Monday of Holy Week-WWJD?

Flipping tables is sometimes the right thing to do.

When someone asks 'What Would Jesus Do?’ remember that flipping tables is a viable option. On the Monday after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus passes a fig tree, names it for what it is—fruitless. It’s not just about a tree; it’s a pointed metaphor for the religious leadership of his day. When he arrives at the Temple, he overturns the tables of the money changers and refuses to let anyone carry goods through the sacred space. Why? Too often people assume Jesus directed his anger at dishonest money changers who used fraudulent scales or the presence of commerce in the temple at all. This interpretation misses the significance of Jesus’ action entirely. Jesus' disruptive protest includes saying, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? You have made it a den of robbers.” Jesus is obviously quoting scripture here and the passage to which he refers is critical in comprehending Jesus’ action. Jesus quotes the prophet Jeremiah who names precisely what the crime of the Temple is - and it’s not crooked moneychangers. Jeremiah writes “If you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place…Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight?” (Jeremiah 7:5-7)

Two observations from Jeremiah: the first is the meaning of the term “den of robbers” which is made clear by this passage. It is not the money changers with whom Jesus is mad—it is the whole economic and social system of the current Temple itself which was the epicenter of Jerusalem at that time. In other words, Jesus is attacking the ruling class and those at the top that benefited from an unjust system. Ched Myers, a New Testament scholar, argues that when Jesus turns the tables of the money changers he is really attacking the “street level representatives of banking interests of considerable power,” that is, the chief priests and scribes of the Temple who were, willing or not, complicit with Rome and beneficiaries of that partnership. In every region Rome knew it was important to have local representatives, political and economic elites, who benefited from the system of oppression. Some Jewish leaders resisted; others willingly profited from the arrangement.

Whether willingly or not, the Temple leadership became active agents in Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. His actions threatened their political stability and the economic structure they relied upon. The Kingdom of God that Jesus announced was a radical departure from the status quo—a direct challenge to the system that sustained their power. Jesus’ subversive demonstration in the Temple was not simply symbolic; it exposed and disrupted the foundations of their authority. That is why he was killed on Friday.

Secondly, the poverty of the surrounding regions, like Jesus’ own Galilee, was a by-product of the wealth and opulence of the Temple leadership and the socio-economic system they guarded. The required Temple tax, tithes, and sacrifices, as well as the economic organization of tenant farming, ensured that those at the bottom of society were trapped in an oppressive system. Jesus came to Jerusalem to proclaim the Kingdom of God which, as the prophets remind us, has everything to do with justice. This is why he quotes Jeremiah while flipping tables. Justice, especially for the poor and marginalized, is scriptures’ most dominant prophetic theme. “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies…But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:21-24); “And what does the LORD require of you: but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8); “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:11-17).

Jesus confronts the Temple’s oppressive system by flipping tables and grinding business to a halt. Those who profited from the economic status quo quickly realized that his protest was aimed at them. And so, ‘they began looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him’ (Mark 11:18). The leadership wasn’t afraid of Jesus’ miracles or his teachings—alternative religious voices were commonplace—they were afraid that the system sustaining their wealth and power might collapse. And those who benefit from unjust systems rarely dismantle them willingly. Jesus will pay the price.