Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

moneychanger

2026-02-07 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
moneychanger
Votey panel for moneychanger
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

This comic is a Biblical joke referencing Jesus and the moneychangers. In the Gospels (particularly Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15, and John 2:14-16), Jesus famously drives the moneychangers out of the Temple in Jerusalem, overturning their tables in one of his most dramatic acts.

In this comic, someone remarks: "What's that, Mr. Moneychanger? A bit short of breath? Like something is blocking your windpipe?" The moneychanger pleads: "Enough Lord! Release him, please!" Jesus (or a figure representing him) responds: "Very well."

The caption below reads: "Technically, Jesus could make fish appear anywhere he wanted."

The joke reinterprets Jesus's conflict with the moneychangers through the lens of his miracle of multiplying fish (from the feeding of the five thousand, Matthew 14:13-21). Instead of merely overturning tables, this version of Jesus uses his miraculous power to make fish appear inside the moneychanger's throat, choking him. The humor comes from the dark, creative application of a benevolent miracle (feeding the hungry) as a weapon or torture device. It's a classic SMBC move of taking Biblical stories to their logical but absurd extremes -- if Jesus could make fish appear anywhere, "anywhere" technically includes inside someone's airway. The comic plays on the gap between the gentle, miracle-working Jesus of Sunday school and the genuinely angry Jesus who drove out the moneychangers.

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