Did Jesus Throw a Fit?

Whenever we speak about Christ we do it with a fear and a reverence that is due His great name. So when I ask did Jesus throw a fit in the cleansing of the temple it is not a sinful fit. It is a righteous fit of anger. The word fit simply means a time of getting angry and flying into a rage. This is how I would describe Jesus' actions and when you understand the context you will see that it is perfectly justified.

The passage

John 2:13-16 (NKJV) 

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!

There it is; the showcase of righteous anger. Jesus comes in does not like what He sees and reacts. Lets look at why He reacts so passionately and what we can learn about Him from this account. 

Some context

The cleansing of the temple takes place directly after palm Sunday. This can be seen in Matthew 21. Jesus was famous at this point. The city had just declared Him their Savior (Hosanna to the Son of David) and they believed that He was really there to save them from Roman occupation. That was the Messianic understanding at the time. So Christ just gets back from being called future King and He marches directly to the Temple to deal with the sin therein. It is interesting that He chooses to point out sin in the people rather than point to glory in Himself which He easily could have done. 

Jesus in the Temple

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 

When Jesus walks in He is immediately frustrated with two business taking place. The animal sellers and the money changers. The animal sellers were notorious for taking advantage of people. It is a convenience to purchase an animal at the temple and therefore the convenience was passed along in profit of the animal sellers. It is Passover, that means there are millions in Jerusalem at the time because all the Jews in surrounding ares made the trek there to have their annual animal sacrifice. It is easier to take money than to drag a cow all the way to Jerusalem. The animal sellers were also sinning when selling doves to very poor at often inflated prices. Those Jews had little choice but to buy them in order to honor God. Charity should have been the name of this game instead of profit.

The money changers were no better. There were many forms of currency at the time and several coins bore the image of a pagan idol. This money was not accepted at the temple and had to be changed out. The money changers would do this but for a hefty fee, again a charge of convenience. The powers-that-be were making a great deal of money off the worship of God by His people. It was not supposed to be this way. 

And all of this was taking place inside the walls of the temple, specifically in the outer court. All business was supposed to be done outside of the temple making the building itself a place dedicated to prayer and worship. Matthew 21:13 says, "He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Notice Jesus' desire for His people to pray a the temple.

Lets move on. 

15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 

 No injury is reported in these accounts by Jesus. The whip of cords may have been mostly a visual threat but the real pain came in the form of the money falling on the ground, the cattle being driven out to the streets of Jerusalem and the business being lost for the day. Jesus was essentially saying "Stop caring about money. Get out of the temple and stop ruining the holy image of My house." He had the attitude that the Pharisees were supposed to have, being concerned about that which the Father is concerned with. 

So why was He so zealous then?

Was Christ simply mad about sin? No. Was Christ simply concerned that the Temple should be holy? No, well yes, but there is so much more to the story than that. Jesus was fervently zealous over the Temple because of one primary thing; His Name.  

The temple was incredibly important to Christ. Zechariah 6:12-13 gives us some more insight into the Messiah's relationship with the Temple. 

"Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! (This is Jesus) From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord; Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’"

Jesus will build a glorious Temple at the second advent. He will reign over the whole earth from His throne on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It will be a glorious time of never ending praise to th
e King, both by the angels and His human children. When Jesus was here the first time He was looking forward to His glorious Temple with the beauty of His praises from His children ringing in His ears. And He is completely worthy of it. So when He sees the Temple not as a place of prayer but as a place of business He has the Holy right and divine authority to drive out those responsible. 

What can we learn here?

Let's try to always keep Christ in the proper perspective knowing His eternal power and majesty. When you address Him in prayer think of Him on His glorious throne in Heaven which He will soon bring to earth. Secondly, lets always be careful that the love of money never drives us to sin, keeping the love of  His holiness constantly before your eyes.