Daily
Reflection
From a Creighton Student's Perspective
of Creighton
University's Online Ministries
November
21st, 2008
by
Kate Macan
Senior, Theology/Spanish double major, Justice
and Peace Studies minor
“It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Luke 19:46 This gospel incident, which appears in all three synoptic Gospels,
Matthew, Mark and Luke is by far one of the most memorable moments
in Jesus’ later ministry. John presents another version of
the cleansing of the temple, except it happens much earlier in Jesus’
ministry. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus is even somewhat
violent, as he overturns the tables of the moneychangers and the
seats of those who were selling doves (Mark 11:15; Matthew 21:12).
As you have read in Luke’s account, Jesus does not do such
things during the cleansing of the temple. If we were strictly approaching
this incident using Biblical scholarship, one would need to beg
the question why such differences occur in the various accounts.
However, since we are focusing on different elements, I think the
better question to ask is: Why does this occurrence in Jesus’
ministry appear in all three synoptic gospels and even in John’s
Gospel (except in a different manner)? I think there is great significance
to the answer to this question. |
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