Why did Jesus call them a “Den of Thieves”?

[NathanH83]

And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
-Matthew 21:13

Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
-Mark 11:17

saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
-Luke 19:46


Why is Jesus accusing them of being thieves? The money changers were just doing their legitimate banking practices where they loan out money and charge interest. Nothing wrong with that. Granted, they shouldn’t have been doing it in the temple area, but still, it’s a perfectly legitimate business.

Why did he call them thieves?

 

[Lamb]

Jesus was doing 2 things...he was quoting from Jeremiah 7:11 and by that he was prophesying about what was going to happen, the destruction of the Temple as it did before (Jeremiah).

 

[atpollard]

Why is Jesus accusing them of being thieves? The money changers were just doing their legitimate banking practices where they loan out money and charge interest. Nothing wrong with that. Granted, they shouldn’t have been doing it in the temple area, but still, it’s a perfectly legitimate business.

Why did he call them thieves?

[Exo 22:25 NASB95] 25 "If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.

[Deu 23:19-20 NASB95] 19 "You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, [or] anything that may be loaned at interest. 20 "You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

He called them “thieves” because they WERE thieves.

Barclay: “A pair of doves could cost as little as 4p outside the Temple and as much as 75p inside the Temple.”

Guzik: “Every Jewish male had to pay a yearly temple tax – an amount equaling about two days’ pay. It had to be paid in the currency of the temple, and the money exchangers made the exchange into temple money at outrageous rates.”

 

[NathanH83]

Jesus was doing 2 things...he was quoting from Jeremiah 7:11 and by that he was prophesying about what was going to happen, the destruction of the Temple as it did before (Jeremiah).

That doesn’t explain why Jesus called them thieves.

 

[Andrew]

Why were they selling doves anyway? They didn't sacrifice doves.
They literally turned it into a market place, which robs the house of God of its sanctity.

 

[NathanH83]

Why were they selling doves anyway? They didn't sacrifice doves.
They literally turned it into a market place, which robs the house of God of its sanctity.

Joseph and Mary sacrificed doves at Jesus’ dedication.

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ” ), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Luke 2:22-24 - Bible Gateway passage: Luke 2:22-24 - New King James Version

 

[Lamb]

Do you know that the sacrifice of the dove was from the poorest of people who couldn't afford other offerings?

 

[NathanH83]

Do you know that the sacrifice of the dove was from the poorest of people who couldn't afford other offerings?

Yep! I heard that one. Joseph and Mary must have been poor.

 

[Andrew]

I remember reading something from a talmudic rabbi who verified that they were charging interest at the Temple... so in my opinion this was usery, and for the poor, they were denied of almsgivings.

 

[Nazareth]

That doesn’t explain why Jesus called them thieves.

I believe what they were doing as lenders was called "usury".

Pawn shops do this today .

 

[SetFree]

That doesn’t explain why Jesus called them thieves.

But actually it does, because they were setting up crooked business right there in the temple. That's why Jesus rebuked them in saying the temple is a house of worship, not for buying and selling like a street market.