Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers and the driving out the merchants selling pigeons for sacrifices is a controversial moment in the Bible. Many memes and misunderstandings have come from this part of scripture to justify bad behavior. Others have criticized Jesus for getting angry. This is the question of the day so what is the the truth? Do we have an angry Jesus and is he justified?

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12-13 ESV

Impressions of Jesus with a Whip

The first time I encountered the interesting nature of this scripture was in an evangelical conversation. A young man my own age responded that he could never respect Jesus. His reason is because of this verse where he imagined an angry Jesus beating people. An image of Jesus driving people at the end of a whip is wild compared to the Jesus holding a baby lamb that the culture likes to focus on. Here are some other takes that one might find on social media.

Angry Jesus in all Four Gospels

Here are some facts we can all read for ourselves about the event. Jesus in the temple is in all four gospels so below is a chart that will help us see the entire picture of the event. Additionally we can look at the words of Jesus himself from each of the accounts.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12-13 ESV

¹³ The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” John 2:13-17 ESV

¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹⁶ And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:15-17 ESV

⁴⁵ And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:45-46 ESV

Chapter	Quote	Emphasis
Matthew 21	“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”	House of prayer Not a den of robbers
John 2	“Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”	Not a house of trade
Mark 11	“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”	House of prayer for all the nations Not a den of robbers
Luke 19	“It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”	House of prayer Not a den of robbers

Gospel Facts

Interestingly only the Gospel of John references the whip Jesus uses to drive out those he was angry with. Also at no point does any gospel say Jesus is angry. However human emotion is needed to create such a scene and be moved to take the actions like this. A righteous anger that is justified seems right. Getting a whip ready moving people out and overturning tables is the action of a leader or a madman. We know that Jesus is the King of kings so it is obvious that he is a leader who knows exactly what he is doing. This leadership is then bolstered by the Gospel of Mark when he writes that Jesus “was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Jesus we Know

Was Jesus angry? I say yes but anger is not bad when it is purposeful. Anger is bad when it is without purpose and reactive. Nothing in these descriptions is reactive. Jesus knows exactly what he is doing. Angry Jesus might be better understood as Jesus with zeal as the Gospel of John describes Jesus. “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

This leads us to the question. Why did he do it? Why is Jesus angry? There are three reasons that can be found in these gospels.

Jesus Teaching

Jesus did this to teach the people and the disciples what he expects from the Temple. He wants them to know that the Church is a place of prayer and a place of worship. It should not be a place to haggle prices or how one gets rich. One of the reasons I am not a pastor in a church is because I like to make money and the entrepreneurial spirit from a money-making perspective has no home in the heart of the leaders of the church. Attenders should give their tithes and offerings but those must be given freely as the heart moves them. Marketing campaigns and events to generate revenue are not that.

Jesus is King

Another reason Jesus the King of Kings did this was to challenge the authority of the Pharisee. He has entered a new phase of his ministry that is leading to the cross and he needed to move the leaders to want him dead.

⁴⁷ And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words. Luke 19:47-48 ESV

Jesus Completes the Law

A third reason that Jesus the Lord of Lords made the whip and demonstrated his authority over man is to fulfill the laws and prophets. Matthew takes every opportunity to link the actions of Jesus back to the prophets and he does the same here as well.

⁸ “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. ⁹ Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? ¹¹ Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 7:8-11 ESV

The Lord Knows

God’s judgement on the nation at that time, in the time of Jesus, and still today stands. “I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.” He knows who we are and what we have done. Yet Jesus shows us a way and he provides an opportunity to be born again. A moment to be changed into a new creation with a new heart who wants to be in the house of God which is called by his name.