WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
Our Savior had lived on the earth for thirty years and had worked no miracle. There was the hiding of His power. He had been subject unto His parents and had lived in obscurity. Now He has broken through the obscurity and He begins His public ministry in Judea by working a miracle at The Wedding at Cana.
Today we look at Jesus Cleanses the Temple John 2:13-22
We thank William MacDonald (1917-2007) who, for more than forty years, written directly about the key issues of Christianity. Leaving a promising business career as an employed investment analyst with First National Bank of Boston “at the foot of the Cross”, he had travelled worldwide, proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ for the Believer’s Bible Commentary.
John 2:12-17
The Son of God Cleanses His Father’s House (2:12-17)
2:12 The Savior now left Cana and went down to Capernaum with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples. They only stayed in Capernaum a few days. Soon after, the Lord went up to Jerusalem.
2:13 Beginning at this point, we have the Lord’s first witness to the city of Jerusalem. This phase of His ministry continues to chapter 3, verse 21. He both began and ended His public ministry by cleansing the temple at Passover time (cf. Mat_21:12-13; Mar_11:15-18; Luk_19:45-46). The Passover was an annual feast commemorating the time when the children of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt and were led through the Red Sea to the wilderness, and then to the promised land. The first celebration of the Passover is recorded in Exodus 12. Being a devout Jew, the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem for this important day on the Jewish calendar.
2:14 Coming to the temple, He found that it had become a market place. Oxen and sheep and doves were sold there, and the moneychangers were carrying on their business as well. The animals and birds were sold to the worshipers for use as sacrifices. The money changers took the money of those who came from foreign countries and changed it into the money of Jerusalem so that the pilgrims could pay the tax to the temple. It is known that these moneychangers often took unfair advantage of those who traveled from great distances.
2:15 The whip which the Lord made was probably a small lash made of cords. It is not recorded that He actually used it on anyone. Instead, it is probable that it was merely a symbol of authority which He held in His hand. Waving the whip before Him, He drove the merchants out of the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers.
2:16 The law permitted the poor to offer a pair of doves, since they could not afford the more expensive animals. To those who sold doves, the Lord issued a command to take these things away. It was not fitting that they should make His Father’s house a house of merchandise. In all ages, God has warned His people against using religious services as a means of getting rich. There was nothing cruel or unjust in any of these actions. Rather, they were simply an indication of His holiness and righteousness.
2:17 When His disciples saw what was happening, they were reminded of Psa_69:9 where it was predicted that when the Messiah came, He would be utterly consumed with a zeal for the things of God. Now they saw Jesus manifesting an intense determination that the worship of God should be pure, and they realized that this was the One of whom the Psalmist had spoken.
We should remember that the Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Lord Jesus was anxious that the temple in Jerusalem be kept pure, so we must be careful that our bodies be turned over to the Lord for continual cleansing.
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection (2:18-22)
2:18 It seems that the Jewish people were always seeking some sign or miracle. They said in effect, “If You perform some great, mighty work for us, then we will believe.” However, the Lord Jesus performed one miracle after another, and yet their hearts were closed to Him. In verse 18 they questioned His authority to cast businessmen out of the temple. They demanded that He should perform some sign to support His claim of being the Messiah.
2:19 In answer, the Lord Jesus made an amazing statement concerning His death and resurrection. He told them that they would destroy His sanctuary, but in three days He would raise it up. The deity of Christ is again seen in this verse. Only God could say, “In three days I will raise it up.”
2:20 The Jews did not understand Him. They were more interested in material things than in spiritual truth. The only temple they could think about was Herod’s temple which was then standing in Jerusalem. It had taken forty-six years to build this temple, and they could not see how any man could possibly rebuild it in three days.
2:21 The Lord Jesus, however, was speaking about His own body, which was the sanctuary in which all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt. Just as these Jews had defiled the temple in Jerusalem, so they would put Him to death in a few short years.
2:22 Later on, after the Lord Jesus had been crucified and had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had promised to rise again in three days. With such a marvelous fulfillment of prophecy before their eyes, they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
We often come across truths which are difficult to understand. But we learn here that we should treasure the Word of God in our hearts. Some day later the Lord will make it plain to us, even though we do not understand it now. When it says that they believed the Scripture, it means that they believed the OT predictions concerning the resurrection of the Messiah.
Frederick Brotherton Meyer, a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody and A. C. Dixon, was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic presents it to us this way;
John 2:12-22
RIGHT AND WRONG USES OF GOD’S HOUSE
This market was established in the Temple courts, and many evils were associated with it. The animals were sold at exorbitant prices, which made the dealers only the more covetous. The money-changers made considerable profit in supplying Jewish coins-which alone could be offered in the Temple service-in exchange for Roman and Greek money. Our Lord’s presence was august, His soul being aflame with the passion of zeal for His Father’s honor. The consciences of those who offended were smitten by the contrast between that holy zeal and their own eagerness to barter.
Our Lord’s reference to His body as the true temple is very impressive and interesting. The Apostle adverts to it in 1Co_6:19. As Jesus cleansed the Temple so He can cleanse our hearts. When He comes to dwell within us, He finds our hearts desecrated by unholy things, which He quickly casts out. He sits as a refiner of silver: His fan is in His hand, and He thoroughly purges His floor. Our Lord’s reference to the distraction of His body, by the act of the Jewish leaders, and to His resurrection, proves that from the first He had His sacrifice well before His eyes. In the next chapter this becomes the more apparent.
Amen!
Please pray the Holy Spirit-The Paraclete will use these sermons and studies to bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Tell someone today how much you Love Jesus Christ!
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