Matthew 21:13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 21:12-17

When Christ came into Jerusalem, he did not go up to the court or the palace, though he came in as a King, but into the temple; for his kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world; it is in holy things that he rules, in the temple of God that he exercises authority. Now, what did he do there? I. Thence he drove the buyers and sellers. Abuses must first be purged out, and the plants not of God's planting be plucked up, before that which is right can be established. The great Redeemer appear as... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:12-14

21:12-14 And Jesus entered into the precincts of the Temple of God, and cast out all who were selling and buying in the Temple precincts, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and of those who were selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it 'a robbers' cave.'" And the blind and the lame came to him in the Temple and he healed them. If the entry into Jerusalem had been defiance, here is defiance added to... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:12-14

There is hardly anywhere in the gospel story where we need to make a more deliberate and more conscious effort to be fair than in this passage. It is easy to use it as a basis for a complete condemnation of the whole Temple worship. There are two things to be said. There were many traders and hucksters in the Temple Court, but there were also many whose hearts were set on God. As Aristotle said long ago, a man and an institution must be judged at their best, and not at their worst. The... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 21:13

And said unto them, it is written ,.... In Isaiah 56:7 . My house shall be called the house of prayer . These are the, words of God, calling the temple his house, which was built according to the plan he gave; and was the place of his worship, and where he dwelt, and vouchsafed his presence to his people; and signifying, that in time to come, it should be an house of prayer; not for the Jews only, but for the Gentiles also: "for all people", as it is expressed by the prophet, and cited... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 21:13

My house shall be called the house of prayer - This is taken from Isaiah 56:7 . But ye have made it a den of thieves - This is taken from Jeremiah 7:11 . Our Lord alludes here to those dens and caves in Judea, in which the public robbers either hid or kept themselves fortified. They who are placed in the Church of Christ to serve souls, and do it not, and they who enjoy the revenues of the Church, and neglect the service of it, are thieves and robbers in more senses than one. ... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 21:13

Verse 13 13.It is written. Christ quotes two passages taken out of two Prophets; the one from Isaiah 56:7, and the other from Jeremiah 7:11. What was written by Isaiah agreed with the circumstances of the time; for in that passage is predicted the calling of the Gentiles. Isaiah, therefore, promises that God will grant, not only that the temple shall recover its original splendor, but likewise that all nations shall flow to it, and that the whole world shall agree in true and sincere piety.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 21:1-22

Entry into Jerusalem. Our Lord had now entered on the last week of his life upon earth, but, save in his own heart, there is no premonition of his death. Having spent the sabbath in Bethany, he proceeds on Sunday morning to the city. That was the day, four days before the Passover, on which the Jews were commanded to choose the Paschal lamb. Our Lord, conscious of his calling to die for his people, puts himself into their hands. He now feels that his hour has come, and proclaims himself as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 21:1-46

The vast multitudes who came to his baptism thereby professed faith in his teaching. Hence the general expression, "All hold John as a prophet." The defeat of Herod's army in the war with Aretas, King of Arabia, was esteemed by the Jews a judgment for the death of John (Josephus, 'Ant.,' John 18:7 ). 2 . John ' s testimony therefore should be conclusive. III. AS IT IS EVIDENT IN THE DISCOMFITURE OF HIS ENEMIES . 1 . They set up their authority against... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 21:12-13

Christ cleansing the temple. According to St. Mark's more detailed account, Jesus "looked round" on the day of his triumphant entrance to Jerusalem, and effected his drastic reformation of temple abuses on the following morning. Thus we see that his action did not spring from a hasty outburst of passion. It was the result of deliberation. He had had a night in which to brood over the shameful desecration of his Father's house. I. THE DESECRATION . 1 . The nature of it. It would... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 21:12-13

The fitting and the unfitting in God's house. "My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." Selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and changing foreign money into temple shekels, was right enough in its place; but the point is, that all this was being done in the wrong place. The sense of the appropriate, of the becoming, was lost; it was covered over and bidden by the greed of the trader, and the avarice of the money changer. Trade is not wrong, if it be... read more

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