Jesus Cleanses the Temple Again

Into the temple. Luke tells us, “Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it” (19:45). Jesus had just ridden into Jerusalem while the crowds praised God. Matthew tells more. Matthew says that Jesus “overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves” (Matthew 21:12). Why were they there? People came from far away to worship at the temple. Many Bible teachers think the sellers offered animals for the sacrifices and the money changers traded coins for the temple. Still, God's house had been filled with buying and selling. A second time. Jesus had cleared the temple once before, near the start of His work (John 2:13-16). Now, in His last week before the cross, He did it again. God's house still mattered to Him. Holy and right. Jesus is God's Son, with authority over His Father's house. What He did was holy and right. It is not a pattern for us to copy when we are upset. What we learn. Jesus cares about what fills God's house, and He cares about what fills your heart. Ask Him to clear out anything that crowds Him out.

Into the temple (19:45). “Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it.” Matthew adds that Jesus “overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves” (Matthew 21:12). Why the trade? Worshipers came from many places at the feasts. Many Bible teachers think the sellers supplied animals for sacrifice and the money changers exchanged coins for the temple. Whatever the reason, the courts of God's house had been turned into a place of business. Again. John records a cleansing near the start of Jesus' ministry (John 2:13-16). Matthew, Mark and Luke record this one in His last week. Many Christians see two cleansings, one at each end of His ministry. The Lord of the temple. Malachi had promised that “the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple” (Malachi 3:1). Jesus walked in as that Lord. He did not ask anyone's permission to set His Father's house in order. Still a market. Years after the first cleansing, the selling was back. Clearing out a building does not change the hearts of the people in it. Jesus' next words show what God was looking for. Holy and right. Jesus acted as the holy Son of God with authority over God's house. This was His work as Lord, not a pattern for us to copy when we are upset. For you. The question is not only what filled the temple courts. It is what fills your life. Busy plans, screens and even good things can crowd out time with God. Ask Jesus to set your heart in order.

Jesus came to Jerusalem in His last week before the cross. He went into the Temple, God's house. People were buying and selling there. Jesus drove the sellers out. He had done this once before, a few years earlier. Now He did it again. Why could Jesus do this? Jesus is God's Son. The Temple was His Father's house. He had every right to make it clean. What Jesus did was holy and right. He cares about God's house. Your heart matters to Him too. He wants to clean out anything that pushes God away.

Jesus went into God's house in Jerusalem. He made the people who were selling go out. God's house is for meeting with God.

It is written. Jesus answered with God's Word: “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves’” (19:46). Jesus used the Scriptures to show what God's house was for. A house of prayer. These words come from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 56:7). God's house was meant for people to meet with God and talk with Him. Mark tells us Jesus also said the end of Isaiah's sentence: for all nations (Mark 11:17). A den of thieves. These words come from the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:11). A den is a cave where robbers hide after they steal. It is the place where they feel safe. Jeremiah's warning. In Jeremiah's day, people stole, lied and worshiped false gods. Then they came to the temple and said they were safe (Jeremiah 7:9-10). They treated God's house like a hideout. Near the building, far from God. A person can be at God's house and still be far from God. God looks at the heart, not only at where we stand. Prayer matters to God. God made His house a house of prayer because He wants to hear from His people. He loves it when you talk with Him. What we learn. Going to church is good, but it cannot make your heart right with God. Come to God honestly. Tell Him the truth, ask Him for help, and thank Him.

It is written (19:46). “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Jesus set two prophets side by side: Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. Prayer. The Greek word for prayer here is proseuche (say: pros-yoo-KHAY). God's house was named for what happens there: people speaking with God. Mark adds that Jesus finished Isaiah's line, for all nations (Mark 11:17). A robbers' cave. A den is a spelaion (say: spay-LIE-on), a cave. A thief here is a lestes (say: lace-TACE), a robber or bandit. A robbers' cave is where bandits hide and feel safe. Jeremiah's sermon. God sent Jeremiah to stand in the gate of His house (Jeremiah 7:2). The people kept repeating that this was the temple of the Lord, as if the building would protect them (7:4). They stole, murdered and followed other gods, then stood before God in His house and said they were safe (7:9-10). God asked whether His house had become a den of robbers in their eyes (7:11). The same danger. Religion can become a hiding place. A person can do religious things while the heart stays far from God. Jesus said that people honored God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8, from Isaiah 29:13). Clean hands. The psalm asks who may stand in God's holy place, and answers, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:4). No one can make their own heart that clean. For you. That is why we need Jesus, not only a place of worship. Come to Him honestly, and let your prayer be real conversation with God, never a show for other people.

Jesus told the sellers what the Scriptures say. God said His house would be a house for prayer. Prayer is talking with God and listening to Him. But they had made it a hideout for robbers. A hideout is where robbers go to feel safe. Long ago the prophet Jeremiah used those words. In his day, people did many wrong things. They stole and lied and served false gods. Then they came to God's house and felt safe. Going to God's house does not make a heart clean. God wants us to come to Him honestly. He wants us to talk with Him every day. He loves to hear from you.

Jesus said God's house is for prayer. Prayer is talking with God, and He listens. You can pray to God anywhere!

The blind and the lame. Matthew tells what happened next: “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them” (Matthew 21:14). The selling had stopped, and God's house was full of God's kindness. The children. Children were in the temple too, “crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’” (21:15). They praised Jesus with the same words the crowds had shouted on the road. Indignant. The chief priests and scribes saw “the wonderful things that He did” and heard the children, and “they were indignant” (21:15). Indignant means upset and offended. Do You hear? They asked Jesus, “Do You hear what these are saying?” (21:16). They wanted Him to stop the children. Have you never read? Jesus answered, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” Those words come from Psalm 8:2. Babes means babies and little children. A house made right. In one day, God's house changed. Buying and selling went out. Healing and praise came in. What we learn. Your praise is never too small for God. When you sing to Him or thank Him, your praise is precious to God.

Healing in the courts (Matthew 21:14). “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” With the market gone, the blind and the lame came close, and He made them well. The wonderful things (21:15). The chief priests and scribes saw “the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’” The children carried the cry of the road into the courts of God's house. Indignant. The leaders “were indignant.” They saw healings with their own eyes and still took offense at the praise. The question (21:16). “Do You hear what these are saying?” They expected Jesus to quiet the children. On the road, some Pharisees had already asked Him to rebuke His disciples (Luke 19:39). Have you never read? Jesus answered from Psalm 8:2: “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise.” These scribes spent their lives with the Scriptures, yet Jesus asked whether they had read this one. Praise He received. Psalm 8 is a song of praise to the Lord. Jesus did not tell the children to stop praising Him. He received their praise and answered with a psalm about praise given to God. A house set right. That day God's house went from trading, to healing, to praise. That is what the Lord had wanted His house to be. For you. Honest praise from a young heart is not small to God. Thank Jesus out loud this week, at home and with your friends.

After the sellers left, people came to Jesus in the Temple. Some of them were blind. Others could not walk. Jesus healed them right there in God's house. Then children began to shout, “Praise to the Son of David.” The leaders saw the wonderful things Jesus did. They heard the children, and they were very angry. They asked Jesus if He heard what the children said. Jesus said yes! He reminded them of words from the Scriptures. God teaches children and babies to praise Him. Your praise is never too small for God. Your praise matters to Him.

Jesus healed people who could not see or walk. Then children in God's house shouted praise to Jesus. Jesus said their praise was good.

Teaching every day. “And He was teaching daily in the temple” (19:47). The courts that had been full of buying and selling were now full of people listening to Jesus. Early in the morning. Later Luke tells us that “early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him” (Luke 21:38). The leaders. “But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him” (19:47). The scribes were teachers of God's law. These leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus. Unable to do anything. They “were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him” (19:48). The people listened so closely that the leaders could not touch Him yet. In God's time. A few days later Jesus was arrested, and He died on the cross. It happened in God's time, because Jesus chose to give His life for us. On the third day He rose again. Hanging on His words. Very attentive means listening so closely that you do not want to miss a single word. Jesus' words are worth that kind of listening. What we learn. You hear Jesus when you read the Bible. Listen closely, and then do what He says. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

Daily (19:47). “And He was teaching daily in the temple.” The Lord who cleared His Father's house now filled it with His teaching. Morning by morning. Luke tells us how those days went: “And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him” (Luke 21:37-38). Sought to destroy Him. “But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him.” The chief priests led the temple worship, the scribes taught the law, and the leaders of the people were most likely the elders of the city. Jesus had just cleared the courts they were in charge of. Hanging on His words (19:48). They “were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.” The Greek word is exekremato (say: ex-eh-KREH-mah-toh), from a word that means to hang. The people were hanging on His words. Not yet. The leaders could do nothing until the hour Jesus Himself had spoken of. Later that week He was arrested and crucified, and on the third day He rose, just as He said (Luke 18:33). Two responses. The same teaching drew two responses. The leaders wanted to silence Him; the people wanted to hear more. Peter once said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Hearing and doing. Hanging on Jesus' words is more than enjoying them. The same crowd still had to decide what to do with what He said, and so do we. For you. Open your Bible ready to obey. Read a little of a Gospel each day this week, and ask Jesus to help you do what He says.

Jesus taught in the Temple every day. Some leaders did not like what He was doing. The leading priests and teachers of the law were against Him. They wanted to kill Jesus. But they could not find a way. All the people were listening closely to Jesus. They did not want to miss a word. A few days later, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then He rose from the dead! Jesus still speaks to us through the Bible. When you read it, you hear His words. Listen to Jesus and do what He says.

Jesus taught in God's house every day. Some leaders wanted to stop Him. But the people wanted to hear every word.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple Again

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