Writings: Jesus Cleanses the Temple

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

The story of Jesus cleansing the Temple is found in all four Gospels. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke it is found toward the end of Jesus’ ministry, following his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In John it is found near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, right after his first public miracle in which he changed the water into wine at the wedding feast. Some scholars have suggested that these accounts tell of two separate events, but most agree that there was one event that has, for various thematic and literary reasons, been placed at two different points in Jesus’ ministry. Historically, the most likely placement for this story is at the end of Jesus’ ministry, where it serves as the “final straw,” solidifying the Religious Leader’s opposition to Jesus.

In John’s Gospel, as in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus enters the Temple and finds a great deal of secular trade going on there. His response is, if you’ll pardon the pun, striking:

Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” (John 2:15-16)

Why was Jesus so upset by what he found? Moreover, what, exactly, did he find?

I’ll never forget how uncomfortable I was when the first church I served as pastor held a huge Fall rummage and bake sale; until that point, I hadn’t realized that most churches have something similar. They called theirs' “The Methodist Marketplace,” and it was a very popular and lucrative event in the life of that community. I’ve served churches where such sales have been called all sorts of things, including: “The Merry Marketplace,” “The Jesus Market,” “The Loaves and Fishes Emporium,” “The Holy Commerce Exchange,” and “God’s Grocery.” In one church it was called the “Holy Bazaar,” which reminds me that you can find all sorts of bizarre and wonderful things in them; these kinds of sales often raise money for missions, community outreach, apportionments, and other laudable causes. Indeed, over the years I’ve found many wonderful Christmas decorations and presents at them. But, at first glance, they do appear to conflict with this story, don’t they?

So, what was going on that day in the outer courts of the Temple? The money changers were converting Roman and Greek currency into Jewish money, which could then be used to pay for religious services. Other merchants were selling sacrificial animals that could then be used to make offerings to God. Still others were selling doves for a similar purpose, enabling the poor – including widows and orphans – to also engage in the temple sacrifices that were required by the religious rituals of that time. What could be wrong with any of this? It sounds like a useful and convenient service that was being offered, making it easier for people to give their offerings to God.

The problem was the outrageous mark-up that was being charged for most of these goods and services. Estimates by secular sources of that era indicate that the prices being paid for these exchanges were sky-high ... far beyond anything even remotely close to a fair-market value. In other words, the merchants and the money changers were taking advantage of those who were, in many cases, already very poor. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Buy low, sell high, make a profit ... and, in this case, make a hefty profit on the backs of those who can least afford it. Additionally, the interest that was being charged on loans was at usury rates: 40% or more was not uncommon, and never mind that the Hebrew Bible prohibited lending money at any interest rate at all! This was hideous! Indeed, I had invaded the Temple of God and had become an accepted part of “what goes on” before worship.

Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, lots of churches provided donuts and coffee, usually free of charge, to those who came for fellowship time. What if we also started lending you money so that you could make your offering on Sunday morning ... and what if we charged you 50% interest on that loan? What if your eternal life were dependent upon making that offering, but you didn’t have the money to afford it? What if we had that offering to sell you, and you could pay us back later, with enormous interest? Essentially, that’s what was going on. And, to make things worse, the priests were in on the racket! Yes, they got a tidy percentage of the profit, skimmed off the top ... a “finder’s fee” from the merchants. No wonder, when Jesus drove the money changers, money lenders, and sacrificial animal merchants out of the temple, he got the attention of the Jewish leadership!

Jesus already had their attention; they already didn’t like him very much. Throughout his ministry, Jesus had severely criticized the religious leaders of his day for their hypocrisy, for saying one thing but doing another, for demanding from the people what they couldn’t or wouldn’t do themselves. Indeed, Jesus had repeatedly called them some awful names, like: “white-washed tombs: pretty on the outside but full of dead bones, rotting filth and garbage on the inside.” Jesus called it like he saw it, and his criticism stung. Those religious leaders – the Temple and Synagogue authorities – already didn’t like him. Jesus had cast aspersions at their character and reputations, and now he was threatening their economic livelihoods! That just couldn’t be allowed.

Most scholars agree that the cleansing of the temple was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back; it was the final event that pushed the religious leadership over the edge, uniting otherwise opposing factions in their resolution to have Jesus arrested and killed.

Throughout the history of the Church, the cleansing of the temple has had several different interpretations. Some, like Augustine, saw it as permission from Jesus to be violent toward outsiders, toward heretics and non-believers. Jesus fashioning a whip and driving out the animals while also overturning the tables of the money changers, is seen as justifying violence toward those who opposed the objectives of the Church and its leadership. But that’s a load of nonsense. There are other, far superior interpretations which see this story metaphorically, addressing the invasion of foreign, worldly elements – secular interests and non- spiritual objectives – into the Christian life.

I prefer to interpret this story as being precisely what it seems: Jesus’ revulsion at the perversion of religious practice and duty, used to manipulate and control others. There was once a Television Evangelist who used to tell those who were watching him to take a piece of paper, place their hand on it, and then draw an outline around their hand. He then had them write their prayer needs down inside the outline of their hand, and then paperclip money – preferably large checks – to the paper and mail it to him. He claimed that he would place his hands on the outlines of theirs’s and he would pray for them; while I’m sure that, on occasion, it did happen, more often than not the money was probably just harvested while the hand-printed paper with the prayer requests were just thrown away. Nice racket ... we could raise a lot of money for the church doing that, couldn’t we? Let’s not.

The corruption of religious leaders – then, as now – knows no bounds. This story illustrates their corruption through how they allowed and fostered the abuse of the Temple, using it as a place to make money in the guise of “helping others to do their religious duty.” Jesus recognized this for what it was, rejected it, and put a stop to it.

What’s going on in your life? What fears have taken up residence in your soul? What accommodations have you made to secular concerns, to private comfort, to cultural accommodation, to political interest, and to self-serving convenience? What practices, ideas, and fears have crowded into your spiritual center and taken the place of faith, hope, love, service, giving and self-giving? What sacraments of the world have replaced the sacraments of God’s grace? What tables need to be overturned and cast out of the temple of your heart? The good news is that Jesus is here to do that for us. As we come to the Table of the Lord, we must always be open to what Jesus is ready to do for, and within, us. Christ comes to change everything, to cast out the fear merchants and make us whole again. Let’s welcome Jesus, accept the needed changes that God will bring, and be ready for a new beginning.

© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
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