His Cleansing of the Temple

["Click here for John's account"]

After leaving Cana where he did His first miracle, Jesus, His mother, His brothers and His disciples go over to Caper-na-mum for a few days. Capernamum was about 18 miles east of Cana on the Sea of Galilee. Caperanmum will become Jesus' headquarters for His ministry in Galilee.
From Capernamum they travel down the Jordan River, making their way to Jerusalem, a trip of about 100 miles. They were going to keep the Feast of the Passover, a Feast that Jesus had keep since He was 12 years old. This will be His first since being baptized and entering into His ministry. They arrived early to be sure not to miss anything and to observe it in it's entirety.
Our text records two things that Jesus did there:

He cleansed the Temple. He entered into one of the courts of the Temple that was called "the Court of the Gentiles". There they sold oxen, sheep and doves for sacrifices for the convenience of those who came long distances. It is very possible that it was here that Mary purchased the doves that were sacrificed for her purification rites when Jesus was 40 days old. The market was allowed by the priests for a percentage of the take. Upon seeing the market and the money changers, those who exchanged foreign currency for Hebrew currency (for a price), Jesus became angry at what must have represented a tremendous desecration to Him of God's House. Obviously these merchants were motivated by more than just a convenience for the worshippers.
Secondly, Jesus made a whip of cords and He drove the merchants and their animals along with the money changers out of the Temple declaring unto them that they had made His fathers house a house of trade (a den of thieves).

Was Jesus telling these people that even if this market had been properly motivated and the sacrifices made in sincerity, they were no longer necessary as He had come to be the ultimate sacrifice and take away, once and for all, the sins of the world, or did He consider it to be robbing God by making religion a matter of profit. Matthew Henry says we are in like trespasses when we fill our worship service with worldly business. Notice that the Disciples recall that it had been written about the Messiah, "Zeal for thy house will consume me."
Notice what effect this event had upon those who observed it: Those who were knowledgeable of the Scriptures understood what Jesus did and why He did it. They did not object, they knew that what they had been doing was wrong, but what they questioned was his authority for doing it. They ask Him to give them a "sign" of His authority. He answered they by saying, "Destroy this Temple (body) and in three days I will raise it up", speaking of His own death and resurrection. But these people were spiritually ignorant even though they knew it was prophesied. Being concerned only with worldly things they assumed He was talking about a building, the Temple, that had taken their ancestors 46 years to build. Any attempt to explain totally missed the mark accept with the Disciples who would later remember that He had said this.
Notice that during the week many believed in His name yet Jesus did not "commit" or "trust" Himself to them because He "knew " all men. He knew all that was in a man's heart. They were either false or they were weak, without the Holy Spirit they would have fallen by the wayside.

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