Mark 11:15

Mark 11:15-17 . And they come to Jerusalem — Jesus, having doomed the fig-tree to destruction, continued his journey to the city, where, when he arrived, he went straightway to the temple, and drove the buyers and sellers out of it, &c., and would not suffer any vessel to be carried through the sacred edifice. See the note on Matthew 21:12-14 . Such strong notions had our Lord of even relative holiness, and of the regard due to those places, as well as times, that are peculiarly dedicated to God. The Jews, it must be observed, reckoning the lower and outward court of the temple a place of little or no sanctity, because it was designed for accommodating the Gentile proselytes in their worship, not only kept a daily market there of such things as were necessary in offering sacrifices, but suffered the common porters, in going from one part of the city to another with their burdens, to pass through it, for the sake of shortening their way.

But as these abuses occasioned great disturbance to the proselytes, Jesus reformed them again as he had done three years before, (see John 2:14 ,) telling the people around him, that the Gentiles worshipped there by divine appointment, as well as the Jews, the temple being ordained of God to be the house of prayer for all nations; and to prove this, he cited Isaiah 56:7 , from which the inference was plain, that they were guilty of a gross profanation of the temple who carried on any traffic, even in the court of the Gentiles, much more they who, to make gain, committed frauds and extortions in the prosecution of their traffic, because thus they turned God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves. The offenders, it appears, did not make the least resistance. Probably they were struck with a panic by the secret energy of Christ’s omnipotence, as was the case formerly, when he made the like reformation at the first passover after his ministry commenced. To this purpose, Jerome, on the place, says, “Igneum enim quiddam, atque sidereum, radiebat ex oculis ejus, et divinitatis majestas lucebat in facie.” For, a certain fiery and sparkling radiance issued from his eyes, and a divine majesty shone in his face. Dr.

Mark 11:15-19 . See on Matthew 21:12-17 . Comp. Luke 19:45-48 . Matthew deals with this partly by abbreviating, partly also by adding what is peculiar and certainly original ( Mark 11:14-16 ). ἤρξατο ἐκβάλλειν ] but afterwards: κατέστρεψε , so that thus the latter occurred after the beginning and before the ending of the expulsion. Mark 11:16 . ἵνα ] The object of the permission is conceived as its purpose . The form ἤφιε , as Mark 1:34 . διενέγκῃ σκεῦος διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ] In the estimation also of the Rabbins it was accounted a desecration of the temple, if anybody carried the implements of common life ( σκεῦος , household furniture, pots, and the like) through the temple-enclosure, διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ (not ναοῦ ), in order to save himself a circuit; they extended this even to the synagogues. See Lightfoot, p. 632 f.; Wetstein in loc. Olshausen is mistaken in explaining διαφέρειν as to carry to and fro ; and Kuinoel and Olshausen, following Beza and Grotius, arbitrarily limit σκεῦος to implements used for the purpose of gain . Mark 11:17 . ἐδίδασκε ] on what subject?

What follows leaves no doubt as to the principal theme of this teaching. πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ] Dativus commodi : (destined) for all nations ,—which has reference in Isaiah 56:7 to the fact that even the strangers dwelling among the Israelites were to return with them to the Holy Land ( Ezra 2:43 ff; Ezra 7:7 ; Nehemiah 3:26 ; Nehemiah 11:21 ), where they were to present their offerings in the temple (according to the Israelitish command, Leviticus 17:8 ff; Leviticus 22:19 ff.; Numbers 15:14 ff.). Only Mark (not Matthew and Luke) has taken up the πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν from Isaiah, which probably has its reason not only in more careful quotation (Fritzsche, de Wette, Holtzmann, Bleek), but, inasmuch as it is an honourable mention of the Gentiles, in the Gentile -Christian interest, without, however, thereby indicating that Jesus had desired to announce the new spiritual temple of His church (Schenkel), which point of the action does not emerge in any of the evangelists, since they had failed to perceive it, or had suppressed it. Mark 11:18 . ἀπολέσωσιν ] (see the critical remarks): how they were to destroy Him, deliberative. The future of the Recepta (how they should destroy Him) would designate the realization as indubitable (the question only still remaining as to the kind and manner of the destruction). See Kühner, II. p. 489 f.; Stallbaum, ad Plat.

Money-changers (κολλυβιστῶν) Another unclassical word, but used also by Matthew. "Such words as these might naturally find their place in the mongrel Greek of the slaves and freedmen who formed the first congregations of the church in Rome" (Ezra Abbott, Art. "Gospels," in Encyc. Britannica). See on Matthew 21:12.

Mark 11:15-19 . Cleansing of the temple ( Matthew 21:12-17 , Luke 19:45-48 ). The state of things Jesus saw in the temple yesterday has been in His mind ever since: through the night watches in Bethany; in the morning, killing appetite; on the way, the key to His enigmatical behaviour towards the fig tree.

15 . and Jesus went into the temple ] The best MSS. omit the word Jesus here. The nefarious scene, which He had sternly rebuked on the occasion of His first Passover, and which is recorded only by St John ( John 2:13-17 ), was still being enacted. them that sold and bought ] For the convenience of Jews and proselytes residing at a distance from the Holy City, a kind of market had been established in the outer court, and here sacrificial victims, incense, oil, wine, and other things necessary for the service and the sacrifices, were to be obtained. the tables of the moneychangers ] Money would be required (1) to purchase materials for offerings, (2) to present as free offerings to the Temple treasury ( Mark 12:41 ; Luke 21:1 ), (3) to pay the yearly Temple-tax of half a shekel due from every Jew, however poor. All this could not be received except in a native coin called the Temple Shekel, which was not generally current. Strangers therefore had to change their Roman, Greek, or Eastern money, at the stalls of the moneychangers, to obtain the coin required. This trade gave ready means for fraud, which was only too common. that sold doves ] Required for poor women coming for purification ( Leviticus 12:6 ; Leviticus 12:8 ; Luke 2:24 ) from all parts of the country, and for other offerings.