Purifying the Temple

Upon entering Jerusalem at the beginning of the last week of His earthly ministry, Jesus went to the temple with the intent of teaching the people there (Luke 19:47). He could not begin instruction right away but first had “to drive out those who sold” (v. 45). Luke refers to Jesus’ cleansing of the temple.

Today’s passage does not say much about what our Lord did and what was going on that provoked His ire. Understanding His actions requires that we know something about the temple and that we look at the other New Testament records of this event. First, the temple complex was an immense structure that covered some 170,000 square yards, making it the largest religious sanctuary in the Roman Empire. The temple proper occupied a much smaller area, and only Jews could enter any of the actual temple courts. Surrounding the temple proper, however, was the Court of the Gentiles, an area that gentiles could visit, especially if they wanted to pray to the God of Israel.

Once a year, Jews from around the world had to go up to Jerusalem to offer the Passover sacrifices, celebrate the Passover feast, and pay the annual temple tax (Deut. 16:1–8). Because most ancient coins had idolatrous images of pagan gods on them, the temple tax had to be paid using the Tyrian silver half-shekel, which had no such images. It was also inconvenient for people to make the long journey to Jerusalem carrying along their sacrificial animals. Money-changers and animal sellers thus set up shop in Jerusalem to help meet the needs of the pilgrims who traveled there for the Passover. Often, these businessmen charged a high premium for their services.

Provided that these sellers and money-changers did not overcharge their customers, there was nothing inherently wrong with providing services to the Passover pilgrims. The problem was that these people set up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, causing overcrowding and noise that made it impossible for people to pray. Jesus drove out the money-changers and those who were selling animals so that the purpose of the temple could be maintained (Luke 19:45–46).

Christ’s cleansing the temple pointed to His work of purifying God’s people, and it visibly signified the Creator’s judgment on the religious authorities. In purifying the temple, Jesus took a step toward His final confrontation with the Jewish leaders.