Knowing The Word in Luke 19:45-48, Jesus Cleanses the Temple

The people were selling animals for temple sacrifices. Quoting a combination of Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus makes a huge scene in the courtyard of the temple. The temple is supposed to be a place of unhindered worship and not a place of unhindered commerce. It is the ruling class with whom Jesus is making enemies by his actions. The people are too fond of Jesus for the ruling class to take action against him.

Luke 19:45-48

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Prayer: In the name of Jesus Christ, who was never in a hurry, we pray, O God, that thou wilt slow us down, for we know that we live too fast. With all of eternity before us, make us take time to live—time to get acquainted with thee, time to enjoy thy blessings, and time to know each other.

Peter Marshall