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Section 129b

Second cleansing of the temple

Jerusalem, in the temple

Matthew 21:12-13Mark 11:15-18Luke 19:45-48
12Then Jesus entered the courts of God's temple and drove out all who were selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 15Then they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves, 16and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple courts. 45Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were selling and buying there.
13And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” 17Then he began to teach the people, saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18When the scribes and the chief priests heard this, they began looking for a way to destroy him, for they were afraid of him, because the entire crowd was astonished at his teaching. 46He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” 47Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, but the chief priests and the scribes were seeking to destroy him, and so were the prominent leaders among the people. 48But they could not figure out what to do, for all the people were hanging on his every word as they listened to him.

Notes

Temple Mount

For many people, their first view of the Temple Mount is from the Mount of Olives to the east. The most easily recognized area of Jerusalem; the Temple Mount is located within the walls on the eastern side of the Old City. The site of the Temple of Solomon, and of the later Temple built by Herod the Great (which is the temple Jesus visited), is now an enormous stone platform upon which stands the golden covered Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque.

Here Jews come to pray at the Western Wall; here Muslims come to pray at the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque. Here Israeli soldiers and the Arab Temple Mount Police protect what may rightly be called the most revered spot on the face of the earth.

Solomon built the First Temple on the threshing floor that his father David had purchased from Arunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:18 25). The site was hallowed as the place where God stayed the hand of Abraham as he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), and where God stopped the plague against the Israelites (2 Samuel 24:15 18). In addition to the Temple and its associated buildings, Solomon built other magnificent structures between the City of David and the Temple Mount.

Southern Steps of the Temple

The main public access to the Temple was from the southern steps. People entered and exited through a double and triple gate, together called the Huldah Gate. These gates had to handle enormous crowds during feast days; estimates as high as 500,000 people at a time. The triple arched gate was the entrance and the double arched gate served as the exit. Although the double and triple gates have been filled in, you can still see their outlines in the walls near the well-preserved steps of the monumental staircase.

The triple gate to the east led to a tunnel that brought worshippers up to the Temple and the columned porches. To leave the Temple they would exit the double gate on the west and go down a staircase 4 times larger than the entry staircase, since everyone was leaving at the same time. The steps below the wider staircase are well preserved and are one of the few places you can walk where you are sure Jesus walked. An interesting exception to the rule about entry and exit gates regarded mourners. According to the Talmud, they were to go in and out against the traffic in order that people would know of their loss. People would then extend their condolences by saying, “May He who dwells in this House give you comfort.”

In this area we will also see ritual baths from the time of Christ, important inscriptions from the Temple, the street that runs inside the Western Wall tunnels, and the ruins from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

Photos

Videos

Video 13: Temple Mount in the Time of Jesus (Western Wall of Temple Mount)

Video 14: The Temple Mount

Video 31: Events of Passion Week (Mount of Olives)

Video 01: Model of Jerusalem Overview

Jerusalem, in the temple

Footnotes

Matthew 21,13 | Mark 11,17 | Luke 19,46

Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11

Remarks

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