And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise.
— John 2:15–16
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
— Matthew 21:12–13
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
— James 5:1-6
It’s worth pointing out the context is days before Jesus’ death. It’s also part of hitting the clueless disciples over the head with the message He’s dying soon.
With respect to the poor, I like the phrasing in Mark: “You always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them” (bold mine). Jesus did not criticize them for failing to annoint Him, but for harassing the woman, for nitpicking her good deed.
It’s a profoundly fitting verse in relationship to this discussion. A group of people try to tell as many people as possible that Jesus loves – and Christians are called to serve – all people: folks of every age and race and creed including those the right is stoking hate for: muslims, LGBTQ+, those who’ve had abortions, everyone. Instead of supporting this push-back against hate, cynics have decided that this money was the missing piece of the several billion dollars needed annually to address world hunger.
No, this probably related to contemporary criticisms towards Paul for accepting a fragrant offering in one of his letters. By having a similar episode in Mark where Jesus rebukes critics for his personal use of a fragrant offering it would have minimized criticism for Paul’s acceptance of a fragrant offering for personal use rather than selling it and giving the proceeds to the poor. See more in my comment here.
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