Why the money changers were expelled from the temple briefly. Expulsion of merchants from the temple

25.10.2020

In. II, 13-25: 13 The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and Jesus came to Jerusalem 14 and found oxen and sheep and doves being sold in the temple, and money changers sitting. 15 And he made a scourge of ropes and drove everyone out of the temple, Also and sheep and oxen; and he scattered the money from the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he said to those who sold doves, “Take this from here, and do not make My Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 And His disciples remembered that it was written: Zeal for Thy house consumes Me. 18 Then the Jews said, “By what sign will You prove to us that you have power do this? 19 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 And He spoke of the temple of His body. 22 And when He rose from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had spoken these things, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 23 And when He was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many, seeing the miracles that He did, believed in His name. 24 But Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew everyone, 25 and did not need anyone to testify about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

A Guide to Studying the Four Gospels

Prot. Seraphim Slobodskaya (1912-1971)
Based on the book “The Law of God”, 1957.

Expulsion of traders from the temple

(John II, 13-25)

Easter was approaching. Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem for the holiday. Entering the temple, He saw great disorder in it: oxen, sheep and doves were being sold there, and money changers were sitting at tables. The lowing of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the talking of people, disputes about prices, the clinking of coins - all this made the temple more like a bazaar than the house of God.

Jesus Christ, making a whip out of ropes, drove all the merchants and their animals out of the temple. He overturned the money changers' tables and scattered their money. And he said to those selling doves: “Take this from here, and do not make My Father’s house a house of trade.” No one dared to disobey Jesus.

Seeing this, the temple leaders became furious. They approached the Savior and said: “What sign will you prove to us that you have the power to do this?”

Jesus Christ answered them: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” By temple He meant His body and with these words he predicted that when He was killed, He would rise on the third day.

But the Jews did not understand Him and said: “This temple took forty-six years to build, how can You raise it up in three days?”

When Christ later rose from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this and believed the words of Jesus.

During the stay of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, on the Easter holiday, many, seeing the miracles that He performed, believed in Him.

Archbishop Averky (Taushev) (1906-1976)
A Guide to Studying the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Four Gospels. Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, 1954.

1. Expulsion of traders from the temple

(John II, 13-25)

The first three Evangelists do not speak clearly about the Lord’s presence in Jerusalem; they tell in detail only about His stay there during Easter, before which He suffered. Only St. John tells us in sufficient detail about each visit of the Lord to Jerusalem on the feast of Easter during the three years of His public ministry, as well as about His visit to Jerusalem on some other holidays. And it was natural for the Lord to visit Jerusalem on all major holidays, for there was the focus of the entire spiritual life of the Jewish people, many people from all over Palestine and from other countries gathered there on these days, and it was there that it was important for the Lord to reveal Himself as the Messiah.

The described St. John at the beginning of his Gospel, the Lord’s expulsion of the merchants from the temple differs from a similar event about which the first three Evangelists narrate. The first was at the beginning of the Lord's public ministry - before the first Easter, and the last - at the very end of His public ministry - before the fourth Easter.

From Capernaum, as can be seen further, the Lord, accompanied by His disciples, went to Jerusalem for the Easter holiday, but not just out of duty, but in order to do the will of Him who sent Him, in order to continue the work of the Messianic ministry begun in Galilee. At least two million Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover holiday, who were obliged to slaughter the Passover lambs and make sacrifices to God in the temple. According to Josephus, in 63 AD, on the day of the Jewish Passover, 256,000 Passover lambs were slaughtered in the temple by the priests, not counting small livestock and birds for sacrifice. In order to make it more convenient for the sale of all this multitude of animals, the Jews turned the so-called “court of the pagans” at the temple into a market square: they drove sacrificial cattle here, placed cages with birds, set up shops for selling everything necessary for the sacrifice, and opened changing offices. At that time, Roman coins were in circulation, and the law required that the temple tax be paid in Jewish sacred shekels. Jews who came for Passover had to change their money, and this exchange gave a large income to the money changers. In an effort to make money, the Jews traded in the temple courtyard with other items that were not related to sacrifices, for example, oxen. The high priests themselves were engaged in breeding pigeons to sell at high prices.

The Lord, having made a scourge from ropes with which, perhaps, they tied animals, drove the sheep and oxen out of the temple, scattered the money from the money changers and overturned their tables and, going up to the sellers of doves, said: “Take this from here, and do not make My Father’s house house of trade." Thus, by calling God His Father, Jesus for the first time publicly proclaimed Himself the Son of God. No one dared to resist the Divine authority with which He did this, for obviously John’s testimony about Him as the Messiah had already reached Jerusalem, and the conscience of the sellers spoke. Only when He reached the doves, thereby affecting the trading interests of the high priests themselves, did they notice to Him: “What sign will you prove to us that you have the power to do this?” To this the Lord answered them: “Destroy this Church and in three days I will raise it up,” and, as the Evangelist further explains, He meant “the church of His body,” i.e. as if he wanted to say to the Jews: “You ask for a sign - it will be given to you, but not now: when you destroy the temple of My body, I will erect it in three days and this will serve as a sign for you of the power with which I do this.”

The Jews did not understand that Jesus with these words predicted His death, the destruction of His body and His resurrection on the third day. They took His words literally, referring them to the Jerusalem temple, and tried to stir up the people against Him. Meanwhile, the Greek verb “egero”, translated by the Slavic “I will erect”, actually means: “I will awaken”, which goes little to a destroyed building, but much more to a body immersed in sleep. It was natural for the Lord to speak of His Body as a temple, for His Divinity was contained in It through the incarnation. While in the temple, it was especially natural for the Lord Jesus Christ to speak of His body as a temple. And every time the Pharisees demanded a sign from Him, He answered that there would be no other sign for them except the one that He called the sign of Jonah the prophet - His three-day burial and uprising. In view of this, the words of the Lord to the Jews can be understood as follows: “It is not enough for you to desecrate the house made with hands of My Father, making it a house of trade; your malice leads you to crucify and put to death My body. Do this, and then you will see a sign that will strike My enemies with horror: I will raise up My slain and buried body in three days.”

The Jews, however, seized on the literal meaning of Christ's words in order to pass them off as absurd and unfulfillable. They point out that this temple, the pride of the Jews, took 46 years to build; How can you restore it in three days? We are talking here about the restoration of the temple by Herod, which began in 734 from the founding of Rome, i.e. 15 years before the birth of Christ. The 46th year falls on the 780th year from the founding of Rome, which is precisely the year of the first Gospel Easter. And the disciples themselves understood the meaning of these words of the Lord only when the Lord rose from the dead and “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”

Further, the Evangelist says that during the Easter holiday, the Lord performed miracles in Jerusalem, seeing which, many believed in Him, but “Jesus did not commit them to Himself,” i.e. did not rely on them, for faith based only on miracles, not warmed by love for Christ, cannot be considered true, lasting faith. The Lord knew everyone, knew what was hidden in the depths of the soul of every person, like an omniscient God, and therefore did not trust the mere words of those who, seeing His miracles, confessed their faith to Him.

A. V. Ivanov (1837-1912)
A Guide to Studying the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Four Gospels. St. Petersburg, 1914.

Expulsion of traders from the temple

(John II, 13-22)

From Galilee, where Jesus Christ appeared more as a private person, He comes to Jerusalem for the holiday of Easter. Here and at this very time He begins His public ministry. The first task of His service to Israel was the cleansing of the temple of Jerusalem, or the courtyard of the tongues itself, from the desecration that had been allowed - under the plausible pretext of legality. The cleansing of the temple courtyard consisted of expelling the sellers of oxen, sheep and doves - necessary for the sacrifices - and removing the stumpers, that is, the money changers (κερματιστας from κόλλυβος = a small coin equal to an ox and charged by the money changers for exchange). The expulsion was carried out decisively and strictly, as can be seen from the fact that for the expulsion (΄εχβάλλειν = to expel with violence: Matt. 22:13; Luke 4:29; John 9:34). In the Greek text, the word “scourge” (φραγέλλιον=flagellus) from ropes is used here - of course, not for hitting animals, in this case not at all guilty, but for threatening those who sell. The money changers' tables are overturned and their money is scattered - and in conclusion they are commanded to accept the cages of pigeons and a bitter reproach is pronounced for those who turned the house of the Heavenly Father into a house of trade.

The cleansing of the temple with such zeal reminded the disciples of Jesus Christ of the zeal for the house of God that once consumed His forefather David (Psalm 68:10), and prompted the Jews to demand a sign from Jesus - that is, proof that He has the authority to do so. Jesus Christ responds to this demand - in the opinion of the Jews, boastfully, and according to the distrust of the disciples, mysteriously - with a promise to erect the temple destroyed by the Jews in three days - and hears from them a proud confession that their temple took 46 years to build. And He - according to the testimony of the Evangelist - spoke about the temple of His body, which, however, the disciples understood only when He rose from the dead.

Note. The event described by the Evangelist John must be distinguished from the similar expulsion of the traders from the temple, about which other Evangelists speak (Matthew 21:12,13; Mark 31:15-17; Luke 19:45-46) and which is different from this and in time, as it was before the suffering of Jesus Christ, and in some details.

1) The need to cleanse the temple is revealed by the fact that the priests - under the guise of making it easier for Jews coming from distant places to make sacrifices - allowed the sale of sacrificial animals in the courtyard of the temple, where only the common people could be present during the Divine Service and offer their Prayers to God. The payment required by the Law for the temple was also collected here, consisting of a didrachm (20 tsat, or penyazi = about 43 kopecks at the 1913 exchange rate) and was usually paid by the sacred shekel (Ex. 30:12-14), which caused some difficulty for newcomers from those areas where the Jewish coin was not used. However, the fee was paid in the month of Adar, and the greed of the priests extended its collection to other months. The inevitable noise, shouts and disorder of trade, intensified by the bleating and screaming of animals, made the place of prayer a home of robbers.

2) The meaning of purification will become clear if you pay attention to how, according to the remark of Blessed Jerome, “the man of that time, a small and neglected man, with the blows of a whip, drives away so many people, despite the anger of the Pharisees, overturns tables, scatters money - one does so much things that a whole crowd would hardly be able to do.” The Jews also felt this meaning when they asked Jesus: show us some sign that you have done this(verse 18)? But they did not understand that this very cleansing of the temple is already a sign of the coming of the Messiah, according to the prophecy of Malachi: and suddenly the Lord, the one you seek, will come to His church, and the Angel of the Covenant, the one you want. And who will endure the day of His coming, and who will stand in the vision of Him? Zane Toy enters like the fire of a furnace, and like the soap of those who feather...(Malachi 3:1-3). This reveals the purpose of this action of Jesus Christ, which many interpreters considered incompatible with the Divine greatness and even with the spirit of love and meekness of Jesus Christ (for example, Origen). This goal is to indicate the high holiness of the place of shrine and worship of God the Father, to prove to the people of Israel that with their sins and hypocritical outward fulfillment of the laws and rituals of the victims they have desecrated even their highest shrine and needs complete cleansing and a new temple, inaccessible to desecration, in which the holy name of God would be worthily glorified. He promises, after the destruction of the desecrated temple in Jerusalem, to erect such a temple in His own body in three days, thereby clearly pointing to His Resurrection by body on the third day after death.

3) But why did Jesus Christ, during the cleansing of the Temple of Jerusalem, talk about the temple of His body, about its destruction by the Jews and its restoration by Him, that is, about His death and Resurrection? - We will understand this if we pay attention to the fact that just as the Temple of Jerusalem was among the Jews the only place in which God lived and showed His glory to His people: so Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, was the temple in which all the fullness of the Divinity lived bodily (Col. 2:9), in which God appeared on Earth and lived with people(Baruch 3:38). But just as the Jews, by their desecration of the temple of Jerusalem, destroyed the place of the dwelling of God among them, so by their persecution and the death inflicted on Christ, they wanted to destroy the temple of the Divinity living in Him; but He rose again and with His Resurrection laid the foundation for a new Church, which no one will destroy (Matt. 16:18): because He Himself eternally abides in it (Matt. 28:20), and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit dwell with Him (John 14:23).

4) The possibility on the part of Jesus Christ to carry out such a cleansing of the temple in the first year of His preaching, as in the last, is proven by His Divine dignity, by the obvious antagonism that throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ manifested itself between Him and the teachers of the synagogue and which immediately put Him on that path , by which He reached the cross and death. If Jesus Christ did not do the same in subsequent visits to the temple, although, without a doubt, trade did not stop, then either because, with the rumor of the coming of the Prophet of Galilee, it entered into decent limits, or because Jesus, avoiding the fight with the insolence of those in charge of the law permitting trade, left until the last hour the final defeat of the self-interested guardians of the shrine of the Lord.

Note. To prove the impossibility of rebuilding the destroyed temple in three days, the Jews say that their temple took 46 years to build. Such a calculation cannot apply either to the temple of Solomon, which took 7 years to build (1 Kings 6:38) and was completely destroyed by the Chaldeans, or to the temple of Zerubbabel, which was built no more than 4 years, but with a significant gap in the time when it stood unfinished - 20 years (Ezra 3:8,10; 4:15); but to the temple, restored and decorated by Herod and his successors, especially Agrippa.

According to Josephus (Ant. 15:11,1), Herod in the 18th year of his reign (732nd from the founding of Rome) began rebuilding the temple and decorating it; but within 8 years he barely managed to construct external buildings. Further decoration and decoration of the temple continued after the death of Herod, Agrippa, and during the earthly life of Jesus Christ were not yet completed, so their complete completion, according to the testimony of the same Josephus (Ancient 20:9,7), dates back to the time before the fall Jerusalem, 84 years from the start of construction. But counting from the same beginning until the time of the appearance of Jesus Christ, when construction was still ongoing, we actually find 46 years, that is, the 770th year from the founding of Rome, when we can usually assume the entry of Jesus Christ into public ministry. The expulsion of the traders from the temple and, in general, the cleansing of the temple by the Lord Himself gives us an excellent lesson in how we should take care of the splendor and decorum in our public temple, which serves as a house of prayer and worship of the Heavenly Father - in particular, about the temple of our spirit and body, which should to be a temple of the Holy Spirit and kept in purity and integrity.

St. John Chrysostom

Art. 12-13 And Jesus entered into the church, and drove out all those who sold and bought in the church, and destroyed the table of the merchants, and the seats of those who sold doves. And he said to them: It is written: My temple will be called the temple of prayer, but you will also create a den of robbers.

John also speaks about this, only he speaks at the beginning of the Gospel, and Matthew at the end. Therefore, it is likely that this happened twice, and at different times. This is clear both from the circumstances of the time and from the response of the Jews to Jesus. John says that this happened on the very feast of Easter, and Matthew says that this happened long before Easter. There the Jews say: show us some sign(John II, 18) ? but here they are silent, although Christ reproached them - they are silent because everyone was already marveling at Him. The accusations of the Jews are all the more worthy of the fact that Christ did this more than once, and they still did not stop trading in the temple, and called Christ the enemy of God, while from here they should have seen the honor given by Him to the Father, and His own power. They saw how He performed miracles, and how His words agreed with His deeds. But they were not convinced by this either, but were indignant, despite the fact that they heard the prophet speaking about this, and the youths glorifying Jesus beyond their years. Therefore, He, denouncing them, quotes the words of the prophet Isaiah: My house of prayer will be called. And not only by this does Christ show His power, but also by the fact that he heals various diseases. Get started, it says to Him the lameness and the blindness, and heal them. And here He reveals His strength and might. But the Jews were not moved by this either, but seeing His last miracles and hearing the youths glorifying Him, they were greatly indignant and said to Him: do you hear what these people say?? It would have been better for Christ to say to them: Do you hear what these people say? After all, the youths sang Him as God. What about Christ? Since the Jews contradicted such obvious signs, Christ, in order to more strongly expose them and correct them together, says: Have you said: from the mouth of a baby and those who piss you have brought praise? And He spoke well - from the lips, since their words did not come from their minds, but His power moved their still imperfect tongue. This also depicted the pagans, who had previously been silent, but then suddenly began to broadcast great truths convincingly and with faith, and at the same time they consoled the apostles a lot. Namely, so that the apostles would not doubt how they, being simple and uneducated people, could preach to the nations, the youths first destroyed all anxiety in them and instilled in them the firm hope that He who taught the youths to glorify the Lord would make them eloquent. This miracle also showed that He is the Lord of nature. Children who had not yet reached adulthood spoke great things worthy of heaven; and the men spoke words filled with all kinds of madness. Such is the wickedness! So, since there were many reasons from which the Jews were irritated, for example, crowds of people, the expulsion of merchants from the temple, miracles, the singing of youths, then Christ again leaves them to appease their anger, and does not want to offer them His teachings, so that they, consumed envy, did not become even more indignant at His words.

Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew.

St. Justin (Popovich)

Art. 12-13 And Jesus entered into the temple of God and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and said to them: It is written, “My house will be called a house of prayer.” and you made it a den of thieves

The temple is the abode of God, therefore it is a house of prayer, for one communicates with God primarily through prayer. If they enter the temple with selfish, money-loving desires, then the temple turns into a den of robbers. Godly prayer is the expression and outpouring of love for God. Selfish prayer is the servant of sin-loving self-love. True prayer is always God-oriented, and therefore humane, because it always helps and multiplies what is divine and God-oriented in a person. Since the temple is a house of prayer, it is thereby a school of human immortality, a school of human infinity, a school of human eternity, for it immortalizes, limits, eternalizes that which is God-oriented, God-like in man.

In a figurative sense: the soul is the abode of God, if it is a house of prayer, if it is a place of prayer. Prayerful means that she is God-oriented and wants to live with God and in God. But the soul turns into a den of robbers if it does not pray: it is robbed and plundered, it is made sick by passions like robbers. And everything that relates to her belongs to the den of robbers. Love of money, pride, hatred, lust, pride, dirty tricks, malice, envy and other sins turn the soul into a den of robbers. If any evangelical desire or God-oriented thought appears in the soul, passions, like robbers, attack it from all sides in order to destroy and destroy it. With great difficulty, the soul turns into a house of prayer = into the abode of God. How? By forcing ourselves to pray, gradually accustoming ourselves to the holy virtues of the Gospel, until they become an integral part of our soul and drive out of us all the robbers = all passions. And these virtues are: faith, prayer, fasting, love, meekness, humility, patience and others. In this holy face of virtues, prayer is the leader.

You are the Church of God Zhivago(2 Cor. 6:16) : ναός, temple, temple. My house will be called a house of prayer; and you made it a den of thieves. You are the Church: the soul is constantly on its knees (in prayer), the whole being is in constant worship; If prayer stops, how will I live tomorrow? - You enter into the robber settlements, into the den into which the church was turned. Church is for prayer, not for robbery. Culture, civilization robs the soul, for it brings into the soul the material, the kingdom of things: money, food, doves, books (see: John 2:14), - and from the house, why does it make a den of thieves... We brought things into the soul, O Lord, to Your house. We are conducting robber calculations... We stole your things, stuck our own labels on everything, our image is human, robber. Lord, may your kingdom come and drive out the thieves from my soul.

Ascetic and theological chapters.

Blzh. Hieronymus of Stridonsky

Art. 12-13 And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all those selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves, and said to them: it is written: “My house will be called a house of prayer”; and you made it a den of thieves

Accompanied by a crowd of believers, who spread their clothes along the way so that the colt could walk without hurting its legs, Jesus enters the temple and drives out everyone who was selling and buying in the temple: he overturned the tables of those who exchanged coins and scattered the seats of the sellers of doves and told them, giving evidence Scripture (Isa. 56:7) - that His father’s house should be a house of prayer, and not a den of thieves or a house of trading transactions (Jer. 7:11). This is also written in another Gospel (John 2:16). Regarding this place, first of all, you need to know that, according to the prescription of the law, in this holiest temple of the Lord in the whole world, where people flocked from almost all the countries of Judea, countless sacrifices were made, especially on holidays, from rams, bulls and goats ; while the poor, in order not to be left without sacrifices, brought chicks, pigeons and turtle doves. In most cases it was the case that those who came from afar did not have sacrificial animals. Thus, the priests figured out how to take booty from the people, and began to sell on the spot all kinds of animals needed for sacrifices, so that at the same time they supplied the poor, and themselves again received back what was sold. But such transactions often turned out to be unsuccessful due to the lack of buyers, who themselves needed funds and did not have not only sacrificial gifts, but even the means to buy birds and cheap gifts. Therefore, [the priests] stationed there also coin exchangers, who, under guarantee, lent money [to the needy]. But since it was prescribed by law (Lev. 25:36; Deut. 23:19) that no one should take interest and therefore could not use the money given at interest, for they not only did not give any profit, but could even be lost ; so they came up with another way, the so-called collivists(Collybistas). The Latin language has no expression to convey the meaning of this word. They called colliva what we call tragemata, that is, small cheap gifts [gifts], for example: roasted peas, raisins and apples of various kinds. Thus, the collivists, not being able to take interest when giving money on interest, took various objects in return, so that what was not allowed [to be taken] in the form of money, they demanded in objects that were purchased for money, as if this was not what he preached Ezekiel saying: Do not take excess or excess(Ezek. 22:12) The Lord, seeing in His Father's house this kind of transaction, or robbery, prompted by the ardor of the spirit, according to what is written in the Sixty-eighth Psalm: Jealousy for Your house consumes me(Ps. 68:10), - he made himself a scourge from ropes and drove a large crowd of people out of the temple with the words: It is written: My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a cave of thieves.. In fact, a robber is a person who makes a profit from faith in God, and he turns the temple of God into a cave of robbers when his service turns out to be not so much service to God as monetary transactions. This is the direct meaning (juxta historiam). And in a mysterious sense, the Lord enters the temple of His Father daily and casts out everyone, both bishops, presbyters and deacons, and the laity, and the entire crowd, and considers both those who sell and those who buy equally criminal, for it is written: Freely received, freely give(see Matt. 10:8). He also overturned the coin changers' tables. Pay attention to the fact that due to the love of money of the priests, the altars of God are called tables of coin exchangers. And he overturned the benches of those selling doves, [that is] selling the grace of the Holy Spirit and doing everything to devour the people subordinate to them, about whom He says [or: it is said]: who devour my people like food(Ps. 13:4) . According to the simple meaning, the pigeons were not on seats, but in cages; Only pigeon sellers could sit on the seats. And this is almost meaningless, because the concept of seating (cathedra) refers primarily to the dignity of teachers, which comes to nothing when mixed with profits. Let everyone understand what we have said about the Churches in relation to himself, for the Apostle says: You are the temple of God, and the spirit of God lives in you(1 Cor. 6:15) Let there be no trading in the house of our heart, neither selling nor buying, nor greed for gifts, lest Jesus come in with severe wrath and cleanse our temple only with a scourge to make it a home prayers from the robbers' cave and from the trading house.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.

Blzh. Theophylact of Bulgaria

Art. 12-13 And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and said to them; it is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer; and you made it a den of thieves

As the lord of the house, that is, the temple, the Lord drove out the merchants, showing that what belongs to the Father belongs to Him. He did this, on the one hand, having concern for the splendor of the temple, and on the other, indicating the abolition of sacrifices, for, having expelled the bulls and doves, he expressed that what was needed was not the kind of sacrifice that consists of slaughtering animals, but prayer was needed. He says: “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves”, for in the dens of robbers there are murders and bloodshed. Or He called the temple a den of thieves because they bought and sold there; and covetousness is the passion of robbers. Traders are the same as our money changers. Doves are sold by those who sell church degrees: they sell the grace of the Holy Spirit, who once appeared in the form of a dove. They are expelled from the temple because they are unworthy of the priesthood. Be careful not to turn the temple of God, that is, your thoughts, into a den of thieves, that is, demons. Our mind will be a den if we allow materially inclined thoughts about selling, buying, and self-interest, so that we begin to collect even the smallest coins. In the same way, we will make ourselves a den of thieves if we sell and buy doves, that is, we will lose the spiritual guidance and reasoning that we have.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.

Evagrius of Pontus

Be attentive to yourself, so that for the sake of profit, empty pleasure or passing glory, you do not speak out about something unspeakable and do not be thrown out of the sacred vestibules, like those selling chicks of doves in the temple.

A speculative, or one who has been awarded knowledge.

Evfimy Zigaben

And Jesus went into the church of God and drove out all those who sold and bought in the church, and the tables of the merchants, and the seats of those who sold doves.

John also says something similar, but he speaks at the beginning of the Gospel, and Matthew and others say it at the end. It is obvious that Christ did this twice and at different times. Then the Jews said to Him: what sign are you showing us?- and now they are silent. And pay attention to their negligence: they were trading in the temple. Some sold to the needy what they needed for sacrifice, i.e. sheep, oxen, doves, as John announced, and other similar things, and others were bought. Traders (κολλυβισται) are people who have small money; Many people also call them moneychangers, because κολλυβος is a small coin and κολλυββιζω means “to change.” So, Christ entered the temple with great power, as Master of the House, and removed the above-mentioned and all the above-mentioned, showing His power over everything, which He, as God, had, and boldness, since He was sinless, - then, caring for the splendor of His temple , - showing the rejection of bloody sacrifices, and teaching us to boldly act in defense of the Church.

Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.

Lopukhin A.P.

And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all those selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.

The cleansing of the Jerusalem temple by Christ is spoken of here for the second time. The first cleansing was told by John (2:13-22). The events told by the evangelists are so similar that they gave rise not only to accusations of the evangelists of so-called overexposure, but also to mockery and mockery due to the fact that they completely mixed up the same event, attributing it to the beginning of the ministry of Christ ( John), then to the end (weather forecasters). Such objections were apparently made not only in modern times, but also in antiquity, and caused refutations. So, discussing this fact, Chrysostom claims that there were two cleansings, and at different times. This is clear both from the circumstances of the time and from the response of the Jews to Jesus. John says that this happened on the very feast of Easter, and Matthew says that this happened long before Easter. There the Jews say: By what sign will You prove to us that You have the power to do this? And here they are silent, although Christ reproached them - they are silent because everyone was already amazed at Him.

Many ancient and modern exegetes agree with the opinion expressed by John Chrysostom (with the exception, of course, of negative critics, and only a few); The opinion that the evangelists here are talking about the same event is currently held by few. In fact, neither the weather forecasters nor the evangelist John could mistakenly mix up such an important event as the cleansing of the temple. The latter is quite suitable for both the beginning and the end of the ministry of the Messiah. The initial cleansing could make a strong impression on both the leaders and the people; but then, as usually happens everywhere, the abuses developed again and became flagrant. The second cleansing is placed in a barely noticeable connection with the hatred of the leaders of the temple, which led to the condemnation and crucifixion of Christ. One can even say that nothing more contributed to such an end than the fact that the Savior by His act greatly affected various property interests associated with the temple, because it is known that there is nothing more difficult and dangerous than the fight against thieves and robbers. And not being a priest, the Savior, of course, did not now enter the temple itself. It is not even known whether He entered the court of men. The scene of events was undoubtedly the court of the pagans. This is indicated by the very expression used here by all weather forecasters, το ίερόν (the addition θεού is not found in other places - here it is made for special expressiveness), which, unlike ό ναός, or the temple building itself, denoted all temple buildings in general, including the court of the pagans. Trade could only take place in the courtyard of the pagans, which is expressed through πωλοΰντας καί αγοράζοντας εν τω in Matthew and Mark. Sacrificial animals, incense, oil, wine and other paraphernalia of temple worship were sold here. Here stood the “tables of the moneychangers” - κολλυβιστών, a word found in John. 2:15 and only here in Matthew and Mark in the New Testament. Traders (κολλυβισταί), according to Theophylact and Zigaben, are the same as money changers (τραπεζίται), and κολλυβος is a cheap coin like an obol or a piece of silver. They were also called (according to Zigaben) καταλλάκται (money changers). As for the benches (καθέδρας), some thought that they were placed in the courtyard of the pagans for women or were brought by them themselves, as if they were mainly engaged in selling pigeons. But in the Gospel text there is no hint of women, but rather one can assume men here, because the participle of “selling” (των πωλούντων) in Matthew and Mark is masculine. The matter is simply explained by the fact that the “benches” or benches were needed for cages with pigeons, and therefore they stood in the temple. Hilary gives an interesting allegorical interpretation here. By dove he means the Holy Spirit; and under the bench is the priest's pulpit. “Consequently, Christ overthrows the pulpits of those who sell the gift of the Holy Spirit.” All these merchants were “expelled” (έξέβαλεν) from the temple by Christ, but “meekly” (tamen mansuetus - Bengel). It was a miracle. Even numerous warriors would not have dared to do such an act (magnum miraculum. Multi milites non ausuri fuerant, Benguela).

Explanatory Bible.

Today's story is very much loved by artists of all times.
Therefore, a lot of illustrations have been collected.
See under trimming.

Mark 11.12-26 THE CURSE OF THE FIG TREE AND THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

(Mt 21.12-22; Lk 19.45-48; Jn 2.13-22)

N and the next day, when they left Bethany, Jesus felt hungry. 13 Seeing a fig tree in the distance covered with leaves, He went to see if there was any fruit on it, but when he approached, he found nothing but leaves - it was too early for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to her:

- So let no one eat your fruits forever!

The disciples heard this.

15 And so they come to Jerusalem. Entering the temple courtyard, Jesus drove out those who were selling and buying in the Temple, overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling pigeons. 16 And he did not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple courtyard. 17 He taught them and said:

– Doesn’t the Scripture say:

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”?

And you turned it into a den of robbers!

18 When the senior priests and teachers of the Law heard this, they began to look for a way to deal with Him. After all, they feared Him, because all the people hung on every word of His teaching.

19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples left the city.

20 Legrand Les Vendeurs Chasses Du Temple

20 Teo c Ma Maison Une Maison De Priere

Jesus and the Moneychangers, Stanislav Grezdo, 2000

The Moneychangers, Iain McKillop, The Lady Chapel Altarpiece, Gloucester Cathedral, 2004

Biblia Pauperum more

Christ driving the money changers from the temple
BASSANO, Jacopo
1569

20 colette isabella

17th century rembrandt

20th century Dennis Les Vendeurs Chasses Du Temple

20th century De Saussure

20th century Fan Pu

1693. Gospel Aprakos

20 The next morning they passed by a fig tree and saw that it was all withered, even from the roots. 21 Peter, remembering what happened yesterday, says to Jesus:

- Teacher, look, the fig tree that You cursed has dried up!

22 Jesus answered and said to them:

23 - Believe God!

Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain:

“Rise up and throw yourself into the sea!” -

and will not doubt in his soul, but will believe,

that what he said will come true,

so it will be!

24 Therefore I say to you:

Whatever you pray for and ask for,

believe that you have already received, -

and so it will be!

25 And when you stand and pray,

forgive everything you have against someone,

so that your Heavenly Father

forgiven you your sins.

VK notes

26 In a number of manuscripts there is Art. 26: “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you your sins.”

Art. 12-14 – The next day Jesus goes again from Bethany to Jerusalem. On the way, He, not finding fruit on the fig tree, curses it, and, as it becomes known from Art. 21, it dries up.

This is one of the most difficult passages in the Gospels.

First of all, because He performs the only miracle that led to destruction.

Secondly, there are obvious inconsistencies and contradictions in the story that Mark tells. The Evangelist reports that Jesus went to look for fruit because he felt hungry. At this time of year, the fig tree (better known to us as “fig”) has fruit ovaries that appear at the same time as the leaves or even earlier. There are no fruits on the fig tree, but even if there were, they would be inedible, as Mark also says: it was too early for fruit. It may seem that Jesus is cursing the unfortunate tree out of frustration and irritation. In addition, Luke does not have an episode with the curse of the fig tree, but he does have a parable, which also talks about a barren fig tree and that the owner is ready to destroy it by cutting it down (Luke 13.6-9). All this cannot but raise questions to which different scientists give different answers.

First of all, we must remember that the passage 11.12-25 consists of two parts:

In the story about the curse of the fig tree, another story is inserted - about the cleansing of the Temple. From this arrangement of material it is clear that the barren fig tree symbolizes the Temple and its worship, lush, beautiful, like a tree with abundant foliage, but just as barren. Some believe that on the way to the Temple, Jesus, seeing a fig tree, told a parable similar to the one found in the Gospel of Luke, which was later understood to be an account of a real event.

According to another version, Jesus committed prophetic action, like the ancient prophets (Jer 13.1-3; 19.1-3; Eze 24.3-12, etc.). If this is so, then the tree was indeed cursed, not out of spite, but because it symbolically represented the Temple and Israel. It was a symbolic act, a dramatized parable that proclaimed the judgment of condemnation that would befall God's people if they continued to persist. Then the words about famine have a symbolic meaning (cf. 6.34). There is also an assumption that Jesus uttered not a curse: “So let no one eat your fruits forever!”, but a bitter prophecy about the fate of Jerusalem: “No one will eat your fruits forever!” However we understand this story, it is clear that the barren fig tree represents a people who refused to bear fruit (cf. Mt 21:43).

Art. 15 - Entering the Temple courtyard, Jesus drove out those who were buying and selling in the Temple.. The temple consisted of four courtyards and a sanctuary (the Temple itself), into which only priests were allowed to enter. The events described here take place in the outer, largest courtyard, which was called the “Court of the Gentiles.”

Everything needed for sacrifices was sold here: wine, oil, salt, as well as animals (bulls, sheep and doves). Animals were sold in the Temple for the convenience of donors, who did not have to drive livestock across the country, risking that the animal would get sick, or lame, or be ritually defiled, because the sacrifice made in the Temple had to be “immaculate,” that is, without any - shortcomings.

Having driven out the merchants, Jesus interrupted, albeit briefly, the ongoing sacrifices in the Temple. Many believed that the reason for this decisive action was the high prices set by monopolistic animal traders. It was believed that it was the merchants who were called robbers (v. 17). But, firstly, according to some reports, the priests strictly monitored prices, and secondly, Jesus’ indignation was directed not only at sellers, but also at buyers.

In addition, Jesus overturned the money changers' tables. In the same courtyard, Roman and Greek money was exchanged for a special Tyrian coin, with which the temple tax of half a shekel was paid. The tax was “voluntary and obligatory” for all Jews over the age of twenty (see Matt. 17:24), and had to be paid by the first of the month of Nisan. Roman and Greek coins of that time, which were in circulation in Palestine, had human images, and it was forbidden to pay the temple tax with such coins. Money could be changed earlier in other cities of the country, but a few days before the 1st Nisan, that is, two weeks before Easter, the benches of the money changers were installed in the courtyard of the Temple. By the way, this can help establish a more or less exact time of the event described - it took place two or three weeks before Easter. Although, according to traditional church calendar, Jesus stayed in Jerusalem for only a week, He probably spent more time there (cf. 14.49, as well as the chronology of the Gospel of John, in which Jesus already in the 7th chapter leaves Galilee and spends about six months in Jerusalem and Judea) .

Art. 16 - Jesus did not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple courtyard. It is known that it was forbidden to bring any thing into the Temple; it was forbidden to enter it wearing sandals and with dust on your feet. In addition, it was not allowed to pass through the Temple courtyard to shorten the route. It is possible that some people sometimes violated this prohibition. Jesus confirms it, thereby advocating for the sanctity of the Temple. Thus, His behavior cannot be explained only by the fact that by His action He supposedly abolished the old sacrificial system and Jewish temple worship.

Art. 17 – Probably the answer lies in the words: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Gentiles who wanted to pray to the one God of Israel could only do so in the Court of the Gentiles, because they were prohibited from entering other courts under pain of death. But this is the only place filled with noise and din, the roar of animals, the voices of sellers and buyers. In addition, the prophets believed that with the coming of the Messiah, the pagans would also be involved in salvation and would come as pilgrims to Mount Zion, to the Temple of the Lord.

Jesus speaks out against overly strict and unnecessary restrictions, but also against a disdainful and frivolous attitude towards the sacred. The temple was turned into a den of robbers by people who were confident that they could come here with an unrepentant heart and gain forgiveness by making a sacrifice. This is how both donors and those who perform sacrifices, that is, priests, behave. But such sacrifices will not be accepted by God. These words of the Lord are addressed to all people who rejected the will of God, and not just to those who sold or traded in the Temple. The opinion that “robbers” here should be understood as rebels rebelling against Roman rule is unlikely, although the Temple did gradually become a place for their gatherings, and in 70 it turned into a fortress in which the besieged rebels settled.

With the advent of the Messiah, everything had to change and the Jerusalem Temple had to be cleansed. The prophets, for example, Malachi, spoke about the same thing earlier: “And suddenly the Lord, whom you are looking for, will come to His temple... Behold He comes, says the Lord of hosts. And who will endure the day of His coming, and who will stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like a purifying lye” (3.1-2). And here are the words of the prophet Zechariah: “And there will no longer be a single merchant (in the synodal translation - “Hanonean”) in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day” (14.21; cf. also Ezekiel 40 - 48).

Undoubtedly, the cleansing of the Temple was a messianic demonstration. But since the religious leaders did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, it remains a mystery why the temple police, who are often mentioned in the 4th Gospel, did not intervene. It is also unknown whether the Romans were in the habit of intervening in the skirmishes that occurred in the Temple. There is speculation that the trade in animals in the Temple was introduced relatively recently and that it was treated differently even by representatives of the priesthood. In this case, it can be assumed that some part of them supported Jesus in His desire to stop the profanation of the Temple, and that is why it was decided to temporarily not take any action against Jesus. And yet, after the cleansing of the Temple, His fate was sealed. Jesus encroached on the Temple - the source of income for the highest clergy and the pride of the entire people. The patience of His enemies was overflowing.

Although none of the Synoptics here quote Jesus' words about the fate of the Temple, they were probably spoken (cf. John 2.19) because Jesus was later accused at his trial of allegedly threatening to destroy the Temple (14.58; cf. 15.29). .

Art. 18 – The intentions of Jesus’ enemies to deal with Him became even stronger. Mark points out another reason why they did not decide to do this right away: they were afraid of the people. The Lord, who came to the Temple, taught the people, and the people listened to His teaching with delight.

Art. 19 – As mentioned earlier, Jesus probably went to Bethany for the night, and returned to Jerusalem again in the morning.

Art. 20-21 – As they walked to Jerusalem, Peter drew Jesus’ attention to the fact that the entire fig tree had dried up, from the very roots, which suggests a miracle, and not natural causes of the death of the tree.

Art. 22-23 – This prompts Jesus to teach about the power of faith. The fact that the fig tree withered away testifies to the faith of Jesus himself, which should become a role model for the disciples. This mountain refers to Zion, the mountain on which the Temple was located. The expression “to move mountains” was proverbial and meant “to do something impossible” (for example, in the Jewish tradition, “move mountains” were those teachers who knew how to interpret the most difficult passages of Scripture). Contrary to the beliefs widespread at that time that in the last days “the mountain of the House of the Lord will be set at the top of the mountains and will be exalted above the hills” (Mic 4.1), Jesus foreshadows a different fate for it - to plunge into the abyss of the sea, a symbol of destruction (cf. Lk 10.13-15 ).

Art. 24 – Jesus names two main conditions for prayer. This is, firstly, complete trust in God, the confidence that God loves His children and cares for them. This can be called a lack of doubt about the power and love of God. The confidence that everything a person asks for will be received should not be understood as some kind of self-hypnosis, but one must remember that this is the prayer of a Christian who will not ask God for evil, otherwise he will cease to be a Christian. In the Gospel of John there are very similar words: “But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you!” The glory of My Father will be manifested in the fact that you will bear a bountiful harvest and become My disciples” (15.7-8). This is what we need to pray for: to become disciples and bear abundant fruit. Wed. also Matthew 6.8. Believe that you have already received - cf. the words of Isaiah: “And it shall come to pass, before they call, that I will answer; They will still speak, and I will already hear” (65.24). Already received - most likely, here the Hebrew verb form is translated into the past tense (Greek aorist), the so-called prophetic perfect, which speaks of the obligation to fulfill it in the future.

Art. 25 – The second condition is forgiveness. Forgive everything that you have against someone - here echoes of the Lord’s Prayer are heard in the form that was preserved in Matthew and Luke (Matthew 6.12; Luke 11.4). In the same Gospels, the Lord tells several parables about debtors: you cannot expect God to forgive your sins if you do not forgive those who need your forgiveness. When you stand and pray - in ancient times they usually prayed while standing and with their hands outstretched to the sky.

Many scholars believe that the words of Art. 22-25 were spoken by Jesus under other circumstances, more suitable for teaching about prayer and forgiveness than the destruction of the tree. Wed. Matthew 17.20, where the words about faith being able to move mountains are placed in the context of the healing of an epileptic, and Luke 17.6, which speaks not of a mountain, but of a mulberry that can transplant itself into the sea. It is likely that these once independent sayings were grouped by Mark into keyword"faith" (cf. 9.39-50).

Expulsion of traders from the temple

Easter was approaching. Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem for the holiday. Entering the temple, He saw great disorder in it: oxen, sheep and doves were being sold there, and money changers were sitting at tables. The lowing of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the talking of people, disputes about the price, the clinking of coins - all this made the temple more like a bazaar than the house of God.

Seeing this, the temple leaders became furious. They approached the Savior and said: “What sign will you prove to us that you have the power to do this?”

But the Jews did not understand Him and said: “This temple took forty-six years to build, how can You raise it up in three days?”

When Christ later rose from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this and believed the words of Jesus.

During the stay of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, on the Easter holiday, many, seeing the miracles that He performed, believed in Him.

NOTE: See the Gospel of John, ch. 2, 13-25.

From the book Night in the Garden of Gethsemane author Pavlovsky Alexey

EXPLANATION OF TRADERS FROM THE TEMPLE. After the wedding feast in Cana, Jesus, along with his mother, brothers and disciples, went to Capernaum - a small city, the location of which is still unknown, but it is assumed that it was still on the western bank

From the book The Holy Biblical History of the New Testament author Pushkar Boris (Bep Veniamin) Nikolaevich

Second expulsion of traders from the temple. Children praising the Lord. Matt. 21: 12-17; Mk. 11:15-19 Leaving the barren fig tree to wither, the Lord and his disciples entered Jerusalem and headed towards the temple. Noisy pre-holiday trade was going on in the courtyard of the House of God. Many sacrificial animals

author (Taushev) Averky

From the book God's Law author Slobodskaya Archpriest Seraphim

From the book Gospel Story. Book three. The final events of the Gospel story author Matveevsky Archpriest Pavel

Expulsion of traders from the temple The Easter holiday was approaching. Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem for the holiday. Entering the temple, He saw great disorder in it: oxen, sheep and doves were being sold there, and money changers were sitting at tables. Mooing oxen, bleating sheep, talking people, arguing

From the book A Guide to Studying the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Four Gospels. author (Taushev) Averky

Expulsion of traders from the temple of Mark. 11, 15–19; OK. 19, 47–48 Upon entering the city, Jesus Christ came to the temple, from which yesterday he had expelled the traffickers for the purpose of returning the house of prayer to its proper shrine. but the feeling of hypocritical and selfish people put up with extreme

From the book of the Bible. Modern translation (BTI, trans. Kulakova) author's Bible

Expulsion of traders from the Temple (John 2:13-25). The first three Evangelists do not tell us very clearly about the Lord’s stay in Jerusalem; they tell in detail only about the Passover before which He suffered. Only St. John tells us in sufficient detail about each

From the book Holy Scripture. Modern translation (CARS) author's Bible

Expulsion of merchants from the temple (Matt. 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48). Having entered Jerusalem, the Lord went straight to the temple and drove out the merchants from it. Only the first three Evangelists talk about this, and the story of St. Mark is different from St. Matthew and Luke by what he has

From the book Fundamentals of Orthodoxy author Nikulina Elena Nikolaevna

Expulsion from the Temple 13 And as the Passover of the Jews drew near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple courtyard He saw merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves; There were also money changers sitting at their tables. 15 Jesus made a whip out of ropes and drove all the merchants out of the Temple

From the book of the Four Gospels author Serebryakova Yulia Vladimirovna

Expulsion of the merchants from the temple (Mark 11:15–19; Luke 19:45–47; John 2:13–16)12 Jesus entered the temple and drove out everyone who was buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the counters of the pigeon traders.13 “It is written,” He said, “My house will be called a house of prayer,” e, and you turned it into

From the book Biblical legends. New Testament author Krylov G. A.

Expulsion of the traders from the temple The Lord and his disciples entered Jerusalem and headed towards the temple. In the courtyard of the temple there was a noisy pre-holiday trade in animals for sacrifices, many merchants exchanged money for pilgrims and tried to make profitable deals.

From the book The Explanatory Bible. Old Testament and New Testament author Lopukhin Alexander Pavlovich

2.1.3. The first Passover of Christ's ministry: the expulsion of the merchants from the temple In the Gospel of John, Christ's visit to Jerusalem on the first Passover is associated with the expulsion of the merchants from the temple (John 2: 13–25). The Lord comes to the temple and, having made a scourge of ropes, drives the sheep and oxen sellers out of the temple,

From the author's book

4.2. The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the second expulsion of the merchants from the temple and the curse of the fig tree On the eve of Passover, Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims: “The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and many from the whole country came to Jerusalem before the Passover to be cleansed” (John 11: 55). On the occasion of

From the author's book

4.3.1. The second expulsion of traders from the temple According to the testimony of the apostles Matthew (Matthew 21: 10–12) and Luke (Luke 19: 29–46), immediately on the day of Entry, and according to the instructions of the apostle. Mark the next day after this (Mark 11: 12-19), the Lord, having come to the temple, expelled the merchants from the temple: “They came to Jerusalem. Jesus entered the temple

From the author's book

Expulsion of the merchants from the temple On the eve of the Jewish Passover, Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem. And they went to the Jerusalem Temple, and saw that merchants and money changers had settled in the temple, and buyers were scurrying around them. They sold oxen, sheep, and pigeons there. And then I got angry

From the author's book

VI In Judea. Expulsion of traders from the temple. Conversation of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus. The last testimony of John the Baptist about Jesus Christ With the approach of Easter, a huge caravan of Easter pilgrims, as usual, reached Jerusalem from Galilee, and Jesus was among them

Gospel narrative

The described event is an episode of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. At the Passover festival in Jerusalem, Jews were obliged to " slaughter the Passover lambs and offer sacrifices to God“, in connection with which sacrificial cattle were herded into the temple and shops were set up to sell everything necessary for sacrifices. Change offices were also located here: Roman coins were in use, and taxes to the temple were legally paid in Jewish shekels.

Jewish point of view

From a Jewish point of view, Jesus could not drive out the merchants at all, since money exchange and trade were located outside the Temple - on the Temple Mount.

Mark Abramovich. "Jesus, the Jew from Galilee":

The temple lived its own life, established by the laws of the Torah and consecrated by a thousand-year tradition. These laws were carefully observed. Numerous pilgrims, filling the Temple from morning until late evening, were directed by the vigilant temple guards along the established path. The guard met everyone at the gate and gave those unfamiliar with the rules exact instructions where and how to go, so as not to violate the sanctity of the place: with an animal sacrifice - along one path, to the altar, with a monetary offering - to the treasury. It was forbidden to enter the Temple territory with a wallet or ordinary “everyday” money. Money was left at home, only donations were brought to the Temple territory and animals intended for sacrifice were brought. Therefore, all preliminary activities were moved outside the Temple. Sacrificial animals were bought and sold at the Sheep Market, near the Sheep Gate, northwest of Antonia's Tower. There was a crowd of people there: they were bargaining, buying, using the advice of the Levites, animals for sacrifice. Right there, in the Sheep Pool (according to the Gospels, “Bethesda”), the Levites carefully washed the sacrificial animals. Noise, din, screams of traders, bleating and mooing of animals - in a word, an oriental bazaar.

On the Temple Mount (but not on the Temple grounds!), in a special place chosen since ancient times, according to legend, near a tall cypress tree there were cages with doves intended for sacrifice. Doves were in special demand, since they were available to the poorest people who wanted to make a sacrifice to the Lord: “If he is not able to bring a sheep, then as a token of his sin, let him bring to the Lord two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering" (Leviticus 5:7). In fulfillment of another commandment: “This is the law about the sacrifice of peace, which is offered to the Lord: if anyone offers it in gratitude, then with the sacrifice of gratitude he must offer bread mixed with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil, and wheat flour soaked in oil... "(Leviticus 7:11 - 12), oil that was tested for ritual purity was also sold here.

On the territory of the Temple, a solemn silence reigned, broken only by the ritual exclamations of the priests and the prayers of the pilgrims. Any intruder would be immediately captured by the temple guards and roughly punished. It is inconceivable that someone could impose their own order on the territory of the Temple with a whip and drive out anyone. To assert that there could be money changers and traders, and even more so oxen and sheep, on the territory of the Temple means not knowing the laws at all!

The money changers, in all likelihood, belonged to the temple service, since it is difficult to imagine that the high priest would have provided anyone with such a profitable activity as exchanging money. We have already said that the only legalized coin on the Temple territory was the shekel. The money changers were required to take their places on the Temple Mount (not in the Temple!) in the designated area three weeks before the onset of the main holidays: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot (M Shkalim 13). Ever since the construction of the Second Temple, a territory was allocated specifically for this purpose, and this traditional situation did not cause any protest among any of the believers.

Subject in painting

Image Expulsion of traders from the temple became widespread in the fine arts, sometimes included in the cycle of the Passion of Christ. The action usually takes place in the portico of the Temple of Jerusalem, from where Jesus drives out the merchants and money changers with a whip of ropes.