The Cleansing of The Temple
One of the bibles more populist stories
is the one where Jesus drives the moneychangers from the temple. Referred to as
‘The Cleansing of The Temple’ it is often used by Christian apologists as an
example of Mr Christs credentials as a justice loving freedom fighter for the
poor. I always think of the story when ever I catch one of those super rich
evangelical preachers on TV hawking their latest DVD or book. I can hear them
implore ‘Buy this book and Jesus will bless your life’.
Here is the incident as recorded.
Matthew
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast
out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of
the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them,
It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made
it a den of thieves.
Mark
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into
the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold
doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them,
Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?
but ye 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.
Luke
And he went into the temple, and began to cast
out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is
written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye 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.
John
And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus
went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that 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 that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an
house of merchandise.
John has the more detailed version
with Jesus making whip and physically chasing and their livestock out as well
as kicking over the tables. Rousing stuff comrades.
But what are we truly to make of the
story. For a start he clearly calls the temple ‘my house’ or ‘my fathers house’
so he seems to claiming divinity or that he speaks with the authority of god.
Which naturally pisses off the priests of the temple. In fact the priests AND scribes want to
destroy him but could not figure out what to do. May be the scribe’s could have
stabbed him with their pencils, but I digress.
The reference to ‘my father
house’ could also be interpreted in a more general sense, as it is not uncommon
for believers to refer to god as ‘my father’. The priests were also clearly freaked
out by the interest shown by the people in Jesus’s ‘teachings’.
It seems Mr Christ was angry by the
fact that markets were set up in the temple selling sacrifices to parishioner’s
and literally making a killing. Obviously the priests and scribes were in on
the scam (surprise!) and raking it in. Making a profit out of important
religious activities. Such as sacrificing animals to Jesus’s ‘real’ dad,
Jehovah. Tut tut.
I think people like the story
because Jesus get pissed off and loses his shit in a temple. It shows the human
side of the godchild who up to this point was starting to come across a bit too
‘goody-goody’.
It does beg the question about how
these mega money making super churches justify all the profiteering it does,
when their so-called founder seems to be against it. House of merchandise indeed.
