Bible Study series: Luke 19:45-48. He had just wept over Jerusalem. He inspected it and the temple. He found it lacking. Time to take action.
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 19:45-48
45 After he entered the temple, he began to toss out the merchants, 46 saying to them, “It is written:
‘And my house shall be a house of prayer, [Is. 56:7]
But you have made it into a hideout of robbers!’” [Jer. 7:11]
47 And as he was teaching daily in the temple, the chief priests and teachers of the law and the leaders of the people were seeking to kill him, 48 but they could not discover any way to do this, for all the people were hanging on what they were hearing from him. (Luke 19:45-48)
Comments:
Incidentally, Bock says there were probably two cleansings, one at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 2:13-22) and the one here (if I understood him).
Differences between the Synoptics and John make it slightly more likely that there were two temple cleansings. The use of Ps. 69:9 … in John is a unique citation that the Synoptics lack. True, the Synoptics sometimes use different citations for the same event in their telling of Jesus’ death. Still, it seems odd if this Johannine event actually occurred in the last week that the only temporal note was that the Passover was near. The setting in relation to John 2:23-25 does not look like chronological rearrangement. John apparently intends the reader to see the event as relatively early in Jesus’ ministry. The attempt to argue for Synoptic rearrangement is equally problematic, since the cleansing solidifies the decision to destroy Jesus and is an issue at his trial. If the event were early in Jesus’ ministry, then such a plot would have been present throughout Jesus’ ministry. (p. 1577)
See John 2
45:
Deut. 14:24-26 says that if the distance to a designated holy place is too far for the Israelite to travel because of the animals or grain are burdensome, he is allowed to exchange the animal or grain for money near his home. Then he can carry the money to the designated holy place and there buy the grain or animal, to sacrifice and eat. In Jerusalem it is a sure thing that the money tables were set up to accommodate this lawful practice. Money changers converted the Greek and Roman currency into temple currency; the half-shekel temple tax had to be paid (Matt. 17:24-27).
Jesus probably cleansed the Court of the Gentiles (Bock, p. 1578).
However, in the last pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or section, the day of visitation has the meanings “inspection” and “examination” built into it. Apparently Jesus examined and inspected the temple business and found it lacking. Maybe dishonesty was the rule of the day. Maybe interest was charged, or maybe the price of the animal or grain was exorbitant. Maybe the business was conducted too closely to the temple precinct for Passover, which is the most likely occurrence; it provoked his righteous anger.
Whatever the specifics, Jesus did not like what he saw.
His expelling them from the temple took some physical strength. He was no weakling. John 2:13-17 says he made of whip of cords.
46:
Jer. 7:11 says that the temple was a den, cave, grotto, or cavern of thieves. Here Jesus says the same thing, using the same noun. One more tidbit of information that Jesus knew his Bible.
47-48:
Luke makes a summary statement about teaching daily in the temple, so we have to infer Jesus’s teaching from the previous eighteen chapters and the next few chapters of the Gospel.
Make no mistake: the times are tense right now. Luke had already previewed or forewarned us that Jesus was going to Jerusalem in order to die (Luke 9:22 and 9:44 and 18:32-33; and also see Luke 12:50; 13:32-33). Now he is here/ How will it happen? When? Tension in the reader who may be reading Luke’s Gospel for the first time or may not be as familiar with the story as we are today, two thousand years later.
“chief priests”:
“teachers of the law”: They are also called scribes in some translations.
They were one of the groups who were the Watchdogs of Theology and Behavior (cf. Garland p. 243).
“leaders”: they are likely Jewish civic leaders, as distinguished from the priestly ones. They were prominent social leaders (Deut. 19:1-13; 21:1-9, 19; Ezra 10:14).
You can learn more about them at this link:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
All of them were trying or seeking ways to kill him. This was a gruesome and unjust plan. However, the people loved what he said and hanged on his every word, at this point in time. Things will soon change.
GrowApp for Luke 19:45-48
1. Jesus showed courage to cleanse the temple and teach daily during the days just before his death. How much courage do you have to carry on during really tough times?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
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