Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe the Passover feast. When he went to the temple he was angered by the way the moneychangers had made a market out of a house of worship. They were selling sheep, oxen, and doves for people to offer as sacrifices.

Jesus made a whip of small cords, drove the animals from the temple, and overturned the tables of the merchants.

His disciples remembered it had been written, "The zeal of thy house has eaten me up."

Later at the end of Jesus' ministry he would again drive the merchants from the temple area.