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Commentary of John 2:13-22

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:13-17)

Commentary verses 13-17

13. The Passover of the Jews was near. There would be many thousands in Jerusalem for the Passover–the most important Jewish feast of the year. Note the term ‘near’ (Greek engys) which always means very close and occurs 30 times in the New Testament. It can never mean many years hence, let alone 2000 years!

15. He drove them all out of the temple. By ‘temple’ is meant the court of the Gentiles where non-Jews could worship. This was also the place where the traders selling oxen and sheep and doves for sacrifice and the money changers did their business.

16. My Father’s house: This is a clear claim to be the Son of God. He is establishing a whole new order, the end of the temple worship and the whole Jewish religion—the start of the new age.

By Jesus’ cleansing the temple, he demonstrated his authority over it.

From the very beginning of all four gospel accounts, this is Jesus’ clear objective—replacement of everything Jewish, replacement, replacement.

17. Jesus’ disciples remembered Psalm 69:9 in which David expressed his complaint to God about his enemies’ scorn and his zeal for God’s house (the Temple): “For zeal for your house has consumed me and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.”

His zeal for God’s house and the purity of worship, will certainly consume him in his continual fight against the Jewish leaders as we read in this passage. Ultimately, this engaged his entire attention, with his continuous conflict with the authorities, even to up his death. 

The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?”  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.  (John 2:18-22)

Commentary verses 18-22

18. John used the term “Jews” throughout his gospel to mean the Jewish ruling establishment, not the general Jewish population.

The rulers are outraged by his statements which challenge their authority. What is your authority to be doing these destructive acts in the holy place? Who do you think you are? What evidence do you have?

19. Jesus ignores answering them directly. They think he speaks of the temple building, the absolute centre and symbol of God’s worship in Israel. The disciples thought the same, until after his resurrection.

But he says prophetically ‘you destroy this temple and I will raise it up’. He knew they would try to destroy him but he would be raised from death. Perhaps he gestured towards his own body as he said this.

A mere “man” would never say this. No dead “man” can have such power over his body. This is the Messiah, the Son of God!

This is an extraordinary statement. The Body of Christ will be what is rebuilt, replaced—the tabernacle of David restored (see Amos 9:11 and Acts 15:16)!

Then within that generation the Jerusalem temple would be destroyed (Matthew 24) and many Jewish people would suffer the vengeance and wrath of God. They will fall by the edge of the sword and “all things which have been written will be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:20-24).

Jesus spoke here prophetically about when the temple will be destroyed. The Roman army, as we know took place in 70 AD, ended the Mosaic age with the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The whole system, lasting many centuries, was deemed invalid by God.

Jesus was acting as God’s replacement temple. He was the reality to which the temple pointed all along. All that the temple had meant for Israel for almost one thousand years was now to be found in Israel’s Messiah. The presence of God which human beings longed for would be found through a personal connection with Christ, not in a building in Jerusalem. 

His apparent contempt for the huge, sacred, magnificent temple was all the evidence that the rulers needed to condemn Him at his trial:  Finally, two men came forward declaring, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” (Matthew 26:60-61}.

On the cross they taunted him with his statement saying Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” (Matthew 27:40). Three days later God raised him from the dead!

20. The Jews then asked him how he could possibly rebuild the temple in three days if it took so long to build. But he ignored their question. They will have to wait and see the inevitable.

In the meantime, His claim, in their judgment, was ridiculous and indicated, as they supposed, that he had no authority to do what he had done.

 20-22. John here tells the reader that Jesus spoke of the temple of his body. John revealed the plot early for readers. John did not leave his readers in suspense till the end.

So John tells us it was only after Jesus was raised from the dead, that the disciples remembered what he said. Only then could they believe the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. What ‘scripture’?

Without doubt, the Old Testament Psalmist David predicted his resurrection:

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.  My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. Psalm 16:9-10

And Peter quotes David this in his address on the day of Pentecost:

He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.  “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.  (Acts 2:31-32).

In the New Testament, Jesus is often referred to as the temple of God, symbolizing that he embodies the presence and glory of God. In his own words about himself:

I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple (Matthew 12:6)

And Paul:

all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Cor 3:16-17)

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To be continued next post: The Replacement of the Jerusalem Temple—Part 2