Clearing the Temple - Matt 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48

After cursing the fig tree, Jesus and company head to the temple in Jerusalem. Just like we saw at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry three years ago, He is not pleased to see the “moneychangers” and animal sellers selling within the temple walls. We talked about it before, but what exactly did Jesus have a problem with? The temple only accepted Jewish money, but because Israel was occupied by Rome, the people used Roman money for everything outside of the temple. I’m not sure if that was for a specific reason or just because the Jewish leadership didn’t want “heathen” money in the temple. And again, people needed animals to sacrifice, and we know it was ok for the animals to be bought, instead of raising your own sacrificial animals and then bringing them on your journey to the temple from far away, that just wasn’t realistic. So if the money needed to be changed and animals needed to be bought and the people who provided those services had families to feed too, then what was Jesus’ problem?

I think that there are two issues. First is the fact that this was going on within the temple. It would have probably been more appropriate to be done outside of the temple walls, especially because animals and loud and stinky and that isn’t exactly the ambiance that you want to set before going into the temple. The second issue is what Jesus calls the “den of thieves.” Like we said earlier, there is a need for animals and money changers, and they have to be able to provide for themselves too, but what could have been a mutually beneficial arrangement between seller and patron, turned into an exploitation of worshipers. At many temples today, patrons can rent out temple clothes for use while in the temple, because there is a need, however, the cost of a full set of clothes for rent is less than $5 here in the U.S. It’s just covering the cost to launder everything after it’s been worn. An equivalent situation would be if the temple didn’t offer clothing rentals, but people stood outside of the temple renting out their own temple clothing for $100. Those people would be taking advantage of need for those items and exploit the people they are supposed to be helping.

In his righteous indignation, Jesus “cast out all them that sold ad bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.” We can see again that Jesus is not out of control or raging, he was just doing what needed to be done. He tells those around “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” What’s interesting here is the contrast between Jesus’ statement here and the one He made 3 years previously when he did the same thing. John chapter 2 records that while casting out the money changers and the animal sellers 3 years previous, Jesus said, “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” JTC comments, “On the former occasion, before He had declared or even confessed His Messiahship, He had designated the temple as ‘My Father’s house’; now that He had openly avowed Himself to be the Christ, He called it ‘My house.’… It is plain that none could withstand His authoritative command; He acted in the strength of righteousness, before which the forces of evil had to give way.”

There is a sudden and dramatic shift in mood as those offenders leave “and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.” Another indicator that Jesus was not out of control, there was no time needed to him to “calm down,” JTC says, “His wrath of indignation was followed by the calmness of gentle ministry.” Another interesting point has to be that the people who come from all around know that what these sellers are doing is akin to robbery, and they probably buy from these sellers with anger and through clinched teeth. So when Jesus comes and makes everyone who is corrupt leave with the accusation of being a “thief” then the masses probably cheered in their hearts, glad for the change. The Jewish people are being oppressed by the Romans, but they are also being oppressed by their own leadership, a denouncement of that was probably music to their ears. Matthew tells us, with the JST that “when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children of the kingdom crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased.” They didn’t like what was going on. Clearly Jesus had the authority to clear the temple because he’s now healing the afflicted which is only possible through the power of God, and the Jewish leadership is fuming.

In response to the celebration of Jesus, the chief priests tell Jesus, “Hearest thou what these say?” Why did they ask him this? JTC speculates that “they probably expected Him to disclaim the title, or possibly hoped that He would reassert His claim in a manner that would afford excuse for legal action against Him, for to most of them the Son of David was the Messiah, the proclaimed Him.” They wanted Him to deny that He was the Christ or to say it in a way so that they could arrest Him. JTC suggests that Jesus’ answer was “an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the scriptures.” He answers, “Yea, have ye never read, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.” Standing there, having been rebuked verbally and physically by the expulsion of their goods, the chief priests and scribes are furious. They’ve been made to look ignorant of spiritual things, of which they are supposed to be experts, and they’ve been made out to be thieves in front of the very people they were to be serving. Now the Jesus who did all this is healing the sick while being sung praises by the people all around. The IM comments, “The priests claimed authority based on their ancestry; the scribes, based on their education; and the elders, based on their social standing and wealth. The Savior, however, had authority from His Father, which had been manifest in His teachings and works throughout His public ministry.”