Jesus and the money changers, act of violence or non-violence?

Hi EvanHunter, Of course I don't take the Bible literally and believe much of it was changed to suit the whims of the church back in the sixth century when the Bible as we have it was first put together. The story of Jesus in the temple is quite an interesting one and I think it's about the closest we get to Jesus losing his temper. It definitely shows his humanity. He became very upset with the money-changers and I think he would get very upset with what's happening in the world today. I know we certainly need more then a few tables overturned today. Blessings.

Greetings EvanHunter. I like how you post, making people think. I'm glad you brought this up because so often much of society views Christ as a "fluffy" Jesus. I see you are opting for words other than violence, although, yes it was violent. I would also say strongly disciplinary! -- very strongly. Sometimes in order to get a point across with some people one has to be this way. You mentioned Ezra. I think it was him that also pulled out the hair of some Jewish parents who permitted their children to speak the language of Ashdod! Of course there is nothing wrong with what Christ did. These guys knew better. Their greed was the same as their ancestors. Btw, I understand these guys were being treated this way because they were inflating their prices at the expense of the poor.

The Rabi, That's what I call Jesus, is pi$$ed. He wanted His church /temple to be free of greedy men and it isn't. I love the scene where he " goes Postal" at the Temple. It is my favorite. it shows the human side of Him. But then again I am not christian and I love it when an actor's chrtacter Has to destroy the set! With that said I think He was trying to make the point that His church/ temple should be Just for prayer. It wasn't a violent revolt. It was just a attention grabber.This is a guess coming from an outsider. so please forgive me if I got this All wrong.

John 2:13-17 (New International Version) 13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" 17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." I would say it was an act of non-violence. The Scripture doesn't say he hit them with the whip but used it to drive them out of the temple where they had no business being. He was God's son and they were unwelcome in his Father's house. They came to do business there where they should have come to pray.

...Hi there EvanHunter, Happy 2010, Well, if you believe the story, then I think the point of it was that they should not have been doing what they were doing in the "temple". Take the business of moneychanging to the street. Our banking system has, and I used to be a federal bank examiner at one time, been built on a concept of greed and speed, the more money you can get and the faster you can get, go for it. Those who were supposed to regulate were intentionally in some cases looking the other way. The Federal Reserve Chief, Goldfinger as I called him, Mr. Greenspan testified that he may have done a few things wrong, hello. Things were allowed to be done which put this country, and other global systems in a potential state of collapse. We are still not clear of the blowback. California and Florida have a 40% foreclosure rate, houses are sitting and nobody is hardly buying because now, they have tightened the credit regulations, good timing! What a mess. One-hundred and thirty-three banks so far closed or merged, it is still in a stare of flux if you ask me and we can only hope that the things the government is doing now will stabilize this situation and we can survive the storm. Oh it was, in my opinion an act of civil violence, but then He said "I kill and I make alive". So who is to argue with the Maker? "o) Take care.

I find this topic very relevant today. The world is doomed unless we strive to be like the Lord and have the seriousness to throw the tables over on the money changers of today. The entire world has been infected by some kind of complacency that keeps us from finding the truth or doing something about it once it has been tasted. The truth hurts. No pain, no gain.

that's actually one of my favorite stories in the bible. somebody needs to do it again. last time i took my mom to her church,they actually had an ATM in the front lobby. i was pretty disgusted by that. i'm sure now as then it would be considered some form of vandalism,but something definetely needs to be done about these banks with their hidden fees and debt that's impossible to ever pay off.they could renegotiate loans to keep people out of foreclosure,but they don't want to.

Hello EvanHunter, Clearly it was not act of violence, The Christ Jesus PBUH never used to act unjustly since He was Inspired by Allah in All of his actions ans sayings. In fact the Pharisees used to Fool people for their own interest, and the answer was mentioned in the context. Matthew 21:12-13 ( 12 ) And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves. ( 13 ) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. people used to take doves to the the Pharisees at the Temple as mentioned in the Old testament. Because a place called the House of God, should be Only for Prayers, there was a similar incident recorded in Islamic Books, [i]Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah said, "When you see someone buying or selling in the mosque, say to him: "La arbaha-Allahu tijarataka" (May Allah not make your bargain profitable)! When you see someone announcing something lost in it, say: "May Allah not restore it to you" [At-Tirmidhi][/i] Extract from the Book Riyad-us-Saliheen book 17 Chapter 310 and Yes, I totally agree that we need few tables overturned today also. Best Regards

I don't think there's any real doubt that the incident at the temple was an act of violence. Jesus went in there and initiated force against the moneychangers. They wouldn't have sat still for that, they would have tried to stop him (and maybe beaten him up in retaliation, or else turned him over to the authorities). Jesus' disciples would have mixed in to protect their boss, so it probably ended up being a full-scale riot. As far as the current situation with banks goes, I think the main problem is that it's not a free market. The banking industry is so heavily regulated that it's practically impossible to set up a new bank in competition with the established ones, so you end up with the world's financial industry being in the hands of a very small number of extremely big businesses - which governments then protect because they're "too big to fail".

I think Jesus' act was one of determination - you're not going to use my Father's house, a house of worship, to rob His people. As far as today's bankers, I don't see how Jesus could be anything but appalled at their behavior. What these bankers and financiers don't seem to have learned is that you reap what you sow.

What is the reason behind why Jesus acted that way? Why did Jesus overturned the tables and drove away those money changers and businessmen from the temple of God? The answer is because they are disrespecting and insulting God by their actions and they showed a total disregard and even contempt of God's Temple, which is a place of worship and not of selling goods or any kinds or forms of businesses. God's temple or church is not a market but a place of reverence and worship. That's the main reason why Jesus behaved that way, to teach a lesson of reverence and deep respect of God's temple, a place of worship. As for the crooked banking practices, I don't see any relation of that incident to this present evil of usury. Love of Money is the root of all kinds of evil, and the banking system has a tendency to such extremities.