Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Jesus drives buyers and sellers from the temple, blocks the carrying of goods, teaches that the house should be a house of prayer for all nations, and draws murderous anger from the leaders.

W¹⁵hen they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. ¹⁶And He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ ” ¹⁸When the chief priests and scribes heard this, they looked for a way to kill Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. ¹⁹And when evening came, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city.