Joel M Bradshaw

17And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.–Mark 11

Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7. To get his overall point, let’s look at the context. I underlined things that you need to know.

This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this—the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”

For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. 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.” The Sovereign Lord declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” (Isaiah 56:1-8, with emphasis)

1. RIGHTEOUSNESS REVEALED. In the context of Jesus being revealed as God’s Messiah who came to seek and save the lost, this is a profound prophetic moment Isaiah pictured. No wonder the Pharisees got ticked at Jesus quoting this chapter. They would see his words as Messianic fulfillment.
2. BOUND TO THE LORD. You didn’t have to be a literal descendant of Abraham to worship Yahweh in faith. Foreigners and outsiders who showed faith and trust were not excluded. Jesus’ own lineage contained such faithful, foreign women like Rahab and Ruth. Faithful Gentiles were being excluded or crowded out in Jesus’ day. This literally missed the point of Isaiah 56.
3. JOY AND BELONGING, NOT EXCLUSION. God invites all people who trust him in faith to gather and worship him. Who we have in common (Jesus) is more important than what we have different. The great mystery of God revealed in the letters of Paul was that God was leading Gentiles to him as well. His temple was a house of prayer even for the Goyim, even for the Gentiles. The Jewish people have had this Gospel presentation on the books for them since at least the time of Isaiah.

It doesn’t matter your past or your present situations. If you genuinely come to God in faith and trust desiring to humble yourself and worship, you have a place in God’s family. All those bound to Jesus in faith are welcome. No wonder Jesus was ticked.–JMB