Christ Cleansing the Temple
T. Binney. Matthew 21:12-14 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple… We have a similar record to this in each of the four Gospels. I. THE PLACE. at which this event occurred. Jesus went into the temple of God. 1. The appliances and construction of the temple in our Lord's time indicated a process of development in the system of Judaism. 2. It was into the capacious court of the Gentiles that our Lord entered, and in which He found these desecrations. That the Jew should have done this, marked a want of reverence and a proper spiritual feeling with regard to God's worship that was most strange when contrasted with all the holy traditions of that sacred place. II. THE TIME AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS OCCURRENCE. The chronology of the first three Gospels differ considerably from that of the fourth. I have no hesitation in saying that this act was done twice — that it did occur at the beginning and at the end of His ministry. I can see a considerable difference in the circumstances at each period. We may interpret the first doing of this act, as recorded by John, as done almost exclusively, certainly pre-eminently, as Jesus the prophet — as a reformer, as one belonging to the old dispensation, and speaking -in the spirit of it. But at the end of His ministry the act had a deeper significance and a wider meaning: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." That which is polluted and degenerate, let it pass away. Let a new age come. Let a new dispensation be established, and let all the nations of the earth be welcomed, etc. He did this second action more emphatically in His character as Messiah. In each separate act there was a deep significance, and both teach their peculiar lessons. III. Some of the GENERAL LESSONS of instruction which we may gather from them. (T. Binney.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, WEB: Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers' tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.