LECTURE CIII.

LUKE XIX. 45-48.

"And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46. Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. 47. And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests, and the scribes, and the chief of the people, sought to destroy him, 48. And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him."

HAVING wept over devoted Jerusalem, as he advanced towards it in meek triumphant procession, our Lord had now entered within its walls. Matthew* says, "When he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet, of Nazareth of Galilee." And whither did his heart lead him to repair immediately on his entrance? To the temple. On occasions somewhat similar, it is not so with too many who bear his name. There are too many who, when they go to visit the capital of their own country, or any other great city, hasten to the places of public amusement, and to see and hear whatever, in the opinion of men of the world, is reckoned most interesting; but who are long of thinking of the house of God, if they think of it at all; who, if they do go to see a church, or two, go merely to admire the architecture, or from some other impulse of curiosity, and not from any real desire to honour God, or reap benefit from the ordinances, or learn the state of religion in the place; and who even spend perhaps weeks in neglect, and leave the city in ignorance, of such things. Such persons would do well to think seriously how this conduct is decisive of their being in an unconverted and perishing condition. They would do well to mark and improve the words of the apostle: "They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and

*Matt. xxi. 10.

peace." They who "mind earthly things, are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end," if they so continue, “is destruction." Such have not the Spirit of Christ, and, therefore, are none of his. It was not so with Jesus Christ. As soon as he entered into Jerusalem in triumph, he went straight to the temple; thus demonstrating at once the spiritual nature of his kingdom and the deep interest he felt in religion.

When we examine the parallel passage in Mark xi. 11, we find it written: "And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple;" in which words it is evidently im-plied that he entered into the temple immediately on his entrance into the city: it is added, "And when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the even-tide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." Then Mark goes on to tell how, "on the morrow," Jesus cursed the fig-tree, and then went into the temple and cast out the buyers and sellers. When, again, we examine Matthew and Luke, it is almost unavoidable to conclude, that he purged the temple on the very day of his triumphant entrance into the city, especially as Matthew introduces the account of our Lord's doing so before that of his leaving the city for Bethany, and before that of his cursing the figtree. Hence it is the opinion of most commentators that he purged the temple on these two successive days, namely, on the day of his triumph, and on the succeeding day, when he found, that, notwithstanding what he had done, many of these profaners had the audacity to return. As to Mark only mentioning Christ's entering into the temple and looking round about upon all things, it is well remarked, that though there was an obvious propriety in carefully examining the state of things before acting, it is not likely that he would have beheld so shameful proceedings without immediately feeling that virtuous displeasure rise within him which would not admit of any unnecessary delay in expressing his mind, and carrying the reform into execution; and it is further remarked that, on this supposition, this is only one of the many examples in which an inspired writer's mentioning some circumstances which took place at a particular time, by no means amounts to a declaration that no other circumstances then occurred. Some, however, think the whole relates to the one transaction of one day, Mark's account being only a recapitulation and enlargement of what he had just before briefly noticed. At all events, if these

actions were different, as seems the more probable supposition, they were so similar as to be mutually illustrative of each other. Besides, it is to be recollected that Jesus acted in a similar way long before this, namely, at the first passover which he attended after the commencement of his public ministry. The history of that transaction is given only by the evangelist John: it is found in his 2d chapter, from the 13th verse, and it must also be considered as throwing light on the event now under our consideration. Thus the Saviour acted at the first passover after he stood forward openly to the world, and thus he acted about the time of the last passover which he ever attended.* The account in John is as follows:-" And the Jews' passover was at hand; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money, sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." The manner in which Jesus acted on this later occasion, as here noticed by Luke, appears very similar, especially when the additional circumstances stated by Matthew and Mark,+ which we shall soon specify, are included.

And is there not, in the very first appearance of this procedure, something strange, and very different from the usual placid demeanour of the Saviour? Whence (we feel ourselves compelled to ask) can this arise? "Whence comes this aspect of zeal and of indignation which Jesus Christ, on this occasion, allows his countenance to betray? Is this, then, that King of peace, who was to appear in Zion armed with his meekness alone? We have seen him sitting as judge over an adulteress, and he hath not even condemned her. His disciples wanted the fire of heaven to descend upon an ungrateful and perverse village; but he reproached them with being still unacquainted with that new spirit of mercy and of charity which he came to spread throughout the earth. He had just been lamenting, with tears, the miseries which threaten Jerusalem, that criminal city, the

The scheme which would identify the cases is justly exploded. + Matt. xxi. 12, 13; Mark xi. 15-17.

murderess of the prophets, which is on the eve of sealing the sentence of her reprobation by the iniquitous death she is so soon to inflict on Him whom God had sent to be her Redeemer. On every occasion he hath appeared feeling and merciful; and, in consequence of his exceeding meekness, he hath been called the friend even of publicans and sinners. What, then, are the outrages which now triumph over all his clemency, and arm his gracious hands with the rod of justice and of wrath?—The holy temple is profaned; his Father's house is dishonoured; the place of prayer, and the sacred asylum of the penitent, is turned into a house of traffic and of avarice: this is what calls the lightning into those eyes which would wish to cast only looks of compassion upon sinners. Many other scandals besides those seen in the temple doubtless took place in that city; but, as if his Father's glory had been less wounded by them, he can overlook them for a time, and delay their punishment. The chastisement of the profaners of the temple, however, can admit of no delay; his zeal, on this occasion, admits of no bounds; and scarcely has he entered Jerusalem, when he flies to the holy place, to avenge the honour of his Father there insulted, and the glory of his house which they dishonour. Of all crimes by which the greatness of God is insulted, none are more deserving of his chastisements than the profanations of his temples, which are so much the more criminal, as the dispositions required of us by religion, when engaged there, ought to be the more holy.'

"*

Jesus went into the temple." That which is here called "the temple," or, as it might have been more closely rendered, "the sacred, or holy, place," was very extensive. It included, not only the magnificent house, or covered building, more strictly called the temple, but also the several courts which were enclosed, but not roofed in. These courts were three. The first was "the court of the Gentiles," into which, as the name implies, those who were not Jews were permitted and encouraged to enter, but beyond which they were not allowed to advance. The second was "the court of the Jews," where those of that nation who were ceremonially clean, and "proselytes of righteousness," who engaged to observe the whole law, worshipped. The third was "the court of the priests," in which stood the altar of burnt-offerings, and the priests executed their office in sacrificing. Beyond this court still stood the sanctuary, or the + To isgov.

* Massillon.

house of God, more strictly so called. It was, probably, in the first of these courts that Christ found people employed in traffic of various kinds, particularly, as appears from a comparison of all the evangelists, in buying and selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and in transacting the business of money-changers. Now, this was very contumelious and injurious to the Gentiles, who were entitled to have this court left clear and comfortable for their own use: it was also a profanation of part of a place which was all sacred, and a scandalous insult to Jehovah who was there served. To have used this court for any secular purpose whatever would have been sinful; to turn it into a cattle market, was most abominable. In consequence of the great number of animals of those particular kinds which were required for sacrifice, at the feast of the passover, it was certainly necessary that there should be, at this time, an extensive market for them somewhere in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem; but surely it ought to have been held anywhere rather than in the temple. The great influx of strangers, too, at this season, from almost every part of the world, rendered the accommodation afforded by money-changers now peculiarly necessary; but, surely, the temple was not the spot for them to place their tables for transacting that business. Doubtless, the avarice of these dealers, on the one hand, led them to apply for what they thought would be a favourable situation for gaining money; while the avarice of the priests, on the other hand, led them, for the sake of some remuneration, to grant the shameful applica tion.

When our Lord beheld these things going on in the temple, "he began," says Luke, "to cast out them that sold, and them that bought." Matthew and Mark say that “he overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves;" and Mark adds, that “he would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple" he would not allow any vessel, or utensil, or bulky article, or burden, to be carried through any of the courts he would not suffer the courts to be made an ordinary thoroughfare. This was quite in accordance with the precept,* *Ye shall reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord." On the similar occasion, which we have already noticed from John, "when Jesus had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the * Lev. xix. 30.