Mark 11:15

Mar_11:15-18

And Jesus went into the Temple, and began to cast out them that sold.

The Temple cleansed: or, Christ the purifier of religion

When we are told that this took place in the temple we are not to suppose that the Holiest of all is meant, but the Court of the Gentiles. It was this portion of the sacred enclosure that was converted into a market. It was doubtless a convenient arrangement, and a profitable one; but it was a bold offence, and drew down the severe condemnation of Christ. Men may buy and sell in the temple, so to speak, without the presence of the articles and actual proceedings of commerce. How many of you are busy, in Gods house, with the secularities of everyday life! Many do in spirit what these men did in fact. There is no need to call in the aid of miracle to account for the consequences of Christs interference. Holy will is strong, especially when dealing with sinful consciences which are weak. Wrong felt the presence of Divine right, and departed. Strange to say, this action of Christ has been objected to. There are periods when logical arguments and gentle persuasions are out of place, and reason and righteousness assume their right of direct appeal, in word and act, to the inmost sense and conscience of men. Christ was thus severe only with corruption: He had nothing but tenderness for simply evil; He poured His hot displeasure only on the hardened wretches that covered their real sin with seeming sanctity. We see an under meaning in this incident: Christ standing in thy temple of universal humanity, and by His word of power redeeming it from the desecrations of sinful corruption and abuse, rescuing it to the honour of its slighted Lord.

I. The temple of God is desecrated and defiled.

1. Look at the heathen world; behold there the strength of the corruption. The religious sentiment strong amongst them is abused; at least it operates through fear, distrust, and hate, instead of love, hope, and faith; at worst it is the tool of craft and lust. Thus the highest endowments bring about the lowest degradation.

2. Thus has it been with every mode of revealed religion. Thus it was with Judaism. The life-giving spirit had perished; its very form had become corrupt. Does Christianity present an exception to this desecration? What is the religion of many of you but a buying and selling in the temple! Self-interest has its office in religion, but it is not an element of religion itself. Indeed, there is no juster distinction between true and false religion than this: In true religion, self-interest is made the means of what is spiritual; in false religion, what is spiritual is made the means of self-interest. When religion appears as a ladder set up between heaven and earth for all Gods angels to descend and minister to man, but not for aspirations and holy communions to ascend from man to God; when Christianity is contemplated as a scheme of political economy, and the Lord of all is regarded chiefly as the most useful being in existence, we make our hearts the scenes of degrading traffic.

II. This desecration and defilement of the temple of God should create holy and vehement indignation. What is there in the scene we have surveyed to call for holy wrath?

1. It involves the abuse of what is best and highest-My house, etc. His Fathers house was polluted. The highest view to take of sin is always that it dishonours God; the man who dishonours God also dishonours himself. When is God more dishonoured than when the many gifts by which He may be felt, known, served, frustrate His purposes and misrepresent His being? As when faculties, whose sphere is spirit, feed and flatter the flesh.

2. It involves the promotion of the worst and lowest things-A den of thieves. They who rob God can scarcely be expected to be very scrupulous in their dealings with men. The best things when abused become the worse; there is no devil like a fallen angel. The reasons are not far to seek. The best things are the strongest. The best things when abused have a natural tendency to exceed in evil. Still further, good when it is abused hardens the moral feeling.

III. Jesus Christ appears before us as the cleanser of the temple of God. How does He effect it?

1. He comes into the temple of God as the living representative of Divine things. He appears as the Son of God in His Fathers house.

2. He makes an effective appeal to men on the true character and design of Divine things-Is it not written, My house shall be called, etc. He draws attention to the nature and object of the sacred place. He forbids what is auxiliary to the condemned abuse. He would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. The purification of humanity is slow, but sure. (A. J. Morris.)

Pickpockets in the synagogue

Our Paris correspondent telegraphs:-Complaints having been made to the police that the synagogue of the Rue de la Victoire had become a house of call for pickpockets, several detectives were set there on watch, who last Saturday caught a man in the act of stealing a purse from one of the congregation. Henceforth a couple of inspectors will be on duty during the service and, it is to be hoped, will render personal property secure in the synagogue. The name of the man arrested is Jules Henrilien. He refuses to name his accomplices. (Daily News.)

The expulsion of the money changers from the temple

It would appear from a comparison of the different evangelists, that there were two occasions upon which Christ displayed His indignation at the traffic by which His Fathers house was defiled. Those who yielded to the supernatural power with which our Lord acted, returned to their unlawful practices when that power was withdrawn. It was one thing to drive the wicked from the temple, but quite another to drive wickedness from their heart. This was a miracle upon mind.

I. The place where the market was held. It was not the temple properly so called; the Jews were scrupulous about their temple. Where, then, was the market? We will endeavour to explain this to you. In the time of our Saviour, the temple, properly so called, had three courts, each surrounding one another. These courts, with the building they encompassed, made up what was known under the general name of the temple. In the first of these courts stood the altar of burnt offering, and to this came none but the priests and Levites. The second, surrounding that of the priests, was the great hall which, though the Jews assembled to worship, was also open to those proselytes who had been circumcised, and had thus taken upon themselves the whole ritual of Moses. But the outer court of the three was called the court of the Gentiles, and was appropriated to such proselytes as had renounced idolatry, but who, not having been circumcised, were still accounted unclean by the Jews. The two first of these courts were accounted holy, but no sanctity appears to have been attached to the third; it was considered a part of the temple, but had no share in that sacredness which belonged to all the rest. And in this outer court-the court of the Gentiles-it was, that the sheep, and oxen, and doves were sold, and the money changers had their tables. As the Jews did not regard this court as possessing any legal sanctity, they permitted to be used as a market the temple of those who came thither to worship. If you have followed me in this there is good reason for supposing that it was on purpose to show their contempt for the Gentiles, that the Jews allowed the traffic which Christ interrupted. When Christ entered the court of the Gentiles, and found in place of the solemnity which should have pervaded a scene dedicated to worship, all the noise and tumult of a market, He had before Him the most striking exhibition of that fatal resolve on the part of His countrymen, and which His apostles strove in vain to counteract-the resolve of considering themselves as Gods peculiar people, to the exclusion of all besides; and the refusing to unite themselves with converts from heathenism in the formation of one visible Church. Was not this, then, an occasion upon which to exercise the prophetic office? Was there not here an opportunity of inculcating a truth which, however unpalatable to the Jews, required, of all others, to be set forth with clearness, and maintained with constancy-the truth, that though God for a time had seemed neglectful of the great body of men, and bestowed all His carefulness upon a solitary tribe; yet were the Gentiles watched over by Him in their long alienation, and about to be gathered within the borders of His Church. And this truth we suppose it to have been which Christ set Himself to teach by the significant act of driving from the court of the Gentiles the merchants with their merchandise. He declared, as emphatically as He could have done in words, that the place where the strangers worshipped was to be accounted as sacred as that in which the Israelites assembled, and that what would have been held as a profanation of the one, was to be held a profanation of the other. By thus vindicating the sanctity of the spot appropriated to the Gentiles, as worthy of as much veneration as that appropriated to the Jews, when He expelled the merchants and money changers, He went far towards putting Jew and Gentile on the same level, and announcing the abolition of ceremonial distinctions. The Jews had allowed the desecration of the court of the Gentiles, because they regarded the Gentiles as immeasurably inferior to themselves, and defiled through the want of circumcision; and, therefore, unable to offer to God any acceptable worship. What, then, was meant by the resistance, on Christs part, to this desecration of the court of the Gentiles, except that the Jews had fallen into the grossest of errors, in so supposing that the Gentile had been overlooked by God, or excluded from His mercies? The ground on which he stood to pray was as hallowed as that on which the sanctuary rose, and, therefore, he might himself be as much approved and accepted as anyone of that family which seemed for centuries to engross the notice of heaven. And when this has been determined, it is scarcely possible but to feel that the prophecy may glance on to future occurrences. We need not point out to you how little progress has yet been made, notwithstanding the struggles and the advancings of Christianity, towards the announced consummation that Gods house shall be a house of prayer for all people. All people have not yet flocked to its courts; but, on the contrary, the great mass of the human population bow down in the temple of idols. True, indeed, that the doors of the sanctuary have been thrown open, and the men of every land been invited to enter; but the prophecies in question speak of more than a universal offer of admission; they speak of what shall yet take place-the general acceptance of the offer; the pressing of all nations into the Church of the Redeemer. Consider, then, whether the expulsion of the buyers and sellers, as figuring the first accomplishment of the prophecy, when the Gentiles were admitted into the visible Church, may not also be significative of what shall occur at the close of the dispensation when Christianity shall be diffused throughout the earth. We have succeeded to the place of the Jews; for Christians are now the peculiar people of God, and what the Gentiles were to the Jews, that are the heathen to us-a race divided from us by external privileges, and not admitted into the same covenant with the Almighty. And what is it that Christian nations have done and are doing for the heathen? In our intercourse with lands where idolatry and superstition still hold the ascendency, has it been our main endeavour to introduce the pure gospel of Christ? or have we striven, where there was no room for direct assault upon the fabric of error, to exhibit Christianity in its purity, and beauty, and majesty? Alas, might it not be said, we have planted our markets rather than our churches in the court of the Gentiles; that we have crowded that court with our merchandise, but taken little pains to gain room within its area for the solemnities of truth; that even when the voice of the preacher has been heard, it has been overborne by the din of commerce, or contradicted by the lives of those professing Christianity? Indeed, we much think that putting, as we are bound to do, the Christian into the place of the Jew, there is little or no difference between the present aspect of the court of the Gentiles, and that which it wore when Christ was on earth-the same, at least, in a great degree; for what portion do our efforts bear either to our ability or the urgency of the case? The same inattention to those not born to our privileges; the same persecution; the same neglect or disregard of the interests of religion; the same supercilious notion of superiority in the midst of the non-improvement of our many advantages; and if Christ were now to return to the earth, as we believe He shall at the close of the dispensation, what measure could Christendom expect at His hands but that awarded to the Jews? It is in exact accordance with those delineations of Scripture which relate to the second coming of Christ, that we should consider the expulsion of the traffickers from the temple figurative of what will be done with the great mass of nominal Christians. We could almost think that in this, and other respects, the transaction represented how Christ would proceed in cleansing the temple of the heart. He comes into the courts of this temple-the heart of any amongst ourselves whom He desires to consecrate to Himself; and He finds it occupied by worldly things-carnal passions, ambitious projects, the affections all fastening on the creature, to the exclusion of the Creator. And there must be an expulsion from the temple of whatsoever defiles it, that it may indeed become a sanctuary fit for the indwelling of the Lord of the whole earth. But the purifying process is gradual. Nothing unclean can be suffered to remain; but it is not all at once that what pollutes is removed. The first assault, as it were, is on the oxen, and the sheep, and the tables of the money changers, as the more prominent of the occasions and causes of profanation. And with these He is vehement and forcible. Sensuality, covetousness, pride-these are for the scourge and the indignant expostulation; and no quarter can be allowed, no, not for an instant. But it is not only the oxen, and the sheep, and the tables of the money changers, which desecrate the temple of the heart. There are the doves-the gentler and kindlier affections of our nature; and these-even these-contaminate when God is not their first object, but their fervour and their freshness given to the creature. But it is in gentleness, rather than in harshness, that the Lord of the temple proceeds with us in effecting this part of the purification. It is not with the doves, as with the sheep, and the oxen, and the tables of the money changers-the scourging and the overthrowing, but rather by the mild expostulation-Take these things hence, that He attempts the removal of what He cannot suffer to remain. Harshness might injure or destroy the affections themselves, just as the driving out the doves would have caused their being lost; but by continually setting before us the goodness of God, whether as manifested in creation or redemption, by teaching us how much more precious becomes every object of love when we love it not so much for its own sake as for the sake of the Giver-this cleanses the heart, and gradually inclines us to the substituting for affections chained to the finite, affections centering on the infinite; and thus persuades us to take away the dove on whose plumage is the dust of the earth, but only that its place may be occupied by one such as the Psalmist describes-whose wings are covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. The cleansing of the heart is not complete till God is supreme in its affections. It is not enough to mortify corrupt passions, and resist imperious lusts: this is but expelling the sheep and the oxen. We must give God the heart, delighting in Him as the chief good; ay, my brethren, we must act on the consciousness, and God grant that we all may!-we must act on the consciousness that the gentle dove may profane Gods house, as well as the flocks whose pastures are of the earth; and that if the one-the sheep and the oxen-must be altogether ejected, the other-the dove-must be trained to the soaring upwards, and bathing in the free light of heaven. (H. Melvill, B. D.)

Profanation of holy places

Who will venture to deny the exceeding enormity of that offence which a prince deems it right to punish with his own hand? God drove our guilty first parents from the garden; but it was done by the intervention of an angel. He chased the Canaanites from their land; but He did it by an army of hornets. By the hand of an angel He struck down the army of the Assyrians, and brought low the pride of Herod when he assumed Divine honour to himself. Only in the case of those who profane sacred places do I see Christ-Him, that is, who on all other occasions was so mild and gentle-coming forth and taking the rod in His own hand. What a monstrous, what an intolerable crime must this be-the profanation of holy places! (Segneri.)

Desecration of the temple

The circumstances which led to the profanation were these. The Jews who came up to the Feasts from a distance would obviously find it more convenient to purchase their sacrificial victims on the spot, and cattle markets were held in the city; but in lapse of time, when the authorities of the temple began to grow mercenary, they determined to have such a large source of profit in their own hands. The Court of the Gentiles was always held in little respect by the Jews, and it seemed to them quite justifiable to utilize it for their purpose. For about twenty days before the Feast the corridors and arcades and outer walls of the sacred enclosure were commonly occupied by cattle pens; and the solemn stillness of the precincts was broken by the unseemly confusion of the lowing of herds, and the wrangling of drovers and pilgrims bargaining for their price. Besides these there were the money changers. After the captivity the Jews of the dispersion, when they came up to the Feasts, in common with those who dwelt in Palestine, made each their offering for the temple service. There was only one coin in which this offering might be paid into the treasury-the half-shekel piece. It was intended as a safeguard to prevent the Korban being desecrated by the introduction of pieces of money upon which heathen emblems were stamped. Those pilgrims, therefore, who came from countries where non-Jewish money was current, as Babylon, Alexandria, Greece, or Rome, were compelled to procure the half-shekel by exchange. It was not only a fruitful source of gain to the bankers, who demanded an exorbitant discount; their extortion kindled the indignation of our Lord, and His ears were pained by the clinking of money and weights and balances, and the strife of words and angry recriminations, mingling with the prayers and praises of the sanctuary. But this was not all. Even the offerings of poor women, and others, whose very poverty might have exempted them from fraudulent imposition, were included in the market. The whole scene was such as would raise the righteous anger of anyone who was jealous for the honour of Gods house. It was almost a worse profanation than that which made our cathedrals and churches scenes of riot and desecration in the times of Edward VI, when St. Pauls was turned into a stock exchange for merchants, and its aisles were used as common thoroughfares for both man and beast. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)

Cleansing of the Temple

I. God has many temples;

(1) Temple of Israel;

(2) Temple of nature;

(3) Christian church;

(4) Saved souls.

II. We are too ready to defile them. We mix self-interest with religion, or trade with religion, for our own profit.

1. Preaching in order to get money.

2. Sale of livings.

3. Going to certain churches because it may be good for business.

III. However the Saviour may seem to ignore such pollution, a time will come when He will resent and purge it away. (R. Glover.)

Thieves in the Temple

Religion must not be exploited for money. The church is not a shop. The kind of spiritual outrage attacked by Christ is one that repeats itself. There was nothing wrong in selling outside the temple, or any other church, things which were necessary for the temple service. We sell hymn books in our vestries; abroad they sell candles and breviaries and crosses at the doors of the cathedrals. It is a question of degree and intention. But I have seen, at the time of a church celebration abroad, the whole street blocked with booths. Noisy sellers of sweetmeats, toys, and provisions, pushing their bargains, and touting even in the church porch, and on the threshold of the sanctuary. There was the den of thieves. Your miracle mongers, who set up their winking statues and healing saints bones with the one view of fleecing the people-are thieves. Your idle clergy, especially certain Roman cathedral clergy, who fatten on the sins of the faithful, never preach, seldom hear confessions, never visit the sick; simply do nothing but mumble mass on saints days-they are thieves. Your English clergy, who are hale and hearty non-residents on £500 a year, and put in a man at £80 to look after their parishes-are thieves. Wherever or whenever Gods church and service is made the pretext first and foremost for getting money, then and there the spiritual outrage chastised by Christ with whip and expulsion is committed afresh: the house of prayer has been made a den of thieves; and at such an hour as they wet not of, the Lord will suddenly come to His temple and purify it. (H. R. Haweis, M. A.)

Right looking upon wrong

As it is said that ferocious animals are disarmed by the eye of man if he but steadily look at them, so it is when right looks upon wrong. Resist the devil and he will flee from you; offer him a bold front and he runs away. (Dr. Bushnell.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 11:15-17. And they come to Jerusalem — Jesus, having doomed the fig-tree to destruction, continued his journey to the city, where, when he arrived, he went straightway to the temple, and drove the buyers and sellers out of it, &c., and would not suffer any vessel to be carried through the sacred edifice. See the note on Mat 21:12-14. Such strong notions had our Lord of even relative holiness, and of the regard due to those places, as well as times, that are peculiarly dedicated to God. The Jews, it must be observed, reckoning the lower and outward court of the temple a place of little or no sanctity, because it was designed for accommodating the Gentile proselytes in their worship, not only kept a daily market there of such things as were necessary in offering sacrifices, but suffered the common porters, in going from one part of the city to another with their burdens, to pass through it, for the sake of shortening their way. But as these abuses occasioned great disturbance to the proselytes, Jesus reformed them again as he had done three years before, (see Joh 2:14,) telling the people around him, that the Gentiles worshipped there by divine appointment, as well as the Jews, the temple being ordained of God to be the house of prayer for all nations; and to prove this, he cited Isa 56:7, from which the inference was plain, that they were guilty of a gross profanation of the temple who carried on any traffic, even in the court of the Gentiles, much more they who, to make gain, committed frauds and extortions in the prosecution of their traffic, because thus they turned God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves. The offenders, it appears, did not make the least resistance. Probably they were struck with a panic by the secret energy of Christ’s omnipotence, as was the case formerly, when he made the like reformation at the first passover after his ministry commenced. To this purpose, Jerome, on the place, says, “Igneum enim quiddam, atque sidereum, radiebat ex oculis ejus, et divinitatis majestas lucebat in facie.” For, a certain fiery and sparkling radiance issued from his eyes, and a divine majesty shone in his face.

Dr. Campbell justly notices here an inaccuracy in our translation of the original clause, which is rendered, shall be called of all nations the house of prayer, as if the last words had been, υπο παντων των εθνων, of all nations, whereas they are, πασι τοις εθνεσιν, for all nations. “The court of the Gentiles was particularly destined for the devout of all nations, who acknowledged the true God, though they had not subjected themselves to the Mosaic law, and were accounted aliens. The proselytes, who had received circumcision, and were, by consequence, subject to the law, were on the same footing with native Jews, and had access to the court of the people. Justly, therefore, was the temple styled, A house of prayer for all nations. The error in the common version is here the more extraordinary, as, in their translation of Isaiah, they render the passage quoted, for all people.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 112. — THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE, Mar_11:15-19.

(See notes on Mat_12:13; see Luk_19:45-48.)

15. Went into the temple — Which he had yesterday surveyed. See on Mar_11:11.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

Mat 21:12-13; Luk 19:45-48; Mar 11:15-19. “And they came into Jerusalem; and Jesus, coming into the temple, began to cast out the buyers and sellers in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those selling doves; and He did not suffer that any one may carry a vessel through the temple. And He was teaching, saying unto them, Has it not been written that My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and the chief priests heard, and they were seeking how they shall destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the multitude were delighted with His teaching. And when it was evening, He departed out of the city.” Luk 19:48 : “And they did not find what they can do; for all the people hung on Him, hearing Him.” Our Savior’s ministry embraced four Passovers, beginning with one by purifying the temple, verifying the prophecy, in reference to the Messiah, that on arrival He would come suddenly to the temple and purify it; two Passovers transpiring in the interim of His ministry and this one, at the conclusion, so eminently commemorated by His arrest, prosecution, condemnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, rendering it the most celebrated of all the Passovers since that memorable night when Egypt was visited by the destroying angel, slaying the first-born in every house in all the land, but passing over the tenements occupied by the children of Israel, because, pursuant to the commandment of Moses, they had sprinkled on their door-posts and lintels the blood of the slain lamb, that vivid type of the bleeding Lamb of Calvary which was perpetuated at the great Passover festival, through all the intervening ages, down to this momentous culmination, when they not only slay the innocent typical lamb, but the Great Antitype, who, symbolized by countless millions of bleeding victims through the fugitive ages, now Himself bleeds and dies. Our Lord having purified the temple when inaugurating His ministry, now performs the same responsible and significant office in the conclusion. He will also, when He comes in His glory, give it a complete and final purgation, as it will be polluted no more, Satan having been east out. This traffic in beasts and birds was for the accommodation of multitudes, coming from afar, who desired to purchase a sacrifice, the birds being kept on hand for the especial accommodation of the poor. While in this you might see a degree of plausibility, doubtless much fraudulent dealing for the sake of filthy lucre had crept in among them, as we see plainly indicated by the Savior calling them thieves. All cheating and defrauding are theft in the sight of God, however honorable in the estimation of men. The temple was the house of God upon the earth in a sense vastly more preeminent than any other sanctuary in all the world, the great end in view being the rendezvous of God’s saints, that they might prevail in prayer for all the nations of the earth. It is very sad to contemplate the fairs, festivals, frolics, and fandangoes now so frequently held in church edifices, to the grief of the Holy Spirit and the profanation of God’s temple. Every, preacher should walk in the footprints of Jesus in this and every other respect, making a specialty of purifying the Church in the inauguration and the conclusion of His ministry. No one has a right to hold a pastoral charge in the ministry of Christ unless he exemplified Him in all his ministration. This bold procedure was very offensive to the hierarchy, who looked upon Him as an intruder and a usurper, and would have interfered if they had not feared the people, who were so delighted with His preaching that they hung on Him spellbound.

Luk 21:37-38. “And He was teaching in the temple during the days, and at night, going out, He was lodging in the mount called Olivet. And all the people were assembled unto Him in the temple to hear Him.” Tuesday night and Wednesday night He lodged in some of the villages on Mount Olivet, having spent the two preceding nights in Bethany; Thursday night He was arrested, and Friday night He was in the sepulcher. Jerusalem was this week thronged with vast multitudes, not only those having come to the Passover, but the whole country was on tiptoe with excitement about Jesus, a tremendous popular sensation breaking out three years previously, when John so powerfully preached Him to the multitudes attending his ministry, and increasing through the three successive years, having spread abroad into all nations, so that now the world is aroused and waiting spellbound to witness the issue impending, they know not what.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER 11:15-19 (Mar_11:15-19)

THE SECOND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

"And they come to Jerusalem: and He entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; and He would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. And He taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him: for they feared Him, for all the multitude was astonished at His teaching. And every evening He went forth out of the city." Mar_11:15-19 (R.V.)

WITH the authority of yesterday's triumph still about Him, Jesus returned to the temple, which He had then inspected. There at least the priesthood were not thwarted by popular indifference or ignorance: they had power to carry out fully their own views; they were solely responsible for whatever abuses could be discovered. In fact, the iniquities which moved the indignation of Jesus were of their own contrivance, and they enriched themselves by a vile trade which robbed the worshippers and profaned the holy house.

Pilgrims from a distance needed the sacred money, the half-shekel of the sanctuary, still coined for this one purpose, to offer for a ransom of their souls (Exo_30:13). And the priests had sanctioned a trade in the exchange of money under the temple roof, so fraudulent that the dealers' evidence was refused in the courts of justice.

Doves were necessary for the purification of the poor, who could not afford more costly sacrifices, and sheep and oxen were also in great demand. And since the unblemished quality of the sacrifices should be attested by the priests, they had been able to put a fictitious value upon these animals, by which the family of Annas in particular had accumulated enormous wealth.

To facilitate this trade, they had dared to bring the defilement of the cattle market within the precincts of the House of God. Not indeed into the place where the Pharisee stood in his pride and "prayed with himself," for that was holy; but the court of the Gentiles was profane; the din which distracted and the foulness which revolted Gentile worship was of no account to the average Jew. But Jesus regarded the scene with different eyes. How could the sanctity of that holy place not extend to the court of the stranger and the proselyte, when it was written Thy house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? Therefore Jesus had already, at the outset of His ministry, cleansed His Father's house. Now, in the fullness of His newly asserted royalty, He calls it My House: He denounces the iniquity of their traffic by branding it as a den of robbers; He casts out the traders themselves, as well as the implements of their traffic; and in so doing He fanned to a mortal heat the hatred of the chief priests and the scribes, who saw at once their revenues threatened and their reputation tarnished, and yet dared not strike, because all the multitude was astonished at His teaching.

But the wisdom of Jesus did not leave Him within their reach at night; every evening He went forth out of the city.

From this narrative we learn the blinding force of self-interest, for doubtless they were not more sensible of their iniquity than many a modern slavedealer. And we must never rest content because our own conscience acquits us, unless we have by thought and prayer supplied it with light and guiding.

We learn reverence for sacred places, since the one exercise of His royal authority which Jesus publicly displayed was to cleanse the temple, even though upon the morrow He would relinquish it forever, to be "your house" -- and desolate.

We learn also how much apparent sanctity, what dignity of worship, splendor of offerings, and pomp of architecture may go along with corruption and unreality.

And yet again, by their overawed and abject helplessness we learn the might of holy indignation, and the awakening power of a bold appeal to conscience. "The people hung upon Him, listening," and if all seemed vain and wasted effort on the following Friday, what fruit of the teaching of Jesus did not His followers gather in, as soon as He poured down on them the gifts of Pentecost.

Did they now recall their own reflections after the earlier cleansing of the temple? and their Master's ominous words? They had then remembered how it was written, The zeal of thine house shall eat Me up. And He had said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I shall raise it up, speaking of the temple of His Body, which was now about to be thrown down.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

11:15-19 The largest part of the Temple in Jerusalem was the Court of the Gentiles, surrounded by covered porticoes. It was here that this selling probably took place.

11:15-16 When they arrived back: Upon entering the Temple, Jesus was intensely disturbed by the buying and selling of sacrificial animals and by the exchange of money. It was supervised by priests, who alone could certify that a potential sacrificial offering was acceptable. The practice of selling sacrificial animals was meant to ensure that only blemish-free animals were used in the service of the Temple. It was facilitated by setting up exchange tables in areas around Jerusalem, but exchange tables were set up within the Temple itself on the fifteenth of Adar, the month before Passover. Usually the exchange rate involved a 4- to 8-percent commission. Because of the large number of half-shekels (see Exod 30:11-16) and sacrifices involved, the money exchange and the sale of sacrificial animals was quite profitable. Jewish literature of the time was intensely critical of the priests for accumulating great wealth by robbing the poor. Jesus was not opposed to the Temple nor attacking the sacrificial system (Mark 1:44; Matt 5:17-19, 23; 17:24-27; Luke 17:14; Acts 6:7; 21:20-26), but he viewed this profiteering as theft and as desecrating the holy place. • Jesus’ actions probably did not affect as large a number of people as is sometimes envisioned. These actions took place in one part of the large Court of the Gentiles and would not have been observed by most people in other parts of the Temple. The lack of interference by the Roman authorities suggests that they did not observe the event or did not regard it as a riot or as insurrection. Furthermore, at Jesus’ trial, this action is never mentioned. It was not a massive attempt to stop all such activity, but a symbolic act foretelling the judgment soon to befall the Temple and the city.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 11:15. Ἤρξατο, began) Men ought to have been wise [the day before], whilst the Lord was still sparing and warning by mere gestures [In the temple, “He looked round about upon all things,”] Mar 11:11.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar_11:15-19. See on Mat_21:12-17. Comp. Luk_19:45-48. Matthew deals with this partly by abbreviating, partly also by adding what is peculiar and certainly original (Mar_11:14-16).

ἤρξατο ἐκβάλλειν] but afterwards: κατέστρεψε, so that thus the latter occurred after the beginning and before the ending of the expulsion.

Mar_11:16. ἵνα] The object of the permission is conceived as its purpose. The form ἤφιε, as Mar_1:34.

διενέγκῃ σκεῦος διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ] In the estimation also of the Rabbins it was accounted a desecration of the temple, if anybody carried the implements of common life (σκεῦος, household furniture, pots, and the like) through the temple-enclosure, διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ (not ναοῦ), in order to save himself a circuit; they extended this even to the synagogues. See Lightfoot, p. 632 f.; Wetstein in loc. Olshausen is mistaken in explaining διαφέρειν as to carry to and fro; and Kuinoel and Olshausen, following Beza and Grotius, arbitrarily limit σκεῦος to implements used for the purpose of gain.

Mar_11:17. ἐδίδασκε] on what subject? What follows leaves no doubt as to the principal theme of this teaching.

πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν] Dativus commodi: (destined) for all nations,which has reference in Isa_56:7 to the fact that even the strangers dwelling among the Israelites were to return with them to the Holy Land (Ezr_2:43 ff; Ezr_7:7; Neh_3:26; Neh_11:21), where they were to present their offerings in the temple (according to the Israelitish command, Lev_17:8 ff; Lev_22:19 ff.; Num_15:14 ff.). Only Mark (not Matthew and Luke) has taken up the πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν from Isaiah, which probably has its reason not only in more careful quotation (Fritzsche, de Wette, Holtzmann, Bleek), but, inasmuch as it is an honourable mention of the Gentiles, in the Gentile-Christian interest, without, however, thereby indicating that Jesus had desired to announce the new spiritual temple of His church (Schenkel), which point of the action does not emerge in any of the evangelists, since they had failed to perceive it, or had suppressed it.

Mar_11:18. ἀπολέσωσιν] (see the critical remarks): how they were to destroy Him, deliberative. The future of the Recepta (how they should destroy Him) would designate the realization as indubitable (the question only still remaining as to the kind and manner of the destruction). See Kühner, II. p. 489 f.; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Symp. p. 225 C.

ἐφοβοῦντο γὰρ αὐτόν] The reason why they sought to destroy Him.

ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ, αὐτοῦ] which He, namely, had just set forth, Mar_11:17, after the cleansing of the temple. Baur arbitrarily suggests that Mark has dexterously inwoven the διδάσκειν from Luke.

ὅτε ὀψὲ ἐγένετο] on that day, Mar_11:12; hence not ὅταν (see the critical remarks).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 11:15-19 . Cleansing of the temple (Mat 21:12-17 , Luk 19:45-48 ). The state of things Jesus saw in the temple yesterday has been in His mind ever since: through the night watches in Bethany; in the morning, killing appetite; on the way, the key to His enigmatical behaviour towards the fig tree.

Mar 11:15 . εἰς τὸ ἱερόν , into the temple, that is, the forecourt, the court of the Gentiles. τοὺς π . καὶ τοὺς ἀ ., the sellers and, the buyers: article before both (not so in Mt.), both put in the pillory as alike evil in their practice.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ showeth indeed, that he is the true King and high Priest, and therefore the revenger of the divine service of the Temple.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 15. And they come] Several MSS. and versions have παλιν, again. This was the next day after our Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem; for on the evening of that day he went to Bethany, and lodged there, Mr 11:11, and Mt 21:17, and returned the next morning to Jerusalem.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15-19) And Jesus went into the temple.—See Notes on Mat_21:12-17.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. and Jesus went into the temple] The best MSS. omit the word Jesus here. The nefarious scene, which He had sternly rebuked on the occasion of His first Passover, and which is recorded only by St John (Joh_2:13-17), was still being enacted.

them that sold and bought] For the convenience of Jews and proselytes residing at a distance from the Holy City, a kind of market had been established in the outer court, and here sacrificial victims, incense, oil, wine, and other things necessary for the service and the sacrifices, were to be obtained.

the tables of the moneychangers] Money would be required (1) to purchase materials for offerings, (2) to present as free offerings to the Temple treasury (Mar_12:41; Luk_21:1), (3) to pay the yearly Temple-tax of half a shekel due from every Jew, however poor. All this could not be received except in a native coin called the Temple Shekel, which was not generally current. Strangers therefore had to change their Roman, Greek, or Eastern money, at the stalls of the moneychangers, to obtain the coin required. This trade gave ready means for fraud, which was only too common.

that sold doves] Required for poor women coming for purification (Lev_12:6; Lev_12:8; Luk_2:24) from all parts of the country, and for other offerings. The sale of doves appears to have been in a great measure in the hands of the priests themselves, and one of the high priests especially is said to have gained great profits from his dovecots on Mount Olivet.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they came to Jerusalem,.... The Ethiopic version reads, "he came"; that is, Christ; but not alone, for his disciples were with him: Beza says, that, one exemplar he had met with, adds "again", and so one of Stephens's copies; for they had been there the day before:

and Jesus went into the temple: the Syriac and Persic versions add, "of God"; into the court of the Gentiles, as he did the preceding day:

and began to cast out them that bought and sold in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; which was done, as Matthew relates, the same day that he made his public entry into Jerusalem: wherefore it is highly probable, that upon Christ's leaving the city, they returned "again", and were the next morning sitting and doing business in the temple as before; and were drove out again by Christ, who, upon his return, found them there. They "that bought and sold in the temple", were those that bought and sold lambs for the passover, which was now at hand; and the sheep and oxen for the "Chagiga", or feast the day following; as well as doves hereafter mentioned, for new mothers, and such as had fluxes: and that part of the temple where this business was carried on, was in a large space within the area of the temple, where shops were built for that purpose: and by "the money changers", whose "tables" are said to be "overthrown", are meant, such as sat at tables to receive the half shekel, who changed those that brought whole shekels, or foreign money: and who had so much for changing, which was called "Kolbon"; from whence they had the name of "Collybistae", in the text: and "doves", as before observed, were the offering of the poorer sort of women after birth, at the time of their purification, and of profluvious persons; of which many came from all parts, at the time of the passover: upon which account, there was a great demand for these creatures; and many sat upon seats to sell them, which Christ overturned; See Gill on Mat 21:12.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;

Ver. 15. Began to cast out] As he had done before, Joh 2:15. {See Trapp on "Joh 2:15"} Hath not the Lord done the like also lately among us, casting out many church choppers, that have been money changers rather than ministers in the temple?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple. Not the holy place, nor the holy of holies (into which the high priest might alone enter), but into the temple court; for into that the people went to pray, and to witness the sacrifices which were being offered before the holy place; for this court was, so to speak, the temple of the people. Our Lord was not a Levitical priest, because he was not sprung of Levi and Aaron. Therefore.he could not enter the holy place, but only the outer court of the temple. And began to cast out (ekballein) it was a forcible expulsionthem that sold and them that bought in the temple. There were two occasions on which our Lord thus purged the temple one at the beginning of his public ministry, and the other at the end of it, four days before his death. There was a regular market in the outer court," the court of the Gentries, belonging to the family of the high priest. The booths of this market are mentioned in the rabbinical writings as the booths of the son of Hanan, or Annas. But this market is never mentioned in the Old Testament. It seems to have sprung up after the Captivity. Our Lord adopted these strong measures

(1) because the temple courts were not the proper places for merchandise, and

(2) because these transactions were often dishonest, on account of the avarice and covetousness of the priests. The priests, either themselves or by their families, sold oxen and sheep and doves to those who had need to offer them in the temple. These animals were, of course, needed for sacrifices; and there was good reason why they should be ready at hand for those who came up to worship. But the sin of the priests lay in permitting this buying and selling to go on within the sacred precincts, and in trading dishonestly. There were other things needed for the sacrifices, such as wine, and salt, and oil. Then there were also the money-changers (kollubisthv , from kollubov , a small coin) those who exchanged large coins for smaller, or foreign money for the half-shekel. Every Israelite, whether rich or poor, was required to give the half-shekel, neither less nor more. So when money had to be exchanged, an allowance or premium was required by the money-changer. Doves or pigeons were required on various occasions for offerings, chiefly by the poor, who could not afford more costly offerings. From these also the priests had their gain. The seats of them that sold the doves. These birds were often sold by women, who were provided with seats.

Vers. 15-18. The holy house.

It is significant that our Lord should have performed the authoritative and symbolical act of cleansing the temple twice at the commencement, and again at the close, of his ministry. We learn that no real reformation had taken place in the religious habits of the chief priests and the people who frequented the holy place; they continued to practice the abuses which had been already so justly and so sternly rebuked. And we learn also that Jesus, although hated and despised by the rulers, had abated none of his claims to authority and jurisdiction.

I THE OCCASION OF CHRIST"S AUTHORITATIVE INTERFERENCE.

1. This was the abuse of the temple. The holy house had been erected forthe manifestation of the Divine glory, the celebration of Divine worship, the realization of Divine communion. No other material structure has ever possessed the sanctity which attached to this. There were grades of sanctity, culminating in the holy of holies; yet all the precincts and courts were consecrated to the God of Israel. To turn such a building to any secular purpose was an unjustifiable abuse.

2. The pr ofanation of the temple. Three stages of profanation were referred to: vessels used for common purposes were carried through the courts; money was exchanged foreign money, with the images, the superscription, the symbols, which denoted heathenism, for the shekels of the sanctuary; and doves and other victims, used for sacrifice and offerings, were openly bought and sold. Turning the sacred precincts to purposes of gain was a heinous offense against the majesty of the Lord of the temple.

3. But even this was not the worst, for there is implied the violation of the temple. The traffic which took place was distinguished by injustice and fraud: "Ye have made it a den of robbers." The family of the high priest are known to have made this merchandise a source of unlawful gain. In the exchange of money there was unfairness, in the sale of animals there was extortion. It was bad enough that in the Lord"s house there should be trading, it was far worse that there should be rapacity and fraud.

II THE MANNER OF CHRIST"S AUTHORITATIVE INTERFERENCE.

1. This was independent. Jesus took counsel of no one, but acted of his own accord, as One who had no superior to whom to refer. He acted in his own Name and in that of his Father.

2. It was p eremptory. We feel that it was but seldom that the meek and lowly Jesus acted as on this occasion. There was an unsparing severity in his action and in his language, when rescuing the holy house from the profane intruders. He did well to be angry.

3. It was impressive. The priests, who profited by the robbery, were enraged; the scribes, who resented the exercise of authority by the Nazarene, were incensed; and the people, who witnessed this remarkable act, were astonished.

III THE JUSTIFICATION BY CHRIST OF HIS AUTHORITATIVE INTERFERENCE. Our Lord not only acted; he taught and explained the meaning of his action. We cannot suppose that he was animated by any superstitious feelings in so acting, and the record shows us what were his motives.

1. He regarded the temple as the house of his Father, God.

2. It was in his view the house of prayer, and was to be reserved for communion between human spirits and him who is the Father of spirits.

3. And it was intended for the service of all nations, which gave it a peculiar dignity and sacredness in his eyes. These considerations show why a Teacher, whose whole teaching was peculiarly spiritual, should display a zeal for the sanctity of a local and material representation of a Divine presence.

IV THE RESULTS OF CHRIST"S AUTHORITATIVE INTERFERENCE.

1. Its immediate effect was to provoke the dread, the malice, and the plots of the scribes and priests. The incident occurred but a few days before our Lord"s crucifixion, and it appears to have led to that awful event. In their own interests, the religious leaders of the Jews felt themselves constrained to crush the power of One whose conduct and teaching were so inconsistent with their own. Thus one of the highest exercises of our Lord"s righteous authority was the occasion of his most cruel humiliation and shameful death.

2. Its more remote effect has been to enhance the conception entertained of Christ"s character and official dignity and power. Humanity is God"s true temple, too long defiled by the occupation of the spiritual foe, and desecrated to the service of sin. Christ is the Divine Purifier, who dispossesses the enemy, and restores the sanctuary to its destined ends, the indwelling, the worship, and the glory of the Eternal!

Vers. 15-19. Jesus cleansing the temple.

A second occasion; the first occurring at the beginning of his ministry. (Joh_2:13-17) A fulfillment of Mal_3:1, Mal_3:2.

I THERE IS A TENDENCY IN THE MOST SACRED INSTITUTIONS TO DECAY AND ABUSE. Most of the abominations swept away by Christ had their origin in immemorial custom, and the demands of the worshippers themselves. Traffic came to assume a religious character, and gain was excused on account of ceremonial exigencies and conveniences. This tendency recurs and culminates. How suggestive the contrast house of prayer," "a den of thieves"!

II THIS IS DUE TO LOSING SIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL SPIRIT AND PURPOSE. The essence of the old worship was simple, personal devotion, of which rites and sacrifices were only of use as the expression. Through the intrusion of the business spirit, the latter came to be regarded as important for their own sake.

III JESUS CHRIST IS THE CHIEF AUTHOR AND RESTORER OF PURE WORSHIP. This act of Christ is in perfect accord with his whole character and life. It but expresses his spirit and influence. Every reform Or advance of the Church is due to his agency.

IV HE EFFECTS THIS THROUGH HIS SPIRIT, AND THE REVELATION HE MAKES OF THE CHARACTER OF God AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SACRED THINGS. The original purpose of the temple is restated, and he emphasizes the spiritual side of worship. It is to pray, to commune with our Father, we go up into the temple. Everything which interferes with or corrupts that simple motive, is an abuse and an evil. The gospel, in recalling men to a sense of righteousness and the love of God, creates the prayer-spirit. And the Holy Ghost sustains the communion thus established. From time to time the Spirit takes of the things of God and reveals them afresh, making fresh advents to the heart, and kindling the flame of zeal and love.

V REFORMING ZEAL, IN PROPORTION TO ITS SPIRITUALITY AND ENLIGHTENMENT, WILL PROVOKE HATRED AND OPPOSITION IN THOSE WHOSE INTERESTS ARE THREATENED; BUT THERE WILL EVER BE OTHERS BY WHOM IT WILL BE WELCOMED. Those who are interested in the status quo will resent interference with it. Priestly importance and the spirit of selfishness are potent antagonists to true worship. But the "multitude" has within it ever some who yearn after better things. The human longing after the Divine is enshrined in the common heart of man. M.

"And Jesus went into the temple.

"Jesus went into the temple." The act was characteristic and suggestive.

I IT EXEMPLIFIED THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN HIS WORK AND THAT OF JOHN. From the beginning to the end of his ministry the Baptist, so far as we know, was a stranger to the temple courts. John was in the wilderness, and the people from Jerusalem and Judea "went out" to hear him. Christ was never apart from his people. He was not a voice crying in the wilderness, but the Good Shepherd, who, instead of expecting his strayed sheep to seek him, came after them, to seek and to save that which was lost. In accordance with this, Jesus entered into the temple, or taught in the synagogues, or went into the homes of the people, to teach the ignorant and to bless the needy. Here is a distinguishing mark of the great Redeemer as contrasted with the great reformer; and it is also distinctive of their work. A reformer points the way of righteousness to those willing to walk in it. A Redeemer, by the power of his love and life, touches and turns the hearts of the children of men. John said in effect, "Do what you can in the way of moral reform." Christ in effect said, "I have come to do for you is uplifted to her lofty pedestal; but, conscious of her beauty and of his failures, the sinner can only say, "It is high, I cannot attain unto it." Christ Jesus comes down amongst us from the lofty heavens, as One meek and lowly, and says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man will open the door, I will come in to him.

II IT ILLUSTRATED OUR LORD"S RELATION TO THE OLD DISPENSATION. He was often accused of setting himself against the Law. This act was one of many proofs he gave of the truth of his words, "I came not to destroy, but to fulfill." He knew, as others did not, that the work of the temple was almost done, and that it would shortly perish in the flames; he knew that, though it had such marvellous material stability, it was one of "the things that could be shaken," and would be removed, so that "the things which could not be shaken might remain." But so long as the temple remained as the house of God he honored it, and encouraged his disciples to do so. He kept its feasts; he taught and healed its worshippers; he led his followers to join in its praises and prayers and he showed the people, by this act of cleansing, that they were guilty if they desecrated God"s appointed house of prayer.

III IT INCULCATED FOR ALL AGES LESSONS OF FORBEARANCE AND PATIENCE. As followers of Christ we should learn to put up with, and to use to the utmost, what we know is imperfect and transient. If we see an organization which aims at what we approve, but which in our judgment is imperfect, and resolve to withhold our sympathy and support till it perfectly accords with our views, we are not following our Lord in this. If we recognize the faults of our fellow-Christians, and are so vexed at their folly that we determine to have no more fellowship or co-operation with them, we are not following our Lord in this. If we have attempted to reform society or to rescue a sinner, and have apparently failed, so that we give up all further effort in despair, we are not following our Lord. For once before, at the beginning of his ministry, he had cleansed this temple and driven forth the buyers and sellers, but the evil had reasserted itself, so that it was defiled as much as formerly. Still patiently and hopefully he cleansed it again, and made the place ring with his words of truth, and beautified it by his works of mercy.

IV IT UTTERED A SIGNIFICANT REBUKE TO ALL THAT WAS FALSE AND EVIL. He went to the temple to worship, although in the crowds he saw there so few that were spiritually in sympathy with him. But he would not allow any mistake to be made about his association with evil. He was not like those who are so silent about wrong-doing or false teaching that all around suppose that they sympathize with it. Such silence is guilty. If Christ saw evil he looked upon it with pain and shame, and therefore once more before he left the temple, which was the scene of it, he made a bold protest and uttered a final rebuke. He associated with the good, but he cast out the evil. A.R.

Vers. 15-17. Christ cleansing the temple.

The acts of our Lord were not merely intended to accomplish an immediate result. Had they been, they were sadly ineffectual. If, for example, he had simply set before himself the design of clearing the temple of intruders, he could have secured that end more permanently than he did. But he recognized that the noblest thing is not to cut off a public abuse, but to dry up the spring whence it flows, which often lies deep in the human heart. Remedial measures are better than repressive legislation. When our Lord for a second time cleansed the temple, his main object was not to put down the abuse immediately by force, but to rebuke the sin, and so to lead the people to think about it, confess, and forsake it. He wished to establish the principle that the temple of God should be free from worldliness, a principle which is capable of world-wide application. As the material temple rises before our vision through the mists of past years, we hail it as an image of the invisible temple in which the Eternal God is praised and served by his people. Two truths appear prominently in this incident.

I THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS OFTEN DESECRATED. In considering the sins of other people and of other times, we are:

1. Apt to forget how naturally and imperceptibly they obtained place and power. The Jews easily lapsed into this desecration. The Mosaic code ordained sacrifices of oxen, goats, and sheep in great numbers. In process of time the habits of the nation changed, so that it was no longer possible, as it had been in the pastoral period, to take a victim from a flock or herd close at hand. Jerusalem was now a large and crowded city. Space was costly, and a large area seemed to be necessary where worshippers could obtain victims. In the vast temple area a large space was available. It was close by the sacrificial altar, and not set apart for the actual worship of the chosen people. If it were used for stalls and pens, a good rental would be secured which would pay for the repair and decoration of the building, and so the glory of the sanctuary would be maintained and devout worshippers accommodated. So the abuse grew up, amid the protests of the few and the silence of the many, and all were tolerating an evil which they could not openly defend. Evils have generally sprung up in the Church insidiously. If they had come in their hideous maturity they would have been repelled with horror, but they were welcomed when they came like the tiny child a legendary saint took on his shoulders, to find him grow so heavy as to crush him with his weight. Examples of this may be found in ecclesiastical history: e.g. papal pretensions, simony, erastianism; all of which in their germ seemed to have about them something reasonable and right.

2. The root of the special evil here denounced was covetousness. Probably that was the besetting sin of the nation in our Lord"s day. Publicans sold themselves to the tyrants of their country, because wealth was more to them than patriotism. Priests and Sadducees let out sites to the temple traders, because they would make gain of godliness, and cared more for the temple income than for spiritual worship. This spirit pervaded the entire nation. There was no sign of the splendid generosity of David, and no need, as in Moses" days, to restrain the people from giving. The sin appeared among the apostles. We see it in all its hideousness in Judas Iscariot, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, and then flung the money at the feet of the priests as they sat in the temple of God. The love of money is declared to be "the root of all evil," and the statement is in harmony with the words of our Lord about the difficulty a rich man would find in entering his kingdom. Show how generally such teaching is forgotten among different classes of our population. See the effects of this in the floating of unsound speculations in which the fortunes of the unwary are wrecked; in the unfairness of men to each other in the common relations of life; in the unjust wars of aggression which the nation has sometimes waged. The Christian Church is called upon to set an example of the opposite of all this, in her princely generosity and in her Christ-like self-sacrifice.

3. There are other ways besides covetousness by which desecration may enter God"s temple. There is unbelief, which silences the voice of prayer in professed believers; worldliness, which puts material organization in the place of spiritual power; pride, which prevents hearty fellowship amongst God"s people; expediency, which usurps the throne of truth; and self indulgence, which expels self-devotion. So the temple is defiled; for "know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" Jesus Christ felt burning indigo-nation when he saw the sanctuary of his Father transformed into a place of worldly traffic, and he feels it still as he beholds a Christian community desecrated by the power of sin.

II THE DESECRATED TEMPLE NEEDS CHRIST AS ITS PURIFIER. We too soon get accustomed to evils, and tolerate them, until One mightier than ourselves alone can expel them. What priests and Levites failed to do, Jesus did, and none resisted him.

1. His coming was an act of sublime condescension. It would have been far pleasanter to him to go into the fields, where the sower cast his seed; or to sail over the lake, in which fishermen plied their nets; or to walk over the hillsides, on which the flowers whispered of his Father"s love. He knew what the temple was, yet he did not forsake it; but came again and again, in spite of the unreality and sin that prevailed in it. As willingly he will enter the heart or the Church, which is unworthy of his presence.

2. His coming was not such as might have been expected. The Jews had often read the words, "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple," etc., but as they were looking heavenward the prophecy was fulfilled by the coming of this young Galilean Peasant. As they waited in vain for a startling advent, so some now wait for a special manifestation of his presence, and ignore the fact that he is already with them in the holy thoughts which they refuse to welcome. "Behold, them standeth one among you, whom ye know not." It is the realized presence of the living Christ which will purge the heart or the Church of evil thought and habit, and transform it into the temple of the Most High. May he, who is the source of spiritual power and heavenly purity, come amongst us and abide with us for ever! A.R.

Vers. 15-18. The cleansing of the temple.

Jesus came to "bear witness unto the truth." One truth was the sanctity of that "house of prayer" which was opened for "all the nations." But have the rightful guardians of that house preserved for it this sacredness, that the feet of the wearied and the heart of the sorrowful of all nations might be allured within its hallowed walls, where in humble penitence and prayer, and with strong cries to the God of heaven and earth, they might find rest and peace and shelter? Nay, verily. Cruel covetousness has let out the sacred enclosure for gainful purposes. The love of money, the root of this evil, has led men to sell God"s house to purposes of merchandise; and, if worse could be, to trickery and thieving. Ah, they robbed God of his rightful honor; and they robbed the poor, and the sorrowful, and the homeless, and the heart-sick, and the sin-sick, of the one place of refuge where they might find peace and healing and rest! They turned the "house of prayer" into "a den of robbers." In the place where men might seek heavenly blessing, they filched earthly pelf. Sin is great in proportion to its nearness to the restraints of righteousness. How great, then, was this! Their cry was, "This is the place for money-changers and barterers, for pilferers and thieves." So great a lie must be contradicted by "the Truth;" even if he lose his life in doing it. The true fire burns in his breast: he cannot be silent. The zeal: of the Lord consumes him. He takes advantage of the popular enthusiasm which now for a time runs in his favor. The astonished multitude "hung upon him, listening." And though he needs not their help, yet he disappoints not their hope. He put forth his own regal authority, and with his word and holy hands "cast out" the traders, "overthrew" the tables of "the money-changers," and refused to allow men to desecrate the holy pavement by carrying burdens over it. Nor would he "suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple." It might be asked How could he do this single-handed? Apart from that Divine power which now and again he restrained not, "the chief priests and the scribes feared him," and the multitude stood" astonished at his teaching." Cowardice and guilt are always staggered at religious enthusiasm. In this incident we may learn

I CHRIST"S DEFENCE OF THE SACREDNESS OF PLACES DEDICATED TO PURPOSES OF WORSHIP. It is his high testimony to the efficacy of prayer, that the very place where it is offered is holy ground. If all places are holy in his view, all are not to be used indiscriminately. There is an appropriate place for each work. And sacred places are devoted to sacred acts. This is here declared to be according to Christ"s will.

II CHRIST"S DECLARATION THAT THE INTRUSION OF EARTHLY AFFAIRS INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD IS A WICKED AND UNWARRANTABLE DESECRATION. HOW strongly this speaks against intruding worldly thoughts into acts of Divine worship, and worldly motives into holy service! He who "set a bound for the waters that they may not pass over," has forbidden the trespass upon the threshold of his house of anything that is "of the earth, earthy.

III With a view to the encouragement of prayer among all the nations, THE HOUSE OF THE LORD IS CONSECRATED FOR THEM TO THIS PURPOSE. It cannot, however, be that only one house should be opened. It is, therefore, the house in every nation that is so opened is consecrated and sacred whither the tribes of men may go up to offer worship and service, to present the sacrifice of song, to seek help and rest and mercy.

IV But through all the teaching there runs a deeper truth: THE CLEANSED AND CONSECRATED TEMPLE OF THE HEART WHERE THE LORD IS TRULY WORSHIPPED MUST BE PRESERVED FREE FROM CORRUPT DESECRATION, The hidden place, the quiet solitudes of the soul where prayer is to be truly made, may not be polluted by trickery and deceit. And the very consecration of it as a temple where God may be approached declares that it need not be a place of burdens; for he will speak the word of faith and peace, will ease and comfort the troubled, will give rest to the weary, and solace and salvation to the tempted and tried. Happy the man whose heart is a pure temple of God! G.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. xxi, 12; Luke xix, 45.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The second cleansing of the Temple:

v. 15. And they come to Jerusalem; and Jesus went into the Temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of them that sold doves,

v. 16. and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the Temple.

v. 17. And He taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But ye have made it a den of thieves.

v. 18. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people was astonished at His doctrine.

v. 19. And when even was come, He went out of the city.

As soon as Jesus and His disciples had reached, the city on Monday morning, He went up to the Temple. He lost no time in carrying out a plan which He had formulated overnight. Once before He had attempted to impress upon the Temple authorities the need of having some regard to the holiness of God’s house, Joh 2:13-16. And here He saw the same pollution of the holy places which had so enraged Him before. Again, therefore, in holy wrath, He purged the Temple. The sellers and buyers that were gathered in the Court of the Gentiles He drove away. The tables of the money-changers, of the petty bankers, and the seats of those that sold doves He upset. A vivid picture: The lowing of the cattle and the bleating of the sheep, the fluttering of the released doves and the angry cries of the bankers, all mingling in a commotion of endless confusion as they sought to escape from the wrath of Jesus, Whose majestic figure dominated the scene and forbade any interference. This traffic, which had grown out of a permission to such as could not bring their sacrificial animals great distances, had, like many other permitted customs, become a nuisance of the first rank, threatening the sanctity of the holy place itself. For once, Jesus cleaned out the pollution of those that served their own belly and their money-bags more than the holy name of God. After the Temple-court had once more been purged of the invaders, Jesus would not even allow anyone to carry any instrument or tool through the Temple, using it as a short cut. He felt that the sacredness of the place forbade such a proceeding. He then taught the people, in explanation of His act, by referring to Scriptures, Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11. Should they consider and treat the house that was called after His name like a den of thieves, where trafficking. and cheating, and robbing might be carried on unhindered? The real object, the proper use of this house, was that of a house of prayer unto all nations, 1Ki 8:1-66.

This act of Jesus again aroused and embittered the high priests and the scribes. They planned and sought means by which they might put Him out of the way. Their counsels against Him were held with increasing frequency; But they did not dare lay hands upon Him, for the people were simply carried away by admiration of His doctrine, since He taught simply, but effectively, what was written in the Scriptures. But when evening was come, perhaps soon after the time of the evening sacrifice, He again left the city to lodge with friends.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

No sooner had our blessed Saviour entered Jerusalem, but his first walk was to the temple, and his first work there was to purge and reform. All reformation of manners must begin at the house of God.

Yet observe, Our Lord’s business at the temple was not to ruin , but reform it only. Places dedicated to public worship, if profaned and polluted, ought to be purged from their abuses, not pulled down and destroyed, because they have been abused. But what was the profanation of the temple, which so offended our Saviour; I answer, in the outward court of the temple there was a public mart or market kept, where were sold oxen, sheep, and doves, for sacrifice. Many of the Jews coming an hundred miles to the temple, it was burdensome to bring their sacrifices so far with them; wherefore the priests ordered that sheep and oxen, meal and oil, and such other requisites for sacrifice, should be had for money close by the altar, to the great ease of the offerer; nothing could be more plausible than this plea. But the fairest pretences cannot bear out a sin with God. Therefore our blessed Saviour, in a just indignation, whips out these chapmen, casts down their tables, and vindicates the honour and reputation of his Father’s house.

Learn hence, That there is reverence due to God’s house, for the owner’s sake, and for the service sake. Nothing but holiness can become the place where God is worshipped in the beauty of holiness.

Observe lastly, The reason which our Saviour gives for this act of his: Is it not written, says he, my house shall be called the house of prayer? Where by prayer is to be understood the whole worship and service of God, of which prayer is an eminent and principal part. That which gives denomination to an house is certainly the chief work to be done in that house. Now God’s house being called an house of prayer, certainly implies, that prayer is the chief and principal work to be performed in his house. Yet take we heed, that we set not the ordinances of God at variance, we must not idolize one ordinance, and vilify another, but reverence them all.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15–19. Jesus went into the temple. For notes on this cleansing of the temple see Matt. 21:12, 13. Compare Luke 19:45–48.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

They came

"Jesus and his disciples came"

began to cast out the sellers and the buyers in the temple

Jesus is driving these people out of the temple. This can be written clearly. AT: "began to drive the sellers and buyers out of the temple" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

the sellers and the buyers

"the people who were buying and selling"

translationWords

Jerusalem

temple

cast out

dove

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

15–19. THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

Mat 21:12-17. Luk 19:45-48. Cf. Joh 2:14-22

15. ἤρξατο ἐκβάλλειν. The work would take some time and He began it at once. He refused to begin to teach in the presence of such a scandal, and in order to be thorough He treated buyers as being as offensive as sellers. In the true text ([2628][2629][2630][2631][2632] ἀγοράζοντας has the art. The buyers as a class are driven out with the sellers. This market was in the Court of the Gentiles. It was not a common market, but one for the sale of all that was required for the sacrifices and the ritual of the Temple. The Temple-tax (Mat 17:24) might not be paid with heathen coins, and the same rule would apply to offerings to the treasury (Mar 12:41). Hence the opening for money-changers. The market was sanctioned by the hierarchy, who had a share of the profits, and near the time of the Passover business would be brisk. To a pilgrim, coming to Jerusalem full of awe in anticipation of the unique sanctity of the Temple, the shock of finding himself in the hubbub and contentious bargaining of a bazaar must have been distressing. It is said that at Mecca pilgrims are fleeced in a similar way.

[2628] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2629] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[2630] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[2631] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2632] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

τῶν κολλυβιστῶν. “The rate of exchange,” κόλλυβος (Cic. Verr. ii. 3, Att. xii. 6), was sometimes as high as 10 or 12 per cent. Jn uses κερματισταί also, “dealers in small change,” κέρματα.

τὰς καθέδρας. The change from “tables” to “seats” is not accidental. Overturning the tables of money-changers caused spilling of the coins. Overturning the tables of dove-sellers would have caused suffering to the birds; so here He overturned the seats and told the sellers to remove the cages. Syr-Sin. has “tables” in both places. See on Joh 2:16.

τὰς περιστεράς. “The doves” (R.V.); those which were required for the purification of women (Luk 2:22 f.) and other offerings (Lev 12:8; Lev 14:22; Lev 15:14; Lev 15:29).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-19.] Mat 21:12, Mat 21:13, where see notes: also Luk 19:45-48.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15-18. On arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus goes to the temple again, and finds the customary traffic in animals for the Passover sacrifices, and in small change for the purposes of this traffic, going on. Jesus drives out the traffickers, and overturns their tables and chairs.

15. καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἤρξατο ἐκβάλλειν τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ τοὺς ἀγοράζοντας—and having entered into the temple, he began to cast out those selling and those buying.1

Omit ὁ Ἰησοῦς after εἰσελθὼν Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBCDL Δ 1, 33, 91, 124, 238, 346 mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. Insert τοὺς before ἀγοράζοντας Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א ABCKLMNU Π.

This buying and selling went on in the Court of the Temple, and the merchandise consisted of the animals, incense, oil, and other things required for sacrifice, the demand for which was very great at the time of the annual feasts. τῶν κολλυβιστῶν—this is a word found in the N.T. only in these accounts of the cleansing of the Temple. The word, like its companion κερματίστης, denotes one who changed money for the convenience of the buyers and sellers, of course for a consideration—a dealer in small coin. It is supposed by some that these money-changers exchanged for the foreign coin brought by the pilgrims the shekel in which alone the Temple tax could be paid. But the words used both denote dealers in small coins, which is more consonant with the above explanation. The doves were the offering of the poor, who were not able to offer sheep and oxen.2

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Money - changers [κολλυβιστων] . Another unclassical word, but used also by Matthew. "Such words as these might naturally find their place in the mongrel Greek of the slaves and freedmen who formed the first congregations of the church in Rome" (Ezra Abbott, Art. "Gospels," in Encyclopedia Britannica). See on Mt 21:12.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.