Holy Week, Day by Day: Monday ~ Jesus Clears the Temple

“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, ‘It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” –Matthew 21:12-13 (ESV).

All four of the gospel writers give an account of Jesus cleansing the temple. Three—Matthew, Mark and Luke—place it during what we call Holy Week. Matthew seems to arrange it immediately following Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which would have been on Sunday. However, scholars point out that Matthew (as well as the other gospel writers) condenses some of the narrative of what Jesus did during Holy Week, not placing events in chronological order. Mark’s account (11:15-17) clearly places it the next day following His triumphal entry, or on Monday morning. Luke (19:45-46) abbreviates the Temple cleansing, placing it immediately following Jesus’ weeping over the city of Jerusalem but before Jesus began to teach those who listened raptly within the Temple courts. John’s account (2:13-21), on the other hand, places it early in His ministry, immediately after the wedding of Cana in Galilee, when He had turned water into wine. Scholars see John’s account either as the “first cleansing” of the temple by Jesus, or, certainly, as one of the “signs” by which Jesus was identified as “the Word made flesh and dwelling among us” (John 1:14). This sign of His cleansing the temple certainly showed His authority from God to apprehend those who desecrated the Temple of God and that such action was not acceptable.

In cleansing the temple, Jesus showed His prophetic zeal for God’s house and foreshadows judgment on the Jewish leaders who had allowed worship and all associated with it to deteriorate into commerce. The portion of the Temple and the persons involved in the wrath of Jesus were in the area known as an outer portico of the Temple near the “Court of the Gentiles. There merchants set up booths and sold animals and birds offered as sacrifices. This was a convenience. Jews were dispersed into many countries. When they returned to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple at Jewish holy seasons (the Passover being the one during Holy Week), they had a place to purchase sacrifices without having to bring them on their long journeys or go somewhere within Jerusalem to buy them. But the din and base commercialization—and the profits made by those who bought and sold—were an abomination to the sacred area of the house set aside for God’s worship. “As it is written,” Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” Jesus, well-versed in the Hebrew scriptures, was quoting Isaiah 56:7, which indicated the sacredness in which the house of prayer was to be held, and how it was intended “for all peoples,” not just the Jews.

Do you ever wonder what Jesus would do and say if He visited our places of worship today? Our church buildings, set aside for the worship of Almighty God, are sometimes used for many activities other than genuine worship of the Lord God. Do we sit on Sunday mornings distracted by those talking around us, and are we guilty ourselves—totally unprepared for worship? Our minds should be called to prayer and worship by the strains of a lofty prelude—or, even prior to that time in the service—we should have quieted our hearts and stilled our minds before an awesome God. May Jesus’ act of cleansing the Temple remind us that we enter sacred ground when we go to church. Doris Akers wrote in her beloved hymn, “There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place, And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.” Pray that we may be more aware of adoration of the living God when we enter His presence, whether at church or at our personal altar. With the Psalmist may we say, truly, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1, KJV).

Shout Hosanna! Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” –Zechariah 9:9 (ESV). “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.’”-Matthew 21:8-11 (ESV).

All four gospel writers record what we have come to term Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

You might like to read all four accounts in their entirety: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; and John 12:12-19. In Christendom, we call the observance “Palm Sunday,” marked by the triumphant waving of palm branches. On that day in Jerusalem the jubilant waving of palm branches and laying of cloaks in the path were outward acts declaring the people’s recognition of and submission to Jesus as King. Waving of palm branches had been associated with important Jewish victories of the past. Imagine the tenor of the crowd as they expected soon that their long-expected Messiah would declare His rule and free them from Roman oppression. Jesus rode on a donkey. That, too, had significant symbolism. One who rode in triumph on a lowly donkey brought peace—not war. Of the four gospel writers, Matthew is the only one who mentions two animals, both the donkey and her colt. We are not to see a problem here, but that both were brought by the disciples sent to get them. It is fitting to recognize that the donkey would have walked alongside her unbroken colt to give confidence to the young animal on whom no one had ever ridden. But Jesus rode on the foal. The shout of “Hosanna in the highest!” is from Psalm 118:25-26. The translation from the Hebrew (hoshiahna) is rendered “Save us!”: “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pary, give us success! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.”

An atmosphere of celebration and jubilation is everywhere. Noted by the religious authorities whose critical watch was ever upon the prophet and healer—whom they termed an impostor—they commented on the commotion at the city gate: “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him” (John 9:19). When some of the Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke his disciples for the celebration and demonstration of loyalty their shouts and actions displayed, Jesus told them, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out!” (Luke 19:40). Jesus was referring to the words from Habakkuk 2:11: “For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.”

We are likely to view the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with regret because the ones who cast palm branches and cloaks before Jesus and cried so fervently, “Hosanna in the highest!” could so quickly turn against the King of King and Lord of Lords and cry, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” But we must view this great event in the earthly life of our Lord in the perspective of His purpose for coming to earth. He was, indeed, King of King and Lord of Lords—but not in the way anticipated. He was not just for the Jews to be declared their king alone and to establish His rule in the holy city of Jerusalem. He is indeed the righteous Davidic Messiah who would “save His people from their sins” (see Mark 8:31, Romans 5:6-8). His triumph as Christos, Saviour, Messiah, Emmanuel was His ultimate purpose: Not for the Jews but for everyone who will crown Him King! Not for an age, but for all ages! Not for an earthly dominion but for the glory of an eternal kingdom! Let us indeed shout “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”