Jesus Clears The Temple

Jesus Clears the Temple

Q: Jesus said the money changers and merchants had made his house

• a. a den of thieves.
• b. a common marketplace.
• c. an altar.

One day when Jesus went to the Temple, he saw that money changers and merchants had set up their booths in the court of the Gentiles in the Temple. They crowded out the Gentiles who’d come a long way to worship. And both the money changers and merchants were cheating the people.

The money changers were exchanging people’s foreign money for Temple coins, the only acceptable currency for paying the Temple tax and merchants. But the money changers were cheating people who didn’t know how much their money was worth in Temple coins. The merchants were charging too much for the animals needed for sacrifices.

Jesus was angry when he saw the money changers and merchants doing business and cheating people. He turned over their tables and ran them out of the Temple.

Jesus said, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” Jesus wanted the Temple to be a place for worship, not a place where people visiting the Temple would be cheated.

Jesus wants our churches today to be a place of worship, prayer, learning, and fellowship. Is that how you think of your church?

For You

Your attitude toward church is important to God. Do you look forward to attending church so you can learn more about God and be with other Christians? If not, what could help you look forward to church? Talk about it with your parents.

Answer: a

[Jesus] said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”   Mark 11:17

(The Whole Story: Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48)