When Did Jesus Cleanse The Temple

Contradictions: When Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple?

However, whereas the Gospel of John claims that Jesus cleansed the temple early in His career, the other Gospels locate the temple-cleansing as occurring near the conclusion of His time on the earth. Who is correct?

The “Problem”

Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem around Passover, according to the second chapter of John, and used a whip made of cords to drive away the money changers who were conducting business there. He also poured out the money and flipped the tables (John 2:13–15), among other things. “Take these things away from here!” Jesus commanded to people who sold doves. “Do not turn My Father’s home into a storefront for products!” (See also John 2:16). A similar story is told in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) about Jesus entering the temple, driving out those who bought and sold, overturning their tables, and telling the crowd that they had transformed the temple into a “den of thieves” (Matthew 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46).

During the first Passover (of three) recounted in John’s Gospel, the temple is said to have been cleansed, according to John’s description.

Is this a contradiction, and if so, who has the upper hand here?

The Solution

The mere fact that two stories appear to be similar does not imply that they both relate to the same entity. Students of theBibleneed were taught that resemblance does not necessarily imply the sameness of things. To put it another way, simply because two stories are similar does not always imply that they relate to the same item. In this particular instance, the solution is actually fairly straightforward. On at least two times, Jesus cleaned the Temple of its filth. According to the Gospel of John, the first occurrence occurred towards the beginning of His ministry.

Even though the critic may argue that this is just an ad hocanswer (i.e., a solution devised solely to address the criticism), the biblical stories support this position.

As a result, rather of instantly exclaiming “Contradiction!” we should try to find a workable alternative.

These occurrences occurred at various stages throughout Christ’s public ministry.

When Jesus was arrested in John, he was immediately questioned by temple authorities who inquired, “What sign do You show us, considering everything that You do?” “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will build it up,” the Lord said, according to John, who revealed that the Lord pointed to His impending Resurrection (John 2:19; 2:22).

1. According to the Synoptics, however, following the second cleaning, Jesus started to educate those who were there in the temple and heal those who came to Him who were blind or lame.
2. The whip is not mentioned at all in the Synoptics.
3. As previously mentioned in relation to the first temple cleansing, the Lord instructed the priests to “take these things away!
4. Although it is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” Jesus stated after the second cleaning, “You have turned it into a “den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13;Mark 11:17;Luke 19:46).

While the content was the same, the language that Jesus chose to express His message were different from one another.

Would Jesus Really Do This Twice?

Some may question the feasibility of Jesus scrubbing the temple on two separate times, but there is no reason to doubt that He would carry out such a task. Remember that Jesus frequently confronted religious leaders and called them out on their hypocrisy. When it came to this particular instance, the money changers were found to have turned worship into a matter of convenience while also robbing from the people by demanding high fees for poor sacrifice animals. Many Jews were guilty of commercializing the Passover lamb offering procedure, rather than honoring God’s demand to present pure, spotless lambs from their own herds as instructed in Exodus 12:5.

This is not in accordance with what the Lord commanded.

Moreover, He infuriated Caiaphas, the high priest, whose family was in charge of the money changing at the temple, in the process.

1 In the same way that the Old Testament indicated that God was enthusiastic for genuine worship from His people, Jesus proved that obedience is preferable to sacrifice.

Conclusion

In this case, the answer to the allegedBiblecontradiction is rather clear. Jesus cleaned the temple on at least two occasions throughout His earthly career: once at the beginning of His ministry and again at the conclusion. This should come as no surprise, given that God has frequently said in His Word that obedience to Him is more vital than doing meaningless rituals, particularly when such rituals are performed for the sake of convenience or personal advantage. Master Books has generously allowed AiG permission to distribute excerpts from this book on the internet.

Please visit our online store if you like to purchase a copy.

How many times did Jesus cleanse the temple? Why did He cleanse the temple?

QuestionAnswer Jesus cleaned the temple of the money-changers and product dealers out of displeasure with what they had done to God’s place of prayer and out of a desire to rid the temple of the abuse perpetrated by sinful men. Judea was under the dominion of the Romans at the time, and the currency in circulation was coinage from Rome. However, according to Jewish law, every man was compelled to pay a tribute to the service of the sanctuary in the amount of “half a shekel” (Exodus 30:11–16), which was a Jewish coin.

• Money-changers provided this convenience, although they would charge a modest fee for the exchange of the money.
• Aside from it, two doves or pigeons were needed to be sacrificed in accordance with the Law (Leviticus 14:22; Luke 2:24).
• The temple sacrifices were also supported by other merchants who sold oxen and lambs for the occasion.
• At the same time that He smashed the tables of the money-changers, He rebuked them for turning God’s sanctuary of prayer into “a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13).
• In his gospel, John makes it explicit that it was “after this” that He traveled to Capernaum, where He “remained for a few days.” Afterwards, in the following line (verse 13), John informs us that the “Passover of the Jews was approaching” (NKJV).
• This is the first of two occasions on which Jesus cleaned the temple of its filth.
• After Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the final week of His life, the second cleansing of the temple took place immediately following the first cleansing.
• Aside from the fact that they took place approximately three years apart, there are several variations between the two occurrences.
• During the first cleaning, Jesus constructed a whip out of cords to use in order to drive the vendors away, but there is no mention of a whip during the second cleansing.

Jesus washed the temple on two separate occasions. Questions regarding Jesus Christ (return to top of page) I’m curious how many times Jesus washed the temple floor. What was He doing when He cleansed the temple?

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When Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple?

Does it appear that Jesus cleansed the temple on the day of His triumphant entrance?

A.

In addition, many Bible scholars know that the apostle John put Jesus’ purification of the temple near the beginning of His ministry, but the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke placed it nearer the end of the Savior’s life (seeLyons, 2004). Whether Jesus cleansed the temple on the first day He visited Jerusalem (during the week before His crucifixion) or on a subsequent day is an issue that is rarely discussed in depth. Is it because Mark places the purification of the temple on the day after Jesus’ triumphant arrival, but Matthew appears to suggest that the cleansing took place on the exact day Jesus entered Jerusalem that Mark makes this distinction?

• Thus, the crowds said, “This is Jesus Christ, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.'” (21:10-11).
• (21:12; emphasis added.) It is important to note that Matthew does not specify when Jesus cleansed the temple, just that the action occurred “then” (Greekkai, which is most generally translated simply “and” in many translations, including the KJV, ASV, NASB, RSV, and others).
• Mark, on the other hand, utilized more specific and historical terminology.
• When they returned from Bethany the following day (11:12, emphasis added), Jesus returned to Jerusalem and entered into the temple once again (11:13, emphasis added).
• Because of this, Jesus went to the temple twice: once on the day of His triumphant entry (Mark 11:11), and then again “the next day” to purify the temple (Mark 11:12).
• While Mark’s story is more chronological in nature, Matthew’s account is more of a synopsis of the events.
• We frequently report on incidents that are similar in nature.
• Consider the scenario of a family who comes home to tell their friends about their Disney World vacation.

No one would be justified in claiming that one of the family members made a clerical error. In the same way, the stories of Matthew and Mark are complimentary rather than conflicting.

REFERENCES

The following is an excerpt from Lyons, Eric (2004), “Chronology and the Cleansing of the Temple,” URL: Published on the 3rd of December, 2009. REPRODUCTION DISCLAIMERS: The reproduction of this material in part or in its full is permissible as long as the terms and conditions set out by the author and the publisher are followed. Prerequisites for Reproduction

Did Jesus cleanse the temple twice (John 2:12-25 and Mark 11:15-18)? – Evidence for Christianity

I have a question concerning Jesus’ purifying of the temple in John 2:12-25 / Mark 11:15-18; was there a second purification or just one purification?

Answer:

It is possible to choose between three options: 1. Jesus never cleansed the Jewish temple, and all of these legends about him doing so are fabrications designed to establish a false narrative about him. 2. Jesus cleansed the temple twice throughout his career, first during the beginning of his ministry, as reported in John, and again around three years later, as recorded in Mark. Jesus cleaned the temple only once, most likely at the conclusion of his three-year career, and for some reason, John recorded the event in a radically different chronological order than the rest of the gospels.

• If it had been only a narrative, there is no way that such a fable could have been accepted by the church at the time.
• I will accept that both of the other options are plausible, but I greatly support the second option–that Jesus “cleaned” the temple twice, approximately three years apart.
• What exactly is the logic for this?
• John 2 did not make any mention of his presence in Jerusalem, although Mark 11 did make mention of it.
• It is not unexpected that Jesus was permitted to enter the temple during the week before his death, and it is also not surprising that he would drive out the money-changers again after his death.
• As for reason number three, although I personally doubt it, many devout believers believe it to be true.
• As did all of the gospel authors, at least on occasion, John wrote thematically rather than chronologically, as did the other gospel writers as well.
• That is why I am not completely dismissive of this theory.

For the third time in three years, I see no reason to believe that Jesus would not have become righteously enraged if the Jewish officials had let the sale of merchandise to resume in the temple a second time. John Oakes is a writer and poet.

Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple Once or Twice?

Some believe that the Bible is inconsistent when it comes to the day on which Jesus cleaned the temple. Is it true that Jesus cleansed the temple only once or twice? On one hand, John 2:13-15 claims that Jesus washed the temple at the first of three Passovers listed in his book, while other passages such as Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, and Luke 19:45-46 claim that Jesus cleansed the temple only a few days before his crucifixion. But there is a legitimate solution for this supposed conflict in the Bible, and it is presented in this article.

Scriptures – Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple Once or Twice?

13 The Jewish festival of Passover was approaching, and Jesus traveled to Jerusalem. 14 He noticed individuals who were selling oxen, lambs, and pigeons in the temple, as well as the money-changers who were sitting in the temple. 15 In the end, he drove them all out of the temple with a whip made of cords, along with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and threw them to the ground, knocking them over. John 2:13-15 is a passage from the Bible that teaches about the love of God and the love of neighbor.

Jesus Cleansed the Temple Later in His Ministry

Twelve years later, Jesus entered the temple and drove out everybody who sold and purchased there, as well as overturning the money-changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold pigeons. “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a place of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves,” he told them. Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 21:12-1315 And they made their way to Jerusalem. Upon entering the temple, he immediately proceeded to drive out all of the vendors and purchasers from the premises, and he toppled both the money-changers’ tables as well as the seats of those who traded in pigeons.

17 While instructing them, he pointed to the scriptures and said, “Doesn’t it read that my home will be designated a place of prayer for all the nations?” “However, you have turned it into a nest of robbers.” 11:15-17:45 Mark 11:15-1745 46 And when he entered the temple, he started to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My home should be a place of prayer,’ but you have transformed it into a den of thieves.” Luke 19:45-46 (KJV)

The Answer

Twelve years later, Jesus entered the temple and drove out everyone who sold and purchased there, as well as overturning the tables of money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 “It is written, ‘My home shall be called a place of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves,” he told them. 14-15; Matt. 21:12-1315; Finally, they made their way to the Holy City of Jerusalem. In the meantime, he entered the temple and proceeded to drive out those who sold and those who purchased in the temple, as well as overturning the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons there.

17 17 While instructing them, he pointed to the scriptures and said, “Doesn’t it read that my home will be considered a place of prayer for all nations?” Nevertheless, you have turned it into a robbery den.

Revelation 11:15–1745 46 And when he entered the temple, he started to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My home should be a place of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Luke 19:45-46 is a biblical passage.

Foundational Principles Regarding Bible Difficulties

There are several fundamental rules that apply to all alleged and apparent inconsistencies in the Bible, and these principles are listed here. More information may be found atBible Difficulties: Foundational Principles.

More Answers to “Contradictions” in the Bible

You may get additional information about claimed and apparent conflicts in the Bible by visiting “Contradictions” In The Scriptures Answered. These books are also valuable sources of information:

• Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1 – Ken Ham
• Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 2 – Tim Chaffrey
• Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 3 – Ken Ham
• Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 4 – Tim Chaffrey

Related Posts

• Authors: Ken Ham (Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1), Tim Chaffrey (Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 2), Ken Ham (Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1), Ken Ham (Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 2).

What Happened When Jesus Saw Money Changers in the Temple?

Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-46, and John 2:13-17 all have accounts of Jesus expelling the money changers from the Temple.

Jesus Drives the Money Changers From the Temple – Story Summary:

During the Passover festival, Jesus Christ and his followers traveled to Jerusalem to rejoice with the people of Israel. They discovered the hallowed city of God to be swarming with throngs of pilgrims from all over the world when they arrived. The money changers, as well as merchants selling animals for sacrifice, were visible to Jesus as he approached the Temple entrance. Pilgrims brought coins from their home cities, with the majority of them depicting pictures of Roman emperors or Greek gods, which Temple officials deemed idolatrous by Temple authorities.

As a result, money changers swapped undesirable coinage for Tyrian shekels.

Jesus was so enraged by the violation of the Holy of Holies that he grabbed some cords and weaved them together to make a little whip for himself.

He ejected the money changers from the area, as well as the guys who were selling pigeons and livestock.

Jesus said from Isaiah 56:7 when he purified the Temple of greed and profit: “My home shall be called a place of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13, English Standard Version) The disciples and everyone else in the room were in awe of Jesus’ power in God’s house of worship.

They began to devise a plan to assassinate Jesus.

Points of Interest from the Story:

• On the Monday of Passion Week, just three days before the Passover and four days before his death, Jesus drove out the money changers from the Temple. According to Bible historians, this episode took place in Solomon’s Porch, the Temple’s outermost portion on the east side. During excavations at the Temple, archaeologists discovered a Greek inscription from the Court of the Gentiles dating to 20 B.C., which warns non-Jews not to enter any further into the Temple for fear of death
• Because the high priest received a percentage of the profits from the money changers and merchants, their removal from the Temple precinct would have caused a financial loss to him. Because travelers were unfamiliar with Jerusalem, the Temple merchants were able to charge a greater price for sacrifice animals than they could elsewhere in the city. Apart from his rage at the money changers’ greed, Jesus despised the noise and commotion in the court, which would have made it impossible for devout Gentiles to pray there
• Jesus despised the noise and commotion in the court, which would have made it impossible for devout Gentiles to pray there
• It would be around 40 years after Jesus cleaned the Temple before the Romans would attack Jerusalem during an uprising and utterly demolish the structure. It was never going to be rebuilt. TheDome of the Rock, a Muslim mosque, stands today on the site where the Temple Mount once stood
• The Gospels tell us that Jesus Christ was ushering in a new covenant with humanity, in which animal sacrifice would be replaced by the perfect sacrifice of his life on the cross, atoning for humans once and for all
• And the Quran tells us that Jesus Christ was ushering in a new covenant with humanity, in which animal sacrifice would be replaced by the perfect sacrifice of his life on the cross, at

Question for Reflection:

The Temple was cleaned by Jesus because immoral activities were interfering with worship. Is it necessary for me to purify my heart of any attitudes or acts that are standing in the way of my relationship with God?

Why did Jesus cleanse the temple? Did Jesus cleanse the temple more than once?

With a closer study at the Gospel texts, it becomes clear that Jesus cleansed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem on two separate occasions. Following His first known miracle of turning water into wine at a Jewish wedding at Cana, which was reported in John 2, the first time is mentioned. According to John 2:14-15, “He discovered people who were selling oxen, lambs, and pigeons in the temple, as well as the money-changers who were seated in the temple. In the end, he drove them all out of the temple with a whip made of cords, along with the sheep and oxen.

• (John 4).
• On that day, the Sunday before His crucifixion, Jesus was nailed to the cross “In the temple, Jesus ejected everyone who sold or purchased anything there, and he overturned the tables of moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves, as well as the whole structure.
• What was the reason for Jesus’ cleansing of the Jewish temple on these two occasions?
• It is obvious that Jesus cleansed the temple because those who were selling doves, lambs, and oxen were doing it for profit rather than for the benefit of God’s people, who were required to make animal gifts to the temple at Passover.
• Sellers then began to reap the benefits of the system.
• During the second cleansing, Jesus condemned the Jewish system of moneymaking as being incompatible with God’s Passover once again.
• A house of worship, not a location where merchants took advantage of the poor, was the goal of the construction of the temple.
• Children cried out to Jesus in a temple courtyard during the second cleaning, the scribes and chief priests instructed Jesus to chastise the people, and Jesus shortly after left the city for the neighboring town of Bethany.
• This identical region of Jerusalem will ultimately serve as the site of His death and resurrection, demonstrating His status as the promised Messiah.
• What evidence do you have that Jesus is the Son of God?

What is the significance of the triumphant entry? What was the purpose of the temple veil? In light of Jesus’ death, what is the significance of the temple curtain being torn in two? What were the most significant events in Jesus’ life? Return to the page: The Truth About Jesus Christ.

The cleansing of the temple in John 2

During Lent 3 in Year B, the gospel lectionary reading is found in John 2.13–22, which is the Fourth Gospel narrative of Jesus “cleaning” the temple by driving out the dealers and money-changers. The return to John’s gospel is a welcome change after spending a significant amount of time immersed in passages from Mark’s gospel. With careful organization, the paragraph takes on a whole other shape, one that is considerably more constructed and ‘literary’ in nature. This gospel, however, conducts its job by double meaning, communicating by overlaying things on top of one another, rather than by teaching us things by placing one event after another—communicating by arranging things next to one other inparataxis.

The line that combines his biological family with the new family of religion is fascinating; we only know about Capernaum as his ministry base from Matthew 4.13, but the writer of the Fourth Gospel assumes that we have read the other three gospels, as he has done elsewhere.

It is a single word in both Greek and Hebrew to say “go up” and “go down.” The movement is observed from the ground, rather as from the air, as we are accustomed to doing (for example, from where I reside in Nottingham, I would ‘go down’ to London), and thus whether you climb or descend is important.

John’s gospel and the ‘Synoptics’ (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) differ in that John gives accounts of Jesus in Jerusalem on five different occasions, two during a Passover (here and at John 12.12), one during an unnamed festival (John 5.1), once for Succoth (Booths) from John 7 to John 10, and once during Hannukah (from John 7 to John 10).

The third Passover is referenced in conjunction to the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6.4, indicating that there is a Passover at the beginning, middle, and end of the first half of this gospel.

It has been a symbolic, relative counting of the passing of time in the first part of this gospel: “the following day.the next day.on the third day.,” which alludes to a new creation and a new Sabbath in the second half of this gospel.

The statement “Passover of the Jews” is rather remarkable; after all, whose Passover could it possibly be if it weren’t the Jews’?

At times (as in this example), it appears to be a value-neutral ethnic, religious, or cultural descriptor, as we saw in the previous account of the jars used ‘for the purifications of the Jews’ (John 2.6); at other times, it appears to refer to Judeans, that is, southerners and Jerusalemites in contrast to Galilean pilgrims from the north; at other times, it appears to refer to the ‘Jewish leaders,’ and in particular Jesus’ Even though some of the negative language, such as that found in John 8, has been interpreted as evidence of an anti-semitic attitude on the part of the gospel and its author—despite the fact that it is clear that this gospel is very Jewish, not least because Jesus and his disciples are all clearly Jewish, as is the writer himself—it has been interpreted as such.

Contrasted to the other gospels (which is unexpected when compared to, for example, Matthew), this account places a greater emphasis on Jewish holidays and practices, and Jesus here asserts unambiguously that’salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4.22).

When it comes to temples, this passage contains two words that are translated as such: the first ishieron in John 2.14, which, though it is usually used to refer to the main temple structure in pagan contexts, here refers to the entire area, including the temple precincts with their extensive outer courts and colonnades (stoas).

For starters, under the Roman rule, much of the country ran on a different currency than the Jewish shekel, and in order to comply with the demand to pay the temple tax of half a shekel (Ex 30.13), money had to be converted into shekels (and Jewish men would usually pay in pairs together to make a whole shekel).

While both sides of this practice were motivated by an attempt to follow God’s orders in their most literal interpretation, it was this preoccupation with literal interpretation that ultimately resulted in considerable compromise.

A large amount of money had been accumulated by the temple as a consequence of the money-changing and animal sales, and many individuals had grown reliant on the temple officials to help them meet their financial commitments.

The account of the ‘cleansing’ of the temple precincts in this gospel is much more detailed than the accounts in the other gospels (in Luke 19.45, the account is reduced to a single sentence), and it is to this account that we always turn for the details, and it is this narrative that artists always depict.

• We are also given a detailed and vivid description of his actions—driving out the people and the animals, pouring out the jars of coins, and overturning the tables.
• It is in Luke 2.49 that the phrase “my Father’s home” appears, and it is in John 14.2 that it is translated as “the abode of spiritual abiding” (in discipleship, not after death!) that the phrase is first used.
• The activities that we had assumed would serve the greater benefit of God’s worship have now supplanted it as the thing that has taken center stage; the works of God have displaced God himself as the thing that has taken center stage.
• ‘Imitation’ is a word that comes from the Greek language, and there is a sense in which when we recall an event, we rehearse in imitation the experience of the event itself.
• It is only after Jesus’ resurrection that the disciples are able to put the pieces of the story of Jesus together and make sense of what they have witnessed and experienced.

It is a lament psalm which articulates many of the feelings that Jesus would have experienced during his trial and crucifixion—being overwhelmed by death, having enemies without number, having friends and family betray him, being mocked by passersby—while maintaining a resilient hope of trust in God for deliverance.

• Because of the connections to the Passover at the beginning and end of the section, as well as the internal references to remembering, this passage has a symmetry that is centered on Jesus’ statement regarding the temple: John 2.13 The Feast of the Passover John 2.17 is about remembering.
• John 2.23 The Feast of the Passover The ‘Jews’ in this context appear to be Judeans, that is, southerners affiliated with Jerusalem and the temple, rather than Jews in general or Jewish leaders in particular, rather than Jews in general or Jewish leaders in particular.
• Rather than being thehieron, however, this ‘temple’ is thenaos (the temple sanctuary itself), in which the Holy of Holies symbolizes the Shekinah presence of God himself.
• In John 1.14, Jesus is portrayed as God’s tabernacle presence with his people while they journeyed through the desert, and he is also depicted as the festival light of Hannukah, when God miraculously preserved his presence and worship even when human resources failed.
• The word ‘raising’ has a twofold meaning in the English language; you raise a building if you are wealthy and powerful and have the resources to do so, much as God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day via the strength of his strong hand.
• 33) date this as 18/17 BC, and 46 years later it is Passover in the Spring of AD 30 (Andreas Koestenberger and John Zondervan 2002, p.
• The phrase “It took 46 years to create this” (John 2.20) might imply either “It took 46 years to build this” or “It was built 46 years ago.” All of this begs the question of how we should tie this ‘cleaning’ to the event depicted in the synoptics during the final week of Jesus’ life on earth.

However, if the Fourth Gospel is genuine and Jesus’ career lasted three years or more, why shouldn’t he have done things more than once?

When you consider how sparsely recorded the gospels are, it’s reasonable to assume that Jesus spent much of his time doing very little.

I don’t believe there are two temple cleansings: why has it been relocated, I wonder?

While the other gospels come to a close in Jerusalem, John’s narrative is centered on the city throughout.

God’s presence can be found in Christ in John 1, who is also described as the Ark upon which God’s presence rests, the lamp of the world, and the altar from which things ascend and descend between heaven and earth.

The laver is the focus of the following chapters, which include themes of washing and baptism.

Chapters 8 and 9 take us to the lamp that is located within the temple.

His death marks his passage through the barrier of death.

Presenting the temple activity afterwards would provide a snag in this theological chain of reasoning.

It is important to note that Jesus’ comments in 2:19 are also referenced in Matthew 26:61, when he is being tried for his death.

Theologically, this threat is fulfilled less in the temple action than in Jesus’ action in raising his friend Lazarus from the dead (11:45-57).

‘The desire for your home will consume me’ (Psalm 69:9).

God is tabernacling among us in Jesus’ very body, which is the temple.

Given that we know that the gospel narratives are each very selective—and that the question of dating the purification here to AD 30 would support this—I don’t see any historical reason why Jesus couldn’t have cleansed the temple more than once.

Nonetheless, Alastair’s points about the narrative effect are well-taken: the threat of death in Jerusalem, at the hands of his Jewish opponents, hangs over the Fourth Gospel from the outset—most notably in contrast to the dynamic beginning of Mark’s gospel, where Jesus’ death is introduced abruptly and with the effect of a shock halfway through the gospel of Mark.

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Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Following Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matt. 21:1–11), Messianic hopes reached a fever pitch, and the next action He took simply added gasoline to the fire. We will look at our Lord’s purification of the temple in Matthew 21:12–13 today, and we will see what it tells us about the Christ as a result of his actions. None of Herod’s construction undertakings was more significant than the expansion of the Jerusalem temple, which he oversaw. It was located on what is now known as the Temple Mount, which encompassed around thirty-five acres.

Israeli men and women might potentially take over the next courtroom.

Jews from all over the globe gathered to the temple on Passover to offer sacrifices to the Lord (Ex.

23:4–8), a tradition that continues today.

At Passover, the majority of Jews also paid the temple tax, and money-changers were on hand to transform Roman coinage into suitable cash because the pagan mottoes on Roman coinage rendered it unfit for Yahweh’s home.

As a result, pilgrims were forced to pay excessive exchange rates, while traders preyed on the impoverished by asking extravagant prices for the poor man’s sacrifice of pigeons and doves (Lev.

The situation was exacerbated when these merchants opened up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, rendering the space unusable as a place of prayer as a result of the commotion and hustle caused by the buying and selling.

21:12).

Our Savior despised this sacrilege because it prevented the people of the world from knowing about the living God who dwelled in His temple.

Because it demonstrated that Jesus had the ability to purify and take control of the temple (Ezek.

Coram Deo

Aside from any other indication, our Redeemer’s purification of the temple demonstrates how concerned He is with the purity of worship. Our communal praise and prayer is something that is constantly in need of reformation since it is simple for anti-Christian activities to infiltrate without us realizing it.

Consider the significance of pure worship offered from a sincere heart, and make it your goal to express reverence and awe as you join in the praise of the Lord with His people.

For Further Study

Aside from any other indication, our Redeemer’s purification of the temple demonstrates how concerned He is with the purity of worship. Because it is so easy for anti-Christian behaviors to creep into our communal praise and prayer, we should continually be on the lookout for ways to improve it. Make a conscious decision to value genuine worship offered from a sincere heart, and make it a goal to express reverence and awe as you join in worshiping the Lord with His people.

Coram Deo

At the very least, our Redeemer’s washing of the temple demonstrates how concerned He is with the purity of worship. Because it is so easy for anti-Christian activities to infiltrate our communal praise and prayer, we should continually be on the lookout for ways to improve our practices. Consider the significance of pure worship offered from a sincere heart, and make it your goal to express reverence and awe as you join in with the people of God in praise.

For Further Study

At the very least, our Savior’s purification of the temple demonstrates His care for the purity of worship. Our communal praise and prayer is something that is constantly in need of reformation since it is easy for anti-Christian activities to sneak in unnoticed. Consider the significance of pure worship offered from a dedicated heart, and make it your goal to express reverence and awe as you join in the praise of the Lord with His people.