Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 11:15
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
15. and Jesus went into the temple ] The best MSS. omit the word Jesus here. The nefarious scene, which He had sternly rebuked on the occasion of His first Passover, and which is recorded only by St John (Joh 2:13-17), was still being enacted.
them that sold and bought ] For the convenience of Jews and proselytes residing at a distance from the Holy City, a kind of market had been established in the outer court, and here sacrificial victims, incense, oil, wine, and other things necessary for the service and the sacrifices, were to be obtained.
the tables of the moneychangers ] Money would be required (1) to purchase materials for offerings, (2) to present as free offerings to the Temple treasury (Mar 12:41; Luk 21:1), (3) to pay the yearly Temple-tax of half a shekel due from every Jew, however poor. All this could not be received except in a native coin called the Temple Shekel, which was not generally current. Strangers therefore had to change their Roman, Greek, or Eastern money, at the stalls of the moneychangers, to obtain the coin required. This trade gave ready means for fraud, which was only too common.
that sold doves ] Required for poor women coming for purification (Lev 12:6; Lev 12:8; Luk 2:24) from all parts of the country, and for other offerings. The sale of doves appears to have been in a great measure in the hands of the priests themselves, and one of the high priests especially is said to have gained great profits from his dovecots on Mount Olivet.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 11:15-18
And Jesus went into the Temple, and began to cast out them that sold.
The Temple cleansed: or, Christ the purifier of religion
When we are told that this took place in the temple we are not to suppose that the Holiest of all is meant, but the Court of the Gentiles. It was this portion of the sacred enclosure that was converted into a market. It was doubtless a convenient arrangement, and a profitable one; but it was a bold offence, and drew down the severe condemnation of Christ. Men may buy and sell in the temple, so to speak, without the presence of the articles and actual proceedings of commerce. How many of you are busy, in Gods house, with the secularities of everyday life! Many do in spirit what these men did in fact. There is no need to call in the aid of miracle to account for the consequences of Christs interference. Holy will is strong, especially when dealing with sinful consciences which are weak. Wrong felt the presence of Divine right, and departed. Strange to say, this action of Christ has been objected to. There are periods when logical arguments and gentle persuasions are out of place, and reason and righteousness assume their right of direct appeal, in word and act, to the inmost sense and conscience of men. Christ was thus severe only with corruption: He had nothing but tenderness for simply evil; He poured His hot displeasure only on the hardened wretches that covered their real sin with seeming sanctity. We see an under meaning in this incident: Christ standing in thy temple of universal humanity, and by His word of power redeeming it from the desecrations of sinful corruption and abuse, rescuing it to the honour of its slighted Lord.
I. The temple of God is desecrated and defiled.
1. Look at the heathen world; behold there the strength of the corruption. The religious sentiment strong amongst them is abused; at least it operates through fear, distrust, and hate, instead of love, hope, and faith; at worst it is the tool of craft and lust. Thus the highest endowments bring about the lowest degradation.
2. Thus has it been with every mode of revealed religion. Thus it was with Judaism. The life-giving spirit had perished; its very form had become corrupt. Does Christianity present an exception to this desecration? What is the religion of many of you but a buying and selling in the temple! Self-interest has its office in religion, but it is not an element of religion itself. Indeed, there is no juster distinction between true and false religion than this: In true religion, self-interest is made the means of what is spiritual; in false religion, what is spiritual is made the means of self-interest. When religion appears as a ladder set up between heaven and earth for all Gods angels to descend and minister to man, but not for aspirations and holy communions to ascend from man to God; when Christianity is contemplated as a scheme of political economy, and the Lord of all is regarded chiefly as the most useful being in existence, we make our hearts the scenes of degrading traffic.
II. This desecration and defilement of the temple of God should create holy and vehement indignation. What is there in the scene we have surveyed to call for holy wrath?
1. It involves the abuse of what is best and highest-My house, etc. His Fathers house was polluted. The highest view to take of sin is always that it dishonours God; the man who dishonours God also dishonours himself. When is God more dishonoured than when the many gifts by which He may be felt, known, served, frustrate His purposes and misrepresent His being? As when faculties, whose sphere is spirit, feed and flatter the flesh.
2. It involves the promotion of the worst and lowest things-A den of thieves. They who rob God can scarcely be expected to be very scrupulous in their dealings with men. The best things when abused become the worse; there is no devil like a fallen angel. The reasons are not far to seek. The best things are the strongest. The best things when abused have a natural tendency to exceed in evil. Still further, good when it is abused hardens the moral feeling.
III. Jesus Christ appears before us as the cleanser of the temple of God. How does He effect it?
1. He comes into the temple of God as the living representative of Divine things. He appears as the Son of God in His Fathers house.
2. He makes an effective appeal to men on the true character and design of Divine things-Is it not written, My house shall be called, etc. He draws attention to the nature and object of the sacred place. He forbids what is auxiliary to the condemned abuse. He would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. The purification of humanity is slow, but sure. (A. J. Morris.)
Pickpockets in the synagogue
Our Paris correspondent telegraphs:-Complaints having been made to the police that the synagogue of the Rue de la Victoire had become a house of call for pickpockets, several detectives were set there on watch, who last Saturday caught a man in the act of stealing a purse from one of the congregation. Henceforth a couple of inspectors will be on duty during the service and, it is to be hoped, will render personal property secure in the synagogue. The name of the man arrested is Jules Henrilien. He refuses to name his accomplices. (Daily News.)
The expulsion of the money changers from the temple
It would appear from a comparison of the different evangelists, that there were two occasions upon which Christ displayed His indignation at the traffic by which His Fathers house was defiled. Those who yielded to the supernatural power with which our Lord acted, returned to their unlawful practices when that power was withdrawn. It was one thing to drive the wicked from the temple, but quite another to drive wickedness from their heart. This was a miracle upon mind.
I. The place where the market was held. It was not the temple properly so called; the Jews were scrupulous about their temple. Where, then, was the market? We will endeavour to explain this to you. In the time of our Saviour, the temple, properly so called, had three courts, each surrounding one another. These courts, with the building they encompassed, made up what was known under the general name of the temple. In the first of these courts stood the altar of burnt offering, and to this came none but the priests and Levites. The second, surrounding that of the priests, was the great hall which, though the Jews assembled to worship, was also open to those proselytes who had been circumcised, and had thus taken upon themselves the whole ritual of Moses. But the outer court of the three was called the court of the Gentiles, and was appropriated to such proselytes as had renounced idolatry, but who, not having been circumcised, were still accounted unclean by the Jews. The two first of these courts were accounted holy, but no sanctity appears to have been attached to the third; it was considered a part of the temple, but had no share in that sacredness which belonged to all the rest. And in this outer court-the court of the Gentiles-it was, that the sheep, and oxen, and doves were sold, and the money changers had their tables. As the Jews did not regard this court as possessing any legal sanctity, they permitted to be used as a market the temple of those who came thither to worship. If you have followed me in this there is good reason for supposing that it was on purpose to show their contempt for the Gentiles, that the Jews allowed the traffic which Christ interrupted. When Christ entered the court of the Gentiles, and found in place of the solemnity which should have pervaded a scene dedicated to worship, all the noise and tumult of a market, He had before Him the most striking exhibition of that fatal resolve on the part of His countrymen, and which His apostles strove in vain to counteract-the resolve of considering themselves as Gods peculiar people, to the exclusion of all besides; and the refusing to unite themselves with converts from heathenism in the formation of one visible Church. Was not this, then, an occasion upon which to exercise the prophetic office? Was there not here an opportunity of inculcating a truth which, however unpalatable to the Jews, required, of all others, to be set forth with clearness, and maintained with constancy-the truth, that though God for a time had seemed neglectful of the great body of men, and bestowed all His carefulness upon a solitary tribe; yet were the Gentiles watched over by Him in their long alienation, and about to be gathered within the borders of His Church. And this truth we suppose it to have been which Christ set Himself to teach by the significant act of driving from the court of the Gentiles the merchants with their merchandise. He declared, as emphatically as He could have done in words, that the place where the strangers worshipped was to be accounted as sacred as that in which the Israelites assembled, and that what would have been held as a profanation of the one, was to be held a profanation of the other. By thus vindicating the sanctity of the spot appropriated to the Gentiles, as worthy of as much veneration as that appropriated to the Jews, when He expelled the merchants and money changers, He went far towards putting Jew and Gentile on the same level, and announcing the abolition of ceremonial distinctions. The Jews had allowed the desecration of the court of the Gentiles, because they regarded the Gentiles as immeasurably inferior to themselves, and defiled through the want of circumcision; and, therefore, unable to offer to God any acceptable worship. What, then, was meant by the resistance, on Christs part, to this desecration of the court of the Gentiles, except that the Jews had fallen into the grossest of errors, in so supposing that the Gentile had been overlooked by God, or excluded from His mercies? The ground on which he stood to pray was as hallowed as that on which the sanctuary rose, and, therefore, he might himself be as much approved and accepted as anyone of that family which seemed for centuries to engross the notice of heaven. And when this has been determined, it is scarcely possible but to feel that the prophecy may glance on to future occurrences. We need not point out to you how little progress has yet been made, notwithstanding the struggles and the advancings of Christianity, towards the announced consummation that Gods house shall be a house of prayer for all people. All people have not yet flocked to its courts; but, on the contrary, the great mass of the human population bow down in the temple of idols. True, indeed, that the doors of the sanctuary have been thrown open, and the men of every land been invited to enter; but the prophecies in question speak of more than a universal offer of admission; they speak of what shall yet take place-the general acceptance of the offer; the pressing of all nations into the Church of the Redeemer. Consider, then, whether the expulsion of the buyers and sellers, as figuring the first accomplishment of the prophecy, when the Gentiles were admitted into the visible Church, may not also be significative of what shall occur at the close of the dispensation when Christianity shall be diffused throughout the earth. We have succeeded to the place of the Jews; for Christians are now the peculiar people of God, and what the Gentiles were to the Jews, that are the heathen to us-a race divided from us by external privileges, and not admitted into the same covenant with the Almighty. And what is it that Christian nations have done and are doing for the heathen? In our intercourse with lands where idolatry and superstition still hold the ascendency, has it been our main endeavour to introduce the pure gospel of Christ? or have we striven, where there was no room for direct assault upon the fabric of error, to exhibit Christianity in its purity, and beauty, and majesty? Alas, might it not be said, we have planted our markets rather than our churches in the court of the Gentiles; that we have crowded that court with our merchandise, but taken little pains to gain room within its area for the solemnities of truth; that even when the voice of the preacher has been heard, it has been overborne by the din of commerce, or contradicted by the lives of those professing Christianity? Indeed, we much think that putting, as we are bound to do, the Christian into the place of the Jew, there is little or no difference between the present aspect of the court of the Gentiles, and that which it wore when Christ was on earth-the same, at least, in a great degree; for what portion do our efforts bear either to our ability or the urgency of the case? The same inattention to those not born to our privileges; the same persecution; the same neglect or disregard of the interests of religion; the same supercilious notion of superiority in the midst of the non-improvement of our many advantages; and if Christ were now to return to the earth, as we believe He shall at the close of the dispensation, what measure could Christendom expect at His hands but that awarded to the Jews? It is in exact accordance with those delineations of Scripture which relate to the second coming of Christ, that we should consider the expulsion of the traffickers from the temple figurative of what will be done with the great mass of nominal Christians. We could almost think that in this, and other respects, the transaction represented how Christ would proceed in cleansing the temple of the heart. He comes into the courts of this temple-the heart of any amongst ourselves whom He desires to consecrate to Himself; and He finds it occupied by worldly things-carnal passions, ambitious projects, the affections all fastening on the creature, to the exclusion of the Creator. And there must be an expulsion from the temple of whatsoever defiles it, that it may indeed become a sanctuary fit for the indwelling of the Lord of the whole earth. But the purifying process is gradual. Nothing unclean can be suffered to remain; but it is not all at once that what pollutes is removed. The first assault, as it were, is on the oxen, and the sheep, and the tables of the money changers, as the more prominent of the occasions and causes of profanation. And with these He is vehement and forcible. Sensuality, covetousness, pride-these are for the scourge and the indignant expostulation; and no quarter can be allowed, no, not for an instant. But it is not only the oxen, and the sheep, and the tables of the money changers, which desecrate the temple of the heart. There are the doves-the gentler and kindlier affections of our nature; and these-even these-contaminate when God is not their first object, but their fervour and their freshness given to the creature. But it is in gentleness, rather than in harshness, that the Lord of the temple proceeds with us in effecting this part of the purification. It is not with the doves, as with the sheep, and the oxen, and the tables of the money changers-the scourging and the overthrowing, but rather by the mild expostulation-Take these things hence, that He attempts the removal of what He cannot suffer to remain. Harshness might injure or destroy the affections themselves, just as the driving out the doves would have caused their being lost; but by continually setting before us the goodness of God, whether as manifested in creation or redemption, by teaching us how much more precious becomes every object of love when we love it not so much for its own sake as for the sake of the Giver-this cleanses the heart, and gradually inclines us to the substituting for affections chained to the finite, affections centering on the infinite; and thus persuades us to take away the dove on whose plumage is the dust of the earth, but only that its place may be occupied by one such as the Psalmist describes-whose wings are covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. The cleansing of the heart is not complete till God is supreme in its affections. It is not enough to mortify corrupt passions, and resist imperious lusts: this is but expelling the sheep and the oxen. We must give God the heart, delighting in Him as the chief good; ay, my brethren, we must act on the consciousness, and God grant that we all may!-we must act on the consciousness that the gentle dove may profane Gods house, as well as the flocks whose pastures are of the earth; and that if the one-the sheep and the oxen-must be altogether ejected, the other-the dove-must be trained to the soaring upwards, and bathing in the free light of heaven. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Profanation of holy places
Who will venture to deny the exceeding enormity of that offence which a prince deems it right to punish with his own hand? God drove our guilty first parents from the garden; but it was done by the intervention of an angel. He chased the Canaanites from their land; but He did it by an army of hornets. By the hand of an angel He struck down the army of the Assyrians, and brought low the pride of Herod when he assumed Divine honour to himself. Only in the case of those who profane sacred places do I see Christ-Him, that is, who on all other occasions was so mild and gentle-coming forth and taking the rod in His own hand. What a monstrous, what an intolerable crime must this be-the profanation of holy places! (Segneri.)
Desecration of the temple
The circumstances which led to the profanation were these. The Jews who came up to the Feasts from a distance would obviously find it more convenient to purchase their sacrificial victims on the spot, and cattle markets were held in the city; but in lapse of time, when the authorities of the temple began to grow mercenary, they determined to have such a large source of profit in their own hands. The Court of the Gentiles was always held in little respect by the Jews, and it seemed to them quite justifiable to utilize it for their purpose. For about twenty days before the Feast the corridors and arcades and outer walls of the sacred enclosure were commonly occupied by cattle pens; and the solemn stillness of the precincts was broken by the unseemly confusion of the lowing of herds, and the wrangling of drovers and pilgrims bargaining for their price. Besides these there were the money changers. After the captivity the Jews of the dispersion, when they came up to the Feasts, in common with those who dwelt in Palestine, made each their offering for the temple service. There was only one coin in which this offering might be paid into the treasury-the half-shekel piece. It was intended as a safeguard to prevent the Korban being desecrated by the introduction of pieces of money upon which heathen emblems were stamped. Those pilgrims, therefore, who came from countries where non-Jewish money was current, as Babylon, Alexandria, Greece, or Rome, were compelled to procure the half-shekel by exchange. It was not only a fruitful source of gain to the bankers, who demanded an exorbitant discount; their extortion kindled the indignation of our Lord, and His ears were pained by the clinking of money and weights and balances, and the strife of words and angry recriminations, mingling with the prayers and praises of the sanctuary. But this was not all. Even the offerings of poor women, and others, whose very poverty might have exempted them from fraudulent imposition, were included in the market. The whole scene was such as would raise the righteous anger of anyone who was jealous for the honour of Gods house. It was almost a worse profanation than that which made our cathedrals and churches scenes of riot and desecration in the times of Edward VI, when St. Pauls was turned into a stock exchange for merchants, and its aisles were used as common thoroughfares for both man and beast. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
Cleansing of the Temple
I. God has many temples;
(1) Temple of Israel;
(2) Temple of nature;
(3) Christian church;
(4) Saved souls.
II. We are too ready to defile them. We mix self-interest with religion, or trade with religion, for our own profit.
1. Preaching in order to get money.
2. Sale of livings.
3. Going to certain churches because it may be good for business.
III. However the Saviour may seem to ignore such pollution, a time will come when He will resent and purge it away. (R. Glover.)
Thieves in the Temple
Religion must not be exploited for money. The church is not a shop. The kind of spiritual outrage attacked by Christ is one that repeats itself. There was nothing wrong in selling outside the temple, or any other church, things which were necessary for the temple service. We sell hymn books in our vestries; abroad they sell candles and breviaries and crosses at the doors of the cathedrals. It is a question of degree and intention. But I have seen, at the time of a church celebration abroad, the whole street blocked with booths. Noisy sellers of sweetmeats, toys, and provisions, pushing their bargains, and touting even in the church porch, and on the threshold of the sanctuary. There was the den of thieves. Your miracle mongers, who set up their winking statues and healing saints bones with the one view of fleecing the people-are thieves. Your idle clergy, especially certain Roman cathedral clergy, who fatten on the sins of the faithful, never preach, seldom hear confessions, never visit the sick; simply do nothing but mumble mass on saints days-they are thieves. Your English clergy, who are hale and hearty non-residents on 500 a year, and put in a man at 80 to look after their parishes-are thieves. Wherever or whenever Gods church and service is made the pretext first and foremost for getting money, then and there the spiritual outrage chastised by Christ with whip and expulsion is committed afresh: the house of prayer has been made a den of thieves; and at such an hour as they wet not of, the Lord will suddenly come to His temple and purify it. (H. R. Haweis, M. A.)
Right looking upon wrong
As it is said that ferocious animals are disarmed by the eye of man if he but steadily look at them, so it is when right looks upon wrong. Resist the devil and he will flee from you; offer him a bold front and he runs away. (Dr. Bushnell.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. And they come] Several MSS. and versions have , again. This was the next day after our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem; for on the evening of that day he went to Bethany, and lodged there, Mr 11:11, and Mt 21:17, and returned the next morning to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And they came to Jerusalem,…. The Ethiopic version reads, “he came”; that is, Christ; but not alone, for his disciples were with him: Beza says, that, one exemplar he had met with, adds “again”, and so one of Stephens’s copies; for they had been there the day before:
and Jesus went into the temple: the Syriac and Persic versions add, “of God”; into the court of the Gentiles, as he did the preceding day:
and began to cast out them that bought and sold in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; which was done, as Matthew relates, the same day that he made his public entry into Jerusalem: wherefore it is highly probable, that upon Christ’s leaving the city, they returned “again”, and were the next morning sitting and doing business in the temple as before; and were drove out again by Christ, who, upon his return, found them there. They “that bought and sold in the temple”, were those that bought and sold lambs for the passover, which was now at hand; and the sheep and oxen for the “Chagiga”, or feast the day following; as well as doves hereafter mentioned, for new mothers, and such as had fluxes: and that part of the temple where this business was carried on, was in a large space within the area of the temple, where shops were built for that purpose: and by “the money changers”, whose “tables” are said to be “overthrown”, are meant, such as sat at tables to receive the half shekel, who changed those that brought whole shekels, or foreign money: and who had so much for changing, which was called “Kolbon”; from whence they had the name of “Collybistae”, in the text: and “doves”, as before observed, were the offering of the poorer sort of women after birth, at the time of their purification, and of profluvious persons; of which many came from all parts, at the time of the passover: upon which account, there was a great demand for these creatures; and many sat upon seats to sell them, which Christ overturned; [See comments on Mt 21:12].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Began to cast out ( ). Mark is fond of “began.” See on Mt 21:12f. for discussion of this second cleansing of the temple in its bearing on that in Joh 2:14f.
Money-changers (). This same late word in Mt 21:12 which see for discussion. It occurs in papyri.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Money – changers [] . Another unclassical word, but used also by Matthew. “Such words as these might naturally find their place in the mongrel Greek of the slaves and freedmen who formed the first congregations of the church in Rome” (Ezra Abbott, Art. “Gospels,” in Encyclopedia Britannica). See on Mt 21:12.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And they come to Jerusalem:” (kai erchontai lerosoluma) “And they, the apostles came into Jerusalem,” from Bethany, of their own will, with Jesus.
2) “And Jesus went into the temple,” (kai eiselthon eis to hieron) “And when He (Jesus) began entering into the temple,” where He had looked over and observed the, desecrating situation the previous afternoon, Mar 11:11.
3) “And began to cast out them,” (erksato ekballein) “He began repeatedly, forcibly to cast out,” to cast those out or drive those out of the temple or temple area, when He found it disturbed by noisy traffic and defiled by dishonest trade.
4) “That sold and bought in the temple,” (tous poluntas kai tous agorazontas en to hiero) “Those who were buying and those who were selling in the temple area,” in the court of the Gentiles, as if it were an unsanctified commercial center, Luk 19:45.
5) “And overthrew the tables of the money-changers,
(kai katestrepsen tas trapezas ton kollubiston) “And He overturned (capsized, flipped) the trapeze-like tables of the money-changers,” as He had formerly done once, earlier in His ministry, Joh 2:13-15.
6) ”And the seats of them that sold cloves;– (kai tas kathedras ton polouton tas peristeras) “And the seats of those who were selling the doves,” in the temple area, Mat 21:12. Both the money-changers and dove barterers or sellers were declared by our Lord to be thieves, robbers, or law-breakers, desecrating the Divine order of Hebrew worship, Mat 21:13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
2. THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE 11:15-19
TEXT 11:15-19
And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, for all the multitude was astonished at his teaching. And every evening he went forth out of the city.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:15-19
615.
Is this the same cleansing as recorded in Joh. 2:13-22? Discuss.
616.
In what particular part of the temple does this incident occur?
617.
Was it altogether wrong to buy and sell in the temple?
618.
Why overthrow the tables and seats?
619.
Explain Mar. 11:16.
620.
From what two references did Jesus quote?
621.
How could the Jewish temple be a house of prayer for all nations.
622.
Why would the words and actions of Jesus especially anger the chief priests?
623.
Give two or three possible reasons for the hatred of the leaders.
624.
How is the word astonished used in Mar. 11:18 b?
625.
Why mention the fact that He left the city every evening?
COMMENT
TIME.A.D. 30Monday, 3rd April, 11th Nisan, the fourth day before the great Jewish Passover.
PLACES.The Templein the court of the GentilesBethany.
PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Mat. 21:11-13 ; Luk. 19:45-48.
OUTLINE.1. What He did, Mar. 11:15; Mar. 16:2. What He taught, Mar. 11:17. 3. The results, Mar. 11:18-19.
ANALYSIS
I.
WHAT HE DID, Mar. 11:15-16.
1.
Entered the temple and cast out those who bought and sold.
2.
Overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
3.
Would not permit the traffic of those carrying various burdens.
II.
WHAT HE TAUGHT, Mar. 11:17.
1.
It is writtenMy house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
2.
Ye have made it a den of robbers.
III.
THE RESULTS, Mar. 11:18-19.
1.
His words and actions were known by the chief priests and scribes.
2.
They sought a way to kill Him because of jealousy.
3.
He could not stay overnight in Jerusalem.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
I.
WHAT HE DID.
Mar. 11:15. And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out, etc. It seems, at first sight, almost incredible that men who professed such reverence for the temple, and were so scrupulous about the slightest ceremonial defilement (Joh. 18:28), should actually let out, as they did, a portion of the sacred precincts, the court of the Gentiles, or a part of it, to dealers in cattle and sheep and doves, and to money-changers, but unscrupulous men will do anything for the sake of gain, It would be a great convenience to a Jew from a distance to buy his Passover Lamb close to the spot where it had to be killed; and the Sadducean priests, taking advantage of this, were themselves the real desecrators of the most sacred building of which they were the guardians, by encouraging the unholy traffic. But the Lord, Who ever regarded the temple as His Fathers house, and looked upon the very building as imparting its sanctity to all in it, resented this as He had done on a former occasion, alone and unaided, for this occurred on the day after His arrival, and the enthusiastic crowds were dispersed. He drove out all the traffickers, overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of those who sold doves to those who were too poor to bring a more costly offering, and according to our Evangelist, even went further, by forbidding the temple to be made a thoroughfare, so that vessels should be carried through it.
Now we must ask first, Was this an ordinary exercise of power? and then, What was its significance?
It would have been a natural, though, of course, a remarkable exercise of power if it had been, as is asserted, through the personal greatness and intensity of will that showed itself in our Lords look and word and tone. But if this personal greatness means a very commanding presence, so that all enemies should be at once overawed, why did not this save Him from the insults and outrages which were heaped upon Him during this very week? We have no reason to believe from anything in the gospel that the Lord had a presence which greatly overawed men, and He must have had a very commanding personal presence indeed, to disperse without apparently the faintest opposition a crowd of cattle-dealers and money-changers. It seems to me that the faculty of transfiguring Himself at will, so as on one day to put on an appearance which overawed the roughest of men, and on the next day so to disguise His majesty as that the very slaves should spit on Him and strike Him, is as much a supernatural endowment as the power of healing the sick or casting out devils.
Why do men treat the exercise of the Lords Divine power as if it were something immoral, something to be ashamed of, something that we must get rid of even at the expense of common sense, unless we are compelled to acknowledge it? It may interest the reader to contrast with the modern view, that of a Father of the Church, St. Jerome: To me it appears that amid all the signs of our Lord, this was the most wonderful; that one single man, at a time too when He was an object of scorn, and accounted so vile as soon after to have been crucified, while the Scribes and Pharisees (chief priests?) moreover were furiously raging against Him, on account of the loss through Him of their worldly gain, should nevertheless have succeeded with a whip of small cords (Joh. 2:15), in driving out of the temple so vast a multitude, overthrowing the tables and the seats, and doing other like things, which scarcely a troop of soldiers could have accomplished.
The second question is, What is the significance of the act? Did its significance cease when the fame whose sanctity Christ thus marvelously vindicated, was forever desecrated and cast to the ground, or has it any reference to the new state of things in the kingdom of God? To this we answer, it asserts an universal principle, that whatsoever is consecrated to the true God, be it building, or society, or body, cannot be profaned without bringing on those who desecrate it the severe anger of God. God has nowhere, in so many words, commanded that the buildings devoted to the prayers and Lords Supper of the New Covenant should be dedicated with a special service. He has left such a thing to be inferred from his Word, and a certain Divine instinct has led Christians everywhere solemnly to set apart their material churches to the exclusive service of God; but when they do so God holds them to their word. They have set apart these buildings to Him, He has accepted the offering, and inasmuch as He has not ceased to be a jealous God, He will certainly regard any desecration of them as profanity and impiety. If it be asserted that the Jewish temple was of greater sanctity than a Christian Church, because so much is said in Scripture about its dedication, we answer, No. A building, however humble, set apart for the offering up of prayer in the Name of Jesus, must be greater than a temple, however magnificent, in which His Name was never invokeda building set apart for the celebration of the Lords Supper must be holier than a building set apart for the offering of bullocks and calves. It also is defiled by heresy and false doctrine, and traffic in holy offices; and Christ will assuredly look upon this with more anger than He looked upon the profanation of the temple, inasmuch as a temple of living stones, built into a spiritual house, is a greater thing than a building even of marble and gold. And so with the bodies of Christians, which together with their souls, are so made the temple of God in Holy Baptism, that an inspired Apostle could ask, Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? and so he says, If any man defile the temple of God, him will God destroy. Let us then cleanse our souls by prayer and thoughts about the holiest things, or Christ may suddenly visit us and cast us out of the true house of God.
With respect to our Lords not suffering anyone to carry a vessel through the temple, Dr. South has a good remark: We must know that the least degree of contempt weakens religion; because it is absolutely contrary to the nature of it; religion properly consisting of reverential esteem for things sacred. (Quoted in Ford).
II.
WHAT HE TAUGHT.
Mar. 11:17. And he taught, saying unto them, My house shall be called, etc. If, as is probable, the marginal translation (a house of prayer for all nations) is the true one, then there may be here a tacit reference to the fact that the court of the Gentiles, as being the least sacred part of the temple, had been employed, in part at least, for the infamous traffic; in which case the Lords words would mean, My house shall be called the house of prayer for all the Gentiles, but ye have driven them out and polluted their share, and made it a den of thieves.
It has been asked, Were not the future houses of God to be houses of preachingwas not, that is, preaching to be their characteristic? No, we answer, and for this reason: preaching may be and ought to be, everywhere; wherever people can be congregated to hear it: Whereas the celebration of the Lords supper and also united Church prayer ought, if possible, to be in places set apart from the world, its associations, its businesses, and pleasures; and ought to be in places, the architecture and arrangement and associations of which tend to raise the worshipper above the world. The restriction on the part of the authorities of the English Church, for nearly two centuries, of preaching to the interior of churches, has been most disastrous. It has been the real reason why she has lost so many of the working classes. Our missionaries, in India preach to the heathen in thoroughfares, in bazaars, at times even in the temples, and the heathen of England require to be met in the same way.
III.
THE RESULTS.
Mar. 11:18. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might, etc. This is the first instance in the Synoptics of the chief priests taking serious measures to destroy Him, and the reader will notice how closely it follows upon the cleansing of the temple.
They sought how they might destroy him. Their fears made them think that it would be no easy thing to destroy Him. They did not count upon the fleeting nature of all popularity. Three days after this the people who were astonished at His doctrine made no effort to save Him. (M. F. Sadler)
FACT QUESTIONS 11:15-19
690.
For one thing unscrupulous men will do anythingWhat is the one thing?
691.
Who encouraged this unholy traffic? Why?
692.
Why would carrying items through the temple defile it?
693.
Just how did Jesus accomplish what scarcely a troop of soldiers could have done? Discuss.
694.
How does Sadler relate this incident to the transfiguration? Do you agree?
695.
What universal principle is given in the cleansing of the temple?
696.
How can it be thought that church buildings today are in any way sacred unto God?
697.
In what sense is the most humble building today holier than the temple?
698.
In what way is Christ attempting to cleanse the church of today?
699.
What about cleansing the temple of our body? Mention scriptural support.
700.
Are not the meeting houses of today to be houses of preaching? Discuss as related to prayer.
701.
Specify and discuss how our Lord is at work cleansing His temple today.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(15-19) And Jesus went into the temple.See Notes on Mat. 21:12-17.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
112. THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE, Mar 11:15-19 .
(See notes on Mat 12:13; see Luk 19:45-48.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15. Went into the temple Which he had yesterday surveyed. See on Mar 11:11.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And they come to Jerusalem, and he entered into the temple and began to cast out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold the doves and he would not allow that any man should carry a vessel through the temple.’
‘And they come to Jerusalem.’ Presumably the fig tree had been outside the boundary of Jerusalem proper, which was seemingly Bethphage. But Mark wants us to recognise that Jesus is ‘coming to Jerusalem’ because the whole city is under sentence. It is Jerusalem as a whole, what men called the holy city, that is the object of Jesus’ attention (which is partly why He symbolically leaves it each night. Perhaps there is a hint here that He does not want to be too closely identified with it).
In the light of what He had observed the previous afternoon Jesus now entered the Temple and began to drive out those who were trading there by the sheer force of His personality and stern eyes and words. This time He did not need a scourge, for He did not drive the animals out. This action was not because He disapproved of the sacrificial system as a whole, which was God ordained, but because of His concern for the holiness of God’s house and because of the nefarious practises being carried on. As the Sanhedrin rightly recognised this was a claim to unique authority from God (Mar 11:28).
This was the second time that Jesus had purged the Temple. Joh 2:13-17 tells us of the first time, early in His ministry, when His prime concern had been the treating of God’s house like a marketplace and a stable. Then His main opponents were the traders, and His aim had been to drive out the cattle as well. He had wanted to clear the house for prayer. It had not been a direct attack on the leadership. That may well have been treated as the spontaneous action of a young hothead, a demonstration, which some even approved of to some extent, (especially the people). But when He came to Jerusalem again the next time they would have been on their guard. However, as year succeeded to year He had not done it again and they had no doubt felt able to relax. Thus they were simply unprepared for it when it happened again.
The fact that this first cleansing is not mentioned by the Synoptics is not surprising. They ignore the whole of Jesus’ original ministry in Judaea. And the position of this one at the end of His ministry indicated symbolically what they wanted to convey.
But here His accusations reached much deeper than in that first clearing of the Temple. Here He called it not just a marketplace but a ‘haunt for rogues’. He was now, by implication, involving the Chief Priests themselves in it. On the first emptying He had possibly not known of the chicanery that would certainly have been going on, but had only been aware that they were using it as a marketplace. Now through His ministry He had learned more of what was happening there. He had learned of the skulduggery that was the talk of the marketplaces.
‘Those who sold and bought in the Temple.’ Those who came to the Temple would need to have suitable sacrifices that could pass the test of being unblemished. Thus sacrificial animals and birds were sold in the Temple by traders commissioned by the chief priests with a certificate guaranteeing that they were satisfactory, together with such things as wine, oil and salt, . And this was done in the Court of the Gentiles under the sanction of the authorities with little regard for what it meant for worshippers. It was not a far cry from this to making the test very stiff for sacrificial beasts brought in from outside by individuals so as to ensure that they often failed the test, so that the prospective worshippers had then to buy certificated beasts or birds at ultra high prices, with suitable commissions paid to the authorities. And this undoubtedly happened regularly, or at least was rumoured to do so. No doubt the ‘rejected’ beasts were included in the price as part exchange and some no doubt were later sold on again as certificated beasts.
‘The tables of the moneychangers.’ The Temple tax (Exo 30:12-16; compare Mat 17:24) had to be paid in the Tyrian two drachma piece which was the nearest available equivalent to the Hebrew half shekel. (This was the equivalent of well over a day’s wage). This was because it had no image of man or beast on it. Thus moneychangers sat at tables and accepted other currencies in exchange for it, charging a comparatively large fee for the exchange and a further fee if change had to be given, while the chief priests again claimed their commissions. The noise of typical Middle Eastern negotiation and haggling would have been deafening, and the whole process was designed to extract as much money as possible from the unfortunate pilgrims, many of whom were poor, and to line the pockets of the chief priests and their cronies. When Jesus overturned their tables and their beloved money went rolling round the floor, it would have been to the delight of the crowds. They at least would be on Jesus’ side.
The result of all these practises was that those who came into the court of the Gentiles of the house of God, instead of being filled with awe and a realisation of the presence of God, found themselves in a busy, hectic marketplace, with buyers and sellers arguing and disputing loudly and furiously, prospective sacrificial animals and birds adding their own particular protests, and moneychangers calling out their rates. But such potential worshippers were only Gentiles and so it did not matter.
‘He would not allow that any man should carry a vessel through the Temple.’ The Temple courts were also being used as a thoroughfare to provide short cuts for those moving about that part of the city. Jesus, no doubt with the help of His disciples, prevented such movements. This emphasises that His main concern in both cases was for the purity of the Temple. It was for worship, not for convenience. The later Rabbis cite a provision that a man ‘may not enter into the Temple Mount with his staff, or his sandal, or his wallet, or with the dust on his feet, nor may he make of it a short by-path’. Thus in this He was probably following what was strictly the law, which had seemingly fallen out of use through carelessness and neglect, or lack of policing.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Enters the Barren Temple and Purges It (11:15-20).
Having declared His sentence on a barren fig tree, Jesus now turns His attention to something even more barren, Jerusalem and The Temple.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Cleanses the Temple ( Mat 21:12-17 , Luk 19:45-48 , Joh 2:13-22 ) Mar 11:15-19 gives us the account of Jesus cleansing the Temple. All three Synoptic Gospels record this event at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry while John records it at the beginning (Joh 2:13-22). This has caused many scholars to speculate that Jesus cleansed the Temple on two occasions, at the beginning and end of His earthly ministry.
The Chronological Placement of Jesus Cleansing the Temple Scholars have noted for centuries that the four Evangelists did not record all of the events of Jesus’ public ministry in the same order. While the Synoptic Gospels place the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus at the end of His ministry, John puts this event at the beginning of his Gospel. Although scholars today debate as to the original order of this event, it is not a new concern. For example, Isho’dad of Merv (c. A.D. 850), the Syriac bishop of Hadatha, comments on the efforts of the apostle John to set in order the events of Jesus’ public ministry because the Synoptic Gospels had recorded some events out of chronological order.
“On account of this reason therefore, he [John the apostle] took special care also about the orders and sequences of the things that were done. This none of these Evangelists took care to do; but they wrote many things that were done first after those that were done last; and many things last, that were spoken and done before the former things; so therefore John did not [do this], but took care to put first the things that were at the first, and after them those that were afterwards; and yet in the middle he left many things out, those that had been related by those others.” [121]
[121] Margaret Dunlop Gibson, ed. and trans., The Commentaries of Isho’dad of Merv Bishop of Hadatha (c. 850 A.D.) in Syriac and English, vol. 1, in Horae Semiticae, no. 5 (Cambridge: The University Press, 1911), 211-212.
In support of this testimony, Eusebius cites Papias (A.D. 60-130), bishop of Hierapolis, who stated that Mark did not always put the events of his Gospel in chronological order.
“It is in the following words: ‘This also the presbyter said: Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not indeed in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord’s discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.’ These things are related by Papias concerning Mark.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.39.15)
Mar 11:17 “but ye have made it a den of thieves” – Comments The phrase “den of thieves” means that these money-changers were overcharging the people, who were required by the Law to purchase their Temple sacrifices. It was very likely that the chief priests received kickbacks for allowing these merchants into the Temple.
Mar 11:18 “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer” – Comments The Temple in Jerusalem had an outer court for the Gentiles to assemble and pray (Josephus, War of the Jews 5.5.1-2, Antiquities 8.3.9).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The second cleansing of the Temple:
v. 15. And they come to Jerusalem; and Jesus went into the Temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of them that sold doves,
v. 16. and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the Temple.
v. 17. And He taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But ye have made it a den of thieves.
v. 18. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people was astonished at His doctrine.
v. 19. And when even was come, He went out of the city. As soon as Jesus and His disciples had reached, the city on Monday morning, He went up to the Temple. He lost no time in carrying out a plan which He had formulated overnight. Once before He had attempted to impress upon the Temple authorities the need of having some regard to the holiness of God’s house, Joh 2:13-16. And here He saw the same pollution of the holy places which had so enraged Him before. Again, therefore, in holy wrath, He purged the Temple. The sellers and buyers that were gathered in the Court of the Gentiles He drove away. The tables of the money-changers, of the petty bankers, and the seats of those that sold doves He upset. A vivid picture: The lowing of the cattle and the bleating of the sheep, the fluttering of the released doves and the angry cries of the bankers, all mingling in a commotion of endless confusion as they sought to escape from the wrath of Jesus, Whose majestic figure dominated the scene and forbade any interference. This traffic, which had grown out of a permission to such as could not bring their sacrificial animals great distances, had, like many other permitted customs, become a nuisance of the first rank, threatening the sanctity of the holy place itself. For once, Jesus cleaned out the pollution of those that served their own belly and their money-bags more than the holy name of God. After the Temple-court had once more been purged of the invaders, Jesus would not even allow anyone to carry any instrument or tool through the Temple, using it as a short cut. He felt that the sacredness of the place forbade such a proceeding. He then taught the people, in explanation of His act, by referring to Scriptures, Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11. Should they consider and treat the house that was called after His name like a den of thieves, where trafficking. and cheating, and robbing might be carried on unhindered? The real object, the proper use of this house, was that of a house of prayer unto all nations, 1Ki 8:1-66.
This act of Jesus again aroused and embittered the high priests and the scribes. They planned and sought means by which they might put Him out of the way. Their counsels against Him were held with increasing frequency; But they did not dare lay hands upon Him, for the people were simply carried away by admiration of His doctrine, since He taught simply, but effectively, what was written in the Scriptures. But when evening was come, perhaps soon after the time of the evening sacrifice, He again left the city to lodge with friends.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mar 11:15-19 . See on Mat 21:12-17 . Comp. Luk 19:45-48 . Matthew deals with this partly by abbreviating, partly also by adding what is peculiar and certainly original (Mar 11:14-16 ).
] but afterwards: , so that thus the latter occurred after the beginning and before the ending of the expulsion.
Mar 11:16 . ] The object of the permission is conceived as its purpose . The form , as Mar 1:34 .
] In the estimation also of the Rabbins it was accounted a desecration of the temple, if anybody carried the implements of common life ( , household furniture, pots, and the like) through the temple-enclosure, (not ), in order to save himself a circuit; they extended this even to the synagogues. See Lightfoot, p. 632 f.; Wetstein in loc. Olshausen is mistaken in explaining as to carry to and fro ; and Kuinoel and Olshausen, following Beza and Grotius, arbitrarily limit to implements used for the purpose of gain .
Mar 11:17 . ] on what subject? What follows leaves no doubt as to the principal theme of this teaching.
] Dativus commodi : (destined) for all nations , which has reference in Isa 56:7 to the fact that even the strangers dwelling among the Israelites were to return with them to the Holy Land (Ezr 2:43 ff; Ezr 7:7 ; Neh 3:26 ; Neh 11:21 ), where they were to present their offerings in the temple (according to the Israelitish command, Lev 17:8 ff; Lev 22:19 ff.; Num 15:14 ff.). Only Mark (not Matthew and Luke) has taken up the from Isaiah, which probably has its reason not only in more careful quotation (Fritzsche, de Wette, Holtzmann, Bleek), but, inasmuch as it is an honourable mention of the Gentiles, in the Gentile -Christian interest, without, however, thereby indicating that Jesus had desired to announce the new spiritual temple of His church (Schenkel), which point of the action does not emerge in any of the evangelists, since they had failed to perceive it, or had suppressed it.
Mar 11:18 . ] (see the critical remarks): how they were to destroy Him, deliberative. The future of the Recepta (how they should destroy Him) would designate the realization as indubitable (the question only still remaining as to the kind and manner of the destruction). See Khner, II. p. 489 f.; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Symp. p. 225 C.
] The reason why they sought to destroy Him.
, ] which He, namely, had just set forth, Mar 11:17 , after the cleansing of the temple. Baur arbitrarily suggests that Mark has dexterously inwoven the from Luke.
] on that day, Mar 11:12 ; hence not (see the critical remarks).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
Ver. 15. Began to cast out ] As he had done before, Joh 2:15 . See Trapp on “ Joh 2:15 “ Hath not the Lord done the like also lately among us, casting out many church choppers, that have been money changers rather than ministers in the temple?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
15 19. ] Mat 21:12-13 , where see notes: also Luk 19:45-48 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 11:15-19 . Cleansing of the temple (Mat 21:12-17 , Luk 19:45-48 ). The state of things Jesus saw in the temple yesterday has been in His mind ever since: through the night watches in Bethany; in the morning, killing appetite; on the way, the key to His enigmatical behaviour towards the fig tree.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mar 11:15 . , into the temple, that is, the forecourt, the court of the Gentiles. . ., the sellers and, the buyers: article before both (not so in Mt.), both put in the pillory as alike evil in their practice.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 11:15-18
15Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. 17And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” 18The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
Mar 11:15 “entered the temple” This refers specifically to the court of the Gentiles where the merchants had their booths (those booths were owned by the family of the High Priests). John’s Gospel records an earlier cleansing (cf. Joh 2:13 ff). Jesus was not always the mild-mannered man we think!
This act challenged the Sadducees’ authority as the pilgrims’ acts and words at the triumphant entry challenged the Pharisees. These acts doomed Jesus to death (cf. Mar 11:18).
“began to drive out those who were buying and selling” This may be an allusion to Zec 14:21, “there will no longer be a Canaanite (i.e., merchant) in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.”
“those who were buying and selling” These merchants represented the High Priest’s family, who had purchased both the priesthood and the concession rights from Rome (i.e., at least from A.D. 30 on. I think Jesus was crucified in A.D. 34).
“the money changers” The temple tax was shekel (cf. Exo 30:13). In Jesus’ day the only shekel was a Tyrian shekel. The pilgrims were charged 1/24 of a shekel to exchange their currency.
“those who were selling doves” A dove was the sacrifice for the poor, lepers, and women. The normal price was tripled at these booths. Even when the pilgrims brought their own sacrificial animals from home, the priest would regularly find some fault in them and demand that they purchase another animal.
Mar 11:16 “would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple” This phrase is unique to Mark. The Court of the Gentiles had become a shortcut between the city and the Mount of Olives. It had lost its distinctive religious purpose as a place for the nations to come to YHWH.
Mar 11:17 “‘my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'” This is a quote from Isa 56:7. It shows the universal love of God. Matthew, writing to Jews, leaves off this last phrase.
“‘it a robbers’ den'” This is a quote from Jeremiah’s famous temple sermon that dealt with faithless ritual and religious superstition (cf. Jer 7:11). In the name of religion, larger profits were being made at the expense of a place of quietness and prayer for the Gentiles. The term “robbers” can mean “insurrectionists.”
Mar 11:18 “The chief priests and the scribes” Wealthy families controlled the office of High Priest. This was no longer a family position related to Aaron, but an office sold by the Romans to the highest bidder.
“scribes” This category of leaders began with Ezra. In Jesus’ day most of them were Pharisees. They interpreted the practical aspects of the Law for the common person, especially from the Oral Tradition (i.e., Talmud). This group is similar in function to the modern rabbi. See Special Topic at Mar 2:6.
“began seeking how to destroy Him” This is an imperfect tense. It could mean “began” (cf. NASB, TEV), but it could also imply that they sought over and over again from this point on to kill Jesus (cf. NRSV).
All the verbs in Mar 11:18 are imperfects, referring to actions started and continued through this last week of Jesus’ life. Recurrent patterns begin to emerge. The Triumphal Entry and the cleansing of the temple sealed Jesus’ doom, as He knew it would.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
began. See note on Mar 1:1.
to cast out. This was a further cleansing than that in Mat 21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
15-19.] Mat 21:12-13, where see notes: also Luk 19:45-48.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 11:15. , began) Men ought to have been wise [the day before], whilst the Lord was still sparing and warning by mere gestures [In the temple, He looked round about upon all things,] Mar 11:11.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mar 11:15-19
3. THE TEMPLE CLEARED
Mar 11:15-19
(Mat 21:12-16; Luk 19:45-48)
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple,–This was on Monday, April 11. This is the second time he enters the temple since reaching Jerusalem. The first was Sunday the day of his triumphal entry. (Verse 11.) On the evening of that day he returned to Bethany and spent the night there. During this entry he only looked around in the temple and saw the abuse of it. But now he enters it for the cleansing that is here recorded. He goes into the temple, not as a worshiper, but as its Lord. The temple of God, or the temple dedicated and devoted to the service of God, was built on Mount Moriah. The first temple was built by Solomon, about 1005 years before Christ. (1 Kings 6.) He was seven years in building it. (1Ki 6:38.) David, his father, had contemplated the design of building it, and had prepared many materials for it, but was prevented because he had been a man of war. (1Ch 22:1-9; 1Ki 5:5.) This temple, erected with great magnificence, remained till it was destroyed by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar, five hundred and eighty-four years before Christ. (2Ch 36:6-7; 2Ch 36:19.)
and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple,–In the court of the Gentiles was the temple market, where animals, oil, wine and other things necessary for sacrifices and temple worship were sold. The excuse for allowing this traffic was that it was a convenience for those who came to worship. But what was intended at first for an accommodation became a source of gain and extortion. It was turned into a general traffic and corruption. Jesus cast out both those that sold and them that bought. Those that bought were as guilty of corrupting the temple service as those who bought and sold. From Joh 2:15 it has been thought that Jesus took a whip and drove those men out. We drive cattle, not men, with whips. The whip was used on the cattle, not on the men.
and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers,–Money was required in the three following ways: (1) Freewill offerings (Mar 12:41;Luk 21:1); (2) to purchase materials for offerings; (3) to pay the yearly temple tax of half a shekel due from every male Jew, rich or poor. All this had to be paid in native coin called the temple shekel, which was not generally current. Jews from a distance had to change their Roman, Greek or Eastern money at the stalls of the money-changers, to obtain the coin required. This trade was diverted into fraudulent practices, which were common.
and the seats of them that sold the doves;–[After coming into the city, he went into the temple, and there (not in the holy place, but in the outer court, a space surrounding the temple proper, called “the court of the Gentiles”), he found men selling cattle and sheep, doves and pigeons, and changing money.]
16 and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple.–Jesus drove all these animals out and cast all these traffickers out of the temple, overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and would not allow any man to carry a vessel through it. He put out all corruption. Thus should churches be cleansed and so kept.
17 And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? –“My house,” as used and applied here, is the temple which Jesus cleansed. It was God’s earthly dwelling place. Instead of making it a house of prayer they had turned it into a house of traffic and fraud.
but ye have made it a den of robbers.–This declaration was made by Isaiah. (Isa 56:6-8.) In Jeremiah’s time the Jews were very corrupt and idolatrous, and, with all their stealing, lying, murder, adultery, and idolatry, they would go to the temple, which was called by God’s name, to stand in his presence and say they would be delivered from their enemies. Then God asked: “Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (Jer 7:8-11.) They were the same in Jesus’ day, and were likewise called by him “thieves and robbers.”
The temple then, a house of prayer and worship, was a type of the spiritual temple of God today. “Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1Co 6:19.) “If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye.” (1Co 3:17.) Through “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mat 13:22) the spiritual temple of God has been profaned. To make appeals to the flesh and its appetites, pride and vanity in order to “raise money for the church” is to defile the temple of God. It was a corrupt and fraudulent traffic, which a corrupt and fraudulent priesthood had permitted to encroach on the worship of God. The priesthood should have kept the corruption out. So it is today;the eldership should watch and keep all unlawful things out of the church..
18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it,–The teaching of verse 17, and the shouts of the children. (Mat 21:16.) They did not appreciate his popularity nor his doctrine, so they sought to kill him.
and sought how they might destroy him:–They had plotted before to kill him. (Joh 11:53-57.) Then, as now, how to accomplish it bothered them. This reveals the reason of their artifices to entrap him the next day. (Verses 27-33; Ch. 12.) They realized that their own influence and unlawful gains were endangered by the works, teachings, and influence of Jesus, and they planned to put him out of the way.
for they feared him, for all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.–At its matter, manner, authority, and its accompanying exhibition of divine power. “Never man so spake.” (Joh 7:46.) “For he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” (Mat 7:29.) He taught with so great power and authority that the people were awed, and were constrained to obey. Cleansing the temple was a sad comment on the priests and scribes for allowing such things. The truth today will stir up the opposing party so that it will use unfair means to kill the influence of the faithful proclaimer of that truth.
19 And every evening he went forth out of the city.–When his teaching and work of the day was done. Probably, he spent the nights in Bethany. (Verse 11.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
and Jesus: Mat 21:12-16, Luk 19:45, Joh 2:13-17
the tables: Deu 14:25, Deu 14:26
Reciprocal: Neh 13:8 – I cast Psa 69:9 – zeal Zec 14:21 – no more Mar 14:49 – was Joh 2:14 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
IN THE COURT OF THE GENTILES
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple.
Mar 11:15-16
The place where the market was held was not actually the Temple, properly so called. It was in the outer courtthe court of the Gentilesthat the sheep and oxen and doves were sold, and the money-changers had their tables. As the Jews did not regard this court as having any legal sanctity, they permitted it to be used as a market. It may have been on purpose to show their contempt for the Gentiles that the Jews allowed the traffic which Christ interrupted.
I. The true cause of our Redeemers interference.It was not as a simple man, but it was exclusively as a prophet and a teacher sent from God to inculcate great truths, that Jesus drove out the buyers and sellers. When Christ entered the court of the Gentiles and found, in place of the solemnity which should have pervaded a scene dedicated to worship, all the noise and tumult of a market, He had before Him the most striking exhibition of that resolve on the part of the Jews of considering themselves as Gods peculiar people, to the exclusion of all besides.
II. Neither Jew nor Greek.Christ declared, as emphatically as He could have done in words, that the place where the strangers worshipped was to be accounted as sacred as that in which the Israelites assembled, and that what would have been held as a profanation of the one was to be held a profanation of the other.
III. Gods purpose towards the Gentiles.To ourselves, at all events, this is manifestly the import of the symbolical action; it is prophetic of Gods gracious purposes towards the Gentiles. It was our church, if we may so express it, for it was the church of the Gentiles, within whose confines the oxen were stabled, and the money-changers plied their traffic. They were our rights which the Redeemer vindicated, our privileges which He asserted.
Rev. Canon Melvill.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
5
This verse describes what is referred to at verse 11 and in the passage in Matthew. The chronological order of the events is not quite the same in Mark as it is in Matthew, but the facts are the same so that no contradiction exists.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 11:15. And they come to Jerusalem. Still another mark of accuracy. On the cleansing of the temple, see on Mat 21:12 (Joh 3:13-17, refers to a distinct occurrence).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
No sooner had our blessed Saviour entered Jerusalem, but his first walk was to the temple, and his first work there was to purge and reform. All reformation of manners must begin at the house of God.
Yet observe, Our Lord’s business at the temple was not to ruin , but reform it only. Places dedicated to public worship, if profaned and polluted, ought to be purged from their abuses, not pulled down and destroyed, because they have been abused. But what was the profanation of the temple, which so offended our Saviour; I answer, in the outward court of the temple there was a public mart or market kept, where were sold oxen, sheep, and doves, for sacrifice. Many of the Jews coming an hundred miles to the temple, it was burdensome to bring their sacrifices so far with them; wherefore the priests ordered that sheep and oxen, meal and oil, and such other requisites for sacrifice, should be had for money close by the altar, to the great ease of the offerer; nothing could be more plausible than this plea. But the fairest pretences cannot bear out a sin with God. Therefore our blessed Saviour, in a just indignation, whips out these chapmen, casts down their tables, and vindicates the honour and reputation of his Father’s house.
Learn hence, That there is reverence due to God’s house, for the owner’s sake, and for the service sake. Nothing but holiness can become the place where God is worshipped in the beauty of holiness.
Observe lastly, The reason which our Saviour gives for this act of his: Is it not written, says he, my house shall be called the house of prayer? Where by prayer is to be understood the whole worship and service of God, of which prayer is an eminent and principal part. That which gives denomination to an house is certainly the chief work to be done in that house. Now God’s house being called an house of prayer, certainly implies, that prayer is the chief and principal work to be performed in his house. Yet take we heed, that we set not the ordinances of God at variance, we must not idolize one ordinance, and vilify another, but reverence them all.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mar 11:15-17. And they come to Jerusalem Jesus, having doomed the fig-tree to destruction, continued his journey to the city, where, when he arrived, he went straightway to the temple, and drove the buyers and sellers out of it, &c., and would not suffer any vessel to be carried through the sacred edifice. See the note on Mat 21:12-14. Such strong notions had our Lord of even relative holiness, and of the regard due to those places, as well as times, that are peculiarly dedicated to God. The Jews, it must be observed, reckoning the lower and outward court of the temple a place of little or no sanctity, because it was designed for accommodating the Gentile proselytes in their worship, not only kept a daily market there of such things as were necessary in offering sacrifices, but suffered the common porters, in going from one part of the city to another with their burdens, to pass through it, for the sake of shortening their way. But as these abuses occasioned great disturbance to the proselytes, Jesus reformed them again as he had done three years before, (see Joh 2:14,) telling the people around him, that the Gentiles worshipped there by divine appointment, as well as the Jews, the temple being ordained of God to be the house of prayer for all nations; and to prove this, he cited Isa 56:7, from which the inference was plain, that they were guilty of a gross profanation of the temple who carried on any traffic, even in the court of the Gentiles, much more they who, to make gain, committed frauds and extortions in the prosecution of their traffic, because thus they turned Gods house of prayer into a den of thieves. The offenders, it appears, did not make the least resistance. Probably they were struck with a panic by the secret energy of Christs omnipotence, as was the case formerly, when he made the like reformation at the first passover after his ministry commenced. To this purpose, Jerome, on the place, says, Igneum enim quiddam, atque sidereum, radiebat ex oculis ejus, et divinitatis majestas lucebat in facie. For, a certain fiery and sparkling radiance issued from his eyes, and a divine majesty shone in his face.
Dr. Campbell justly notices here an inaccuracy in our translation of the original clause, which is rendered, shall be called of all nations the house of prayer, as if the last words had been, , of all nations, whereas they are, , for all nations. The court of the Gentiles was particularly destined for the devout of all nations, who acknowledged the true God, though they had not subjected themselves to the Mosaic law, and were accounted aliens. The proselytes, who had received circumcision, and were, by consequence, subject to the law, were on the same footing with native Jews, and had access to the court of the people. Justly, therefore, was the temple styled, A house of prayer for all nations. The error in the common version is here the more extraordinary, as, in their translation of Isaiah, they render the passage quoted, for all people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
Mat 21:12-13; Luk 19:45-48; Mar 11:15-19. And they came into Jerusalem; and Jesus, coming into the temple, began to cast out the buyers and sellers in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those selling doves; and He did not suffer that any one may carry a vessel through the temple. And He was teaching, saying unto them, Has it not been written that My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and the chief priests heard, and they were seeking how they shall destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the multitude were delighted with His teaching. And when it was evening, He departed out of the city. Luk 19:48 : And they did not find what they can do; for all the people hung on Him, hearing Him. Our Saviors ministry embraced four Passovers, beginning with one by purifying the temple, verifying the prophecy, in reference to the Messiah, that on arrival He would come suddenly to the temple and purify it; two Passovers transpiring in the interim of His ministry and this one, at the conclusion, so eminently commemorated by His arrest, prosecution, condemnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, rendering it the most celebrated of all the Passovers since that memorable night when Egypt was visited by the destroying angel, slaying the first-born in every house in all the land, but passing over the tenements occupied by the children of Israel, because, pursuant to the commandment of Moses, they had sprinkled on their door-posts and lintels the blood of the slain lamb, that vivid type of the bleeding Lamb of Calvary which was perpetuated at the great Passover festival, through all the intervening ages, down to this momentous culmination, when they not only slay the innocent typical lamb, but the Great Antitype, who, symbolized by countless millions of bleeding victims through the fugitive ages, now Himself bleeds and dies. Our Lord having purified the temple when inaugurating His ministry, now performs the same responsible and significant office in the conclusion. He will also, when He comes in His glory, give it a complete and final purgation, as it will be polluted no more, Satan having been east out. This traffic in beasts and birds was for the accommodation of multitudes, coming from afar, who desired to purchase a sacrifice, the birds being kept on hand for the especial accommodation of the poor. While in this you might see a degree of plausibility, doubtless much fraudulent dealing for the sake of filthy lucre had crept in among them, as we see plainly indicated by the Savior calling them thieves. All cheating and defrauding are theft in the sight of God, however honorable in the estimation of men. The temple was the house of God upon the earth in a sense vastly more preeminent than any other sanctuary in all the world, the great end in view being the rendezvous of Gods saints, that they might prevail in prayer for all the nations of the earth. It is very sad to contemplate the fairs, festivals, frolics, and fandangoes now so frequently held in church edifices, to the grief of the Holy Spirit and the profanation of Gods temple. Every, preacher should walk in the footprints of Jesus in this and every other respect, making a specialty of purifying the Church in the inauguration and the conclusion of His ministry. No one has a right to hold a pastoral charge in the ministry of Christ unless he exemplified Him in all his ministration. This bold procedure was very offensive to the hierarchy, who looked upon Him as an intruder and a usurper, and would have interfered if they had not feared the people, who were so delighted with His preaching that they hung on Him spellbound.
Luk 21:37-38. And He was teaching in the temple during the days, and at night, going out, He was lodging in the mount called Olivet. And all the people were assembled unto Him in the temple to hear Him. Tuesday night and Wednesday night He lodged in some of the villages on Mount Olivet, having spent the two preceding nights in Bethany; Thursday night He was arrested, and Friday night He was in the sepulcher. Jerusalem was this week thronged with vast multitudes, not only those having come to the Passover, but the whole country was on tiptoe with excitement about Jesus, a tremendous popular sensation breaking out three years previously, when John so powerfully preached Him to the multitudes attending his ministry, and increasing through the three successive years, having spread abroad into all nations, so that now the world is aroused and waiting spellbound to witness the issue impending, they know not what.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Mar 11:15-19. The Cleansing of the Temple.Jesus now follows up His survey of the Temple with an attempt to abolish the market set up in the outermost court, the court of the Gentiles, for the convenience of Jews who had to purchase sacrificial victims and who wished to obtain by a dear exchange the half-shekel wherewith to pay their Temple-tax.[76] Mk. alone says (Mar 11:16) that Jesus reinforced the standing rule against using the court as a thoroughfare. The phrase for all nations in the quotation from Isa 56:7 is also found only in Mk. It suggests that the robbery may have consisted not so much in the sharp practice of the money-changers as in depriving the Gentiles of all their share in the Temple and its worship. To the last, the people were astonished at His teaching; it was ever new to them. The nightly withdrawal of Jesus from the city ensured both quiet and safety.
[76] [On the significance of this incident as an immediate cause of the Crucifixion, see Lake, The Stewardship of Faith, p. 39: Financial interest rather than theological hatred was the real cause of the accusation of the priests, though they dressed it up in a partly political, partly religious form.A. J. G.)
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 15
Into the temple, into one of the outer courts or apartments of it. This merchandise consisted of animals and a kind of money, used in the sacrifices and the other services of the place.
Mark 11:23,24. In what sense, and under what qualifications and restrictions, Jesus intended that his disciples should understand this language, it is very difficult now to decide.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 6 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
“My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?” This is a quote from Isa 56:7 which brings up an interesting point. Jesus quotes the Old Testament giving it validity, but more than just the surface validity is present. “Written” is a perfect passive indicating that the words were written under influence from the outside – inspiration of the Holy Spirit – and the perfect indicates something that is complete and complete into the future – indicating it is preserved into the future to a point of completion. This passage is a very good proof of the inspired Word of God.
At the minimum it gives validity to the passage itself and by extension the entire book if not the whole canon of the Old Testament. No matter how far you extend it the passage also teaches the doctrine of inspiration and preservation of the Word.
One of our television stations has a series on their newscast called “The Fleecing of America” where they show how the taxpayer is being ripped off by government and business. There is never any reporting however of anyone doing anything about this fleecing of America. No one ever goes in and punishes the bad guys, nor recovers the good guys money – only corruption.
The Jewish leaders were ripping off the normal Jew both financially and spiritually. They had turned the temple into a place of business and I am sure it was for a profit rather than out of the goodness of their hearts. HOWEVER, unlike the network that continues to report but do nothing, Christ moves in on the fleecing of the Jews and does something about it. He ran the corruption out of the Lord’s house and returned it to being a house of prayer.
Now this is a new realization about the temple. In the mind after reading the Old Testament law one would think that the temple was a place of sacrifice rather than a place of prayer.
True, this was the outer courts of the temple so there was the aspect of sacrifice, but is this not possibly some further insight into the tabernacle – the area surrounding the place of sacrifice – might the Jews of old have been engaged in prayer before their sacrifice was offered? It would seem quite probable. To pray before sacrifice might have been that time of repentance and getting right before God before offering the required sacrifice.
This may well picture for the New Testament saint the attitude we should have before seeking forgiveness from the Father. Yes, Christ paid it all and His sacrifice was sufficient to anythingthat we might set ourselves to do, but that repentance and time before God in prayer might well be the proper thing to do before asking forgiveness.
Lest we forget, many of us call our churches the sanctuary – house of prayer – hummm is this really true today? Are we really about God’s business in our churches today? The New Testament church was heavily involved in prayer, preaching and fellowship with one another. Today we meet and greet and get fuzzy and leave seldom getting to the real prayer, real Bible study or the real fellowship.
Just consider if you would call your church a house of prayer.
“Cast out” has the thought of expel – a forceful setting outside. Christ did not just ask the folks to leave He threw them out, or drove them out. He became a people herder or driver. One might wonder if the first words from His mouth did not get folks moving toward the exits. Can you picture the money-changers struggling to gather their money together before He got to their table? It must have been quite a scene.
Can you picture the scene in our own time – Christ coming into the church driving out the “musicians” and the book tables hocking the latest pages from the guest speaker? Can you picture the guitars flying, the keyboards sliding from their stands, the pages flying from the books, the cash being overthrown? Watching the author heading for the window or nearest exit?
Yes, only dreaming but oh what a day that would be. A little harsh? Well maybe. Then again Christ said that they had made the temple a den of thieves – rather explicit terminology for hocking wares in the Lord’s house.
And the moldable leadership when they heard of the Lord’s action reformed the use of the temple to the proper use – prayer – NOT! They had a board meeting to figure out how to destroy Him because the people believed His teaching.
It might be of note that this plotting has been going on for quite some time. They must have been really trying to hatch a foolproof plot – something that would get Him out of the way, yet something that would leave them free of suspicion by the people. No it will not be suggested that this sounds like the politicians of our day – why mention it, it is so terribly obvious. As we used to say in the service, “It is obvious to the most casual observer.”
The passage mentions that the people were “astonished” with His doctrine. He was presenting truth rather than the falsehood of the Jewish leadership, why would they not be astonished. This man was teaching things they had not heard and He was explaining the things they knew in a different manner that made complete sense. He was giving them the Old Testament as it was meant to be understood, not as it had been perverted to enslave.
The word “all” is a word meaning the whole – literally all the people were astonished with His teaching. Wouldn’t that be nice pastor/teacher – to have all the people listen and be astonished at the truth that you were presenting from the Word? Today we have people who have bought into so many isms and philosophies that truth is not known when it is heard.Indeed, it is not uncommon for pastors/teachers to have bought into the isms and falsehoods and the people are confronted with the same thing they hear from the world.
Oh for the day when Christ will return to set truth where it belongs – as central to man’s thinking. Truth is the standard by which Christ will rule and it will be the standard by which He will judge not the namby pamby philosophy of today.
This election cycle we have had more lies and innuendo than ever before and the politicals do it with a straight face and gusto.
What a mess to find one’s self in. The people love you and the leaders hate you. One wants you as king and the other wants you dead. Not much pressure to carry on a ministry in. I used to think getting before a few dozen folks for a sermon was bad, but Christ was in a real mess between the rock and the hard place. Yet He continued on toward the cross with His usual fortitude and calmness.
Oh that we as pastors, teachers and lay-people should handle such pressure calmly – most of us do not handle half the pressure this well. We could if we would only choose to but all to often we ignore the precursors of stress and let it build till we react in an inappropriate way. As you find yourself stressed find a quiet place to seek the Lord and His power to sidestep the outburst and find calmness for the situation.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
11:15 {3} And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
(3) Christ shows that he is indeed the true King and high Priest, and therefore the one who takes revenge upon those who do not show proper reverence for the holy function of the temple.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The cleansing of the temple 11:15-19 (cf. Matthew 21:12-13; Luke 19:45-48)
This was Jesus’ second messianic act that constituted part of His formal presentation to Israel. The first was the Triumphal Entry (Mar 11:1-11).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
A market atmosphere existed in the court of the Gentiles, the outermost courtyard within the temple enclosure (Gr. hieron, cf. Mar 11:17). During Passover season pilgrims could buy sacrificial animals and change their money on the Mount of Olives, so there was no need to set up facilities to do these things in the temple courtyard, which Caiaphas had done. [Note: Lane, pp. 403-4. See also V. Eppstein, "The Historicity of the Gospel Account of the Cleansing of the Temple," Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 55 (1964):42-58.] Jesus’ literal housecleaning represented His authority as Messiah to clean up the corrupt nation of Israel. Mar 11:16, unique in Mark, shows the extent to which Jesus went in purifying the temple. By doing this, Jesus was acting as a faithful servant of the Lord and demonstrating zeal for God’s honor.
"The court of the Gentiles should have been a place for praying, but it was instead a place for preying and paying." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:151.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER 11:15-19 (Mar 11:15-19)
THE SECOND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
“And they come to Jerusalem: and He entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; and He would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. And He taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him: for they feared Him, for all the multitude was astonished at His teaching. And every evening He went forth out of the city.” Mar 11:15-19 (R.V.)
WITH the authority of yesterday’s triumph still about Him, Jesus returned to the temple, which He had then inspected. There at least the priesthood were not thwarted by popular indifference or ignorance: they had power to carry out fully their own views; they were solely responsible for whatever abuses could be discovered. In fact, the iniquities which moved the indignation of Jesus were of their own contrivance, and they enriched themselves by a vile trade which robbed the worshippers and profaned the holy house.
Pilgrims from a distance needed the sacred money, the half-shekel of the sanctuary, still coined for this one purpose, to offer for a ransom of their souls (Exo 30:13). And the priests had sanctioned a trade in the exchange of money under the temple roof, so fraudulent that the dealers’ evidence was refused in the courts of justice.
Doves were necessary for the purification of the poor, who could not afford more costly sacrifices, and sheep and oxen were also in great demand. And since the unblemished quality of the sacrifices should be attested by the priests, they had been able to put a fictitious value upon these animals, by which the family of Annas in particular had accumulated enormous wealth.
To facilitate this trade, they had dared to bring the defilement of the cattle market within the precincts of the House of God. Not indeed into the place where the Pharisee stood in his pride and “prayed with himself,” for that was holy; but the court of the Gentiles was profane; the din which distracted and the foulness which revolted Gentile worship was of no account to the average Jew. But Jesus regarded the scene with different eyes. How could the sanctity of that holy place not extend to the court of the stranger and the proselyte, when it was written Thy house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? Therefore Jesus had already, at the outset of His ministry, cleansed His Father’s house. Now, in the fullness of His newly asserted royalty, He calls it My House: He denounces the iniquity of their traffic by branding it as a den of robbers; He casts out the traders themselves, as well as the implements of their traffic; and in so doing He fanned to a mortal heat the hatred of the chief priests and the scribes, who saw at once their revenues threatened and their reputation tarnished, and yet dared not strike, because all the multitude was astonished at His teaching.
But the wisdom of Jesus did not leave Him within their reach at night; every evening He went forth out of the city.
From this narrative we learn the blinding force of self-interest, for doubtless they were not more sensible of their iniquity than many a modern slave dealer. And we must never rest content because our own conscience acquits us, unless we have by thought and prayer supplied it with light and guiding.
We learn reverence for sacred places, since the one exercise of His royal authority which Jesus publicly displayed was to cleanse the temple, even though upon the morrow He would relinquish it forever, to be “your house” — and desolate.
We learn also how much apparent sanctity, what dignity of worship, splendor of offerings, and pomp of architecture may go along with corruption and unreality.
And yet again, by their overawed and abject helplessness we learn the might of holy indignation, and the awakening power of a bold appeal to conscience. “The people hung upon Him, listening,” and if all seemed vain and wasted effort on the following Friday, what fruit of the teaching of Jesus did not His followers gather in, as soon as He poured down on them the gifts of Pentecost.
Did they now recall their own reflections after the earlier cleansing of the temple? and their Master’s ominous words? They had then remembered how it was written, The zeal of thine house shall eat Me up. And He had said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I shall raise it up, speaking of the temple of His Body, which was now about to be thrown down.