After Jesus entered the city walls of Jerusalem being celebrated by His followers, He went straight to the temple and caused quite a stir. Jesus was on a mission.
THE TEMPLE BUSINESS
The Temple had become a big business. Every Passover, many thousands of people would descend upon Jerusalem to celebrate and bring their animal sacrifices. Many needed to purchase an animal to take to the priest for the atonement of their sins. There were a variety of animals available for people of different means. Some could afford a bull or a lamb, others could only afford small birds. But these animals were for sale in the temple and typically for high prices. Think of any tourist trap you’ve been to; this is the type of thing that was taking place in the temple.
It was also common that Jews who lived in other countries would make a pilgrimage and would need to exchange currency as well. And this too came at a steep cost. This money that was being collected was used to fund the temple operations and was also enriching the Sadducees. They were the part of the Sanhedrin opposite of the Pharisees who held the purse strings of the temple mount. They were in the position of power.
JESUS CLEARS THE TEMPLE
You can imagine how Jesus’ visit in the middle of the temples peak season might have gone over. Jesus entered the city to a boisterous crowd, celebrating his entrance and crying out “Hosanna, to the son of David”! They worshipped him as the Messiah. The Chief Priests had been trying to get rid of Jesus for months by now and this was a very unwelcome appearance. But then after the triumphal entry, Jesus does something even more provocative.
Matthew 21:12 – And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.
We must remember how Jesus is entering Jerusalem. He just created an uproar by showing up with a traveling party that included Lazarus, whom Jesus had just raised from the dead a couple of days prior. The news of this preceded Jesus and the Chief priests are trying to figure out what to do with it. His popularity is far too great to just arrest Him. With this entrance, Jesus goes straight to the temple, the house of worship, and drives out all those exploiting the worshipers financially. He clears out the money changers and the sacrificial animal sellers that had been profiting from the people for their worship.
Matthew 21:13 – And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.
Jesus also publicly rebukes them for their business practices related to temple worship! The financial and power center was being disrupted in a major way. The chief priests couldn’t just retaliate in the moment, nor could any kind of security be called on to remove Jesus because of the crowd that followed and celebrated Him! Social upheaval and turmoil would have called the Romans soldiers into action, and they didn’t want that. That was also a challenge to their power and authority.
A CONTRAST
Immediately following Jesus’ removal of the merchants and those purchasing. A different group becomes the focus in the temple.
Matthew 21:14 – And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
This must have been quite a scene. The chief priests and their merchants were removed from the area by Jesus and what is left are those in need. It’s probable that these people were already at the temple begging and hoping for help. Many of them were likely being ignored and possibly moved out of view so as to not interrupt the “worship” that was taking place. Jesus, however, heals their ailments in the view of the everyone!
One would think that this display of compassion and power would convict the Chief Priests and convince them of who Jesus was. But instead, their hearts grow harder.
Matthew 21:15-16 – But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for yourself’?”
The Sanhedrin sees miracles with their own eyes, and they hear the shouts from children recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and instead of believing, they instead question Jesus about what the children are saying. They’re convinced Jesus does these miracles by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24). They ask Jesus if He recognizes that they are calling him the Messiah! Jesus not only confirms that He hears them, but He also insinuates they’re correct by quoting Psalm 8:2. Jesus will later confirm before them that He is the Messiah, the Son of God and that is ultimately what they “convict” Jesus of and send Him to the cross. Little do they know that this is God’s will and His plan all along.
Jesus then leaves the temple and goes back to Bethany for the night and the first day of the passion week is complete. The crowds celebrating Jesus’ arrival that day aren’t necessarily understanding the nature of His visit to Jerusalem. At this point in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus has already predicted His death, burial, and resurrection several times to His own disciples. He knows exactly what He is doing. So, what are the people at the triumphal entry and the temple hoping for? They believe Jesus is entering Jerusalem to become the reigning Messiah that will set up His kingdom on earth. They want Him to make the nation of Israel the kingdom of power that will unseat the Romans and make them the dominant nation on earth. Meanwhile the Jewish leadership doesn’t want their deal disrupted and they don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah they’ve been looking for. We’ll learn in the next couple of chapters that the disciples still don’t fully get what’s happening either, even though Jesus has told them.
CONCLUSION
The rest of Matthew chapter 21 as well as chapter 22 is Jesus going back and forth with chief priest and the scribes. They are the elite leaders in Israel. They are scholars who are supposed to understand the scriptures, the law, and the prophets. And although they are under the authority of the Roman government at this point, they are very influential and the leaders of Jerusalem and more specifically the temple mount.
The Old Testament scriptures point everyone to the coming Messiah. But He is among them, and they don’t see it. Even those who are inclined toward Jesus at this point because of the great teaching and miracles aren’t correctly seeing it except for a few who have believed.
Matthew 21:23 – When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
Jesus returned the next morning to teach in the Temple. The religious leadership returned to question Him as well. And the big question is, who gave you this authority? In our next bible study, we’ll get into Jesus’ response to this question. But this is the question each one of us must answer. We must do something with Jesus.
Throughout the gospels the question arises, “Who do you say that I (Jesus) am?” or “Who do they say I (Jesus) am?” In this passage we hear the chief priests ask the question. In their case, they already think they know who He is. And they’ve decided to destroy Him. So, it’s just a trap question.
Many called Him a prophet, some thought He was John the Baptist reincarnated, others thought He was a great teacher. We hear similar answers today! We will hear people say, ‘He was just a good and wise teacher, or He was one of the great philosophers’. But Jesus claims to be so much more! He is the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world.