When Not to Obey (6)

When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” John 2.15, 16

A house of prayer, not commerce
So much for gentle Jesus, meek and mild.

What’s going on here? Jesus recognized that, under authority from religious and civil rulers, merchants of various kinds had set up shop in the temple precincts, ostensibly to facilitate worship on the part of people who had come from afar or from other lands. If they had to come a long way, it would not be convenient to bring their sacrifice with them. Why not just buy one at the temple, you know, right before you go in? And if you’d come from another province and didn’t bring your credit card or have any local currency, why, they could exchange your money for you so you could purchase your sacrifice with local coin.

All this, of course, for a small fee.

And all the while, the money changed hands and lined the pockets of unscrupulous merchants and religious leaders who preyed on the needs of pious travelers in the very house of God itself.

This was not why the temple had been constructed. The temple was God’s dwelling-place in the midst of His people, the holiest site of all Israel, and the place where people should expect to encounter the glory of God and not the greed of their neighbors. But these men had licenses to run their kiosks, and they were rendering a public service!

No matter, Jesus reasoned; they had to go.

Keeping an eye on government
Now in the grand scheme of Roman and Jewish political concerns, Jesus’ thrashing the money-changers was a minor episode, even something perhaps to joke and laugh about over a lavish dinner. A little comic relief and come-uppance for the money-grubbers in the midst.

Undoubtedly, as soon as Jesus left, these merchants simply set up shop once again. In fact, we know they did, because Jesus drove them out a second time, at the end of His public ministry (Mk. 11.15-19). But the outcome of this situation could have been something much more serious. The law could have been enforced against Jesus, here at the very beginning of His ministry. But Jesus, appealing to what everybody knew was a truth no one could deny, stiff-armed any thought about bringing charges against Him and went on with His ministry.

So what’s the principle here to guide us in when not to obey the powers-that-be? It’s this: Whenever government seeks to intrude, or authorizes its agents to intrude, on the sacred purposes and grounds of the Church, believers must be ready not to obey what government requires.

This is tricky, because many government regulations – such as laws about zoning, handicapped access, building codes, and so forth – while they can seem burdensome to follow, are actually beneficial to the Church and its ministry.

A warning to ministers
But such is not always the case. Ministers should not be naïve concerning how influential they can be on the people entrusted to their care. Church members look to their pastors and leaders to help them understand how to walk the life of faith. What ministers and teachers preach and teach can have powerful effects on how the people in the pews think about what it means to follow Jesus.

At the same time, what they omit to preach also affects the followers of Christ. If church leaders don’t preach and teach the whole counsel of God to the people, whatever we omit, the people will reckon, must not be all that important.

And if we fail to teach God’s people the proper ways of relating to civil government, then they will believe that Scripture has nothing to say about this subject, and we all just have to make the most of this relationship as best we can.

Pray, therefore, for the preachers of this nation. Pray that they will have courage, like that “Black Brigade” of colonial ministers in the days leading up to the Revolution, who instructed the people of God in their day in the Biblical teaching concerning political matters. Their sermons disrupted the status quo by challenging a corrupt government and a complacent people with their duty to God in the public square.

Perhaps their teaching could make a powerful contribution toward helping Christians fulfill their responsibility for helping government live within its God-appointed bounds.

For reflection
1.  When was the last time your church offered any instruction in a Biblical view of government? What do you remember from that teaching?

2.  Do you think this is a topic Christians should be more aware of? Why or why not?

3.  What are the likely consequences of Christians and their leaders turning a blind eye to the Biblical teaching about government and our responsibility toward it?

Next steps: Suggest to your pastor that this might be a good time for a series of sermons or other teaching on the Biblical view of government. Offer to provide your pastor with this and other studies in this series to help with preparation.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study, When Not to Obey, is part 5 of a 5-part series on a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s books The Kingship of Jesus  and The Ground for Christian Ethics to supplement our studies of God and government.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.