Luke's account of Jesus ejecting the traders from the Temple does not give as many details as the other Gospels. Perhaps Luke wanted us to pay more attention to Jesus' word than to his action. Biblical scholars have noted that many Gospel passages, while describing an action of Jesus, end with a word of Jesus. They suggest that this is deliberate, and that the stories are mainly told as a basis for the word of Jesus. There is a value in this suggestion. Jesus' words may often be somewhat more important than his actions in conveying his teaching.

Jesus' action of driving the traders out of the Temple does not easily relate to our daily life, but it is always important for us to remember that the Father's house is a house of prayer. When many of us were young, it was unthinkable that anyone would engage in conversation inside the Church. Conversation always had to wait until one was out in the Church yard. In each church there was a great atmosphere of silence. That silence was a very great blessing and an attraction to prayer. We need places of silence to foster the inner silence of our hearts.