Matthew 21:13

13 He said to them, "It is written that the Lord said, 'My house will be called a house where people can pray.'(Isaiah 56:7) But you are making it a 'den for robbers.' "(Jeremiah 7:11)

Matthew 21:13 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 21:13

And said unto them, it is written
In ( Isaiah 56:7 ) .

My house shall be called the house of prayer.
These are the, words of God, calling the temple his house, which was built according to the plan he gave; and was the place of his worship, and where he dwelt, and vouchsafed his presence to his people; and signifying, that in time to come, it should be an house of prayer; not for the Jews only, but for the Gentiles also: "for all people", as it is expressed by the prophet, and cited by Mark; and particularly this part of it, in which were the money changers and sellers of doves; for that was the court of the Gentiles, where they were admitted to pray, and perform other parts of worship. These words are rightly applied by Christ to the temple; nor can the Jews themselves deny it; for their own Targum paraphrases it thus, (yvdqm tyb) , "the house of my sanctuary shall be called an house of prayer"; or shall be one; for the meaning is not that it should go by such a name, but should be for such use, and not for buying and selling, and merchandise, to which use the Jews now put it: hence it follows,

but ye have made it a den of thieves.
These are the words of Christ, affirming what is complained of in ( Jeremiah 7:11 ) and applying it to the present case, on account of the wicked merchandise, unlawful gain, avarice and extortion, of the priests and other officers of the temple, who had a considerable share in these things; and to whom the temple was, and by them used, as a den is to and by thieves and robbers, where they shelter themselves; for these persons robbed both God and man, and the temple was a sanctuary to them: here they screened themselves, and, under the appearance of religion and devotion, devoured widows' houses, plundered persons of their substance, and were full of extortion and excess.

Matthew 21:13 In-Context

11 The crowds answered, "This is Jesus. He is the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

12 Jesus entered the temple area. He began chasing out all those who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of the people who were exchanging money. He also turned over the benches of those who were selling doves.

13 He said to them, "It is written that the Lord said, 'My house will be called a house where people can pray.'(Isaiah 56:7) But you are making it a 'den for robbers.' "(Jeremiah 7:11)

14 Blind people and those who were disabled came to Jesus at the temple. There he healed them.

15 The chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did. They also saw the children in the temple area shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" But when they saw all of this, they became angry.