Place of Worship or Marketplace?

Many people traveled long distances to Jerusalem for Passover and needed animals like doves or sheep for sacrifice. Instead of bringing their own, they often purchased them from merchants near the temple—who charged inflated prices.

Because the region was under Roman rule, people used Roman coins, which bore images of rulers worshiped as gods. This made the currency unacceptable for temple offerings, so money changers exchanged it for the Jewish half-shekel.

Originally, these exchanges took place outside the temple, but over time the merchants and money changers moved into the temple’s outer courtyard—the space reserved for Gentile worship.

By turning a place of worship into a marketplace, they were misusing sacred space. This is why Jesus drove them out.