Jesus’ cleansing of the temple displays his messianic authority in action. He judges the corrupt misuse of God’s house, restores its true purpose from Scripture, and then teaches there daily while the leaders seek his death but cannot yet act.

These verses follow immediately after Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the city did not recognize the time when God visited it. That connection is important. What Jesus does in the temple belongs to that larger judgment. This is not an isolated protest. It is a public sign that something is deeply wrong at the heart of Israel’s worship.

When Jesus enters the temple courts, he begins driving out those who were selling there. Luke gives the account briefly and does not include all the details found in the other Gospels. That brevity keeps the focus where Luke wants it: Jesus acts openly, forcefully, and with authority in the temple precincts, the public center of Jewish worship and life. The phrase “began to drive out” shows decisive intervention, not mere verbal complaint.

Jesus explains his action by quoting Scripture: “My house will be a house of prayer,” but “you have turned it into a den of robbers.” The first line comes from Isaiah 56:7 and states God’s purpose for the temple. The second comes from Jeremiah 7:11 and brings a prophetic accusation. Together, they show both what the temple was meant to be and what it had become.

The problem, then, is not simply that buying and selling existed in the abstract. The issue is that the temple was being used in a way that contradicted its God-given purpose and gave cover to corruption. “Den of robbers” should not be reduced to overcharging alone. In Jeremiah, the image is of a hideout where guilty people think they are safe. Jesus is condemning more than commerce by itself. He is exposing false religious security, where a sacred place is used as cover while unrighteousness continues.

When Jesus says, “My house,” the words express God’s claim over the temple, and Jesus speaks as the one who rightly interprets and enforces that claim. His action is therefore more than moral outrage. It is prophetic judgment grounded in Scripture and marked by unique authority.

Luke then moves from this dramatic act to an ongoing pattern: Jesus was teaching daily in the temple. That matters. Jesus does not only remove what is wrong; he also fills the temple with what is right. His continued teaching shows constructive authority. He is not hostile to the temple itself. Rather, he confronts its corrupt use and occupies it with truthful instruction. Cleansing and teaching belong together.

This also explains the leaders’ response. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leading men among the people begin looking for a way to kill him. This is more than personal irritation. It is organized, institutional opposition. Jesus’ action in the temple and his daily teaching challenge the existing religious order at its center.

Yet they cannot act immediately. Luke says the people were “hanging on his words.” This does not mean the whole crowd had become true disciples. Luke’s point is more limited: the people were listening to Jesus with intense attention. They were gripped by what he said. That public response restrains the leaders for the moment, and their inability to act also fits the larger pattern that Jesus’ death will come only at the appointed time.

Taken together, this passage presents Jesus’ temple action as a prophetic sign of judgment on the present temple order, while also showing him as the true and authoritative teacher in God’s house. The scene prepares for the rising conflict that will lead to his death. It also warns that sacred institutions, religious activity, and public worship do not shield anyone from God’s judgment when prayer, truth, justice, and holiness have been displaced.