Bible Study: Jesus Cleanses the Temple

A rich Bible study can be constructed from an examination of the incident in which Jesus drove the moneylenders and merchants from Temple grounds. This event is mentioned in all four Gospels, at Mark 11: 15-18, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 19: 45-48, and John 2:13-19. Speaking to these wicked men, Jesus made Scripture references to Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11, and Psalm 69:9.

I assembled this Bible study on two letter sized pages using 12-pt. font. Copy and paste the text and then place these study notes and questions on the second page:

Chronology
The precise timing of this event in Jesus’ ministry is difficult to place. The Synoptic Gospels have them taking place during the last week of His life, and Mark has it on Monday. The Gospel of John dates it within the first few months of His ministry. It is possible that there may have been two cleansings, or that John placed it early for the theological purpose of showing that the Messiah would bring the judgment of God.

Notes
Mark 11:16: Some scholars speculate that due to the placement of the Temple grounds within Jerusalem, many merchants used it as a shortcut across the city.

Jesus’ reference to Isaiah refers to a chapter in which God tells foreigners and eunuchs that if they serve Him faithfully and with a loving heart, they will be welcomed into His Kingdom. No Gentile who binds himself to the Lord shall be excluded. This was an especially appropriate choice of scripture, because the money changers were located in the Court of the Gentiles, which was as far as Gentiles could approach the Temple to pray.

Notice the authority with which Jesus acts, and how easily it rests upon him: Jesus preaches what the Pharisees consider heresy from the very Temple steps, and the people crowd about him, hanging on his every word. He improvises a whip and drives out many men, with no noted resistance. Wherever Jesus goes, people know that he speaks the truth and acts with righteousness. As Wesley wrote of the merchants: “Though it does not appear that he struck even them; and much less, any of the men. But a terror from God, it is evident, fell upon them.”

Questions
1. To what extent does commercialism invade Christian churches? When is it appropriate and when is it not?

2. Israelites, when reading scripture out loud, would pause when coming to God’s name and remain silent. It was a word that was rarely spoken, out of reverence for his holiness. Many modern Jews spell God as ‘G-d’, deeming the word itself as idolatrous, or limiting to the infiniteness of the Lord. In what practical ways can you be respectful of God that you are not currently practicing?