Jesus Cleanses the Temple (John 2:13-22)

We’ve moved quickly from the wedding in Cana to the celebration of the Passover Feast in Jerusalem:

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the money changers doing business.

When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do you show us? Since You do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?”

But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. John 2:13:22 NKJV.

What’s Happening?

Several things are happening here.

In the court of the Gentiles, merchants have brought in oxen, sheep, and doves, as a convenience. Pilgrims from far and wide have come to celebrate the Passover. Money-changers, or bankers, were there to exchange the Roman coin for a coin only the temple would take for the temple tax. I wonder how fair the exchange was or high the loan fees were?

Use your imagination and see what Jesus sees:

Can you hear the animals and the many throngs of people moving around; merchants, money-changers, and pilgrims doing business in the temple? According to Josephus, a renowned Jewish historian of the time, the number of pilgrims attending the Passover festival exceeded 2.5 million.

Was this a sacred place for a holy festival? Why had it become a marketplace?

For pilgrims, the convenience of easier travel became a lucrative business. The Jewish leaders were charging the merchants and money-changers fees to use the Temple, specifically the Court of the Gentiles. The merchants and money-changers were making the customers pay the difference so they could walk away with a profit as well.

Look at Jesus’ response to those selling doves:

And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My father’s house a house of merchandise!”

Jesus pinpointed the dove sellers because they were cheating the poor and widows. The law detailed the requirements for the “dove sacrifice.” The poor and widows could not afford oxen or sheep, but a dove didn’t cost that much. That is until you add merchants and money changers to the mix. The dove sellers charged an outrageous fee, so there was no other choice but to get a loan from the money-changers. Instead of a convenience, it was a burden. The Temple authorities were part of the problem, not the solution.

Sacred Assemblies

The Passover celebration was a sacred assembly.

Assemblies, feasts, and festivals are very important for God’s people – the Jews. The Lord Himself called them to worship, remember, and celebrate what God has done and what He will do for them in the future.

Some festivals began or ended around harvesting season, while others recognized historic events. But they all had one thing in common: joy, worship, and thanksgiving. Think of this as a big potluck at the Temple. The meals comprised meat – a scarcity for the Jews. The wine was for enjoyment, not for getting drunk.

Sacrifice played a significant role in the celebration. The entire community was involved, not just a select few. Most festivals included invitations to the poor, widows, Levites, sojourners (travelers), and foreigners.

The feasts and festivals were holidays, or “holy days.” In the United States, we have only 11 official holidays. The Jewish nation had 17:

• The Day of Atonement
• Feast of Booths
• Feasts of Dedication
• Hanukkah
• Feast of Harvest
• Year of Jubilee
• Feast of Lights
• New Moon
• The Passover
• The Pentecost
• Feast of Purim
• Sabbath
• Sabbatical Year
• Feast of Tabernacles
• Feast of Trumpets
• Feast of Unleavened Bread
• Feast of Weeks

It would take many articles to discuss the beauty of worship and joy associated with each of these feasts. Yet, remember this truth: if the Jewish nation had obeyed God and continued to worshipfully and joyfully celebrate all these feasts, they would not have so quickly turned away from Him to do their own thing – what was right in their own eyes. Even when they celebrated them, not everyone did so with a pure heart.

The Passover

Three great annual feasts required a pilgrimage: the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Leviticus 23 gives specific details.

Every Israeli male was required to be there.

The Passover festival came first, and immediately following was the Festival of Unleavened Bread:

The Passover

The Passover (Pesach) commemorates the Hebrews’ deliverance from slavery in ancient Egypt. It’s a time of remembrance, freedom, and reflection, celebrated with specific rituals and traditions, most notably the Seder meal.

The name “Passover” refers to the tenth and final plague, where God “passed over” the houses of the Hebrews, sparing their firstborn sons. The sacrificial lamb’s blood on the doorposts was their saving grace. It is a true story of resilience, faith, and an enduring journey from oppression to freedom.

Jesus’ last meal was the Seder meal.

Before dinner, many families purge their homes to remove any unleavened food (chametz). The first one or two nights of Passover feature the meal, with symbolic foods and the retelling of the Exodus story. The plate served is called a “Seder Plate” because it holds the symbolic foods for Passover: matzah, bitter herbs, charoset, shank bone, and egg.

• Matzah: Unleavened bread symbolizing the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt, leaving no time for the bread to rise. They refrain from eating or possessing any leavened food during the Passover.
• Four cups of wine symbolize freedom and the four promises God made to the Hebrews.
• Bitter herbs reminded them of the bitterness of slavery.
• A sweet mixture is served, representing the mortar used by the Hebrews in their forced labor. It’s called charoseth.
• The shank-bone or Zeroa symbolizes the Passover sacrifice – the lamb whose blood was spread on the doorposts of every Hebrew home. Today, Jews sometimes avoid eating the shank bone because it represents a past sacrifice that is no longer practiced.
• The egg symbolizes two things: the festival sacrifice offered in the temple and the cycle of life and rebirth. Today, it serves as a reminder of the mourning for the Temple’s destruction.

In essence, the Passover is significant because it reminds the Hebrews of God’s goodness in delivering them from slavery. It’s a theme of freedom, faith, and the importance of justice. Family and friends celebrate it together and remember God’s great love and redemption.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

This feast immediately follows the Passover. It commemorates the Israelites’ hasty departure from Egypt during the Exodus, where they didn’t have time for their bread to rise. During this festival, Jewish people abstain from eating leavened bread and consume only unleavened bread (matzah).

The unleavened bread (matzah) symbolizes the Israelites’ freedom from slavery and their reliance on God for sustenance during their journey through the wilderness. It also represents a life free from sin, as leaven is often a symbol of sin in sacred Scripture.

The festival’s observance includes eating matzah for seven days and avoiding all leavened products (like bread, cakes, or pastries). It is a time for reflection on the Exodus story and its significance for Jewish identity and faith.

The Temple

Let’s return to the scene of Jesus cleansing out the Temple. It was significant when we remember what it represented. The Temple has always been a central figure in sacred Scripture.

Throughout history, people have built temples to their gods or gods. People always considered it holy and sacred. The deity dwelt there. The god or gods owned the land, and the king was their advocate. Their religious practices were designed to win favor with their god or gods.

Imagine what a pagan would think of this temple turned into the marketplace. What would they think of our God?

First thing dedicated to God?

Remember Abraham? He traveled throughout the ancient world and saw many temples built for many gods. His difference stemmed from knowing the one and only God. He built shrines or altars anywhere God had revealed Himself. Such places as the Oak of Moreh (Gen 12:6-7), Bethel (Gen 12:8), and Beersheba (Gen 21:33) stand out in the Bible.

When Moses led the Hebrews out of ancient Egypt, they had a tabernacle, also known as the Tent of Meeting, which was designed by God and built by Moses. It was a portable Temple. Inside the area called the “Holy of Holies” was the Ark of the Covenant.

It was not until King Solomon built the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem that there was a designated location for worshiping God.

The construction of Solomon’s Temple began 418 years after the children of Israel had come out of Egypt. It took seven years to complete it. They built the Temple on Mt. Moriah, north of the City of David. The significance was that the Lord gave Kind David the blueprint and King Solomon built it (II Chron 28:11-13 & 19). The outer sanctuary was the Holy Place, and the inner sanctuary was the Most Holy Place. There was an outer court for the Gentiles and foreigners.

The Temple we see here in the Gospel of John is not Solomon’s Temple. King Herod was building it, and the Temple was still incomplete.

Temples in Sacred Scripture

There are many temples mentioned in the Bible, and each one is significant.

• The Tabernacle (1444 BC). Moses received the blueprint constructed by divinely appointed artisans. The Lord called Bezael, the first man to be filled with the Spirit, as the major artisan. Nadab and Abihu (the eldest sons of Aaron) desecrated it. God struck them dead for offering “strange fire” before the Lord in the Tabernacle, an act considered presumptuous and in violation of God’s explicit instructions. Their deaths serve as a powerful reminder of the consequences of disobedience and the importance of following God’s commands, particularly in matters of worship. (see Ex 25-30, Ex 35:30-40 & Lev 10:1-7)
• Solomon’s Temple (966-856 BC). King Solomon constructed and dedicated it. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon, played a significant role in the destruction of the first Temple and the subsequent exile of the Jewish people to Babylon. In 586 BC, after a lengthy siege, his forces breached the city walls and destroyed the temple, along with the royal palace and much of Jerusalem. This event was a pivotal moment in Jewish history, marking the end of the First Temple period and the beginning of the exile. (II Sam: 7-29, I Kings 8:1-66, & Jer 32:28-44).
• Zerubbabel’s Temple (516-159 BC). The Temple of Zerubbabel, also known as the Second Temple, was a “rebuilt” temple constructed after the exile. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah, appointed by the Persian Empire. The Second Temple replaced the original Temple of Solomon (Ezra 6:1-22; 4:1-14, & Matt 24:15). Josephus, writing in Antiquities of the Jews, describes Antiochus IV desecrating the Second Jewish Temple and renaming it “The Temple of Jupiter Hellenius.” Josephus also described Antiochus IV as executing anyone performing Jewish practices.
• Herod’s Temple (19 BC to AD 70). Herod’s Temple, also known as the Second Temple, was magnificent. It replaced the Zerubabel’s Temple and stood as a center of Jewish worship until its destruction in 70 AD by the Romans (Mark 13:2, 14-23; Luke 1:11-20, 2:22-38; 2:42-51, 4:21-24, & Acts 21:27-33).
• The present-day Temple is found in the heart of the believer; this is where the Holy Spirit dwells. The concept of “temple” today refers to the Church as a community of believers rather than a physical building. In the broader Christian tradition, God dwells within the community of believers. This will be the only Temple until Jesus’ second coming (I Cor 6:19-20 & 6:12-13).
• The Temple of Revelation 11: There are different interpretations, but I believe the antichrist will build it during the tribulation. The antichrist will desecrate it, and this refers to the outer court being “given over to the nations” and “trampled underfoot” for months. Depending on interpretation, this time may be a time of persecution against the church by non-believers, while the inner court, representing God’s people, remains protected. (Dan 9:2).
• Ezekiel Temple: Ezekiel’s Temple, detailed in chapters 40-48 of the biblical Book of Ezekiel, is a vision of a future temple in Jerusalem, described with intricate architectural details. It’s a symbolic representation of God’s presence and the restoration of Israel. The vision provides hope and a blueprint for a future where God restores. The Prophet Ezekiel envisioned it and is to be built by the Messiah during His second reign (Ez 40:1-42:20 & Zech 6:12-13).
• The Eternal Temple of His Presence – the Eternal Kingdom. In Christian theology refers to a future state of existence. Believers will dwell in God’s presence, experiencing joy, peace, and wholeness. It is a physical, material world where believers will have transformed bodies and live in perfect relationship with God and one another. It is a place of ultimate fulfillment and glory, a reward for those who have lived faithfully. (Rev 21:22).

Significance

I spent hours researching the significance of the Passover and these temples. It was worth it because I finally understood the importance of cleansing the Temple. It was more than what was happening on the surface. The event where Jesus cleansed the temple is a sign of how much he values the present-day temple.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Cor 6:19-20 NKJV.

Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore belongs to Christ. You may honor it or desecrate it. Immoral conduct demeans the price paid to redeem sinners and diminishes the glory believers are to bring to Him who loves us so purely and powerfully.

Our Passover, which is freedom from sin and death, is just as important as the Jewish Passover. Once we were slaves, but now the sacrificial blood of the Lamb, who takes away the world’s sin, has liberated us.

Ask yourself these questions when you think about Jesus cleansing the temple:

• Do you consider your body a sacred place reserved for Christ alone?
• Are there merchants and money changers taking advantage of you and undermining your faith?
• Does Jesus have to take a whip and drive them out?

Conclusion

Take a minute and examine your soul. If there is anything that appears to separate you from the Holy, then remove it quickly and give it to the Lord. He will help you drive it out.

He desires to live with you in the Holy Spirit and be Immanuel – God with us. Trust Him. Like He drove out the merchants, noisy animals, and money changers, He can do the same for you. He wants to see you pure, blameless, and holy in His sight until you meet face to face.

It hurts Him to hurt yourself by allowing others in who do not belong.

You belong to the Lord!

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. I Thess 5:23-24 NKJV.