Cleansing the Temple

Matthew 21:12-17

For the disciples, Palm Sunday must have felt like a dream as they celebrated with their people in Jerusalem. But the next day, something entirely different took place. 

The Court of Gentiles, the only area of the temple non-Jews could enter, had become an open-air market. The Teacher and His followers pushed through customers who haggled with merchants, shouted over the livestock, or crowded around money changers’ booths. Jesus had seen enough. He went through the court, upending tables and chairs, pouring out coins, and driving animals toward the gate. Finally, He prevented merchandise from being carried through the temple (Mark 11:16).

The disciples must have been astounded. They expected the Messiah to judge their oppressors, not His own people and their place of worship. Shouting above the din, Jesus reminded them of a scripture they’d apparently forgotten. “Is it not written,” He cried, “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den” (Mark 11:17).

Jesus’ fervor in cleansing the temple revealed the priority He placed on purity of worship and access to the Father. He showed that nobody—not even God’s chosen people—should interfere with anyone seeking to follow the Lord.

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 3-5