JC & the Law: cleansing the Temple … (12/17/18)
Contrary to popular belief, Jesus actually “cleansed the Temple” on two different occasions during his three year biblical ministry – once near the beginning thereof (cited in John 2:13-17) and once near the end (described in Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, & Luke 19:45-46). And despite the obvious similarities in the way these two events are described in the Gospels (with both tellings having Jesus aggressive overturning the tables of the money changers and driving those tending them out of the complex – all while loudly protesting their profaning presence in that holy place1), it is just as clear to the careful reader of the texts that Jesus had two very different objectives for attacking those same merchants in the manner he did. In the first case – the cleansing mentioned in John 2 near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, it is clear that Jesus is making a statement against the raw brutality and unjust wickedness of animal slaughter. In John 2:14, the text notes that Jesus became upset after he entered the Temple and “found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves” there. In the very next verse he made his own “whip of grass cords” and used it to drive the soon-to-be-slaughtered animals from the Temple grounds, thereby freeing them from their imminently grisly fate. Also unlike the later cleansing described in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus then explicitly reprimanded the sellers of doves, telling them to remove their charges as well and to “cease making my Father’s house a marketplace!” (John 2:16) This was all done in direct violation of the Old Testament laws that demanded the sacrifice of animals (and indirectly the selling thereof) in the Temple (see Leviticus 5:7, Leviticus 6:24-30, Leviticus 7:1-18, & Deuteronomy 12:26) and simultaneously in full harmony with the underlying values of his reform-inspired message of Compassion and Love (see “Learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice” ~ Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:32) … In stark contrast we have the second cleansing, the one mentioned near the end of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here the animals of John 2 are barely mentioned, and the focus is clearly set instead upon the obvious greed of those changing money and selling doves, with Jesus emphasizing the same by directly quoting from Jeremiah 7:11 (“My house shall be called a house of prayer, and yet you are making it a den of robbers”) – all while throwing said charlatans out of the Temple. After all, Jesus was deeply unfond of materialism and greed, and had openly stated on a number of occasions that the same would ever preclude those acting similarly from entering his heavenly Kingdom (see “You cannot serve God and wealth” ~ Matthew 6:24b & Luke 16:13, “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in Heaven; where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” ~ Luke 12:33, “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” ~ Luke 14:33, and “You lack one thing. Go and sell all that you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Thereafter come and follow me” ~ Mark 10:21 – also Matthew 19:21 & Luke 18:22).
…………………………………………………
1While Jesus does cite a passage from the Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah 7:11 – directly in Matthew, Mark & Luke; indirectly in John) to justify his actions, the somewhat violent nature of his methods do seem to quite clearly demand yet another reform of the Law – namely, a dramatically enhanced leniency towards Leviticus 19:30 (the Old Testament regulation demanding that all Jews blindly revere the Temple and its contents).
;