Cleansing of The Temple - Once or Twice?

[Strategery]

This question arose in my Bible study this morning. We have two accounts of temple cleansing: Matthew 21:12-17 and John 2:12-25. I’ve always assumed these were two descriptions of the same event. However Aquinas says that these were two separate events:

389 He gives his reason for this when he says, stop making my Father’s house into a marketplace. “Take away your evil from my sight” (Is 1:10). Note that Matthew (2 1:13) says: “Do not make my house a den of thieves,” while here he says, a marketplace. Now the Lord does this because, as a good physician, he begins first with the gentler things; later on, he would propose harsher things. Now the action recorded here was the first of the two; hence in the beginning he does not call them thieves but merchants. But because they did not stop such business out of obstinacy, the Lord, when driving them out the second time (as mentioned in Mark 11:15), rebukes them more severely, calling robbery what he had first called business.

diafrica.org/kenny/CDtexts/John2.htm

I’m sure this has been covered here, but can anyone help clarify?

 

[Verbum]

Hi Strategery

The two temple incidents theory seems to be based on the fact that Matthew speaks of the fig-tree after the incident of the temple and Mark speaks of it before. So you would have first incident, fig tree, second incident.Based on the same reasoning you could just as well argue that there were two fig tree incidents.

The purpose of the gospels is not history but teaching. The choice that the evangelists make in recounting various incidents depends on their purpose or the point they wish to make.

Notwithstanding the fact that it is St. Thomas Aquinas speaking, I fail to be convinced. But does it really matter?

Verbum

 

[Strategery]

The purpose of the gospels is not history but teaching. The choice that the evangelists make in recounting various incidents depends on their purpose or the point they wish to make.

Notwithstanding the fact that it is St. Thomas Aquinas speaking, I fail to be convinced. But does it really matter?

Verbum

Interesting response. I understand and agree on the purpose of the gospel. At times I’m interested in chronology as well. There’s nothing wrong with that.

I’m undecided on one or two. Just curious if anyone has seen some true clarification on the point.

Does it really matter? It certainly doesn’t change the teaching. However, I will respectfully submit that if we’re going to use “does it really matter” as a criterion, there’s a whole lot of deletin’ to be done in this forum.

 

[Strategery]

[2.] Another Evangelist writes, that as He cast them out, He said, Make not my Father’s house “a den of thieves,” but this one,

John 2.16 . (“Make not My Father’s house) an house of merchandise.”

They do not in this contradict each other, but show that he did this a second time, and that both these expressions were not used on the same occasion, but that He acted thus once at the beginning of His ministry, and again when He had come to the very time of His Passion. Therefore, (on the latter occasion,) employing more strong expressions, He spoke of it as (being made) “a den of thieves,” but here at the commencement of His miracles He does not so, but uses a more gentle rebuke; from p. 80 which it is probable that this took place a second time.

FWIW, Chrysostam is with Aquinas here. I guess I should say that the other way around. Them Doctors stick together!

sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/114/1140028.htm

 

[Pete_Holter]

FWIW, Chrysostam is with Aquinas here. I guess I should say that the other way around. Them Doctors stick together!

sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/114/1140028.htm

You can add Augustine to the list!

“Matthew goes on with his narrative in the following terms: And when He was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple; and so on, down to where we read, But you have made it a den of thieves. This account of the multitude of sellers who were cast out of the temple is given by all the evangelists; but John introduces it in a remarkably different order. For, after recording the testimony borne by John the Baptist to Jesus, and mentioning that He went into Galilee at the time when He turned the water into wine, and after he has also noticed the sojourn of a few days in Capharnaum, John proceeds to tell us that He went up to Jerusalem at the season of the Jews’ passover, and when He had made a scourge of small cords, drove out of the temple those who were selling in it. This makes it evident that this act was performed by the Lord not on a single occasion, but twice over; but that only the first instance is put on record by John, and the last by the other three” (The Harmony of the Gospels, Bk. 2, Ch. 67).

newadvent.org/fathers/1602267.htm