13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!" 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."
18 The Jews then responded to him, "What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
20 They replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need human testimony about them, for he knew what was in them.
Dig Deeper
I remember one day when I was still in college, I had simply had enough. I stormed into the office of the President and began to knock over the chairs in the waiting area. I quickly strode past the general secretary's desk and knocked the computer off and then went down through the entire office turning over tables and knocking down filing cabinets. The whole time I was doing that I cried out that the school was overcharging us students at an obscene profit and making a mockery of the entire education process. Because of their unfair and unjust actions, I was going to put an end to this kind of predatory behavior if only for a few brief moments by demonstrating that I had the true moral high ground which thus gave me the right and the authority to do all of this. After just a few brief seconds, I had decimated most of the office and created quite a general ruckus. This was a pretty good day considering that it was only my first week in college.
Of course, none of that is true, although admittedly, it would have been just a little bit enjoyable to do at some point, preferably after I had graduated and received all of my grades. As shocking as that example may have been, though, it still falls far short of helping us to understand the shock of Jesus' actions in the Temple. The closest thing that we have in the United States of America to something like the Temple would be the White House. Yet, the Temple was the center of all religious, political, and social activity in the nation of Israel, so even the White House doesn't match up to the importance of the Temple in the Jewish nation. It is into just such a place, a place that stood for all that Israel was as the people of God, that Jesus marched into the middle and declared by his actions, judgment and authority.
Before we even begin to look at this passage, let's first consider a significant difficulty. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe a similar event to the one that John has described but with significant differences. In fact, other than the fact that John has described Jesus clearing the Temple, there are almost no other similarities. For starters, John has this event taking place at the beginning of Jesus' ministry while, not only do the other Gospels describe Jesus' clearing of the Temple at the end of his ministry, that is the first time that they describe Jesus as even being in Jerusalem. Without having time to go into all of the details in this format, it would appear that we have two primary options. Either John (or the synoptic Gospels) have moved the timing of this event for theological purposes or there were two Temple clearings. The second option seems like the better choice.
In John's event Jesus uses a a whip and clears out the animals, he quotes no Scriptures, but his actions do remind the disciples of a Scripture. In the synoptic version, Jesus charges those present with turning the Temple into a hide-out cave for rebels (usually translated "den of robbers" which is somewhat misleading), while here in John the charge has to do with turning the Temple into a marketplace. It seems that John has described an event that took place early in Jesus' ministry before he was very well known. It was likely even a smaller event that took place in the Gentile court of the Temple. This event to start his ministry, then, was not described by Matthew, Mark, or Luke, but John added it knowing that it was absent from the other Gospels. The other Gospels, however, describe the action Jesus took at the end of his ministry, one that was a parable of judgment on the nation of Israel and a sign of the destruction that would soon come upon them. If we put these events together, then we have a complete picture of Jesus beginning and ending his ministry with decisive actions in the Temple.
As John begins his description of this event, he is clear to draw our attention to the fact that it was Passover time. Passover was the time when the nation of Israel remembered the actions that God had taken in delivering them from the freedom of slavery in Egypt. An unblemished lamb was slain and the blood was spread on the doorposts in a cross pattern of the households of Israel in order to spare them. John will repeatedly stress the connections between Jesus' activities and the Passover that will finally culminate with Jesus being put to death at the same time that the Passover lambs were being killed in the Temple. Jesus was the true Passover Lamb. John wants his readers to understand Jesus and his actions as the true Passover Lamb that the earlier historical events merely pointed to.
Jesus went up to Jerusalem, John tells us, which makes more sense of certain aspects of Jesus' career than if we only went by the synoptic Gospels which seem to imply that Jesus did not go to Jerusalem until his final week. John has Jesus in Jerusalem several times. Jesus' earlier occasional presence in Jerusalem would explain things such as why people came from Jerusalem to Galilee to observe Jesus' ministry there (Mark 3:22; 7:1) and why the high priest already felt like he had a strong case against Jesus and knew of him well (John 11:47-53).
Jesus' primary problem with the money changers (who exchanged money so that people could pay the Temple tax) was probably more of an issue of location than of action. It appears that they had set up these exchange tables in the court of the Gentiles, the only place open to the Gentiles, rather than going somewhere outside of the Temple complex that was less convenient. The Temple was supposed to be a house of prayer for all nations (Isa. 56:7) not a place where Gentiles were excluded and made to feel inferior. Yet, in the only place that they could worship, the space had been turned into a marketplace.
In response, Jesus takes Messianic action by clearing out the animals and turning over the tables. His actions brings up thoughts of Zechariah's prophecy that "on that day there will no longer be merchants in the house of the Lord Almighty," (Zech. 14:21) and it certainly reminded his disciples that "zeal for your house will consume me," according to Psalm 69:19. Jesus' zeal for his Father's house took precedence over the blind nationalism that had consumed most first century Jews. It would not only consume his attention and passion during his life but would literally consume his life and result in his death.
The response of the Jewish leaders is a bit curious. They don't seem to take issue with his actions so much as his authority to do them. Jews wouldn't have been so surprised by prophetic and Messianic actions like that, but they were much more concerned with the person doing them. Did he have the authority to take that action or not? They want a sign to demonstrate his authority, but in demanding a sign they have shown that they have completely missed the point. They wanted a sign of legitimacy and Jesus had just offered one. They wanted to know if Jesus could perform the signs of a Messiah, and had missed the truth that that was exactly what he had just done.
Jesus then offers them up the ultimate sign of his Messianic ministry. They will destroy the true Temple, but he will raise it in three days. Not only is Jesus the true Passover, he is the true Temple. The Jewish leaders do not understand Jesus' point that he is referring to himself and so respond to the ridiculous notion that a building that had taken 46 years to build to that point could be destroyed and rebuilt in three days.
John wants us to understand that this Temple clearing is another place where heaven and earth have been brought together, Jacob's ladder is opened and the angels are continuing to ascend and descend. God's reality doesn't just bring shocking miracles like turning water into wine, but it also brings authority and justice into the world. This is what would serve as testimony to Jesus' authority. Jesus didn't trust in or need large crowds or the legitimacy that their presence might bring in the eyes of men. He knew that crowds and individuals could be fickle. He did not need human testimony at all. His actions were all that was needed to verify who he was and the authority that he had in himself. If you want to understand Jesus truly, don't look at the crowds following him around, look at him. He is the true Temple and his coming destruction in death and resurrection will be the realities to which the Passover had pointed.
Devotional Thought
Jesus knew that there were times when large crowds were going to follow him, but he didn't trust that or see that as a sign vindicating his ministry. It was his own actions and willingness to do the will of the Father that Jesus trusted in. Is that enough for you? If you're doing the will of God but no one is listening, following, or even respecting you, is that enough?
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