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

¹² And Jesus went into the temple and drove out all the buyers and sellers, and turned the money-changers' tables and the dove-dealers' seats upside down, ¹³ and said to them, "The Scripture says, 'My house must be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a cave for robbers."

¹⁴ Then blind and crippled people came to Him, and He cured them. ¹⁵ But because the high priests and scribes saw the wonders that He did and the children shouting in the temple, "Welcome the Son of David," they were indignant ¹⁶ and asked Him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" Jesus answered them, "Yes. Did you never read this, 'Out of the mouths of little children, yea, of infants, you have perfect praise'?"

¹⁷ And He left and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

¹⁵ Then they reached Jerusalem, and He went into the temple and began to drive out of it those who were buying and selling things in it. Then He upset the money-changers' tables and the dove-dealers' counters, ¹⁶ and would not let anybody carry a vessel through the temple.

¹⁷ And He continued teaching them and saying, "Does not the Scripture say, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a cave for robbers." ¹⁸ Then the high priests and the scribes heard of this, and they kept looking for some way to destroy Him, for they were afraid of Him, for everybody was swept off his feet at what He said.

¹⁹ So when evening came, He and His disciples used to go out of the city.

⁴⁵ Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things in it, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, "The Scripture says, 'And my house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a cave for robbers."

⁴⁷ So He was teaching daily in the temple, and the high priests and the scribes and the leading men of the people were trying to destroy Him, ⁴⁸ but they could not find, as hard as they tried, what to do with Him, for all the people continued to hang on His words.

¹⁴ And in the temple court He found the dealers in cattle, sheep, and pigeons; the money-changers, too, seated at their tables. ¹⁵ So He made a lash out of cords, and drove them all, together with the sheep and cattle, out of the temple court, scattered the money-changers' coins and upset their tables. ¹⁶ Then He said to the pigeon-dealers, "Take these things out of here! Stop using my Father's house as a market place!"

¹⁷ His disciples recalled that the Scriptures say, "My zeal for your house will consume me!"

¹⁸ Then the Jews addressed Him and asked, "What sign can you show us that you have authority to act in this way?"

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it in three days."

²⁰ Then the Jews retorted, "It took forty-six years to build this sanctuary, and you are going to raise it in three days!"

²¹ But He meant the sanctuary of His body. ²² So after He had risen from the dead, His disciples recalled that He had said this, and so believed the Scripture and the statement that He had made.