Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Luke 19:45-46)
On the Monday before He would be crucified, Jesus went into the temple – but not the actual temple building that had within it the holy place and the most holy place. Here, as often in the gospel accounts, temple is used to describe the whole temple complex, including the temple court, the court of the women, and the court of the Gentiles.
At the outer courts of the temple area – known as the court of the Gentiles, because it was as far as they were allowed to go – Jesus began to drive out those who bought and sold. There were merchants selling “approved” sacrificial animals and moneychangers offering “approved” currency for donations made at the temple, and Jesus shut them down, driving them from the area.
One reason Jesus did this was because they were charging prices far greater than what was fair or right. According to William Barclay, prices could be 20 times higher at the temple than they were outside the temple area. That’s worse than food prices at modern day airports or amusement parks!
Yet the anger of Jesus was against those who bought as well as those who sold in it. While the sellers deserved more blame, the buyers are also part of the corrupt scene that turned the temple of God into a place of haggling, deal-making, and dishonest business practices.
Jesus did something like this at the beginning of His ministry (John 2:13-22). The lesson was not learned some three years before, and those doing the selling and buying the temple courts would resume their business in a few days.
But what Jesus did was not wasted. He made it clear to all Israel that God’s house was a house of prayer: These merchants and moneychangers operated in the outer courts, the only area where Gentiles could come and pray. Therefore, this place of prayer was made into a marketplace, and a dishonest one (a den of thieves).
Mark’s record contains the more complete quotation of Jesus: Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?” (Mark 11:17). The point was that the temple was to be a place for all nations to pray. The activity of all those who bought and sold in the outer courts made it impossible for any seeking Gentile to come and pray.
Here is a practical application from what Jesus did. When we come for worship, to bring a sacrifice of praise to God, to receive His word and gather with His people, we must be careful to never put an unnecessary obstacle in the way of those seeking God. May Jesus clear away anything that prevents our places of worship from being houses of prayer for all who seek Him.
Click here for David’s commentary on Luke 19
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