“The Jews passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.”
This seems to be the first Passover after the Lord Jesus began His public teaching. At that time Jewish men came from all countries, as the temple was the only place sacrifices were to be offered. Very many animals were used, and many gifts of money were given.
All should have been in praise to God; instead, it was as a market place to make money. The gifts were to be in special money, so men charged fees to make the changes, which was contrary to their laws (Ex. 30:1-161And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. 2A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. 3And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. 4And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. 5And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 6And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. 10And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord. 11And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. 14Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord. 15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. 16And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. (Exodus 30:1‑16); Deut. 23:1919Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: (Deuteronomy 23:19); Deut, 14:24-25).
True Zeal
Jesus was grieved to see the business there, and He made a scourge (a whip of leather cords) and drove out the sheep and oxen, and told the men selling doves to take them away. He overturned the tables of the money changers, and said, “Take these things hence; make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise” (a place to buy and sell).
But the men in charge of the temple were indignant, although they knew the laws of God, and that it was entirely wrong for them to allow such things. They asked Jesus to show “a sign” of His right to do this.
The Son of God
His words, “My Father’s house,” were the same as to say He was the Son of God, and explained the reason for His right to clear God’s house of what was wrong.
These men had not believed the answer of the prophet John that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Holy One. If they had, they would have known His authority and have been ashamed at their wicked ways.
But Jesus gave them a sign; He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Sign
They did not understand that. They knew the temple had been many years in building, and they asked how he could build it in three days. They meant to ridicule Him.
But “the sign” He told them was really a prophecy of His own death. They would try to “destroy” Him on the cross, and He would rise in three days. If they had believed the Scriptures they would have known that the Holy One to come was their true “Temple,” for it was only by Him they could be blessed and God could be worshipped; He was their real “altar,” “ark” and “mercy seat.”
After He was crucified they only wanted His tomb made more sure (Matt. 27:62-6462Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. (Matthew 27:62‑64)). They did not give up their evil ways.
Further Meditation:
1. How did Jesus show that He was God?
2. Why did they have moneychangers in the temple in the first place?
3. If you would like to know more about the moneychangers and many other cultural references found in the Word of God then you might find Manners and Customs of the Bible by J. M. Freeman a very useful resource. It has an index but is arranged from Genesis to Revelation making it a nice accompaniment to any study of the Scriptures.