The Temple Disruption

Tuesday of Holy Week

Lectionary Texts:

OT: Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalm 71;1-14

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Gospel: John 12:20-36

 

The Temple Disruption is in all four gospels but with a distinctive difference in John. In the Synoptics (Mt., Mk., Lk.) it occurs on the Monday of the last week of Jesus life and is the event that precipitates the plot against him. In John it occurs very early, in chapter 2, in the first year of Jesus' three year ministry. The Synoptic chronology is almost certainly more accurate. 

 

That Jesus had cased out the Temple the day before indicates that this was not a spontaneous act but carefully planned. The action takes place in the outer courtyard of the Temple, where sacrificial birds are sold to Jews who have made pilgrimage to Jerusalem to sacrifice. 

 

There are a number of common misunderstandings about what took place and why:

 

First, the term "cleansing of the Temple" is inaccurate. The term is not used in any of the gospels. What Jesus does is no act of cleansing or purification. 

 

Second is the idea that Jesus is disputing commercialization of the Temple. There may be souvenir hawkers within the large Temple compound but not here. 

 

Third is misunderstanding of the role of the money changers. According to Jewish law, the sacrificial animals must be bought with Jewish money (shekels). Pilgrims would more likely have Roman money (denarii). The money changers exchanged the Roman money for Jewish money, so that pilgrims could buy the sacrificial doves. The money changers did not charge excessive exchange rates. Their rates were controlled by the Temple authorities.  

 

Fourth is Jesus OT reference, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations but you have made it a den of robbers" (Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11)."The word robbers (Greek lystai) is commonly used in Jesus' time to refer to political insurrectionists or "zealots" who were known to hang out within the Temple compound. They were called robbers because they frequently ambushed non-Jews on the roads and stole from them.  The reference to the Temple as a "house of prayer" may indicate that the Temple has become, under the influence of the priests, a house of sacrifice rather than a house of prayer. Scores of priests administered sacrifices all day long. There wasn't much time for prayer. There was a whole staff whose job was to clean up blood.

 

So why did Jesus disrupt the Temple? It seems clear that he opposed the power of the priests. Maybe that was all, but there could be more. Was he opposing the whole idea of animal sacrifice, the whole idea of the Temple? 

 

Many scholars disqualify this idea because earlier in his ministry Jesus had told a leper whom he had healed to go to the Temple, see a priest and have a sacrifice made. I rather think  that in this case it was to show the priest that a he could make clean a man who was thought to be irreparably unclean because of his leprosy. 

 

The gospels never show Jesus making a sacrifice or encouraging his disciples to sacrifice. They do show him opposing the priests. After the Temple disruption the priests immediately plot to have Jesus killed. Would simply the overturning of tables prompt a death plot? I think it more likely that they saw Jesus as opposing the whole institution of sacrifice and opposing the Temple itself. That would be a threat to the priests livelihood and to all they believed. Just a few days earlier Jesus prophesied the total destruction of the Temple within a generation (Mark 13). After his death and resurrection the early Christians came to think of him as the once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews) and ceased to practice animal sacrifice. 

 

I will note that my views on this do not represent the majority of scholars. So, if you can, give me a better solution to the question, why did Jesus disrupt the Temple? 

 

Lord Jesus,

You sacrificed your life for us. You gave your all. Help us to give in return. In your name. Amen.

 

Faithfully,

Christian