Jesus Cleanses the Temple
But Jesus’ challenge runs deeper than merely lamenting the replacement of worship with nationalism or decrying unjust business practices. The Jewish scholar, J. Neusner, rightly recognizes that Jesus is in fact threatening the whole sacrificial system.
The tabernacle, the temple, and the whole sacrificial system—the only solution to the problem of the sword and the only access, however limited, to the presence of God—were only for the Israelites. So when Jesus quoted Isaiah to imply that the Gentiles could get access to the presence of God, the people were amazed.
The term is simply a transliteration of the Heb imperative hôšaʿ, “save,” augmented by the enclitic precative particle - (n)nā, which adds a note of urgency, “save, now/please.”
ʿannā YHWH hôšı̂ʿā (h)nnā
“Oh, please, Lord, save (us), please!
ʿannā YHWH haṣlı̂ḥā (h)nnā
Oh, please, Lord, prosper (us), please!”
21:12 selling and buying Merchants were selling animals for sacrifices, and money changers converted the foreign currency of pilgrims into the temple’s official currency. See note on Mark 11:15.
doves The poor offered these in place of lambs (Lev 5:7–10). Jesus’ reaction may have been prompted, in part, by injustice done to the poor.
21:13 cave of robbers Jesus’ rebuke—which quotes Isa 56:7 and Jer 7:11—suggests that He is condemning corruption of the temple. This judgment might be aimed at commercial activity within the temple courts, or it might signal that oppressive (or unjust) practices were involved.
21:15–16 Hosanna to the Son of David! Jesus acknowledges the children’s praise and links it to Ps. 8:2, which the religious leaders should have known applied such praise to God, thus confirming Jesus as the divine Messiah.
The term is simply a transliteration of the Heb imperative hôšaʿ, “save,” augmented by the enclitic precative particle - (n)nā, which adds a note of urgency, “save, now/please.”
The poor who couldn’t afford to buy sheep to sacrifice could substitute doves in their place (Lev 5:7). The Mishnaic document M. Ker. 1:7 gives evidence, at least from a later date, that extortionary prices for doves exacerbated the plight of the poor.
Jesus may be accusing the leaders of having converted the temple into a “nationalist stronghold.”
But Jesus’ challenge runs deeper than merely lamenting the replacement of worship with nationalism or decrying unjust business practices. The Jewish scholar, J. Neusner, rightly recognizes that Jesus is in fact threatening the whole sacrificial system.56
They had turned the court of the Gentiles into a place where foreign Jews could exchange money and purchase sacrifices. What had begun as a service and convenience for visitors from other lands soon turned into a lucrative business. The dealers charged exorbitant prices and no one could compete with them or oppose them.
The purpose of the court of the Gentiles in the temple was to give the “outcasts” an opportunity to enter the temple and learn from Israel about the true God. But the presence of this “religious market” turned many sensitive Gentiles away from the witness of Israel. The court of the Gentiles was used for mercenary business, not missionary business.