John 2:12-25
Last week we saw Jesus Christ perform his first miracle in the town of Cana in Galilee, where he turned water into wine. After he did this, he went with his disciples, his mother and his brothers to Capernaum (v. 12). After staying there a few days they headed south for Jerusalem which was about a 50 – 60 mile walk.
John records this event at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It’s important to point out that the Synoptic gospels record Jesus doing the same thing at the end of his ministry. Is John confused? No, the best explanation is that there were two separate times Jesus purged the temple – at the beginning and at the end of his ministry. (In the Synoptic gospels, the details are different, the timing is clearly during Passion week, and the things Jesus says are different. Matthew, Mark and Luke only record the 2nd time).
The reason they went to Jerusalem was because the time for Passover was getting closer. Every adult male Jew was required to be in Jerusalem 3 times a year for 3 major Feast’s: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. So, Jesus, with his disciples and brothers and mother went to Jerusalem.
This is the first of 3 Passovers that John mentions in his gospel. Passover was celebrated on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan (late March/ early April). From the 15th day to the 21st the Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated. Passover commemorates the night God delivered Israel out of slavery in Egypt by killing every firstborn male in Egypt – man and animal.
For over 400 years the Jews were slaves in Egypt. And just as God promised Abraham, He came to deliver them from that bondage to the Egyptians. God raised up Moses to lead the Israelites and to tell Pharaoh to release the Hebrews. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened though, and he refused to let them go.
As a result, God judged Egypt by bringing 10 stunning plagues on the land and to make Pharaoh let the Jews go. But, with each plague, Pharaoh’s heart only hardened more, and each time he refused to release the Jews.
Then came the 10th and final plague: God was going to kill every firstborn male in Egypt – both man and animal, from Pharaoh’s own son down to the firstborn animal of the poorest peasant in Egypt. Every firstborn male – whether man or animal - was going to die.
But, God was going to give His chosen people, the Jews, a way to be protected from the 10th and final plague.
On that night, God instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb in their homes and spread the blood of the lamb on the doorframe of the house. At midnight on that night, when the Lord’s angel went through Egypt to kill all the firstborn males, he would see the blood on the doorframes and Passover that home.
In the middle of the night, all of Egypt awoke in horror as death had come to every Egyptian home – but not any of the Israelites. And then Pharaoh released the Jews from bondage and set them free to leave Egypt.
In Exodus 12, God gives Moses instructions concerning the Passover, and that it is to be celebrated every year. “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD – a lasting ordinance. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”
That Passover night is the defining moment in Israel’s history. Over and over again throughout their nation’s history this is the event that God reminded them of. It is the event that the prophets reminded them of.
It is a time of worship and praise to the LORD God who delivered Israel out of their bondage in Egypt.
Divided the Passage into 3 sections: The Attention of Worship, The Authority of Worship, the Authenticity of Worship
The Attention of Worship (v 14-17)
What did Jesus find when he walked into the temple, the center of the Passover Feast? Did he find worship in the place of worship? No. What he found instead was business disguised as worship - commerce leeching off of worship. Notice verse 14, “In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.”
“In the temple courts” means the outer Gentile Courts. In the temple, there were several courts that had restricted access. The center of the temple was the Holy of Holies and the Most Holy Place. Then, the inner-most court was the court of the priests, where only the Levites and the priests could enter and do their work. The next most outer court was the Court of the Israelites, where only Jewish men were permitted. Then, farther out was the Court of Women, where Jewish women were allowed.
And finally, farther out was the court of Gentiles, where any Gentile who wanted to worship the God of Israel could come into. This court was huge, and surrounded the other courts, and it is most-likely that the trading and the business that Jesus found going on was happening in the court of the Gentiles.
John mentions two kinds of people doing business: Sellers and Moneychangers. Men who were selling animals were actually performing a needed service. All Jews did not live in Jerusalem. So, Jews who traveled from far away for the Passover (like Jesus and his disciples) would not have been able to bring their animals with them on long journeys. These sellers made it convenient to get the necessary animals for the required sacrifices.
Money changers also provided a needed service. “Out-of-town” Jews would come into Jerusalem with foreign currency. This currency would need to be exchanged for the correct temple currency that would be needed to buy animals for sacrifices. Also, dues were to be given annually by the Jews to the temple for maintenance and service which also would need to be in the correct temple currency.
These are the people Jesus sees when he arrives. He does not like what he sees. Verse 15 says that Jesus Runs them Out, “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” This is not the peace-sign, child-hugging, and “let’s all just get along” Jesus that so many people imagine him to be. This is an angry Jesus, and you can imagine the chaos that he is creating.
There had to be hundreds of animals going in every direction out of the temple area – cows mooing, sheep bleating, goats making whatever noise goats make in a panic. People jumping out of the way of all these animals, people standing out of the way and staring in bewilderment as this one man is running around and yelling to get animals moving.
And who knows how many merchants and tables there were. He throws every one of them over on the ground and scatters money all over the place. I can see the frantic scurrying on the ground of people trying to grab their money, 20 – 30, 40 or 50 or more business men on their hands and knees trying to get their money after Jesus throws it everywhere.
Jesus Rebukes Them:
Jesus gets in the way of their business, because their business has gotten in the way of worship. Their attention has shifted from worshiping God to worshipping wealth. Notice verse 16, “To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
The place of worship had been turned into a place of business. Notice who’s place Jesus says it is, “My Father’s house.” Jesus is calling God his Father, and, the Jews knew when he did that that he was claiming to be God himself (____). That claim is ultimately the charge against him that resulted in His crucifixion (Mt. 26:63-66; Mk. 14:61-64; Lk. 22:70-71).
“My Father’s house” is the temple. The temple is the place where God dwelled and could be worshipped. It is the place where man could come and meet God, and instead people were coming to meet merchants. They were coming to a place of business and profit.
The disciples remember:
While watching all that Jesus was doing and saying, John says he and the other disciples remembered the Scriptures. Verse 17 says, “His disciples remembered that it is written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” They were remembering the first half of Psalm 69:9, which is a Messianic Psalm. Messianic Psalms are prophetic psalms about the Messiah.
The second half of that verse says, “and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.” How they treated the Father was also how they were treating the Son. Jesus took their insults to the temple worship personally.
But, the reverse is true today: How you treat the Son is how you treat the Father. Jesus says in John 5:23, “so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him.” The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. Whoever accepts the Son accepts the Father.
The Authority in Worship
So we see the Attention of Worship in verses 14-17. Next we see the Authority of Worship. Notice verses 18-22, “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.”
At this point the temple priests and authorities no doubt heard all the commotion and came rushing onto the scene. And finding that their commercial activities were stopped, the first thing they do is demand Jesus gives a miraculous sign to prove he has authority to do all this. They challenged his authority. They wanted to know what right he had to do all these things. Who do you think you are?
Notice they don’t arrest him. I can’t help but think that at some point they must have thought Jesus was the one who John the Baptist had told them about. There was a great buzz over the Baptist in Israel, they had sent priests and Levites and Pharisees to talk to John. John told them that One greater than himself was coming. These religious authorities had to have been wondering when this One would come. Could this be Him – standing before them?
They didn’t arrest him because they could see he had authority. Jesus had authority and people knew it. He spoke with authority as the people said in Matthew 7:29, “the crowds were amazed at his teachings because he taught as one who had authority”. The temple guards wouldn’t arrest Jesus in John 7 because they knew he was someone of great authority. They went back empty handed to the chief priests who asked them in verse 45 why they didn’t arrest Jesus and they said, “No one has ever spoke the way this man does.”
So, they demanded a sign. Jews always demand a sign Paul said in 1 Corinthians. But, Jesus said elsewhere that no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of a fish for 3 days and 3 nights, so too the Son of Man would be in the heart of the earth. The only sign the Jews were going to get that Jesus kept telling them is His resurrection.
Jesus had authority in the resurrection. In John 10 he says, “The reason the Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Jesus has all authority and it would be proven in his resurrection.
Now notice this. The temple was the place where man goes to worship God. In that worship was the necessity for blood sacrifice. But, the blood of animals cannot take away sins. They had no real effect in taking sins and guilt away. There was no authority, no power in these.
But, Jesus does have authority to take away guilt. Jesus does have the power to wash away sins. The temple that was to be destroyed was His body, and in the death of his body he would bear the punishment for sins. And after that was done His body, the temple, would be raised up.
This was the sign Jesus gave them. They didn’t understand it. His disciples didn’t understand it. They didn’t get it until after the resurrection, “After he was raised from the dead they recalled what he had said.” That’s the Holy Spirit, Jesus said the Spirit would remind them of the things Jesus said. Now this next part is important and it transitions us into the last section. “Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”
They remembered what the Scriptures said, they saw the resurrection, and they believed. Listen, real faith, true, saving faith is rooted in what the Scriptures say. Believing the words of Jesus, believing that he was raised from the dead. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The disciples believed that, they confessed it, and they were saved. However, people in the next section are a little different.
The Authenticity of Worship
The last section is verses 23-25, and we see the Authenticity of Worship. “Now while in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all me. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
People saw the miracles he did that week and believed in his name. That Greek word for “believed” in verse 23 is the same Greek word for “entrust” in verse 24. In essence, many believed in his name, but, Jesus did not believe in them. He did not have faith in their faith. Does Jesus have faith in your faith?
Many claim to believe in Jesus but it’s not saving faith. These people here had spurious faith, they saw the miracles but somehow they didn’t see Jesus for who he was. Saving faith in Jesus comes directly from understanding who He truly is, wanting Him for who He is, and choosing Him for who He truly is.
Jesus knew what was in men, he knew the fickle, and whimsical hearts. He knew the desire for sensation and spectacular. He knew the quickness to profess faith but the slowness to practice it. He knew that the heart is desperately wicked and beyond cure. Jesus knows the authentic faith from the false faith. He is not fooled by shallow and insincere faith.
Last week we saw Jesus Christ perform his first miracle in the town of Cana in Galilee, where he turned water into wine. After he did this, he went with his disciples, his mother and his brothers to Capernaum (v. 12). After staying there a few days they headed south for Jerusalem which was about a 50 – 60 mile walk.
John records this event at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It’s important to point out that the Synoptic gospels record Jesus doing the same thing at the end of his ministry. Is John confused? No, the best explanation is that there were two separate times Jesus purged the temple – at the beginning and at the end of his ministry. (In the Synoptic gospels, the details are different, the timing is clearly during Passion week, and the things Jesus says are different. Matthew, Mark and Luke only record the 2nd time).
The reason they went to Jerusalem was because the time for Passover was getting closer. Every adult male Jew was required to be in Jerusalem 3 times a year for 3 major Feast’s: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. So, Jesus, with his disciples and brothers and mother went to Jerusalem.
This is the first of 3 Passovers that John mentions in his gospel. Passover was celebrated on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan (late March/ early April). From the 15th day to the 21st the Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated. Passover commemorates the night God delivered Israel out of slavery in Egypt by killing every firstborn male in Egypt – man and animal.
For over 400 years the Jews were slaves in Egypt. And just as God promised Abraham, He came to deliver them from that bondage to the Egyptians. God raised up Moses to lead the Israelites and to tell Pharaoh to release the Hebrews. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened though, and he refused to let them go.
As a result, God judged Egypt by bringing 10 stunning plagues on the land and to make Pharaoh let the Jews go. But, with each plague, Pharaoh’s heart only hardened more, and each time he refused to release the Jews.
Then came the 10th and final plague: God was going to kill every firstborn male in Egypt – both man and animal, from Pharaoh’s own son down to the firstborn animal of the poorest peasant in Egypt. Every firstborn male – whether man or animal - was going to die.
But, God was going to give His chosen people, the Jews, a way to be protected from the 10th and final plague.
On that night, God instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb in their homes and spread the blood of the lamb on the doorframe of the house. At midnight on that night, when the Lord’s angel went through Egypt to kill all the firstborn males, he would see the blood on the doorframes and Passover that home.
In the middle of the night, all of Egypt awoke in horror as death had come to every Egyptian home – but not any of the Israelites. And then Pharaoh released the Jews from bondage and set them free to leave Egypt.
In Exodus 12, God gives Moses instructions concerning the Passover, and that it is to be celebrated every year. “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD – a lasting ordinance. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”
That Passover night is the defining moment in Israel’s history. Over and over again throughout their nation’s history this is the event that God reminded them of. It is the event that the prophets reminded them of.
It is a time of worship and praise to the LORD God who delivered Israel out of their bondage in Egypt.
Divided the Passage into 3 sections: The Attention of Worship, The Authority of Worship, the Authenticity of Worship
The Attention of Worship (v 14-17)
What did Jesus find when he walked into the temple, the center of the Passover Feast? Did he find worship in the place of worship? No. What he found instead was business disguised as worship - commerce leeching off of worship. Notice verse 14, “In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.”
“In the temple courts” means the outer Gentile Courts. In the temple, there were several courts that had restricted access. The center of the temple was the Holy of Holies and the Most Holy Place. Then, the inner-most court was the court of the priests, where only the Levites and the priests could enter and do their work. The next most outer court was the Court of the Israelites, where only Jewish men were permitted. Then, farther out was the Court of Women, where Jewish women were allowed.
And finally, farther out was the court of Gentiles, where any Gentile who wanted to worship the God of Israel could come into. This court was huge, and surrounded the other courts, and it is most-likely that the trading and the business that Jesus found going on was happening in the court of the Gentiles.
John mentions two kinds of people doing business: Sellers and Moneychangers. Men who were selling animals were actually performing a needed service. All Jews did not live in Jerusalem. So, Jews who traveled from far away for the Passover (like Jesus and his disciples) would not have been able to bring their animals with them on long journeys. These sellers made it convenient to get the necessary animals for the required sacrifices.
Money changers also provided a needed service. “Out-of-town” Jews would come into Jerusalem with foreign currency. This currency would need to be exchanged for the correct temple currency that would be needed to buy animals for sacrifices. Also, dues were to be given annually by the Jews to the temple for maintenance and service which also would need to be in the correct temple currency.
These are the people Jesus sees when he arrives. He does not like what he sees. Verse 15 says that Jesus Runs them Out, “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” This is not the peace-sign, child-hugging, and “let’s all just get along” Jesus that so many people imagine him to be. This is an angry Jesus, and you can imagine the chaos that he is creating.
There had to be hundreds of animals going in every direction out of the temple area – cows mooing, sheep bleating, goats making whatever noise goats make in a panic. People jumping out of the way of all these animals, people standing out of the way and staring in bewilderment as this one man is running around and yelling to get animals moving.
And who knows how many merchants and tables there were. He throws every one of them over on the ground and scatters money all over the place. I can see the frantic scurrying on the ground of people trying to grab their money, 20 – 30, 40 or 50 or more business men on their hands and knees trying to get their money after Jesus throws it everywhere.
Jesus Rebukes Them:
Jesus gets in the way of their business, because their business has gotten in the way of worship. Their attention has shifted from worshiping God to worshipping wealth. Notice verse 16, “To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
The place of worship had been turned into a place of business. Notice who’s place Jesus says it is, “My Father’s house.” Jesus is calling God his Father, and, the Jews knew when he did that that he was claiming to be God himself (____). That claim is ultimately the charge against him that resulted in His crucifixion (Mt. 26:63-66; Mk. 14:61-64; Lk. 22:70-71).
“My Father’s house” is the temple. The temple is the place where God dwelled and could be worshipped. It is the place where man could come and meet God, and instead people were coming to meet merchants. They were coming to a place of business and profit.
The disciples remember:
While watching all that Jesus was doing and saying, John says he and the other disciples remembered the Scriptures. Verse 17 says, “His disciples remembered that it is written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” They were remembering the first half of Psalm 69:9, which is a Messianic Psalm. Messianic Psalms are prophetic psalms about the Messiah.
The second half of that verse says, “and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.” How they treated the Father was also how they were treating the Son. Jesus took their insults to the temple worship personally.
But, the reverse is true today: How you treat the Son is how you treat the Father. Jesus says in John 5:23, “so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him.” The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. Whoever accepts the Son accepts the Father.
The Authority in Worship
So we see the Attention of Worship in verses 14-17. Next we see the Authority of Worship. Notice verses 18-22, “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.”
At this point the temple priests and authorities no doubt heard all the commotion and came rushing onto the scene. And finding that their commercial activities were stopped, the first thing they do is demand Jesus gives a miraculous sign to prove he has authority to do all this. They challenged his authority. They wanted to know what right he had to do all these things. Who do you think you are?
Notice they don’t arrest him. I can’t help but think that at some point they must have thought Jesus was the one who John the Baptist had told them about. There was a great buzz over the Baptist in Israel, they had sent priests and Levites and Pharisees to talk to John. John told them that One greater than himself was coming. These religious authorities had to have been wondering when this One would come. Could this be Him – standing before them?
They didn’t arrest him because they could see he had authority. Jesus had authority and people knew it. He spoke with authority as the people said in Matthew 7:29, “the crowds were amazed at his teachings because he taught as one who had authority”. The temple guards wouldn’t arrest Jesus in John 7 because they knew he was someone of great authority. They went back empty handed to the chief priests who asked them in verse 45 why they didn’t arrest Jesus and they said, “No one has ever spoke the way this man does.”
So, they demanded a sign. Jews always demand a sign Paul said in 1 Corinthians. But, Jesus said elsewhere that no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of a fish for 3 days and 3 nights, so too the Son of Man would be in the heart of the earth. The only sign the Jews were going to get that Jesus kept telling them is His resurrection.
Jesus had authority in the resurrection. In John 10 he says, “The reason the Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Jesus has all authority and it would be proven in his resurrection.
Now notice this. The temple was the place where man goes to worship God. In that worship was the necessity for blood sacrifice. But, the blood of animals cannot take away sins. They had no real effect in taking sins and guilt away. There was no authority, no power in these.
But, Jesus does have authority to take away guilt. Jesus does have the power to wash away sins. The temple that was to be destroyed was His body, and in the death of his body he would bear the punishment for sins. And after that was done His body, the temple, would be raised up.
This was the sign Jesus gave them. They didn’t understand it. His disciples didn’t understand it. They didn’t get it until after the resurrection, “After he was raised from the dead they recalled what he had said.” That’s the Holy Spirit, Jesus said the Spirit would remind them of the things Jesus said. Now this next part is important and it transitions us into the last section. “Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”
They remembered what the Scriptures said, they saw the resurrection, and they believed. Listen, real faith, true, saving faith is rooted in what the Scriptures say. Believing the words of Jesus, believing that he was raised from the dead. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The disciples believed that, they confessed it, and they were saved. However, people in the next section are a little different.
The Authenticity of Worship
The last section is verses 23-25, and we see the Authenticity of Worship. “Now while in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all me. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”
People saw the miracles he did that week and believed in his name. That Greek word for “believed” in verse 23 is the same Greek word for “entrust” in verse 24. In essence, many believed in his name, but, Jesus did not believe in them. He did not have faith in their faith. Does Jesus have faith in your faith?
Many claim to believe in Jesus but it’s not saving faith. These people here had spurious faith, they saw the miracles but somehow they didn’t see Jesus for who he was. Saving faith in Jesus comes directly from understanding who He truly is, wanting Him for who He is, and choosing Him for who He truly is.
Jesus knew what was in men, he knew the fickle, and whimsical hearts. He knew the desire for sensation and spectacular. He knew the quickness to profess faith but the slowness to practice it. He knew that the heart is desperately wicked and beyond cure. Jesus knows the authentic faith from the false faith. He is not fooled by shallow and insincere faith.
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