Chapter 8—Cleansing the Temple At the time of the passover, when Jerusalem was crowded with people who had come from a distance to celebrate this great annual festival, Jesus with his disciples mingled with the gathering throng. It was early in the morning, yet large crowds were already repairing to the temple. As Jesus entered, he was indignant to find the court of the temple arranged as a cattle market and a place of general traffic. There were not only stalls for the beasts, but there were tables where the priests themselves acted as money-brokers and exchangers. It was customary for each person who attended the passover to bring a piece of money, which was paid to the priests upon entering the temple. {2SP 115.1}

Ved påsketiden, da Jerusalem var opfyldt af folk, som kom langt borte fra for at fejre den store årlige fest, var Jesus og hans disciple blandt mængden, som forsamledes. Det var tidligt på morgnen; men store skarer drog allerede til templet. Da Jesus trådte ind i templet forgård, vaktes han vrede; thi den var omdannet til et kvægmarket og et sted for almindelig handel. Der var ikke blot stalde for dyrene; men der var borde, hvor præsterne selv handlede som vekselere. Det var en almindelig skik, at enhver som kom til påskefesten, bragte et pengestykke med sig, hvilket folket betalte til præsterne, eftersom de gik ind i templet.