Chapter 8—Cleansing the Temple
At the time of the passover, when Jerusalem was crowded with
people who had come from a distance to celebrate this great annual
festival, Jesus with his disciples mingled with the gathering throng.
It was early in the morning, yet large crowds were already repairing
to the temple. As Jesus entered, he was indignant to find the court of
the temple arranged as a cattle market and a place of general traffic.
There were not only stalls for the beasts, but there were tables where
the priests themselves acted as money-brokers and exchangers. It was
customary for each person who attended the passover to bring a piece
of money, which was paid to the priests upon entering the temple.
From the changing of foreign coins and different denominations of
money to accommodate strangers, this matter of receiving these offer-
ings had grown into a disgraceful traffic, and a source of great profit to
the priests. Many came from a great distance and could not bring their
sacrificial offerings. Under the plea of accommodating such persons,
in the outer court were cattle, sheep, doves, and sparrows for sale at
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exorbitant prices. The consequent confusion indicated a noisy cattle
market, rather than the sacred temple of God. There could be heard
sharp bargaining, buying and selling, the lowing of cattle, the bleating
of sheep, and cooing of doves, mingled with the chinking of coin, and
angry disation. A great number of beasts were annually sacrificed at
the passover, which made the sales at the temple immense. The dealers
realized a large profit, which was shared with the avaricious priesthood
and men of authority among the Jews. These hypocritical speculators,
under cover of their holy profession, practiced all manner of extortion,
and made their sacred office a source of personal revenue.
The babel of voices, the noises of animals, and the shouts of their
drivers created such a confusion just without the sacred precincts that
the worshipers within were disturbed, and the words addressed to the
Most High were drowned in the uproar that invaded the temple erected
to his glory. Yet the Jews were exceedingly proud of their piety, and
tenacious of outward observances and forms. They rejoiced over their
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