Event · New Testament

The cleansing of the temple

Also known as Jesus drives out the money changers

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out those buying and selling, overturning the money changers' tables and the seats of the dove sellers. He explained the act with Scripture, calling the house a house of prayer for all nations that had been made a den of robbers. The chief priests and scribes began looking for a way to destroy Him.

Why it matters. Jesus acts with authority in His Father's house, and the act sets the temple leadership decisively against Him. It also frames the question of authority that dominates the week's controversies.

Primary passages

• Mark 11:15-18

Dates

AD 30 to 33 (approximate) (medium confidence, Passover week of the crucifixion under Pontius Pilate; AD 30 and AD 33 are the leading proposals)

The event belongs to the final week before the crucifixion, which is dated to AD 30 or AD 33 on calendrical grounds. FaithGraph records the range and does not choose.

Witnesses

• Matthew 21:12-17
• Mark 11:15-19
• Luke 19:45-48
• John 2:13-22

Chronology confidence: medium

The Synoptics place the cleansing in the final week, Mark on the day after the entry and Matthew and Luke in direct sequence with it. John narrates a cleansing at the start of the ministry. Readers differ on whether John relocated the one event for thematic reasons or whether there were two cleansings; FaithGraph describes both positions and does not decide.

Last reviewed

2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team