Matthew 21:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Jews are particularly deserving of reproach, for despite Christ performing this act multiple times, they continued their commercial activities within the temple and branded Him as an opponent of God. Instead, they should have recognized the reverence He demonstrated toward the Father and His divine authority. They witnessed His miracles and noted how His teachings aligned with His actions. Nevertheless, they remained unconvinced and even incensed, despite having heard the prophets speak of such events, with the younger generation, still in their youth, praising Jesus. Therefore, in addressing their hard-heartedness, He cites the prophet Isaiah: “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”

Those who sell ecclesiastical titles trade doves, representing the grace of the Holy Spirit, who once appeared as a dove. They are expelled from the temple as they are unworthy of their sacred roles. Consider how you, too, must avoid turning the temple of God—your thoughts—into a den of robbers, which symbolizes the presence of demons. Our minds become like a stable if we give in to material concerns about commerce and profit, hoarding mere coins. Similarly, we create a den of robbers within ourselves if we engage in the exchange of doves, meaning if we sacrifice the spiritual wisdom and insight that reside within us.

We must first recognize this place's significance according to the law. In this most sacred temple of the Lord, where people from nearly every part of the Jewish world gathered, countless sacrifices were made—especially during feast days—comprising rams, bulls, and goats. To ensure that even the less fortunate could offer sacrifices, they brought young birds like chicks, doves, and turtledoves. Many who traveled from afar lacked their own sacrificial animals. Consequently, the priests established a system to profit from the people’s needs, selling the necessary animals right there and at the same time fulfilling the requirements of the impoverished. However, these transactions often proved insufficient as many buyers faced financial hardships, lacking not only sacrificial offerings but also the means to purchase birds and other inexpensive gifts. To address this, the priests set up money changers to lend to the needy under collateral.

Though the law (Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19) prohibited any excess fees, these changers created a workaround, involving what they called the collybistas. The Latin language lacks an equivalent term for this concept. Collywas referred to what we now call "trinkets," including items like toasted peas, raisins, and various fruits. Thus, since they could not charge extra money, the collyvites instead accepted different small items in exchange, as if it were not in line with the admonition of Ezekiel against taking excessive or unjust gains (Ezekiel 22:12). Observing this mercenary behavior in His Father’s house, stirred by righteous zeal—echoing Psalms (Psalm 68:10)—Jesus fashioned a scourge from cords and drove out the crowd, declaring, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."

The true thief is the one who exploits faith in God for personal gain, transforming the temple into a lair of robbers when ministry becomes more about financial gain than service to God. This conveys both a straightforward interpretation and a deeper sacramental revelation: the Lord continually enters His Father’s temple, expelling all, from bishops to laypersons, and sees all such transactions, whether buying or selling, as equally reprehensible. For it is decreed, "Freely ye have received, freely give." He overturned the tables of the money changers, highlighting how the altars of God have become the tables of mercenaries due to the misconduct of the priests. He also toppled the benches of those selling doves, symbolic of those who commodify the grace of the Holy Spirit and seek to exploit the people, evoking the words, "They devour My people as a meal of bread" (Psalms 13:4).

On a literal level, the doves were contained in cages, while the sellers occupied the benches. This distinction is crucial, as the act of sitting (cathedra) signifies the authority of teachers, which is diminished when intertwined with profit. Individuals must reflect on what has been addressed about the Churches in relation to themselves, as the Apostle reminds us: "You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you" (1 Corinthians 6:15). Therefore, let there be no commerce, no selling, no purchasing, and no greed for gifts in our hearts, lest Jesus enter in righteous anger and cleanse our temple with a scourge, transforming it back into a house of prayer instead of a den of thieves and a marketplace.

Remember that when He embarked on His mission, He entrusted minas and talents to His servants (see Matt. 25:14-15; Lk. 19:12-13), and that He provided the innkeeper with two denarii to care for the wounded (see Luke 10:35). This symbolizes how our wounds are healed through the two Covenants. As a faithful steward, guard the words of the Lord—words as refined silver, tested by fire and purified by the Spirit sevenfold (see Ps. 11:7; Is. 11:2). Beware not to accept a false image of a king through dishonest exchanges, for even Satan can masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Do not dilute your treasures with the devalued image of the Lord, tainted by the falsehoods of Arian deception. Avoid enticing the faithful with the clatter of coins, lest their devotion be overshadowed by material desires, hindering their attentiveness to the Holy Scriptures. While not all moneychangers were expelled, the righteous ones remain, as the Lord indicated: I could have entrusted my money to the moneychangers, and upon my return, I would have received it back with interest (Matthew 25:27). If wealth is found within the Scriptures, then one should anticipate a return from that wealth.

As for the bench of the pigeon sellers, their removal cannot be taken simply on the surface. Those who sold pigeons did not enjoy a respected status in trade; what profit could there possibly be from these birds? However, considering that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord at His baptism in the form of a dove (see Lk. 3:22), their banishment from the temple serves as a serious caution that there is no place in the Church for those who peddle the grace of the Holy Spirit (see St. Hilary of Pictavia: in Matt. 21:4). The Lord Himself proclaimed: Freely ye have received, freely give (Matt. 10:8), and Simon, who sought to purchase the gift of the priesthood, was sternly admonished by Peter: Thy silver shall perish with thee; you thought you could buy the gift of God with money. You have no part in it, nor share in it (Acts 8:20-21).

The traders of bulls and sheep likely resemble unscrupulous merchants who profit from the efforts or naïveté of others. Bulls represent hard work, while sheep symbolize simplicity. Or perhaps the expulsion of traders selling bulls and sheep, alongside the removal of doves, allegorizes the rejection of the Jewish people. Ephraim is compared to a dove (Hos. 7:11), yet the Lord rejects both his lineage and his labor. Coins are scattered to gather grace; the tables of the moneychangers are upturned so that the Lord's feast may be established; the altars are thrown down so that true altars may rise.

He accomplished this not through force or wealth, but with a whip made of cords, and no one dared to resist Him. In His grasp are both the rod and the whip: the rod of justice—the rod of Thy kingdom (Psalm 44:7). The rod is to amend, while the whip serves to convince. The first is unyielding, the second encourages, striking a blow to the conscience of the sinner as a gentle reminder. The former conveys the prophets’ warnings, and the latter encompasses the apostles’ reassurances, all teaching through the same Word. He crafted a whip from cords, just as it is stated: My paths have passed through pleasant places, and my inheritance is beautiful to me (Psalms 15:6). Here, the ropes symbolize the boundaries of the land designated for division. Christ, as a skilled surveyor, delineated the lines of the synagogue and evicted those who profaned the temple. He is the new steward of fruitful souls, assessing them not by size, but by their yield.

The remarkable aspect is that the boundaries of faith are not confined, as with physical property, by an extended rope, nor are they limited like finite things; instead, the flexible boundary extends the Church’s reach infinitely. The Jews become wanderers, not tied to a particular location, leaving no space for a synagogue anywhere in the world.

Therefore, Christ entered the temple with commanding authority, as the Lord of the house, driving out the aforementioned individuals and demonstrating His dominion over all creation, which He possesses as God. His courage stemmed from His sinlessness and, in His zeal for the glory of His temple, He signified His disapproval of sacrificial rituals, instructing us to stand boldly in defense of the Church.

This temple was intended to be a sacred space for all those with noble aspirations, seeking the one Creator of nature and humanity, especially as, by the time of the Saviour’s arrival, polytheism had begun to decline, leading more Gentiles to yearn for the worship of the One, coming to Jerusalem in hopes of witnessing Jewish worship and receiving the Law of Moses. Given these developments, the grandeur of the divine service in Jerusalem's temple was crucial, particularly the outer courts where Gentiles could not enter. Reflecting on the Lord’s severe words to the merchants, Blessed Theophylact warns: ‘Take heed, lest your heart, being the temple of God, becomes a den of thieves, a dwelling place for demons. This occurs when our thoughts are enthralled by earthly matters, consumed with a love for money so much that we are fixated on the smallest coins. We risk transforming ourselves into a den of robbers if we neglect our spiritual gifts.’ St. Philaret states, ‘Consider that God Himself has declared the temple to be His house.’ – Contemplate this ‘standing in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God!’ (Ps. 133:1). When you enter the house of God, remember the nearness of the Omnipresent One! God is present; He is close to us. His glory surrounds us. The pure Heavenly Powers are with us. How can the earth remain steady? How can the sinner endure? Here stands God Almighty: ‘let all the earth tremble before Him!’ Let humanity humble itself! Let the sinner cry out! Here God is all-good. May every breath glorify Him! May he who finds no solace in the world find comfort! May the sinner never lose hope. God calls the temple His dwelling, yet it must become a house of prayer through us. In Jerusalem's temple, prayer was continually offered: the psalms of David were sung, and sacrifices made when our Lord manifested Himself there. Greed and worldly desires turned the temple into a den of thieves; the pursuit of profit within God’s house rendered merchants and buyers contemptible in the sight of the Lord, akin to robbers splitting the spoils. Since all passions are detestable to God, and all worldly distractions unworthy of His dwelling, reflect, visitor to the holy temple: how do you approach and what do you make of this sacred space? But what should we do if sinful thoughts still plague us in the temple of God, like festering wounds exuding a foul odor even in its sanctity? Let us boldly and humbly lay our weaknesses at the feet of the Lord of the temple; let us implore Him not to drive us from His presence but to heal our ailments, as He healed all who came to Him in faith in the temple of Jerusalem.

In the third year of His ministry, Jesus was absent from Jerusalem during the Passover celebrations. As the fourth Passover drew near, the Jewish merchants were curious about whether He would return for the feast. They were aware that hostility from the religious leaders had escalated, that a death sentence had been issued by the Sanhedrin, and that orders were in place to capture Him upon His arrival. After the miraculous raising of Lazarus, He had avoided going to Jerusalem, reinforcing their belief that He would choose not to face death. Consequently, many thought that perhaps they could return to their previous ways, resurrecting the profitable temple trade. With the approval of the chief priests, the merchants filled the temple courtyard once again with animals, set up stalls of goods, and arranged tables for currency exchange, ready to resume their business.

Their astonishment grew when they learned that Jesus was making a grand entrance into Jerusalem, greeted by the crowds hailing Him as the King of Israel. They anxiously anticipated His appearance in the temple. Upon entering, Jesus began driving out those engaged in buying and selling, overturning the tables of the money changers and scattering the benches of those selling doves (Mark 11:15). All present obeyed silently. During His first cleansing of the temple, the Jewish leaders, specifically the Pharisees and high priests selling doves, had challenged Him, asking, "By what sign will You prove to us that You have authority to do this?" (John 2:18). Now, however, His authority was unmistakable even to His adversaries, leaving no one bold enough to voice an objection.

Inspired by Jesus' actions, the crowd began to help, driving out the animals and clearing the merchants’ tables and goods. The people, still proclaiming, "Hosanna to the Son of David," could not remain indifferent to the purification of the temple from its defilers. The merchants, fully aware of the illegitimacy of their activities, hastily departed. The temple was so thoroughly cleansed that it was no longer permissible to carry items through its courtyards.

He would not even permit anyone to disturb the hallowed silence of the sanctuary by moving through it with merchandise, turning it into a thoroughfare. The vast throng of Jews, which at times swelled to two or three million during the feast week, undoubtedly rendered the court of the Gentiles a more unappealing and boisterous sight than usual, especially as that day marked the selection and purchase of the paschal lamb as mandated by the law. Yet, there could be no justification for converting the house of the heavenly Father—a designated place of prayer for all nations—into something akin to sordid and bleak hideouts where thieves distribute their ill-gotten gains. Christ refrained from His customary preaching until the temple had been restored to respectability and quietude, a task made easier since it had been accomplished before.

However, this second temple too fell into disrepair due to the frequent conflicts faced by the Jewish people before the arrival of Christ. Herod the Great, seeking to gain favor with the populace despite their grievances, undertook significant renovations to both the interior and exterior of the temple. The main structure was completed by Herod in 8-9 years, while the additional enhancements were finalized under Herod Agrippa II around 64 A.D. Although the renewed temple was not expansive, it was accompanied by many additions that covered the entire Mount Moriah, necessitating the use of artificial embankments made of stones and earth to support the structure amidst the surrounding valleys.

Early descriptions of Herod's temple by Flavius Josephus and in the Talmud contain discrepancies. However, it is generally recognized as having a quadrangular layout, with the adjacent fortress of Antonia to the northwest spanning slightly over a verst and encircled by a tall wall. Eight gates situated on all four sides provided access, with one particularly grand gate on the main (eastern) side known as the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:2). Along the inner side of this wall, massive marble columns supported covered walkways or galleries, referred to as vestibules. One gallery on the eastern side, especially beautiful, was known as Solomon's Porch (John 10:23, Acts 3:11).

Near the center of this area, a second double wall, situated closer to the northern section, encircled the temple itself, forming a lengthy quadrangle. The vast space between the first and second walls served as the courtyard of the Gentiles, designated as such since non-Jews were allowed entry. At the gates of the inner wall were affixed signs in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, warning Gentiles and the unclean that further entry was prohibited under the penalty of death. Within this second enclosure stood the temple proper, divided into the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The areas beyond this second wall included the courtyards for women, Israelites, and priests. The courtyard designated for women, accessible only to them, occupied nearly half of the east side, adjacent to Solomon's Porch, with three entrances from the east, north, and south. The western gate led into the courtyard of the Israelites, which then connected to the priestly courtyard, separated by a low wall. These two courtyards flanked the temple on its eastern, northern, and southern sides, with the elevated courtyard of priests at the center, housing the temple itself. The eastern section featured the altar for sacrificial offerings. A splendid building, though modest in size, comprised the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, which were separated by an ornate veil.

The overall sight of the temple, accompanied by its extensions, was magnificent and awe-inspiring, particularly from the vantage point of the nearby Mount of Olives (Mark 13:1). From afar, one might have incorrectly perceived it as a snowy mountain due to the extraordinary whiteness of the structure, aside from its gilded elements. Flavius observes that in the sunlight, the brilliance of the buildings was almost unbearable to behold. This temple was ultimately destroyed by the Romans under Vespasian, fulfilling the prophecy of the Lord (see note on Matthew 24:2). Julian, the apostate, attempted to reconstruct it; nonetheless, according to his historian Ammianus Marcellinus, this effort was thwarted in a miraculous manner. Today, a mosque, known as the Omar Mosque, occupies the site of the former temple.

Christ expelled all those engaged in commerce within the temple precincts; however, this activity occurred not in the temple proper but in the courtyard of the Gentiles. Here, various stalls (tabernae) were established, selling items necessary for the temple sacrifices, such as sacrificial animals, incense, oil, flour, and wine. It is plausible that the selling of goods unrelated to the temple also flourished, transforming the expansive court into a bustling marketplace, rife with noise, commotion, and greed – all inappropriate within the sanctity of the temple grounds.

Christ overturned the tables of the money changers. In the Roman-occupied region of Palestine, the use of Roman currency prevailed, though old Greek coins and common Jewish money remained in circulation. The Jewish law mandated that every Jew pay the Temple tax using Jewish currency (Exodus 30:11-16). Thus, designated tables were set up in the courtyard of Gentiles for exchanging Greek and Roman coins for Jewish ones, where money changers profited significantly during the pilgrimage seasons when multitudes of Jews from various regions would exchange currency, often at exorbitant rates.

Selling doves was also prevalent as doves were among the commonly offered sacrificial animals (Leviticus 14:22, Luke 2:24). It was often impractical for Jews traveling from distant lands to carry doves or other sacrificial items with them, making it more convenient to purchase these necessities in Jerusalem. While such commerce may have been allowed for the convenience of worshippers, it nonetheless tarnished the holiness of the temple's purpose.