In this account Jesus and his disciples travel to Jerusalem for Passover, where Jesus expels the merchants and consumers from the temple, accusing them of turning it into "a den of thieves" (in the synoptic Gospels) and "a market" (in the Gospel of John) through their commercial activities. Jesus at the Temple - Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.
"It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'". Confirmation that the Temple was being turned into a marketplace during the time of Jesus can be found in some early Jewish writings. First of all, there is a record of the common practice of setting up money changers in the temple area during Passover.
Why Did Jesus Clear the Temple? The account of the first temple cleansing in the book of John gives us a clear picture of what had become of this holy place, and why the Lord was so distressed. "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. The Temple Market J.
E. Flower, M. A.
John 2:13-17 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. I. THE MARKET.
1. Described. Jerusalem was in all its glory.
Its inhabitants were astir in the early morning, enjoying the cool of the day and the excitement of the season. The Jerusalem Temple represented God's presence and holiness to his people. Jesus came to the Temple during the yearly Passover celebration only to find that the area had been turned into a busy marketplace where people were concentrating on money instead of God.
His deep love and respect for God led Jesus to take dramatic public action. Jesus cut through all the wheeling and dealing that was going on at the Temple - disgusted, as John's gospel puts it, at the fact that his "Father's house" was being made into a market place. John's gospel places the event at the beginning of the gospel to show that right through his ministry zeal for the Father would consume Jesus.
Mark surrounds the temple cleansing with the cursing of the fig tree (Mark 11:12-21), and John follows his account with Jesus' statement that the rebuilding of the temple would be fulfilled in his resurrection (John 2:21). History and Biblical Context: Cleansing the Temple In Jesus' time, the Temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life. It was the place where sacrifices were offered, and the faithful gathered to pray and seek God's presence.
During major festivals like Passover, thousands of pilgrims would flock to the Temple from all over the world. To facilitate the sacrifices, merchants. Jesus Clears the Temple Courts - When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To.