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John 2:13-22 Has been referred to many a time by many. This Passage describes Jesus’ rage upon seeing people selling oxen, sheep and pigeons (doves according to some versions), and changing money in the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus, in a fit of rage, overturns tables and empties sacks of coins onto the floor and drives out those who were so engaged in the conduct of these things. Jesus says to them that they turned God’s House of worship into a marketplace according to some Gospels. In the Gospel according to Mark 11:17, Jesus tells these people they’ve made the Temple into a “den of robbers.”
A storyline that often accompanies this incident is that the scribes and Pharisees allowed for this commerce, or den of robbers if you will, to take place in the Temple, and that this is one example of tradition getting the better of those presumed to know better. So, Lord Jesus uses as a prop, so to speak, incidents such as the one described above, in making those who worshipped God realize how far off base they went.
Be mindful that it was the Jews that Jesus first goes to, to convey his teachings. We know that subsequently, Jesus says to his disciples, as described in Verses such as Matthew 28:19 to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” Some have written that Jesus didn’t originally intend to spread the word to other nations, but he saw that while he made his points to the Jews there were a number of gentiles who looked on with wonder and awe as he spoke, leading him to surmise it isn’t a bad idea to enlighten everyone else aside from just the Jews. One may say that this is a secular understanding, since the Bible merely has Jesus telling is disciples to spread the word sometime after he gave his Sermon on the Mount, which, in the context of the Bible as a whole, would support the notion that Lord Jesus intended to enlighten all nations from the start. But going back to the Temple scene...
Historians tell us that there were mitigating circumstances as to why the Scribes and Pharisees allowed the activity described above to take place in the Temple. One such factor is that the Jews came to the Temple to worship from long distances. Many people were willing to travel great distances for this endeavor. But, with such a vast gathering, there was an opportunity to engage in gainful activity, contrary to the smaller towns the people travelled from.
Commentators tell us that those who were in charge of the Temple capitalized on the money they could receive from the sale of the animals mentioned above that worshippers could use for their sacrifices. The same people who were in charge of the Temple had profited from the fees collected in administering the receiving of the government-imposed Temple tax, and from the fees in connection with changing money to be used for the purchase of the animals and the paying of the Temple Tax. It is said that Jesus, in addition to being angry that the Temple was so used as a place for profit, was angry that the profit was also being made off the poor who made their journey and could barely afford to pay for things such as the Temple Tax or for the animals to be used for sacrifices. And while Jesus, based on an understanding of Isaiah 1:11-17, had a low opinion of animal sacrifices and considered God’s anger at people ‘trampling his courts’ as said in Verse 12, he respected the fact that the Temple had to be maintained and to be allowed to function as a House of Worship, so he too partook in paying the Temple Tax. We know this from Matthew 17:24-27.
About the Temple itself...Some might believe from reading the account of Jesus violent reaction in the Temple that the activity for gain described above took place in the very part of the Temple where people actually worshipped. This might not be the case, as commentators had written that there were a number of courts outside the actual place of worship, one of them being the court of the Gentiles where, it is said, the activity actually took place.
In modern times, it seems that what took place in the Temple is really no big deal. After all, Jews and Christians alike use churches and temples housing places for worship, to engage in things like Bingo, bake sales and other sales of a retail nature. Jesus may have been more angry that the poor were being taken advantage of at the Temple than of structure of the activity going on outside the confines of the place set up for worshippers.
A storyline that often accompanies this incident is that the scribes and Pharisees allowed for this commerce, or den of robbers if you will, to take place in the Temple, and that this is one example of tradition getting the better of those presumed to know better. So, Lord Jesus uses as a prop, so to speak, incidents such as the one described above, in making those who worshipped God realize how far off base they went.
Be mindful that it was the Jews that Jesus first goes to, to convey his teachings. We know that subsequently, Jesus says to his disciples, as described in Verses such as Matthew 28:19 to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” Some have written that Jesus didn’t originally intend to spread the word to other nations, but he saw that while he made his points to the Jews there were a number of gentiles who looked on with wonder and awe as he spoke, leading him to surmise it isn’t a bad idea to enlighten everyone else aside from just the Jews. One may say that this is a secular understanding, since the Bible merely has Jesus telling is disciples to spread the word sometime after he gave his Sermon on the Mount, which, in the context of the Bible as a whole, would support the notion that Lord Jesus intended to enlighten all nations from the start. But going back to the Temple scene...
Historians tell us that there were mitigating circumstances as to why the Scribes and Pharisees allowed the activity described above to take place in the Temple. One such factor is that the Jews came to the Temple to worship from long distances. Many people were willing to travel great distances for this endeavor. But, with such a vast gathering, there was an opportunity to engage in gainful activity, contrary to the smaller towns the people travelled from.
Commentators tell us that those who were in charge of the Temple capitalized on the money they could receive from the sale of the animals mentioned above that worshippers could use for their sacrifices. The same people who were in charge of the Temple had profited from the fees collected in administering the receiving of the government-imposed Temple tax, and from the fees in connection with changing money to be used for the purchase of the animals and the paying of the Temple Tax. It is said that Jesus, in addition to being angry that the Temple was so used as a place for profit, was angry that the profit was also being made off the poor who made their journey and could barely afford to pay for things such as the Temple Tax or for the animals to be used for sacrifices. And while Jesus, based on an understanding of Isaiah 1:11-17, had a low opinion of animal sacrifices and considered God’s anger at people ‘trampling his courts’ as said in Verse 12, he respected the fact that the Temple had to be maintained and to be allowed to function as a House of Worship, so he too partook in paying the Temple Tax. We know this from Matthew 17:24-27.
About the Temple itself...Some might believe from reading the account of Jesus violent reaction in the Temple that the activity for gain described above took place in the very part of the Temple where people actually worshipped. This might not be the case, as commentators had written that there were a number of courts outside the actual place of worship, one of them being the court of the Gentiles where, it is said, the activity actually took place.
In modern times, it seems that what took place in the Temple is really no big deal. After all, Jews and Christians alike use churches and temples housing places for worship, to engage in things like Bingo, bake sales and other sales of a retail nature. Jesus may have been more angry that the poor were being taken advantage of at the Temple than of structure of the activity going on outside the confines of the place set up for worshippers.
