And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!
Do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise!" John 2:16
The Family Christians and Lifeways of today were the dove sellers of yesterday. Wherever religions sprout up there will always be those who are trying to make a buck on the paraphernalia of belief. It's just, by and large, moved from the outer courts to down the street.
Jesus death and resurrection did away with the sacrificial system, so let us review. According to the Torah there was a corresponding sacrifice for the type of sin you committed. Some required lambs, others doves. As you might imagine most people in Ancient Israel did not keep their own animals. Hence in order to bring the sacrifice you had to purchase the needed animal, thus the men who sold doves in the outer courts.
The outer courts, the courts of the gentiles, the courts that allowed anyone who was not Jewish to enter and still bring prayers and sacrifices to God. The courts that were packed with believers looking for atonement, and the table that were set up in order to allow them to purchase the needed items. Now, we all know that the people who sell religious items nowadays wouldn't do such things, but back then perhaps they drove the price up. Perhaps the doves that were worth two coins sold for four or six or eight, and perhaps that excluded some who desperately wanted to buy doves. The courts of welcome began to exclude.
Jesus couldn't allow that.
He still doesn't. Because at times our churches, our 'sanctuaries', that are made to be places of welcome become exclusive clubs, they become holy huddles. To which Jesus enters in and tells us that his Father's house should not be a house of merchandise, or a house of exclusion, or a house of judgment, or a house of anything but what it was intended to be.
+ Is your church one of hospitality or a holy huddle?
+ What can you do to stem the flow?
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