Topical Bible: The Dove: Impiously Sold in the Court of the Temple

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The dove holds significant symbolism throughout the Bible, often representing peace, purity, and the Holy Spirit. However, its role in the New Testament also highlights a moment of impiety and corruption within the sacred precincts of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Biblical Context and Symbolism

In the Old Testament, doves were used as sacrificial offerings, particularly for those who could not afford more expensive animals like lambs or bulls. Leviticus 5:7 states, "If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as his guilt offering for the sin he has committed two turtledoves or two young pigeons." This provision underscores the dove's role as an accessible means for the faithful to fulfill their religious obligations.

The dove also appears in the New Testament as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. At Jesus' baptism, the Spirit of God descends "like a dove" (Matthew 3:16), signifying divine approval and the commencement of Jesus' public ministry.

The Temple Incident

The incident of the dove being sold in the Temple courts is recorded in all four Gospels, highlighting its significance. In Matthew 21:12-13 , Jesus enters the Temple and drives out those buying and selling there. He overturns the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, declaring, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"

This act of cleansing the Temple underscores the corruption that had infiltrated a place meant for worship and communion with God. The selling of doves, among other animals, had become a commercial enterprise, exploiting the faithful who came to offer sacrifices. The presence of money changers and merchants in the Temple courts was a stark deviation from the intended sanctity of the space.

Theological Implications

The selling of doves in the Temple courts represents a broader critique of religious practices that prioritize profit over piety. Jesus' actions serve as a prophetic denunciation of the religious leaders who allowed and perhaps even benefited from such practices. The incident is a call to return to genuine worship, free from the corruption and exploitation that had become prevalent.

Furthermore, the dove's role in this narrative contrasts with its symbolic representation of the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit descends as a dove to signify purity and divine presence, the selling of doves in the Temple highlights human corruption and the distortion of sacred practices.

Conclusion

The impious sale of doves in the Temple courts serves as a powerful reminder of the need for purity in worship and the dangers of allowing commercial interests to overshadow spiritual devotion. Jesus' cleansing of the Temple is a call to restore the sanctity of worship spaces and to ensure that religious practices remain true to their divine purpose.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Matthew 21:12
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Torrey's Topical Textbook

John 2:16
And said to them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Period iv. The Age of the Consolidation of the Church: 200 to 324 ...
... The fashionable court interest in novel religions seems not ... He wished to erect a
temple to Christ and ... Spirit are the same person, impiously understanding the ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period iv the age of.htm

Memoir of John Bunyan
... shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with ... excommunicated, prosecuted in the
high commission court, and forced ... Having so often sold thyself to me to work ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/memoir of john bunyan.htm