of the Earth. In the Western world, we make up five per cent of the earth’s population and 55 per cent of the earth’s wealth. But the Scriptures teach us that we can be wealthy and impoverished at the same time. We can accumulate much in our life and still be lean in our soul.”

Proverbs 13:7 NKJV

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

Jesus rebuked the “lukewarm” church at Laodicea and challenged their claim to wealth (Revelation 3:17-19). “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

Clearly, true wealth is not defined by the amount of money a person has or the possessions they own (Luke 12:15). It’s possible to have many possessions yet miss life’s most valuable things. As the saying goes, “Do you have things or do things have you?”

“The real measure of our wealth is how much we’d be worth if we lost all our money.” - John Henry Jowett.

“The best things in life aren’t things.” - Art Buchwald.

“Money is a wonderful thing, but it’s possible to pay too high a price for it.” - Mark Hambourg

“A man’s treatment of money is the most decisive test of his character - how he makes it and how he spends it.” - James Moffatt

“If you live in the West, the rest of the world automatically thinks you are rich.”

The latest statistics (2025) from the World Bank estimate that around 831 million people live in extreme poverty on less than $3 per day, and in a broader context, half the world lives on less than $5.50 per day. From that perspective, we are very well off. We should not feel guilty about our privilege, but instead, recognise our responsibility for what we have.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 is Paul’s admonition to those blessed with wealth of any kind. His wise words speak to our attitudes: “Not arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, but in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” He then further instructs in the strongest terms how we should respond to our blessings: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

“Christians show what they are by what they do with what they have.”

“No man is a fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

-Missionary Jim Elliott

Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:26 NIV

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

“Let us use our resources to open wide the doors of the Father’s house to many nations. The only way to win in death is to do the will of God in life.”

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Prayer

Lord, I thank You for the abundant blessings You have given me. The temptation to focus on temporary things is always near. I pray that materialism does not control my heart. I freely give myself to You. All that I have is Yours, and my life, and everything I possess serves You and brings You glory. Amen