The chief priests and teachers of the law wanted to kill him, and the elders of the Jews as well, but they were unable to do anything,
for all the people were listening to him and hanging on his words.
Reflection:
The cleansing of the Temple area occurs
late in the ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, after
the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. For some
time, Jesus tries to avoid the political and spiritual
capital of His people. He spends His time in the
periphery. But His hour is fast approaching. He has to
be in Jerusalem, the city of God when that occurs. And
so, He went to the Temple like any ordinary pious
Jew. Previously, He never acted as aggressively as in
this gospel today when He was in the temple precinct.
What made Jesus angry this time? The same traffic
and commerce happened before during His previous
visits. Is this a prophetic action? Or is it because He
is now impatient because His time is short? Whatever
reasons Jesus may have for His action, one thing is clear
for us readers. The house of God is a house of prayer.
Turning it into a trading house desecrates the place.
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