John Calvin Commentary John 2:16

"and to them that sold the doves he said, Take these things hence; make not my Father`s house a house of merchandise." — John 2:16 (ASV)

Make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise. At the second time that he drove the traders out of the Temple, the Evangelists relate that he used sharper and more severe language, for he said that they had made the Temple of God a den of robbers (Matthew 21:13). This was proper to do, when a milder chastisement was of no avail. In this instance, he merely warns them not to profane the Temple of God by applying it to improper uses.

The Temple was called the house of God because it was the will of God that He should be specifically invoked there, because He displayed His power there, and finally, because he had set it apart for spiritual and holy services.

My Father’s house. Christ declares himself to be the Son of God in order to show that he has a right and authority to cleanse the Temple. Since Christ here assigns a reason for what he did, if we wish to derive any advantage from it, we must attend chiefly to this sentence.

Why, then, does he drive the buyers and sellers out of the Temple? It is so that he may bring back to its original purity the worship of God, which had been corrupted by human wickedness, and in this way restore and maintain the holiness of the Temple.

Now, we know that temple was erected so that it might be a shadow of those things whose living image is to be found in Christ. That it might continue to be devoted to God, it was necessary that it should be applied exclusively to spiritual purposes. For this reason, he declares it unlawful for it to be converted into a marketplace, for he bases his statement on the command of God, which we ought always to observe.

Whatever deceptions Satan may employ, let us understand that any departure—however small—from the command of God is wicked. It was a plausible and imposing disguise that the worship of God was aided and promoted when the sacrifices to be offered by believers were readily available to them. But as God had appropriated his Temple for different purposes, Christ disregards the objections that might be offered against the order God had appointed.

The same arguments do not apply today to our buildings for public worship. However, what is said about the ancient Temple applies properly and strictly to the Church, for it is the heavenly sanctuary of God on earth. Therefore, we ought always to keep before our eyes the majesty of God, which dwells in the Church, so that it may not be defiled by any pollutions. The only way its holiness can remain unimpaired is that nothing be admitted into it that is contrary to the word of God.