House Of Prayer

---

 Jesus And The Money Changers

Jesus and his disciples journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover. They found the sacred city of God overflowing with thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the world.

Entering the Temple, Jesus saw the money changers, along with merchants who were selling animals for sacrifice. Pilgrims carried coins from their home towns, most bearing the images of Roman emperors or Greek gods, which Temple authorities considered idolatrous.

The high priest ordered that only Tyrian shekels would be accepted for the annual half-shekel  Temple tax because they contained a higher percentage of silver, so the money changers exchanged unacceptable coins for these shekels. Of  course, they extracted a profit, sometimes much more than the law  allowed.

Jesus was so filled with anger at the desecration of the holy place that he took some cords and wove them into a small whip. He  ran about, knocking over the tables of the money changers, spilling coins on the ground. He drove the exchangers out of the area, along with the men selling pigeons and cattle. He also prevented people from using the court as a shortcut.

As he cleansed the Temple of greed and profit, Jesus quoted from Isaiah 56:7: "My house shall be called a house  of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers." 

The disciples and  others present were in awe of Jesus' authority in God's sacred place.  His followers remembered a passage from Psalm 69:9: "Zeal for your house will consume me." The common people were impressed by Jesus' teaching,  but the chief priests and scribes feared him because of his popularity.  They began to plot a way to destroy Jesus.

The Scripture

The Cleansing Of The Temple
Matthew 21:12-16
And  Jesus went into the Temple of God, and cast out all them who sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and  the seats of them who sold doves.  And said unto them, It is written,  My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.  And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple; and  He healed them.  And when the Chief Priests and Scribes saw the  wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the Temple, and  saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased.  And  said unto Him, do You hear what these say?  And Jesus said unto them,  Yes; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, You  have perfected praise.

Jesus Cleanses The Temple
Mark 11:15-19 
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the Temple, and began to  cast out them who sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them who sold doves; And  would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the Temple.  And He taught, saying unto them, It is not written, My House shall be called of all nations the House of Prayer? but you have made it  a den of thieves.  And the Scribes and Chief Priests heard it, and  sought how they might destroy Him: for they feared Him, because all the  people was astonished at His Doctrine.  And when evening was come, He  went out of the city.

The Temple
Luke 19:45-48   
And He went into the Temple, and began to cast out them who sold therein, and  them who bought; Saying unto them, It is written My house is the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.  And He taught daily  in the Temple.  But the Chief Priests and the Scribes and the Chief of  the people sought to destroy Him.  And could not find what they might  do: for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

The Temple
John 2:13-17 
And  the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And  found in the Temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.  And when He had made a scourge of small  cords, He drove them all out of the Temple, and the sheep, and the oxen;  and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables.  And said unto them who sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My Father's House an house of merchandise.  And His Disciples remembered that it  was written, The zeal of Your House has eaten Me up.