Jesus chasing money changers and merchant priests from the Temple in Jerusalem is described in all four Gospels. Often referred to as the cleansing of the Temple because Jesus expelled corrupt, “impure” priests, the event shows Jesus fulfilling prophecies of Isaiah (56:7) and Zechariah (14:21).

When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, it is the height of the Passover pilgrimage season, a time when Jews would travel en masse to the city to visit the Temple. Priests would often sell offerings to the pilgrims to be sacrificed in their name, as only priests could approach the Temple’s innermost altars. Such transactions typically took place outside the Temple walls. However, when Jesus goes inside, He sees money changers, as well as priests selling sheep, cattle, and doves.

Anger of Jesus

Jesus sees this as corruption. The priests are profiting from the faithful and not allowing them clear access to God. He proceeds to overturn the priests’ tables and call them a den of robbers. He tells them: “Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:16). Many people remember only the compassionate, “turn the other cheek” descriptions of Jesus; however, Jesus is angry here. John’s narrative states that Jesus “made a whip out of cords and drove all from the Temple courts, both sheep and cattle” (2:15).

This and other accounts describe Jesus “driving out” the priests and money lenders—in the Greek, the same word is used for Jesus cleansing the Temple as is used elsewhere in the Gospel when He expels demons. The power of Jesus’s command alone is enough to force the corrupt to leave His Father’s Temple.

Jesus drives out the corrupt in this 19th-century oil painting by Danish artist Carl Heinrich Bloch. Jesus is shown holding the whip above His head, ready to strike.

Jesus’s motives

In the 1st century CE, there were a number of sectarian groups unhappy with the administration of the Temple. One such group was the Essenes, some of whom had exiled themselves to the Dead Sea. Jesus’s anger in the Temple has led some to suggest that He may have been a member of the Essenes, but there is little evidence of this. Some historians believe Jesus was crucified by the Romans for trying to incite a riot and that His actions in the Temple would have been viewed as those of a rebellious Jewish leader.

Some Christians see Jesus’s actions as evidence of Him looking toward a reformation and split from traditional Judaism. Others see His actions as working to fulfill Mosaic Law and institute a new covenant. According to this interpretation, Jesus is not a rebel: He is exercising responsibility and authority as an heir to King David to order the service of the priests and ensure the purity of their obedience to the Mosaic Law.

Palm Sunday

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a day now known as Palm Sunday, and does so by humble means, on the back of a donkey. This fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah, that the king would come in riding a donkey. As Jesus enters the city, people gather to greet Him. The crowds spread their cloaks and branches from palm trees to cover the ground, and proclaim Hosanna—the imperative form of the Hebrew word meaning “save”—as a form of praise. The crowd also quotes Psalm 118, proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of David coming in the name of the Lord.

Although it takes place at a different time of year, Palm Sunday is reminiscent of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. During this festival, Jews weave together pieces of palms and wave them in each of the four cardinal directions. The palm frond is also a symbol of life and resurrection, and a symbol for the Assyrian Tree of Life. Some scholars believe that the palm fronds of Palm Sunday could therefore signify that Jesus will die in Jerusalem, but soon also be resurrected.

See also: A Child in the Temple • The Temple Tax • Betrayal in the Garden • The Crucifixion