John 2:12-25
Jesus Clears the Temple
12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So 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. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"
17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."
18Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
20The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.
All the four Gospels have Jesus cleansing the Temple...St. John puts the cleansing at the first of his Gospel, the others Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:12-19, and Luke 19:45-48 have Jesus cleansing the Temple at the end of His ministry...Some think Jesus had to cleanse the Temple twice...Many think that John wasn't concerned about chronology...Most believe St. John wrote the book late in his life and was older...Maybe he just didn't remember the order of Jesus teachings...When St. John wrote his Gospel, he was more concerned with his readers knowing that he was an eyewitness...He was most concerned about how Jesus was to be portrayed and remembered...
When Jesus is in the Temple courts He confronts those selling cattle, sheep, and doves...These tables were where you paid (the money was exchanged) for an animal sacrifice...You would choose which animal you needed for sacrifice for your sin you had committed...When you worshipped in the Temple you needed an unblemished animal for sacrifice...It is said that the Priests would not accept foreign currency, so the tables, with the money changers could exchange foreign currency for their local Jewish currency...These money changers probably had control over people bringing their own animals in to save money, even though their animal was unblemished, thus they controlled the sacrifice market, the prices, and the profit margins and would profit more from this setup...
Jesus was angry...Jesus turned the tables over and coins flew everywhere...He told the money changers to get out of here, how dare you turn my Father's house into a a market...When you read through the New Testament and find Jesus does not get angry very often... Jesus is always under control...Here, when He cleared the Temple courts He was angry...The disciples remembered Psalm 69:9, when King David wrote about his zeal for his Father's house...David, nor Jesus cared how others seen their zeal and passion for their Father...He wanted the people to be able to worship God, pray and communicate with Him, unfettered...The Jewish religious leaders had set up a bureaucracy of sorts, before you could worship God...When we sin or need to talk to God, He is there...Jesus seen this a a roadblock to God...Plus there was a profit being made on the way the tables and money changers were set up, by the Priests...The Temple had turned into a market place instead of a place to worship...
The Jews responded by demanding Him to do a miracle, to show His authority that He had the power to turn over their tables and clear their money making scheme from the Temple courts...Jesus told them destroy this Temple and I will raise it again in three days...The Jews told Him it took forty six years to build this Temple, how could He build it again in three days...The Temple He was talking about was His body...We would be able to worship Him, and that would be our Temple after His resurrection on the third day...His disciples would remember this after His resurrection...
The people there saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name...He did not need man's authority, or man's support, or any man's testimony...He knew what was in us men and what it was to be a man...He knows how we sin, our thoughts, our desires, our craftiness, our slyness and how we search for happiness and pleasure...He know even our most secret thoughts...When we realize this we are exposed...When we know Jesus, then we know Jesus shows us for who we really are...