John: Temple Cleansing

John 2:13-25

After Jesus turned the water into wine in Cana, he headed to Capernaum with his family and disciples to rest for a few days. Then he and his disciples traveled to Jerusalem (John 2:12-13).

During biblical times, traveling took many days. It was twenty miles from Cana to Capernaum and over one hundred miles from Capernaum to Jerusalem. One person estimated that Jesus walked fifteen thousand miles during his ministry.

What would it have been like to walk with Jesus from town to town? No doubt, there was laughter and joking among the disciples. They had personal conversations with each other, as many were from the same cities. There must have been some complaining along the way, even disputes about which road to take! Jesus used these journeys as opportunities for teaching and instruction. That’s a great reminder for parents: use everyday activities to reinforce spiritual truths. Jesus strategically used that time to mentor his disciples.

Jesus’ purpose in going to Jerusalem was to observe the Passover, an annual celebration. This feast reminded the Israelites of how God had delivered them from Egypt (Ex. 12:14-20, 43-49; Deut. 16:1-8). Referencing the Passover observances establishes a helpful timeline of Jesus’ ministry. John mentions three Passovers and possibly a fourth.[1] While most scholars believe that Jesus’ ministry lasted three years, Bible scholar Robert Utley suggests that, based on John’s record of Passovers, it was at least three years and possibly four or five.[2]

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he went directly to the temple. There, he saw religious leaders selling oxen, sheep, and pigeons, along with money changers. Why were these activities taking place in the temple?

The sale of animals and the exchange of money occurred in an area of the temple complex called the “Court of the Gentiles.” People traveled long distances to celebrate Passover, so animals were being sold to make things easier, but at inflated prices. Roman coins could not be used to pay the temple tax because they bore the image of a Roman emperor. The Jewish shekel was no longer in circulation; however, the priests still accepted shekels from Tyre. As a result, Roman currency could be exchanged for a fee. The Passover season was very profitable for the temple priests.

Jesus responded to the dishonest actions of the priests:

John 2:15-16
And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”

Jesus’ reaction demonstrates what we call “righteous indignation.” He was passionate about his Father’s house and acted out of zeal. Jesus was sinless; therefore, his actions are motivated by the purest emotion. So, here’s the question: Can you be angry and not sin? The answer is yes. The apostle Paul said, “Be angry and do not sin..." (Eph. 4:26). When we see things that oppose God, we can become angry about those issues. Anger is a natural human emotion. However, we must never allow our anger to lead us to say or do something sinful.

When the disciples saw what was happening (imagine the shocked looks on their faces), they recalled a passage from Psalm 69:9: “For zeal for your house has consumed me.”

There is another significant connection in the Old Testament to Jesus’ actions in the temple. Zechariah 14:20-21 is a picture of the messianic kingdom, stating that there will be no merchants in the house of the Lord of Hosts, on the day of the Lord. One commentator noted, “That Jesus was fulfilling messianic expectation would have been obvious—especially to the disciples, who had just seen the miracle of Cana with all its messianic implications”[3] (See also Mal. 3:1-3).

One more thing before we look at how the Jewish leaders responded to Jesus clearing out the temple and disrupting their activities. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) place this event at the end of Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46). In these gospels, the temple cleansing is the “proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.” This was the tipping point for the religious leaders who were determined to get rid of Jesus. So, why does John put this earlier in Jesus’ ministry? Two possibilities:

• John does not present the events in Jesus’ life in chronological order. He focuses on his mission of showing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He arranges the events this way to make his point.
  
  
• There are two temple cleansings—one early in Jesus’ ministry and another later as the final straw.

I believe the best conclusion is that there are two temple cleansings—one at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and one at the end. I will include support for this view in the Weekend Recharge.

The actions Jesus took in the temple annoyed the religious leaders in many ways. Their first question was: “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” (John 2:18). Jesus could have performed a miracle then and there. Instead, he explained his future death and resurrection in a way that led them to think he was talking about the physical temple in Jerusalem.

John 2:19-20
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”

Herod the Great decided around 19 or 20 BC to rebuild the temple that Zerubbabel had originally constructed in 520 BC. The project had been ongoing for forty-six years and would continue until AD 63. However, John makes it clear that Jesus was referring to his body, not the physical temple (John 2:21).

The Jewish leaders weren’t the only ones confused. The disciples also didn’t entirely understand the meaning at first. But when Jesus “was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:22).

Jesus performed about thirty-five miracles, according to gospel accounts. John mentions that during Jesus's first Passover in Jerusalem at the start of his public ministry, he performed many other “signs” that prompted people to believe in him. However, in John, we learn that many were drawn to the signs more than to the Savior. Fully God, Jesus knew that their fleeting excitement was superficial. Jesus “knew what was in man” (John 2:25).

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on these verses: John 2:13-25.

Talking to God:  Ask God to evaluate your heart. Have you trusted in his Person and his work on the cross, or simply the things you want him to do for you?

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