13 2:13The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 2:14In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 2:15And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 2:16And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 2:17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 2:18So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 2:19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 2:20The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 2:21But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 2:22When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
23 2:23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 2:24But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 2:25and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
At the Feast of Passover, Jesus drives animals to be used for sacrifice out of the temple, then speaks cryptically of his own death. John notes that Christ’s disciples understood what he had said only after the resurrection, and also indicates that Jesus saw through the superficial support some gave to his actions. The most stunning feature of this passage is that, despite Jesus’ awareness that he will be killed, he nevertheless steps forward confident that he will rise from the dead. The passage shows us the love and courage of Jesus: courage that sends him to the cross, and love that motivates him to do so.
Response
What outward signs distinguish those to whom Jesus would, and those to whom he would not, entrust himself? Jesus says difficult things to those following him in chapter 6, and as a result “his disciples were grumbling” (6:61). Jesus then declares to his disciples,
In this fascinating passage, Jesus knows that some “disciples” “did not believe,” and once he starts saying things that do not scratch their itching ears, they stop walking with him. How do we respond if this describes us? The answer is in the next two verses—“Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’” (6:67–68). No matter how difficult Jesus’ words were, Peter knew they were words of eternal life. Jesus entrusts himself to those who regard his words as Peter did. If your response to Jesus truly matches Peter’s, you know you have been born again. The Father has given you to Jesus, and Jesus will entrust himself to you.
David was consumed with zeal for building a house for God’s name. That same zeal consumed Jesus, resulting in his death on behalf of God’s people so that he could build them into a house for God’s name. What consumes your life? What passion dominates you? For what would you give your blood and treasure? Is what you are devoted to worthy of your life? God’s kingdom and the gospel are worth your life. Have you been gripped by the knowledge that there is only one name by which man may be delivered from the yawning cavern of hell’s dark hole? Do you see that there is only one way to know God, only one way to find soul-deep satisfaction, one way to live a life worth everlasting deliverance?
Ponder the mysteries. Roll around on your tongue the new wine of the way God has fulfilled his promises in Jesus; savor the fullness, the depth, and the surprising and fresh glory of what God has done. Drink deeply of God’s glory and be intoxicated with the goodness of what he has brought to pass. All his promises are “Yes” and “Amen” in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20). This is better than any novel, better than any drama, better than any fantasy. This is the true tale of how the prince born with neither throne nor crown showed that he loved his bride enough to die for her; and by dying for her he regained his rightful throne, was crowned as king, and liberated his bride from the oppressive powers holding her captive. There is no better story than the true one.
Deuteronomy 14:22–27 had provided for the possibility that people living too far from Jerusalem to carry everything required for observance of a feast would need to convert their goods into money, which was then used in Jerusalem to acquire what was necessary, including “oxen and sheep and pigeons” (John 2:14). An industry of “money-changers” had sprung up around and in the temple to facilitate these transactions, but Jesus was so incensed by their presence in the temple that he made a “whip of cords” and “drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables” (v. 15).
Jesus probably used the whip to encourage large animals of sacrifice, such as sheep and oxen, to lumber out of the temple courts, knowing their keepers would have to follow. Jesus then upends the brokers’ tables and pours out their coins, making clear what it is that offends him when he orders, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade” (v. 16). The temple was to be consecrated, set apart as holy, precisely because it was the house of God. As such, the type of transactions being carried out should not have been taking place within the temple precincts. Those who were doing business in the temple, even business necessary for the worship of God, were misusing his dwelling place.
Jesus is not arrested at this time, nor does John describe any immediate follow-up concerning Jesus’ actions, indicating that the authorities and the public basically agreed with Jesus on this point. They knew the temple was not supposed to be turned into a marketplace, but they had done nothing about it. When a blameless man stands up and does what everyone agrees should be done, the words of Proverbs 24:25 are proven true: “Those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.” Jesus will be asked about his authority in John 2:18, but the righteousness of what he has done goes unchallenged.
John makes a suggestive observation in verse 17: “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” When did they remember this? The disciples of Jesus may have remembered this on the spot. Alternatively, in light of the way verse 22 refers to what the disciples remembered after the resurrection of Jesus, their memory of Jesus’ statement here may also have come upon further reflection in light of his death and resurrection, through the prism of the OT.
When David wrote, “Zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me” (Ps. 69:9), he was likely referring to how his desire to build the temple (2 Sam. 7:1–7) had “consumed him,” and how as a result of his pursuit of God’s cause the nations raged not only against the Lord but also against him (cf. Ps. 2:1–3). As David’s heir, Jesus shares his vigilant passion for the temple. In view of how the passage goes on to address Jesus’ death and resurrection (John 2:19–22), this reference to being consumed by zeal for the house of God suggests a fervent passion that will consume his very life.
2:18–22 I Will Raise It Up. As noted above, the authorities do not challenge what Jesus did, but they do seek proof that he has the authority to do it: “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” (v. 18). In asking for a “sign,” the Jews were most likely seeking prophetic credentials from Jesus. “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’” (v. 19). Jesus has just driven the merchants and their merchandise out of the temple, so with this conversation most likely taking place nearby, the reference to “this temple” would be taken to refer to the building that dominated Jerusalem. Naturally, therefore, “The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’” (v. 20).
After relating this mistaken conclusion the Jews had drawn from Jesus’ words, John explains in verse 21, “But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” Just as the consuming zeal in verse 17 hinted at the death of Jesus, so do Jesus’ words concerning the destruction of his body. This time, however, confidence of a subsequent resurrection is also stated, a point realized by the disciples only after the promised death and resurrection took place: “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (v. 22). Here again the disciples are portrayed as remembering the words of Jesus after his death and resurrection and reflecting on them in light of Scripture.
God had saved Israel from Egypt through the exodus, a deliverance commemorated at the yearly celebration of the Passover. Every year at Passover, those who celebrated the feast killed and ate the Passover lamb. Now Jesus, the Lamb of God (1:29, 36), has spoken of his own death. But why does he do so in terms of the destruction of the temple? Because the crucifixion of Jesus was the climactic visitation of the covenant curses and God’s just wrath against sin. Israel’s prophets had warned of the visitation of the curses of the covenant, and the ultimate manifestation of those curses was the destruction of the temple and exile from the land, to be followed by an exodus of a faithful remnant back from exile into the land. Little wonder that the Lamb of God who would bring to pass that prophesied new exodus should expel other sacrificial animals from the temple precincts. Little wonder that the disciples of Jesus would see him resurrected and believe both what he said and the Scripture (2:22). God kept his promises through the death and resurrection of Jesus, who is the new and better Passover Lamb accomplishing a new and better exodus, after a more devastating destruction of the temple and a more impressive rebuilding of it on the third day, in his resurrection.
2:23–25 He Knew What Was in Man. Just as verses 1 and 12 bracketed the episode at the wedding on the third day with details of time and place, so verses 13 and 23 bracket the temple cleansing with details of time and place. Verse 23 states that, while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, “many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” Since the only “sign” John has mentioned to this point was the changing of water to wine in verse 11, and since the healing of the official’s son will be enumerated as “the second sign” in 4:54, it would appear that these other “signs” in 2:23 (and 3:2) are signs John does not narrate. John states in 20:30–31, “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The disciples believed in response to the sign in 2:11, and many others believed in response to the un-narrated signs mentioned in verse 23.
Verses 23 and 24 display a word play on the verb “believe”: many “believed” in Jesus (v. 23), but Jesus did not “entrust” (lit., “believe”) himself to them (v. 24). What does John mean? In what sense did Jesus not entrust himself to those who were believing in him because of his signs?
John explains that it was because Jesus “knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man” (vv. 24–25). Because Jesus “knew all people,” he knew their need of the new birth (cf. 3:3, 5), and he knew that some would receive the new birth while others would not (cf. 17:6, 9), and thus who would receive and who would reject him. Even if those who were not given to him by the Father were temporarily attracted to him because of the signs, Jesus did not entrust himself to them, for he knew the status of their hearts (cf. 6:2, 26, 30, 64–66).
1 Or This temple was built forty-six years ago
1 Pace Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, BECNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 102n6, who argues that the temple cleansing is the second sign in John’s narrative.