Jesus then clears the temple. We need to recognise that Jesus is a judge as well as a saviour. The temple was meant to be a place of prayer, a place where people committed themselves and their nation to the service of God and to seeing God's will fulfilled. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 Instead of being house of prayer it had become a den of thieves. Now originally the sellers were selling birds and animals for sacrifice, so it may have seemed quite sensible, but it had degenerated into a money making exercise.
Jesus taught in the temple and His teaching captivated the people. So the priests were afraid to pursue their plan to kill Jesus. This, in part, explains why they were so glad to find Judas as one who was willing to betray Jesus.
Not being able to directly get Jesus as this point the priests and teachers of the law sought to undermine Him. First they questioned His authority. Jesus replied, as He often did, with another question, asking them about John the Baptist. This put them in a quandary for John had also been a popular figure. Whichever way they answered they would incriminate themselves.
So they refused to answer, and Jesus likewise refused to answer them.
Jesus taught in the temple and His teaching captivated the people. So the priests were afraid to pursue their plan to kill Jesus. This, in part, explains why they were so glad to find Judas as one who was willing to betray Jesus.
Not being able to directly get Jesus as this point the priests and teachers of the law sought to undermine Him. First they questioned His authority. Jesus replied, as He often did, with another question, asking them about John the Baptist. This put them in a quandary for John had also been a popular figure. Whichever way they answered they would incriminate themselves.
So they refused to answer, and Jesus likewise refused to answer them.
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