ISB ~ Mark 11 v17

house of prayer:A reference to Is 56:7.

• Isaiah foresaw Yahweh gathering the Gentiles to share in the covenant worship of Israel. Jesus sees the corruption in the Temple courts as an affront to this oracle (CCC 584). The Temple’s outer court—the area reserved for Gentile pilgrims— has become a marketplace where worship is now impossible. Ultimately, Isaiah’s vision of a Temple for all nations is fulfilled when Jesus makes a Temple of all nations in the Church (Eph 2:11-22).

den of robbers:An excerpt from Jer 7:11.

• In context, Jeremiah delivered a sermon in the Temple to warn Israel of God’s coming judgment upon Jerusalem. Because Israel failed to repent, Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Jesus similarly confronts Israelites who presume that their covenant relationship with God will remain secure despite their sin (Jer 7:8-15). Their impenitence will result in the Temple’s second destruction in A.D. 70.