START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 2:13-22
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OBSERVE:
John’s Gospel approaches the timeline of Jesus’ life and ministry a little differently than the three synoptic Gospels. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, the cleansing of the temple occurs near the very end of Jesus’ ministry, immediately following the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, and just days before the Last Supper. But in John’s Gospel, this event occurs at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
Is this one of the “contradictions” that skeptics may use to scoff at the credibility of Scripture? Or is this simply a reminder that John is less interested in biography and historical detail, and more interested in theological reflection? The bottom line — the event itself is historical, but John must have a particular purpose in presenting it at this point in the narrative. An alternative explanation may be that the cleansing of the temple happens twice in the life of Jesus — once at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, as recorded in John, and then again at the end of his ministry, as recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, that would be speculation on my part.
But here’s the point. John is establishing the authority of Jesus, and his passion for his heavenly Father.
The background is familiar enough — the temple in Jerusalem was to the Jews of that time what the Kaaba in Mecca is to Muslims today. It was the focus of worship and pilgrimage for Jews everywhere.
Of course animal sacrifice was a vital part of the worship required of the pilgrims, not only on the high holy days such as Passover, but every day. So, for the convenience of the pilgrims, vendors had set up shop in the temple environs to sell the livestock necessary for sacrifice. And, because pilgrims came from all over the Roman empire, there would be need for money changers who could convert their “alien” coins into temple shekels that could be used there.
It seems practical, and even necessary enough. What then explains the outrage of Jesus? They aren’t setting up their tables or housing their animals outside of the temple, but inside the very temple walls. This has turned the temple into a business, rather than a house of prayer.
Mark’s Gospel may provide a little insight into another motive that may drive Jesus. In Mark 11:17, Jesus says:
Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers!”
His reference to the house of prayer for all nations is taken from Isaiah 56:7. Nations is a technical term, goyim, or gentiles. In other words, the temple is intended to be a place of prayer not only for the people of Israel, but for non-Jews as well.
This is made more poignant when we consider the floor plan of the temple. The inner sanctum was the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest could enter once a year; then there was the Holy Place, with the altar of incense and the showbread — here the other priests might enter; then there was the court of the priests where priests and Levites offered worship, and where the altar of burnt offerings was situated, where the sacrifices were actually made; then, at the next level, was the court of Israel where all male Jews could enter; then outside of that was the court of the Jewish women; and finally, on the very outside, was the court of the Gentiles. Here the non-Jew could come to pray to Israel’s God. But it was the only place that the Gentile could pray — there were warning signs in Latin, Greek and Hebrew warning the Gentile to pass no farther on penalty of death! It was likely that the marketplace was located in the court of the Gentiles. This is likely what outraged Jesus so.
Consider — if a Gentile came to pray to the Lord, what would he see? Animals and merchants and moneychangers. Not a very conducive environment for prayer! No wonder Jesus loses his temper. He has come for all people, not merely his own.
In John’s Gospel, the Scripture that is noted is from Psalm 69:9:
Zeal for your house will eat me up.
Obviously, the zeal of Jesus is driven by what the temple represents — devotion to God.
This is a quite revolutionary act. No doubt this is one of the major causes of conflict with the religious leaders, who immediately challenge his authority to do such a radical thing:
What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?
They ask for a sign, and he promises them a sign. But his answer is enigmatic to them:
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Naturally, they are skeptical — it has taken forty-six years for Herod’s renovations to the temple, and now it stands as one of the major monuments and structures in the ancient world — and Jesus the carpenter is promising to rebuild it in three days? ‘Come on!’ they must be thinking.
Of course, Jesus is speaking spiritually and metaphorically, but dramatically, of the temple of his own body. Only after his death and resurrection do his own disciples ‘get it,’ that he’s speaking of himself.
The evidence of his authority, his “credentialing” if you will, is to be found in the resurrection. The resurrection will certify that Jesus is the divine Son of God, and speaks and acts for his Father.
APPLY:
Many times in the Gospels we get the sense that the disciples don’t really ‘get it’ about Jesus until after the resurrection. Then there is that ‘aha’ moment when they seem to say ‘oh, that’s what that was about!’
In many ways, that is true of us as disciples of Jesus as well. When we see practices in the church that are inconsistent with the Gospel, we might be tempted to emulate the righteous indignation of Jesus when he cleanses the temple, but do we have the authority to do so? On the other hand, don’t we often question those people whose actions seem to us to be ‘out of the box’ and unconventional according to our expectations? Frequently it may be only in retrospect that we realize that God was leading us in certain directions.
The goal may be for us to simply stay as close to Jesus as we possibly can, like the disciples do, and then figure out what it all means later on.
RESPOND:
The ministry of Jesus was full of surprises. He was unafraid of being controversial or confrontational. My own Christian life may be a little too “safe,” if I’m completely honest with myself.
But I must be careful of this — controversy and offense should never be the goal of my words or my actions. Rather, zeal for Christ must consume me. Whatever I do, may it be driven by my love for Christ.
Lord, cleanse the temple of my heart as you cleansed the temple in Jerusalem. Set me apart for your purposes. Amen.
PHOTOS: "Fotografía del Templo de Jerusalén en la maqueta del Jerusalén bíblico del jardín del Hotel Holyland en Jerusalén" by Juan R. Cuadra is in the Public Domain.
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