Matthew 21:12-14 12And Jesus entered the temple and threw out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling doves, 13and he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of robbers.” 14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
The temple was the first place Jesus went in Jerusalem. What he found there was shocking, disappointing, and a deviation of God’s intention for the temple. This story further reveals his authority, especially in his quote of Isaiah 56:7. The temple was God’s house, and by extension, Jesus’ house. It was to be the earthly reminder of God’s holiness and a place for people to come to meet God. The sacrifices offered were supposed to be a form of prayer. The Jews had made the sacrifices a business and insurance policy. Worship in the temple had deteriorated into human effort, works righteousness, and meaningless ritual.
There was nothing sacred about the building itself. The second temple was rebuilt through the leadership of Zerubbabel around the year 516 B.C. It was rebuilt and expanded under Herod the Great and then destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. The temple was organized into various precincts for different groups moving inward towards the holiest place. The outermost was the court of the Gentiles, followed by the court of women, then the court for Israel (males), and the temple itself which was reserved for priests. The events of this passage would have taken place in the outer courts, but these courts were still meant to be places of prayer and preparation.
Passover week was busy with people from all over the Mediterranean region who would have brought money in different currencies that would need exchanged. Many people also would not have been able to bring their sacrifices, and so it was convenient to buy the sacrifice right on the spot. The most convenient place to do that was in the temple courts. It had become a money-making scheme of convenience for all. Although the travelers needed to make these exchanges once they arrived in Jerusalem, they did not need to do it in the temple itself. The temple was meant to be a physical way to experience God’s forgiveness and cleansing. The merchants had made it a den of robbers, and obviously, the religious leaders did nothing to stop it. These merchants were there to make money off of sincere pilgrims who had spent time, money, and effort to go to Jerusalem to worship during the Passover. Verse 14 stands in sharp contrast. Jesus the righteous judge becomes Jesus the healer. His healing was more than compassion towards those who needed help. What he did symbolized what the temple was meant to be: a place of healing.
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