With Dale Ratzlaff
John 2:12-25
After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.” The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
The first sentence in this passage indicates that Capernaum was the home of Mary and Jesus. It can be assumed that Joseph is now dead and the family has moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. Mark confirms this is now their home.
When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home (Mk. 2:1).
There is another interesting, and perhaps important, point in this first verse.
After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
As noted in the NASB and confirmed in the Greek text, there is no definite article with “brothers”. In other words, this sentence literally reads, “…He and His mother and brothers and His disciples…” Because both “mother” and “disciples” have the definite article and “brothers” does not, some feel that John is indicating that these “brothers” were really not “his” brothers, only half-brothers. If so, this grammatical detail would give additional support for the virgin birth of Jesus.
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John mentions “Jews” some 65 times in his Gospel, many of them in a negative context. The fact that he writes, “the Passover of the Jews” may indicate two things. First, it is descriptive for the readers of this Gospel who may not be familiar with Jewish religious custom. Second, it makes it clear that the Passover is of the Jews and not of the Christian Church.
John now moves to a very descriptive account of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. In the Gospel of John, the cleansing of the temple is near the beginning of His ministry. In the synoptic gospels this event is located in the last week just before Jesus’ death. Some have concluded that John just moved this event for his own purposes. We must remember, however, that much of the material in John is not recorded in the other Gospels; this is especially so in the first five chapters. Research done by Leon Morris shows that while there are some similarities, there remain vast differences in wording, Bible references quoted, and other facts showing that there is no reason to believe John’s account is not authentic.
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
The Jewish leaders developed laws surrounding the sacrifices that were offered on special occasions. All Jewish males, 12 years old and up, were commanded in the law to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover. It would have been very inconvenient for them to bring their own sacrifices. Therefore, people had to purchase their sacrifices when they arrived in Jerusalem. With the crowds of people and the high demand for sacrificial animals, it opened up the opportunity for animal brokers to raise the price and make an exorbitant profit. On top of this, it was required that the sacrificial animals be purchased with temple money which required money changers, another opportunity for the entrenched leaders to make an inflated profit. Over time the temple court turned into a bazaar of confusion and graft as the people were taken advantage of for the profit of those in power. Into this scene, Jesus comes.
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
Here we see the personal power of Jesus. Yes, He is loving, compassionate, and gentle to the honest in heart, but He is also Almighty God in the flesh and able to judge definitively with divine authority. The verbs, “made”, “drove”, “poured”, and “overturned” are all aorist tense indicating that this cleansing of the temple was done quickly, decisively and thoroughly.
His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME”.
By calling the temple, “my Father’s house”, Jesus was clearly indicating that He was both the Son of God and the Messiah. The Jewish leaders apparently understood Jesus’ actions as a possible fulfillment or reflection of an Old Testament messianic prophecy.
“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap” (Mal. 3:1-2).
The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Here Jesus gave them a sign. One that should have invited attention, interest, and further research and discovery. Sometimes we may wonder why Jesus did not directly answer their demand for a sign. The answer is, as Lenski states on page 213 of his book,
This is unbelief that demands a sign. Whenever unbelief asks for a sign to convince itself, it does so only in order to reject every sign that could be given it, save one.
That one sign was the resurrection of Jesus. It too, save for a very few, was rejected by the Jewish leaders. That rejection was the root cause for the destruction of the very Temple they were in.
The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
There is a principle here that should be noticed. Often we may not fully understand a prophecy dealing with future events. We may say to ourselves, “How can this happen”, or “What does this mean?” Rather than reject the biblical statement, we should keep it in our minds so that when the predicted event does happen, we can, as the disciples did, remember the statement and believe.
When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple,” He meant the temple of His body. God’s presence was what made the temple sacred. Now in the God-man, Immanuel who is God with us, was the center of worship. As Jesus states in Matthew,
But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here (Mt. 12:6).
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
Other than the cleansing of the temple, John does not describe the signs Jesus was doing. “Was doing” is imperfect, durative, indicating that Jesus was continually doing signs. This would agree with the end of John’s Gospel where he says,
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written (Jn. 21:25).
But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
Jesus did not entrust Himself to people who were only dazzled by the signs He performed. “Entrusting” is durative, indicating that at the time specified He was not entrusting Himself to them. By “entrusting” we should probably think of “knowing” as in a personal relationship, a saving relationship. Jesus here is saying that a mere belief—recognition—of a supernatural sign was not enough for saving faith, rather only those who are honest in heart and have a real desire to know His truth and Himself as Savior, will be ushered into His saving presence. Faith in signs alone, as we will see when we get to chapter 6, is often momentary and may quickly fade away. The carnal heart may see a sign and then want more signs. The desire is to witness the supernatural, rather than submit in repentance and faith to the Savior. Jesus knew what was in the heart. Further, He knew what was in the heart of all men.
Application
This section teaches us a number of things. First, we should make a distinction between the common and the sacred. Second, there is an important lesson for those of us in ministry who deal with finances. God will not bless us unless we work with integrity, not only in the way we represent the Word of God but also in the way we provide transparency and honesty in all matters. Third, God knows our heart and if there is dishonesty, in any area, in any Christian, He will deal with it. Fourth, some people are enamored by the supernatural. While God may at times use what we believe to be a miraculous event, we are not to seek after signs, rather we are to seek after our Lord and know His will derived from a careful study of His word.
Prayer
Father, search my heart and show me how to get to know you better. Guide my study of your word. May I always use funds to glorify your name. May I live my life knowing that you know my thoughts from afar. Come into the temple of my soul, and make me after your image, your character of love and justice.
In Jesus name.
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