Bible - General Questions

In What Areas of the Temple Did Jesus Teach?

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
As we take notice of the areas of the Jerusalem temple complex in which Jesus taught, we learn a great lesson about the nature of the Gospel and its proclamation.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

As we take notice of the areas of the Jerusalem temple complex in which Jesus taught, we learn a great lesson about the nature of the Gospel and its proclamation.

A reader asks, "I understand from one of your articles that when Jesus cleansed the temple, He cleansed the large Court of the Gentiles. But in what part(s) of the temple did He actually teach?"

This is an excellent question, and the answer is most significant. We learn from the Biblical record that Jesus taught in several places in the temple of that day, which is known as Herod's Temple. You may find the diagram below a helpful reference. Scripture mentions at least these four:

  • The Women's Court was the location of the temple treasury, and Mark 12:41 indicates that this was a common location for Jesus to sit and teach.
  • It is also likely that He taught in the area known as the Court of Israel, as indicated by Mark 14:49 and other passages, because this is the area that the scribes, Pharisees, and other Jewish religious leaders frequented while avoiding the Court of the Gentiles, and so this would have likely been one of the places of Jesus' confrontations with them within the temple complex.
  • Jesus also taught in Solomon's porch (John 10:23) which was a portico on the east side of the temple (the long colonnade behind the Holy Place in the diagram below).
  • We know of at least two occasions - the temple cleansings at the beginning and end of His ministry (John 2:13-16 and Luke 19:45-48) - when Jesus used the occasion to teach in the Court of the Gentiles.

It is instructive to see that by teaching in different areas of the temple complex, Jesus excluded no one from His proclamation of salvation. He taught both Jew and Gentile, the religious leaders of the day and the lay people, and women as well as men. No one was excluded from the proclamation of the Gospel message. So it would also be when Jesus sent His disciples out into the world:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature..." (Mark 16:15)

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. (Romans 10:12)

...there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. (Colossians 3:11)

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

Herod's Temple

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