Article by David Mathis
Executive Editor, desiringGod.org

Making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple. (John 2:15)

He made a whip. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. It was “a whip of cords,” John reports. Whether any human or animal actually caught it on the backside, we don’t know. We might reasonably doubt he drew any blood. After all, he came to Jerusalem to spill his own blood, not to take it from others. Either way, we do know the whip was effective. “He drove them all out of the temple.”

True, this was an unusual event, but it was not unique — he would do it again at the outset of his Passion Week (Matthew 21:12–13). Jesus didn’t go around wielding whips on a regular basis. He didn’t keep a whip or weapon on his belt. But he also wasn’t afraid to pick one up from time to time. So we dare not reduce the God-man to someone too docile to do anything but play nice and keep thin peace.

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