And they came to Jerusalem. Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who sold doves.
This action of Christ was an expression of holy zeal for the house of God. The temple, which was meant to be a place of prayer and worship, had become a place of trade and profit. The money changers and those selling animals for sacrifice may at first have appeared there out of practical necessity, but their activity had distorted the nature of worship and was hindering especially foreigners from drawing near to God. The Lord overturns the tables, showing that religious exploitation in the presence of God is condemnable. This was not ordinary anger, but the defense of God’s holiness. Christ, as the Lord of the House, cleanses it from what had been corrupted by human greed and formal religiosity.