When he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” 12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And he said to them, “It is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of thieves.” 14 The blind and the lame approached him in the temple area, and he cured them. 15 When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and there he spent the night.
Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem amid the tumult created by the praise and awe of the crowds that accompanied his approach (Mt. 21:1-11). The inhabitants inquired about his identity and were told by the crowds that it was Jesus, a prophet from Galilee.
On the occasions of feasts, temporary booths were erected in the outer court so that foreign money could be exchanged for a fee, and animals could be sold for sacrifice in the Temple area in the Court of the Gentiles (Jn. 2:14). Pilgrims from various regions would need appropriate animals for sacrificial offerings, and foreign money, which had images that were considered idolatrous, had to be changed into the acceptable Jewish shekel for the temple tax.
Jesus combined quotes from two OT books; “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples (Is. 56:7)” and, “Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves (Jer. 7:11)?” The piety of the Temple was obscured as it had become a place of commerce more than a place of prayer. However, those activities were necessary for the Temple to function. Jesus’ mission was to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt. 4:17) and those activities in the Temple were being replaced with the prescient sacrifice of the unblemished lamb, and his resurrection.
After overturning the tables and seats Jesus healed the blind and the lame who came to him (2 Sam. 5:6-8; Lev. 21:16-23). The children shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David (v. 15),” a Messianic title, which angered the chief priests and scribes who witnessed the miracles and Jesus’ other actions in the Temple. They could see the status quo changing. Jesus was reforming the way the Jews worshipped. Jesus affirmed the praises of the children and quoted Psalms 8:3. Jesus then left Jerusalem for Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (Jn. 11:1).
Almighty God, help us cleanse our hearts and lives so that our actions may reflect true reverence for You. May our deeds reflect Your love, and may we serve each other with compassion and charity. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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