Hi everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. We're all about helping you understand the gospel readings,

helping you really get at the text. What does it mean in its original context? So that when you hear this gospel reading at Mass, you'll be better prepared to engage with the readings and hear what the priest has to say about the reading in their sermon.

Today we're looking at a fairly famous passage. We're in Luke chapter 19 versus 45 to 48.

This is what you would hear at today's Mass.

Jesus went into the temple and began driving out those who are selling.

According to scripture, he said, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a robber's den.

He taught in the temple every day. The chief priests and the scribes with the support of the

leading citizens tried to do away with him, but they did not see how they could carry this out

because the people as a whole hung on his words. So what's the context of this passage? What has happened just prior to today's

scene here? So Jesus has just arrived in Jerusalem for the last week of his life. So we're here at

the beginning of the last week of Jesus' life. And verse 45 says Jesus went into the temple.

So the temple, of course, was the center of Jewish life.

It was always very busy. And it was considered to be the place where God dwelt among his people

in a special manner. It was the whole center of Jewish society, economy, and religious life.

The temple itself was divided into different compartments. And you've probably seen these maps of the temple.

There's sort of inner courts and outer courts and it appears that the scene we're looking at today happens in the outer court, which is open to the Gentiles.

So it's sort of like an open outdoor courtyard. It's called the outer court.

Now it's pretty close to Passover when this scene happens, so the whole area would be flooded

with people.

It would be very, very busy.

And history tells us that in Passover it was so busy at the temple that they had to allow pilgrims

in in waves.

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