On Palm Sunday, Jesus, is welcomed by thousands in Jerusalem. They shout Hosanna and lay palms in his path as he approaches the temple. The second temple was remodelled by Herod “the Great” who had slaughtered children to preserve his reign. The massive plaza with a new livestock market was completed in 20-18 BC. Since before Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was born; sheep, doves, goats, and oxen have been sold within the temple complex. During the last week of his life he will teach tens of thousands people until he is arrested and crucified.
In order to prepare the temple to accommodate the immense crowds of listeners, he and his disciples must clear away the market place and thousands of animals. No painter, playwright or filmmaker has ever portrayed this massive task true to the teachings and dignity of the Savior of Mankind.
Portrayals of the Cleansing in the light of Passover Sacrifice
S. Harrison Knudson [email protected]
May 2024
Artists, playwrights, and filmmakers have been portraying the Cleansing of the Temple for nearly two thousand years. The focus of every portrayal comes from one phrase found in the Gospel of John. Glaringly absent from these portrayals is any acknowledgement of the Saviors actual teachings. There is no depiction of ‘turning the other cheek or danger of hellfire for anger at a brother. Nor is there any presence of the thousands of lambs, cattle, and people that were present in a marketplace added to the temple by Herod. These portrayals focus on people cowering or some sort of riotous reaction to the “righteous indignation” on display.
These images show Jesus violating mosaic law, committing assault and battery, destroying property, and causing a riot in His Father’s house. These actions are not consistent with his teachings. Here, the context of the Cleansing is as important as the narrative content of the Gospels.
In order to understand the Cleansing we must comprehend the enormity of the task that Jesus and his disciples must accomplish in order to ready the temple facility for the great crowds who will come to hear the Savior address them for the last time during his mortal ministry.
This article serves as an invitation for introspection and conversation by will examining the logistics of providing a sacrifice for every household in Israel; the temple Facilities constructed by Herod that radically altered the sale and distribution of sacrificial animals; and the language that specifies the cord braided by Jesus was specifically for driving livestock.
In the synoptic gospels this cleansing took place after the Saviors Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Jesus will spend most of the Passover week teaching in the temple. After he is put on trial and crucified in the words of Paul “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
A greater understanding of the Passover helps us understand the symbolism of the great atoning Sacrifice of our Savior. The enormity of the celebration and the logistics of sacrifice will shed light on the actions taken by Jesus during his cleansing of the temple.
In the old testament, one Passover is described in 2 Chronicles 35:7:
And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the Passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king’s substance.
In the thousands of paintings and hundreds of film and video depictions and only few sheep are ever present.
For the Passover every adult male in Israel is required to sacrifice. The Passover meal instructs every household to ritually sacrifice a lamb and eat it as a family with each family member participating.
The narrative of the cleansing in the synoptic gospels is rather brief:
Matthew 21:12 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,13 And said unto them, It is written, My ahouse shall be called the house of bprayer; but ye have made it a cden of thieves.
Mark 11:15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might adestroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
Luke 19:45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the ahouse of prayer: but ye have made it a bden of thieves. 47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
Let us examine the synoptic gospels closely. All three state:
Jesus went to the temple
Cast out or began to cast out those who sold and bought
Matthew and Mark state that he then overturned the tables, then overturned the stools
Mark adds that he would not suffer any man to carry a vessel
All three state:
Jesus said you have made my Father’s house a den of thieves.
The order of these actions is important. John’s description includes more details.
John 2: 13 ¶ And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of amoney sitting: 15 And when he had made a ascourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The azeal of thine house hath beaten me up.
The order is the same with a few more details:
Jesus goes to the temple
He finds those who sell
Jesus braids a scourge of cords. (Entire Dissertations have addressed this)
And he drives them out, the sheep and the oxen
He pours out the money
He overturns the tables
He then tells those who sell doves take these things
He tells the dove merchants make not my father’s house a house of merchandise
John quotes psalms saying the disciples remembered the emotional state of “Zeal”
This order matters. Close examination reveals that the market place was dismissed and ushered out of the temple before the money is poured out and then the tables are overturned.
John specifies that Jesus statement about his Father’s house was made specifically to those who sold doves.
These large courtyards are used for different purposes during different festivals and gatherings.
The Messiah has arrived and is about to teach his people in the holiest of settings. Jesus is not at the temple to pitch a fit or merely to confront corruption and desecration. There is an immense task to be accomplished. The temple must be prepared for the crowds who will come to hear him speak. He is there personally to oversee a massive undertaking in preparation for sacred events.
Yes, the presence of commerce and animals in the temple courtyard is offensive and blasphemous. On that day, The Savior approached the Temple with beseeching, understanding and peace. His task is not confrontation. He and his disciples are there to literally clean the temple and prepare for the crowds that will come to hear his teaching.
There are numerous articles, and images showing the vastness of temple complex and the courtyards with capacity for thousands of people. The temple of Herod is a vast upgrade and expansion of the second temple. His additions include much larger plazas atop massive retaining walls and a large market place.
Now, imagine entering the holiest of sanctuaries through a gift shop full of noisy, stinking animals.
For the Passover, every adult male in Israel is required to sacrifice a lamb. Thousands upon thousands of animals will be ready for sale at the temple. Before Herod’s great market place was built, these animals were kept at a market near the pool of Bethsaida. Ancient estimates of the number of animals required exceed 100 thousand. There is debate whether that is for a single day. When the first temple was dedicated Solomon sacrificed 22,000 bulls and 20,000 lambs (2nd Chronicles 7:5)
Imagine a nationwide religious observance in our day. Each Thanksgiving in the United States nearly 50 million turkeys are consumed in a single day. Imagine if those turkeys were corralled live and then sold, feathers and all, at our temple.
When Jesus arrives at the temple there are thousands of sheep waiting to be purchased. Due to the immense demand for sheep and the limited capacity at the temple, surely there is also a staging area outside of the temple with thousands of more sheep.
Imagine in our day, a large shopping mall at Christmas. It is the biggest time for purchases and the largest market in the entire country.
The Temple at Passover has more animals and people than at any other time of year. Driving out thousands of animals, vendors, and money changers is not a simple task. This would take great coordination and hours of time in order to get that many animals and people to cooperate and exit the facility.
Depicting this on canvas, fresco, or silver screen would be rather mundane and would require thousands of sheep, either real or digitally set into motion. The kings and tyrants who commissioned paintings in their palaces and castles, desperately need to justify their own violence. They need to portray Jesus as angry and violent to justify their own grievous sins and violations of heavenly law.
These depictions contradict everything we know about Jesus and his teachings. The Savior taught that to shout Rocca you fool would put one in danger of hell fire. Films and art depicting these actions do not depict properly how this event transpired step by step. They seek drama and action not understanding. There are numerous paintings, films, and depictions of the “Cleansing of the Temple”. None of these images tell a story that is consistent with the the actual text of the bible nor the teachings of the Savior.
All four gospel narratives agree that the sellers and their animals were driven out. Then the tables are cleared of all money. Only after the money is collected the tables are then overturned.
Almost every translation describes Jesus “pouring” the money. I have found only one that uses the English word “scattered”
Remember, we have no record of any merchant making a claim for lost income or tortious interference with a business.
Later in the gospel narratives Judas will be described as throwing the money at the feet of the Pharisees. Jesus does not throw and he does not spill. The order is clear. The money is poured before the tables are overturned.
Imagine yourself closing up a business at the end of the day. Coins are collected in bags, or money envelopes, then carried from the cash registers to a secure place for counting. Thousands of managers and clerks in every store, bank, theater, and restaurant pour coins into machines for counting every single day and night in millions of locations around the world.
The act of Overturning the tables does not have to imply violence or anger. Remember, the sellers, money changers, and animals were already gone. The money had been cleared and poured. Before crowds of people arrive and sit to listen to the Savior teach the stones need to be literally “cleansed”. This great plaza has just been occupied by thousands of sheep.
The sermons that will be given are sacred and the space where the teaching takes place needs to be clean and sanitary for occupation by human beings. For a sacred presentation that space should not smell like a barnyard or be scattered with slip hazards and refuse.
Perhaps a good comparison for the great plazas of the temple of Herod is a modern convention center or even our own fellowship halls in our modern places of worship. On Sunday we set up chairs for worship in adjacent overflow spaes, but on an evening we may set up tables for a banquet, or decorations for a ward holiday celebration. At the end of the event we overturn the tables and fold up the chairs and place them in their designated storage area.
The same sequence is enacted at the end of the day in schools or at the end of the night in a restaurant. Tables are moved. Stools overturned or stacked in order to make way for mops and buckets. The space may be used at one time for basketball and another time a stage play. It is a multipurpose space and the furnishings can be removed.
The gospel narrative of the Cleansing is rather spare. Most of the details are derived from John. When examined legally, the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin may provide much more clarity.
Mark 14:55–59 states that many gave false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree The temple mount accommodates thousands of people. Surely, had Jesus whipped people and caused a riot there would have been numerous witnesses to attest to the facts.
Anyone who was aggrieved by actions taken by Jesus during the cleansing had 4 days to bring a complaint to local magistrates or to members of the Sanhedrin. Under both Jewish and Roman law, aggravated assault was punishable by law. There is a glaring absence of any charges of assault or battery. Jesus drove people out of the temple. The narrative in john also describes driving out the animals.
There have been entire dissertations on Greek and Aramaic grammar that demonstrate that Jesus did not use his braided cord on people. He drove “them” a pronoun that specifically refers to the cattle and the sheep. No single witness comes forth to say that Jesus struck them or whipped them. No testimony is given about stolen sheep, missing money, or damage to tables. The Pharisees are desperate to paint Jesus as an enemy of Rome. Disturbing the peace or causing a riot at the Temple would surely be a charge that would warrant the attention of Roman authority.
Instead the charge is that Jesus claims to be the Messiah and is therefore claiming authority that can only belong to Caesar.
Jesus is brought before Pilate then Herod. Both are reluctant to find any charges that warrant a death sentence. This lack of concern, especially after a major event like the Cleansing of the Temple suggests that the cleansing has been miss portrayed.
Jesus says that the merchants have made his father’s house a den of thieves or a house of commerce. Would it not be as blasphemous and offensive to turn the house of the lord into a riot or crime scene?
There were numerous actors in the temple that day besides our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There were highly trained Roman guards armed with deadly weapons and protected by heavy armor. There were merchants who obtained licenses to work in the temple from high priests who had been appointed by Roman officials rather than chosen through traditional religious means. There were crowds of people gathered there for the Passover many of them had traveled from very far away to attend the temple on a sacred religious holiday. There were workers assigned to tend the pigeons and the sheep. There were accountants working the exchange between Greek and Roman coinage and the sacred coins recognized by the temple.
Many of the participants in this scheme knew that they were dealing falsely and taking advantage of a system that had been corrupt for years. Whether or not they recognized Jesus in his newly acclaimed position as King is unknown. In modern times we hear many people refuse to recognize a leader that some others may have put into power.
Before embarking on this sacred mission Jesus and his apostles would have taken time to plan and to train their most trusted disciples on how to proceed in what could have been a very volatile and dangerous situation. The law is clear. To threaten another person with harm is assault to strike them or even touch them is battery to harm their property is also a crime. Each disciple had to understand the legal implications of their actions and the authority by which they were acting.
These disciples were entering into a place guarded by the deadliest, elite soldiers of the Roman army. They were armed heavily and armored. The disciples who were chosen to aid with this work had to be vetted they had to be interviewed they had to be trusted. And taking on this assignment to assist the savior there could be no feelings of contention; there could be no radical zealots; there had to be peace and assurance in the cause of the Son of God. Each person who helped in cleansing the temple had to have immense faith and trust that they would not be harmed that they were committing an act that was legal and would not have criminal consequences that could destroy their family and their reputations and their ability to earn an income.
Before counting the money at each vendor’s stall witnesses had to be gathered and present to verify the account.
Our Savior could not possibly have assaulted anyone, caused a riot and his father's house, or damaged any personal property. It's simply is not in the nature of the Son of God to act with contention or malice. Jesus specifically taught that anyone who shouts rocca you fool at his brother is in danger of hellfire. How can we then not experience some sort of cognitive dissonance at this statement and how his actions in the temple are portrayed.
The Savior is our model for acting with the authority of God, by exercising priesthood keys. He was confronted with an appalling situation offensive to the very core of any faithful worshiper of the God of Israel. The most sacred home of the very presence of His Father had been taken over by a market of animals and corrupt money changers. The high priests, themselves, were appointed by foreign invaders and pagan guards stood ever present with deadly weapons. This situation was outrageous and offensive to the soul. Christ, especially in this situation, is our guide for how to act when political, military, and grievous oppressive power is overwhelming.
Our Savior taught and acted with dignity. His life was lived in perfection and without sin. We cannot apply the term righteous indignation when righteousness cannot be indignant. Jesus personally involved himself in the work of preparing the temple for his final sermons to his people.
As we imagine our Saviour cleansing the temple, let us remember his teachings. Let us read carefully and understand that the teachings of Jesus Christ are not compatible with violence or riots.
John 2:17 describes the disciples remembering Psalm 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; And the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
Matthew 21:15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the achildren crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, (indignant) 16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Even with all of the sheep, grand exit, accounting, and cleansing; the scribes and chief priests were able to hear children crying in the temple, “hosanna to the Son of David”
Many translations of Matthew describe the Pharisees as indignant. This event, fraught with tension and potential for disaster took place with enough solemnity and reverence that children were heard. The disciples describe the emotion was Zeal.
Conclusion: I hope that I have zealously represented a case for peaceful cleansing. Remember, after Jesus cleanses the temple the first people to arrive are the blind and the lame. And, He healed them.
The great rabbi who taught us to pray for our enemies and turn the other cheek He said.1 “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”2 And then, of course, He gave the admonition that challenges each of us: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
He is our exemplar in laying aside bitterness, healing misunderstanding, and refusing to take offense. Let us all Pray to have the courage and wisdom to say or do what He would.
