Matthew 24:1

“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its building.  “Do you see all these things?” he asked.   “I tell you the truth , not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down.”

I need to read this again. I, like the disciples, begin to ask what Jesus thought of the splendid and magnificent temple built by the Roman ruler, King Herod, for the Jews. It was a beautiful structure, newly constructed, combining aspects of the destroyed temple and the needs of the new day, the day of Roman occupation, when ordinary money  had to be changed into temple money to buy or sell anything in the temple, any transaction, for that mater. That “bank” of exchange became a profitable bank for the religious leaders who controlled the temple finance.  This was not practiced in the days before the Roman occupation.

The Jewish leaders determined that Roman money, the money of the occupying power, could not be used for any religious purposes so the “Temple Bank” was established to receive Roman money and convert it to temple money. This exchange of money had to happen somewhere in the temple so the logical place was to use the space set aside for the Gentiles. It was not a very “holy place.”  By taking over the”Gentile Room” the Jews had no place for Gentiles! None!

Jesus, by entering that room and declaring that is for Gentiles, laid bare the heart of the Jews who had no compassion nor place for the Gentiles, none at all. There is no wonder that Jesus was deeply distressed.  He came to welcome both Jews and Gentiles on the equal basis of God’s saving grace.  In him there is a place for the Gentiles – a huge place.

We recall that Jesus quoted Isaiah 56, “And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— 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 altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”