What's wrong with this story?

Question

In Matthew 21:12 Jesus drives out the merchants from the temple.

He damages or destroys private property. He assaults or threatens assault against the merchants.

These were crimes in those days.

Why wasn't Jesus arrested for this? If not by the Jews, then by the Romans?

Why didn't any of these merchants sue him, or call for guards?

He is never called to account for this by the local authorities or those injured.

The "chief priests and scribes" say nothing about it three verses later (Matt 21:15), nor the next time he entered the temple (Matt 21:23).

It is as if the event never happened, for all the attention anyone else paid to it.

Explain?

Note that when Jesus was finally arrested and hauled before the courts, this event was never mentioned then either, neither by the judges, nor the accusers, nor the crowd.

Answer 1

The reason that Jesus was not immediately arrested is given right there in Matthew 21 were the event is recorded. It states that they did not move against him at the time because "they feared the people". With this being the Passover week in which the city was overcrowded with worshippers, the last thing the leaders wanted to do was to start a riot. Both Mark in chapter 11 and Luke in chapter 20 reaffirm that this was the reason why the leaders did not arrest him at the time.

Of course, you have taken the time to read the same events in Mark 11, right? That is where in verse 18 it specifically states that the cleansing of the temple was the reason that the Jewish leaders began to seek to kill him. So they did not let him just "get away" with doing it.

Instead they paid judas to betray him outside of the city so that they could arrest him privately. Which they did within four days of the event.

When Jesus was placed on trial, the leaders wanted the death penalty. Charges of assult or destruction of property would not have carried such a punishment. A fine and/or maybe a beating at worse. Is they went for charges which would carry a captial sentence - for the Jews the charge of blasphemy and for the Romans the charge of treason.

If you picked up a person today and got them conviced for murder and sentenced either to death or life in prison, the court would not waste time going back to try that person for illegal parking and littering at the time the murder was committed. There would be no point. Same with the trail of Jesus. Once they had him convinced for a captial offense, why waste time on minor issues?

When you read all the book, it is easy to find all of the answers.

Answer 2

Mat 21:12 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,

It is prohibited by God to sell merchandise inside the temple of God. They peop;le use the temple as a market area and there are also money changers therein.The temple of God is not a private property but it is for God where to pray and study the teachings of God

Inside your own house, if you have a house what will you say if the people around you will use your house to sell merchandise and use it as a market area. Will you just look at them and say nothing?
jtm

Answer 3

Because they were all aware of what they had done- they set up shop in a sacred place- dishonoring God's temple by making it a market place
They knew this should have never happened.. however because of the almighty $$$ the priests allowed it- (turned their heads) They KNEW the scriptures... there was no excuse & when Jesus called them on it- what could they say?
They were breaking their own laws... not to mention dishonoring the Temple . If the issue had ever been pushed .. everyone guilty would have been exposed.........

Answer 4

No he isn't called to account. They just kill him later.

BUT, that said

First of all: The Temple was NOT private property. It was maintained by public contributions. It's not like the Priests had a paying job. Second, the Temple was built to worship Jesus' Father. He had every right to call out the money changers/merchants for having corrupted the purpose of his Father's House. Third, they couldn't very well call Jesus out on what he was doing since they were in fact criminals themselves... he said they'd turned his father's house into a den/cave of "ROBBERS". They were over pricing the animals that the people had to buy for their sacrifices out of greed.

Answer 5

Well, Jesus stood for all those things he violated, except! He needed to make an example of people like that, and he was enraged by a sacred place like a temple being used for such sinful purposes. So clearly, Jesus had every justification! How would you feel if your local church opened up a casino?

Answer 6

no they did mention that Jesus is assaulting their merchandise with the fake witnesses. And Jesus never injures the merchants. He was just angry because they make God's place into a place of thieves and money and greed. The Bible also doesn't tell such detailed information but I believe everything was started well and finished well.

Answer 7

I don't know personally... I can only offer a guess. But I think that this story got told out of order in the bible in the timeline.....I once read a history of the holy week and the author said that Jese probably drove the merchants from the temple on the Tuesday of Holy Week.....

this is only a theory and I have no proof. Unfortunatly I don't have the article to site you either...it was several years ago that I read it...

Answer 8

I've thought about this story a lot too. I came to the conclusion (in my opinion) that the people were shocked that this peaceful healer-teacher man would get so mad and be semi-violent. Also, this was one of the things that he did that could have been used as "evidence" against him later, proving that he was a danger to the peace in the eyes of the Romans. The reason it could have been omitted from later writings is simple, the Bible was copied over so many times and edited and changed and re-edited. The records of later references could have been damaged or nebulous, so they just got taken out.

Answer 9

You obviously aren't looking at it correctly.

He said to them: “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but YOU are making it a cave of robbers.”

They were the one's going again's what was written. They were over charging the poor people there in the temple. They should have been thrown out!
And besides, Jesus act was an act of righteous anger. Not like the anger we see in society today.

Answer 10

Because he was a rabbi and this was not illegal for them to do. Note that it was the "last straw" because the Chief Priests were taking kick-backs and this disrupted their income. Note also that in his 'display' he charge those around as being robbers, and rightfully so seing as what they were doing was not only illegal by human standards but by God's as well.