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This Part: 115 Pages
Page 62
19:45-48; 20:1-8. And having entered into the temple, He began to cast out those who sold therein, saying to them, It is written that My house is a house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple: but the chief priests and scribes and rulers of the people sought to destroy Him; and found not what they might do to Him, for all the people were hanging upon Him to hear Him. And it came to pass on one of the days, as He taught the people in the temple, and preached, the chief priests and scribes, with the elders, rose up against Him, and said to Him, Tell us by what authority You do these things? or who it is that gave You this authority? But He answered and said to them, I also will ask you one word, and tell Me: the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they considered with themselves, saying, That if we shall say, From heaven; He will say, Why therefore did you not believe him? But if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded, that John is a prophet. And they answered, that they knew not whence it was. And Jesus said to them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
IT is written, that "there is a light always for the righteous; but the light of the wicked shall be put out." For to those who have embraced the righteousness that is in Christ, God the Father imparts the inextinguishable light of the true knowledge of the true vision of God: for He reveals to them the Son; as the Saviour Himself also in a certain place said to the Jews, "Murmur not one with another: no man can come to Me, except the Father Who sent Me draw him." But He draws, of course, by light and knowledge, and the cords of love. But those who are not so disposed in will, but wickedly reject Christ's commandments, from their mind even that light, which they had by the commandment of Moses, vanishes away, and is extinguished, while the darkness of ignorance usurps its place.
And that this is true, and the real state of the case, the blindness of the Jews proves to us. For they were dark, and unable to see the glory of the Word, Who became man for our sakes, although He revealed Himself to them by the working of many miracles, and a godlike authority, an instance of which we have in what happened in the temple. For there was in it a multitude of merchants, and others also, guilty of the charge of the base love of lucre, moneychangers, I mean, or keepers of exchange tables; sellers of oxen, moreover, and dealers in sheep, and sellers of turtle doves and pigeons; all which things were used for the sacrifices according to the legal ritual. But the time had now come for the shadow to draw to an end, and for the truth, so to speak, to shine forth; even the lovely beauty of Christian conduct, and the glories of the blameless life, and the sweet rational savour of the worship in spirit and in truth.
For this reason very justly did the Truth, even Christ, as One Who with His Father was also honoured in their temple, command that those things that were by the, law should be carried away, even the materials for sacrifices and burning of incense, and that the temple should manifestly be a house of prayer. For His rebuking the dealers, and driving them from the sacred courts, when they were selling what was wanted for sacrifice, means certainly this, as I suppose, and this alone.
Reference address : https://www.elpenor.org/cyril-alexandria/luke-commentary-3.asp?pg=62
