MATTHEW—NOTE ON Matthew 21:12 John’s Gospel records a similar cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 2:13). Interpreters have proposed two explanations: (1) there was only one cleansing, but John narrated the action at the beginning for thematic/theological purposes, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke narrate the actual historical chronology; or (2) there were indeed two similar but distinctly different temple cleansings. The differences of detail seem to indicate the latter. While the initial action is similar, Jesus’ statement (Matthew 21:13) and the challenge from the Jewish leaders (vv. Matthew 21:15) are entirely different from what John records.

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