Matthew 21:12-17 - The Cleansing Of The Temple

¹² Then Jesus entered the Temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold things there. He upset the tables of the cashiers [i.e., those who exchanged foreign coins] and the benches of those who sold pigeons [for sacrifices]. ¹³ And He said to them, "It is written [Isa. 56:7], 'My house [i.e., the Temple] will be called a house for prayer', but [Jer. 7:11 says], 'You have made it a hideout for thieves.'"

¹⁴ [Then] blind and crippled people came to Him in the Temple and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the leading priests and the experts in the law of Moses saw the wonderful things [i.e., miracles] He was performing and [heard] the children shouting in the Temple, "Hosanna to the son of David," [See note at verse 9], they were filled with anger [i.e., over the acclaim being given to Jesus]. ¹⁶ They said to Jesus, "Do you hear what these [children] are saying [about you]?" Jesus answered them, "Yes, [I do]. Have you not read [in Psa. 8:2] 'You have ordained that praise would come from the mouths of infants and small children?'"

¹⁷ He then left them and went out of the city [of Jerusalem] to Bethany [Note: This was a small village near Bethphage] and stayed there [i.e., probably at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. See John 11:1].

¹⁵ Then they entered Jerusalem and Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold [animals for sacrifice]. He upset the tables of the cashiers [i.e., those who exchanged foreign coins] and the benches of those who sold pigeons [for sacrifices]. ¹⁶ And He would not [even] allow anyone to carry a container [of goods] through the Temple [area].

¹⁷ Then He taught them, saying, "Is it not written [Isa. 56:7], 'My house [i.e., the Temple] will be called a house of prayer for people of all nations'? But [Jer. 7:11 says], 'You have made it a hideout for thieves.'" ¹⁸ The leading priests and experts in the law of Moses heard this and began looking for some way to kill Jesus, because they were afraid of Him, since the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.

¹⁹ And each evening He left the city [of Jerusalem, and went to Bethany for the night].

⁴⁵ Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out those who sold [things there], ⁴⁶ saying to them, "It is written [Isa. 56:7], 'And my house [i.e., the Temple] will be a house for prayer, but [Jer. 7:11] 'You have made it a hideout for thieves.'"

⁴⁷ And Jesus was teaching in the Temple every day. But the leading priests and the experts in the law of Moses and the leading men of the people were looking [for a way] to kill Him, ⁴⁸ but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people were listening to Him attentively.

¹⁴ There in the Temple [area] He found people selling oxen, sheep and pigeons. [i.e., for use as sacrifices]. Also cashiers were sitting there. [Note: These people exchanged foreign coins so visitors to Jerusalem could make purchases and pay taxes]. ¹⁵ Then Jesus made a whip out of strands of rope and drove all of the sheep and oxen out of the Temple [area], dumped out the cashiers' money and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ He said to those who were selling the pigeons, "Take these things out of here, and quit making my Father's house [i.e., the Temple] a merchandise mart."

¹⁷ Then Jesus' disciples remembered that it was written [Psa. 69:9], "Enthusiasm for Your [i.e., God's] house [i.e., the Temple] will consume me."

¹⁸ So, the Jews asked Him, "What [miraculous] sign will you show us, since you are doing these things [i.e., disrupting their merchandising activities]?"

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "[If you] destroy this Temple, I will raise it up in three days."

²⁰ But the Jews said, "It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and are you going to rebuild it in three days?"

²¹ But Jesus was speaking about the "temple" of His [physical] body. ²² Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said and they believed the Scriptures and the words Jesus had spoken.