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Verse 15

And he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables.

It is said that Jesus never used force, but this verse proves otherwise. It is a moot question whether or not Jesus actually used a whip on any of the money changers, the usual interpretation being that he did not; but the very existence of such a weapon in the strong hand of the vigorous young carpenter from Nazareth was a threat of force sufficient to deter any of the money-changers from contesting it. The whip was necessary in driving out the animals; but, with regard to the money-changers, the moral indignation of the Holy One crying out against the callous commercialization of the very house of God was far more effective than any physical threat could have been. Needless to say, such action by Jesus was requited by the undying hatred of the godless Sadducees who were the principal operators of the temple concessions. Their financial interests had been jeopardized; and one may be sure that from this day forward murderous schemes were devised for getting rid of Jesus.

This further comment on the meaning of "all" in this verse comes from Hendriksen:

The KJV and RSV favor the idea that Jesus actually drove out all the wicked traffickers together with the sheep and oxen. In the second cleansing of the temple (Matthew 21:12), it is definitely stated that the cattle dealers were themselves driven out. If that happened then, we may take for granted that it took place now.[15]

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