Giotto di Bondone Casting out the money changers

The Gospels tell of Jesus Christ entering into the temple in Jerusalem, and finding money changers doing business in the Court of the Gentiles. The Lord them started turning over tables and chairs, made a whip of chords, and chased out the money changers along with their animals (Matt. 21:12-17; Mk.11:15-19; Lk. 19:45-48; Jn. 2:13-22). I was asked once whether or not this incident supported Christians harshly rebuking others in error. I have also come across opinion pieces that interpreted Jesus actions in the temple as a form of social disruption intended to protest the exploitation of a corrupt civil religious establishment against the defenseless poor and oppressed.1 Does Jesus’ actions in the temple legitimize civil disruption as a means of protest?

Rehearsing and Warning

I have little doubt that there were those in the religious establishment overseeing activities in the Jerusalem temple that used their positions of power to exploit the marginalized. Flipside of the coin, I suspect there were those who figured out how to launder their wealth to evade paying their due. Whatever kind of shady dealings that went along with the illegitimate transformation of the Court of the Gentiles into a market place would never be allowed to continue forever. There were likely many other secret sins in the lives of pilgrims to the temple. Jesus’ clearing of the money changers from the temple is a sort of divine warning. It was a provocative living parable rehearsing the crisis that would lead to the desolation and destruction of the temple in AD 70.

The Lord’s actions followed the same sort communicating via living parables used by venerable Old Testament prophets like Isaiah (Isa. 20:1-6), Jeremiah (Jer. 27-28) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 4:9-17).2

Not only was the outpouring of divine wrath coming on account of those who were defiling the sacred space in the Jerusalem temple, but also for those among the Jewish people who rejected the arrival of their long-awaited Messiah. Jesus disclosed His messianic identity through the working of many signs and wonders but the religious leaders attributed His works to Beelzebub the prince of demons (Mk. 3:22; cf. Matt. 12:23-24; Lk. 11:14-16). Jesus’ clearing of the temple was a living parable meant to warn sinners to repent.

The defilement of temple worship and rejection of the Messiah were symptoms of a deeper problem. The real problem was an unhealed wound in humanity that had been festering since the days of Adam and Eve. Every single human being had been affected by Adam’s sin, but Jesus came to save sinners, and their salvation came by way of the cross. All that transpired in the temple, Jesus’ provocative demonstration in particular, served as part of the bigger picture of God’s plan of redemption.

From the Inside Out

The Synoptic Gospels tell of Jesus clearing the money changers from the Jerusalem temple near the beginning of Holy Week shortly after the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.3 That same week Jesus would be arrested and tried before the Sanhedrin. The Lord was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

It is the death of Christ that serves sacrifice for the sinner and the resurrection of Christ provides the believer with the blessed hope of being raised immortal, imperishable, incorruptible. The sacrifices performed by the Levitical priests in the tabernacle then later in the temple finds completion in Christ. Christ is the last sacrifice of all the sacrifices that ever needed to be presented before God. The Epistle to the Hebrews informs us that Christ is the superior high priest who gives His own body as a once-for-all sacrifice for sin.

Peter even called those who took an active role in the crucifixion of Jesus to repent and believe that He was their long-awaited Messiah whom God had raised to life from the dead. Whoever positively responded to the evangelist received forgiveness and salvation (Acts 2:22-41).

God out of an abundance of love and mercy takes those who are dead in their trespass and sin and He raises them up and seats them in heavenly places. They are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They are God’s workmanship, they are created in Christ for good works, and they do them for this was always God’s plan (Eph. 2:1-10). The solution to the sin problem comes from the inside out. It was more than just some external control to keep evil doers from accomplishing their evil intentions; rather, Christ came to transform them from the inside out.

The change that really makes a difference in this world is grounded in Christ death and resurrection. Paul instructs Christians “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24).4 The new life is to be lived and the old life abandoned. Instead of following after the evil ways of the world, the Christian is by God’s grace able to be a source for positive change.5

Disruption and Extreme

Is it permissible for a Christian to be social radicals? Does Jesus’ expulsion of money changers from the temple legitimize acts of social disruption? Christianity has never been lockstep with the rest of the world and this was truest in the midst of persecution. Peter tells us: “What credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (2 Pet. 2:20-21).

Christians took seriously the example of the Suffering Servant. For example, early church father Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-107/112) was arrested and sentenced to death but he was deeply committed to following in the footsteps of Jesus. He even writes this to the church of Rome: I am voluntarily dying for God — if, that is, you do not interfere. I plead with you, do not do me an unseasonable kindness. Let me be fodder for wild beasts — that is how I can get to God. I am God’s wheat and I am being grounded by the teeth of wild beast to make a pure loaf for Christ” (Letter of Ignatius to the Romans 4:1-2).6 Ignatius is an extraordinary example of zealously following in the footsteps of Jesus — even to martyrdom.

Christians may very well find themselves doing something extreme and extraordinary, but their actions only count for something when they are in union with Christ. The Apostle Paul writes: “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17). Elsewhere the apostle writes that Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 3: 14). Those who belong to Christ are “zealous for good works.” The word “zealous” comes from the Greek noun Zēlōtēs, which means “one who is earnestly committed to a side or cause, enthusiast, adherent, loyalist”7 What Paul is getting at is “for those who have been redeemed from the doom of sin and death and brought into a unique relationship with God, the true voluntary response is to be enthusiastic ‘to do what is good.’It is the true badge of his divine ownership. He who eagerly awaits the return of the Savior will be eager also to further his cause by good works until he comes.”8

Nothing of Christ ever approved anarchy. Yes, there were rebels who resisted the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee, who engaged in guerrilla warfare and sought for the right moment to permanently oust the pagans from the land.9 However, Christ never aligned Himself with any revolutionary movement.

Even when Rome began to persecute Christians, the Church never considered armed revolt. Peter instructed, “Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Pet. 4:15-17). It is hard to imagine the Apostle approving of vandalism, rioting, and killing in the name of social justice. God does call us to respect the civil authorities (Rom, 13:1-7); however, when the two come into conflict, “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). What this means is “our command to be obedient to God’s moral law can supersede the directive to submit to an immoral governmental authority,” yet “the method and extent of that resistance must be deployed in a morally defensible way that would allow for armed conflict only as a last resort.”10

We recognize that “a passionate evangelist, whose proclamation of the gospel is driven by a desire to obey Christ, is not consistent with Scripture if he uses coercion and violence to make converts.”11 Yet, calling for a middle way — neither too far to one extreme or another upon the path of right thoughts and right actions — is equally misguided. Moderation has its place but “it is difficult to imagine how Christ would want moderate faith, moderate obedience, moderate devotion, or moderate defense of truth,” and “when ultimate reality, truth, and eternity are on the line, moderation of commitment and belief is of no value.”12 The Lord rather us be hot or cold but never lukewarm (Rev. 3:15-16). Christians are to be passionate about reflecting Christ in both word and deed; yet, those who are for Christ are always in conflict with antichrists (1 Jn. 4:1-6; Jn. 15:18-27). Grappling well with the world’s problems is less about moderation and more about being connected to the right kind of extreme.13

There are many wrongs in this sinful and fallen world which need to be set right. Christians can certainly speak and act prophetically on matters related to bioethics, creation care, immigration reform, racial reconciliation, poverty, prison reform, religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and so forth. We will never have a shortage of wrongs to set right. However, we must never allow our zeal to put the broken pieces of this world back together bring out the worst in us. For example, Saul of Tarsus fought a religious crusade to extinguish the light of the Church and waged holy war against Christ’s followers until the resurrected Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-17; Gal. 1:11-17). Any evil is done in the name of Christ is an abomination. What horrors should come upon us if we fight for a cause in the name of justice only to end up waging a war against God and the people of God. May those duped into fighting in the army of darkness come to a true evaluation of things and defect to the enemy.

Paul declares: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rm. 1:16). This is the gospel: Christ died upon the cross and rose again on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-8). Our forgiveness is provided for by Christ sacrificial death upon the cross (1 Jn. 1:9-2:2). We can forgive because Christ forgave us (Eph. 4:32). The resurrection of Christ is our hope for everlasting life (1 Cor. 15:20-22). The cross that inspires Ignatius to willingly to follow Christ in death with full confidence in the resurrection to everlasting life. It is this amazing grace of God which transformed the wretched slave trader named John Newton into an abolitionist. Let us go to the cross to be reconciled with God and one another.

— WGN

  1. Cf. Marco Cáceres, “Cleansing the Temple: Jesus’ Act of Social Protest,” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cleansing-the-temple-jesus-act-of-social-protest_b_2985707;  Corey Farr, “Clearing the Temple Courts: What Jesus Did About Systemic Injustice,” https://www.redletterchristians.org/clearing-the-temple-courts-what-jesus-did-about-systemic-injustice/
  2. See previous post “Christ Temple Cleansing: What is the Connection Between the Cursed Fig Tree and the Temple Cleansing?”
  3. The Synoptic Gospels are Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Gospel of John tells of Jesus clearing the temple of money changers after the wedding at Cana, which is a similar but distinct event to the incident relayed in the Synoptics. See previous post “Just How Many Times Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple?”
  4. All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
  5. Paul even provides the practical application: “Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:25-32).
  6. As cited Marcellino D’Ambrosio, When the Church was Young: Voices of the Early Church Fathers (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2014) 21
  7. William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 427.
  8. D. Edmond Hibert, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 11, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), 441-442.
  9. The Old Testament closes with Jerusalem under Persian rule in the days of Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Haggai, Nehemiah, Zechariah and Zerubbabel. It was in 332 BC that Alexander the Great brought Jerusalem under Grecian rule. After Alexander’s death rule of the empire was to four of his generals — Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy I, and Seleucus I Nicator — each receiving a quadrant of territory to govern. The Selucid despot Antiochus IV Epiphanes brought a crisis upon Jerusalem and desecrated the second temple but the Maccabees or Hasmoneans led Jewish forces in revolt. In 160 BC, the Jewish people in the greater regions surrounding Jerusalem gained national autonomy. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication and cleansing of the temple. Jewish national autonomy ended when Roman forces led by Pompey subjugated Jerusalem in BC 64. Attempts to end Roman occupation of Jerusalem and surroundings were persistent. W.J. Herd writes, “The centuries leading up to the First and Second Jewish Revolts were very painful for the Jewish nation. The political subjugation by foreign nations was extremely difficult, as well as the erosion of religious, cultural and socioeconomic structures. Israel’s general response to the unrest was revolt, but not always via armed rebellion. The social bandits, Zealots, sicarii and messianic pretenders generally advocated armed rebellion and agitated for a military solution. These groups, however, often fought among themselves, significantly weakening their impact. The other response, generally advocated by the apocalypticists, prophets and martyrs, believed in waiting upon God who, they believed, was about to intervene and personally defeat the enemy. The Fourth Philosophy, generally identifiable as having a genealogical link with the Maccabean martyrs, advocated suffering and martyrdom in order to move God to deliver Israel. None of these responses, however, was adequate to deal with the Roman threat. After the Second Jewish Revolt (A.D. 132–35) Israel lost its political identity for almost two millennia” (W. J. Heard, “Revolutionary Movements,” ed. Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992], 697.)
  10. Bob Perry, “You Say You Want a Revolution,” Christian Research Journal, 37, 3 [2014]: https://www.equip.org/article/say-want-revolution/
  11. Jonah Haddad, “Evaluating Extremism: Are Extreme Beliefs Dangerous?” Christian Research Journal, 38, 3 [2015]: https://www.equip.org/article/evaluating-extremism-extreme-beliefs-always-dangerous/
  12. Ibid.
  13. Ibid.

Published by Warren Nozaki

Hello, my name is Warren Nozaki. I typically blog on topics related to Christian apologetics. Check out what is posted, leave a comment if you like. I work at the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. I also create sonic landscapes on the electric guitar.

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