Mark 11:15-17 (MEV):
15 And they came to Jerusalem. Jesus went into the temple and began to
drive out those who sold and bought in the temple, and He overturned
the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves.
16 And He would not allow anyone to carry any vessel through the
temple. 17 And He taught them, and said, “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.’ ”
In my opinion, to completely understand the phrase, “but you have made it (temple) a den of thieves”, we must first understand the context of “It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer…”
When Jesus states, “Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer”, He is referring to the account in 2 Chronicles chapter 6 and the prayer of mercy prayed by Solomon at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 6:12-21; 34-42 (KJV):
12 And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all
the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: 13 for Solomon
had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits
broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the
court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before
all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward
heaven, 14 and said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee
in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest
mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
15 thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which
thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled
it with thine hand, as it is this day. 16 Now therefore, O LORD God of
Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast
promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to
sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to
their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. 17 Now
then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast
spoken unto thy servant David. 18 But will God in very deed dwell with
men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot
contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! 19 Have
respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his
supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer
which thy servant prayeth before thee: 20 that thine eyes may be open
upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said
that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer
which thy servant prayeth toward this place. 21 Hearken therefore unto
the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they
shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even
from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. 34 If thy people go out
to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and
they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the
house which I have built for thy name; 35 then hear thou from the
heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,)
and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their
enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or
near; 37 yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are
carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their
captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt
wickedly; 38 if they return to thee with all their heart and with all
their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried
them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto
their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward
the house which I have built for thy name: 39 then hear thou from the
heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their
supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which
have sinned against thee. 40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine
eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is
made in this place. 41 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy
resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O
LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in
goodness. 42 O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed:
remember the mercies of David thy servant.
Solomon, at the dedication ceremony, climbs up on a brazen scaffold in
front of the entire nation of Israel and prays a prayer of dedication.
In the prayer, Solomon reminds God about the mercies of His servant
David and in like fashion, Solomon prays, when Israel sins in the
future for certainly they will, please Lord be merciful and forgive.
The bible states that after that prayer of mercy, fire came down from
heaven and consumed the animal sacrifices and the glory of the Lord
filled the temple.
Later that evening, the Lord appeared and spoke to Solomon and told him that the He, per Solomon’s request, had selected the temple as a house for prayer and that He would be attentive the prayers in that place. The Lord states that He has selected the temple as a place for sacrifice but if you pay attention to the entire context, the sacrifice God intends is not animal sacrifice but a sacrifice of prayer. He tells Solomon that He will be attentive to the prayers offered in that place, prayers just like the prayer of mercy Solomon prayed earlier that day.
My supposition that God’s reference to “sacrifice” intends prayer and not animal sacrifice is fully supported by scripture, eg Psalm 40:6, Pslam 51:16 and Hosea 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
2 Chronicles 7:12-22 (KJV):
12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I
have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an
house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or
if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence
among my people; 14 if my people, which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin,
and will heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine
ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now
have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for
ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 17 And
as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked,
and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe
my statutes and my judgments; 18 then will I stablish the throne of
thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father,
saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. 19 But
if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I
have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship
them; 20 then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I
have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name,
will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a
byword among all nations. 21 And this house, which is high, shall be
an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say,
Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22
And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their
fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid
hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore
hath he brought all this evil upon them.
So, if we fully understand the full context of Mark chapter 11, we understand the Christ, upon entering Jerusalem for the final time, goes directly to the temple and overturns the tables of them who exchanged money and those who sold animals for sacrifice. Jesus overturns the tables of those conducting the business of animal sacrifice. By doing so, He is demonstrating what scripture states, in that; God does not want sacrifice but wants mercy. He then refers to God’s deal with Solomon to have the temple as a house of prayer but specifically, a house for prayers of mercy*.
Jesus by His actions, is confirming the abolition of the Old Covenant with it's animal sacrifice system and the institution of the New Covenant of salvation through God’s grace and mercy through our faith, for salvation could never come through animal sacrifice. Jesus then states, “but you have made it a den of thieves” which is perfectly placed for He is not referring to the physical cheating of moneychangers and animal salesman but taking a direct shot at the Pharisees who continue to support the OT Covenant through animal sacrifice. Jesus by stating “ you have made it a den of thieves” is stating that the Sanhedrin is guilty of stealing eternal life from people by making them think that they are right with God because of their animal sacrifices.
*Remember in Luke 18: 12-14, Christ’s parable of the man in the temple who could not lift his eyes to heaven but looking down, beat his chest and said, “be merciful to me Lord a sinner”. Jesus said that man went home justified. This is a perfect application of 2 Chronicles 6 and 7.
