page_title: Cleansing of the Temple
section_title: Analysis
hierarchical_section_title: Cleansing of the Temple / Analysis
caption_attribution_description: English: Theodoor Rombouts, Christ Driving the Money-changers from the Temple, oil on canvas, 168 x 238,5 cm, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
context_page_description: The cleansing of the Temple narrative tells of Jesus expelling the merchants and the money changers from the Temple, and occurs in all four canonical gospels of the New Testament. The scene is a common motif in Christian art.
  In this account, Jesus and his disciples travel to Jerusalem for Passover, where Jesus expels the merchants and consumers from the Temple, accusing them of turning the Temple into "a den of thieves" through their commercial activities. Do not mistake Jesus's use of the term "thieves" as literal thieves, but rather robbers of the people's time with God. This sentiment is further supported by Jesus's curing of the "blind and the lame" referring to their inability to see God and the resulting weakness due to this fact.
  The narrative occurs near the end of the Synoptic Gospels and near the start in the Gospel of John. Some scholars believe that these refer to two separate incidents, given that the Gospel of John also includes more than one Passover.
context_section_description: Professor David Landry of the University of St. Thomas suggests that "the importance of the episode is signaled by the fact that within a week of this incident, Jesus is dead. Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree that this is the event that functioned as the 'trigger' for Jesus' death."
  Given the fact that the actions of Jesus prompted no intervention on the part of either the Temple guards, nor the legionaries in the Antonia, Pope Francis sees the Cleansing of the Temple not as a violent act but more of a prophetic demonstration. In addition to writing and speaking messages from God, Israelite or Jewish nevi'im ("spokespersons", "prophets") often acted out prophetic parables in their life.
  Butler University professor James F. McGrath explains that the animal sales were related to selling animals for use in the animal sacrifices in the Temple. He also explains that the moneychangers in the temple existed to convert the many currencies in use into the accepted currency for paying the Temple taxes. E. P. Sanders and Bart Ehrman say that Greek and Roman currency was converted to Jewish and Tyrian money. 
  A common interpretation is that Jesus was reacting to the practice of money changers routinely cheating the people, but Marvin L. Krier Mich observes that a good deal of money was stored at the temple, where it could be loaned by the wealthy to the poor who were in danger of losing their land to debt. The Temple establishment therefore co-operated with the aristocracy in the exploitation of the poor. One of the first acts of the First Jewish-Roman War was the burning of the debt records in the archives.
caption: Christ Driving the Money changers from the Temple by Theodoor Rombouts
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