Notes on Luke 19:45-21:4

Jesus Cleanses the Temple - Luke 19:45-48

Jesus cleansed the temple of sellers and challenged the people to spiritual authenticity. John recorded a cleansing at the beginning of Jesus ministry (John 2:13-22). The other Gospel writers, including Luke, recorded this cleansing (Matt. 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18). So these may be two separate cleansings. Jesus displayed zeal for God's house and true worship among God's people.

Luke 19:45

temple . . . selling. The Jewish temple was the center of religious life for ancient Israel. Many people would travel to be in Jerusalem during the feasts (see note on 2:41-42). Rather than travel with animals that would be offered as sacrifices, they relied on buying near the temple. Moreover, the temple offerings could not be given using normal coins which bore an image and violated Exod. 20:4. So, they exchanged their money for a special Tyrian coin, which was acceptable. cast out. The temple in Jesus' day has multiple areas and courts designated for different types of people. The place where the sellers had set up was the Gentiles' Court. Other people could be there, but it was the only place non-Jews could be near the temple. The sellers had set-up their booths in this area, which was supposed to be a place of prayer (v. 46).

Luke 19:46

Jesus entered Jerusalem (vv. 28, 41) and went to the temple, fulfilling Scripture (Mal. 3:1). His quotation from the Old Testament brought together Jer. 7:11 and Isa. 56:7. By basing his clearing of the temple court in Scripture, he condemned his generation of the same sin as their forefathers. den of robbers. A clear reference to Jer. 7:11. It indicates the place where robbers flee from justice after their crime. Israel lived without care for God's law, but still offered sacrifices as a way of escaping judgment. This dishonored God and temple which was meant to be a meeting place between God and his people.

Luke 19:47

Jesus spent the last week of his life preaching the gospel. However, Israel's spiritual leaders would not listen and sought to kill him. chief priests. Influential men among ancient Israel's priesthood. scribes. See note on 5:17. leaders. Probably another word for elders (9:22).

Luke 19:48

The spiritual leaders of Israel could not act on their desire to kill Jesus (v. 47) because they feared losing the support of the people (see 20:19; 22:2; Mark 12:12).

Jesus Defends His Authority at the Temple – 20:1–21:4

Jesus' provocative action and prophetic teaching get a reaction from the temple authorities. But, Jesus sticks to the prophetic theme and asks them about John the Baptist.

Luke 20:1

one day. Jesus was constantly preaching and teaching during this last week of his life (v. 19:47). It was a means of shepherding the people in contrast to the false shepherds who rejected his message (11:46, 52). chief priests . . . scribes . . . elders. This group describes the Sanhedrin council of Israel. The Sanhedrin was the representative leadership of Israel. It was a group of 71 Jewish men, who served as ruling elders of the nation and as a buffer between ancient Israel and the Roman government. It included men from the scribes, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees, and it was presided over by the current high priest. came to him. This was a smaller delegation from the Sanhedrin rather than the full group.

Luke 20:2

The point of the question was to trap Jesus. The group (v. 1) wanted him to say something that would either discredit him in the eyes of the people or give them a charge to bring against him. authority. Jesus' authority should have been obvious from his teaching (4:32) and his identity as the Son of Man (5:24), the Son of David (18:38-39), and Israel's King (19:12, 15, 38). Luke's readers also saw his authority because he was the Son of the Most High (1:32, 35), the promised Christ (2:11, 26), and the Holy One of God (4:34). these things. Entering Jerusalem to messianic praise (19:35-40), cleansing the temple (19:45-46), and teaching (19:47-48).

Related Resources

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.