Jesus Cleansing the Temple at Passover Time

John 2:12-25

 

INTRO: This passage of scripture teaches that Jesus had an all-consuming zeal to make the temple at fitting place for worship, a fitting place for communion with God the Father.  Just as the temple needed to be cleansed to make it a fitting place of worship, the heart of man needs to be cleansed from the defilement of sin to make it fit for fellowship with God.

 

I.        VS 12, A SHORT STAY AT CAPERNAUM

A.       This verse is a parenthesis between the marriage feast at Cana of Galilee and the cleansing of the temple.

B.       From the higher ground of Cana, Jesus, his mother Mary, His brothers (Mk 6:3), and his disciples go down to the lakeside town of Capernaum.

1. Note that the brethren of Jesus were with Him.  Jesus also had sisters (Mt 13:55-56).

2. The perpetual virginity of Mary is contradicted by scripture.

C.      “They continued there not many days.”

1. Capernaum would be the headquarters of the Lord’s ministry from this time until the end of his earthly ministry.

2. Nazareth had rejected him (Lk 4:22).

 

II.       VSS 13-17, THE ZEAL OF JESUS FOR HIS FATHER’S HOUSE

A.       Vs 13, What is referred to as the “Lord’s Passover” in Exodus 12:11 is now called “the Passover of the Jews.”  What should have been a time of joyous fellowship with God had become a ritual.  Spiritually, they had no wine (2:3).

1. The Passover was at hand.  The Passover was celebrated to remind the Jews of how God delivered them from death and Egyptian bondage through the blood.

a. During Passover, a lamb without spot and without blemish was taken and killed on the fourteenth day between three and six o’clock in the afternoon.

b. The one that the Passover speaks of was in their midst and they did not recognize Him (1:26).

1- Jesus Christ is our Passover, our Lamb (I Cor 5:7).

2- He is the Lamb without spot or blemish (I Pet 1:18-20).

2. Jesus went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover as required of all Jewish males twelve years old and older.

B.       Vs 14, Jesus enters the temple and sees that the court of the Gentiles has been turned into a stockyard.

1. In the court of the Gentiles, the sheep were bleating, the cattle were lowing, and the stench filled the air.

2. The money changers had their tables set up in the court of the Gentiles to change Roman coins with an effigy of Caesar on them to Jewish money which could be used in the temple.

a. These money changers were involved in a religious racket; they cheated the people when they exchanged Roman coins for Jewish coins.

b. The house of prayer had become a den of thieves (Isa 56:7; Mk 11:17).

3. The house of prayer should have been a spiritual place, instead it had become a carnal, cold, and callous place.

C.      Vs 15, Jesus made a whip out of pieces of rope, abundant because of the many animals tied up there.  The temple needed to be cleansed, and Jesus was cleansing it.

1. He drove out the sheep, the oxen, cattle dealers, and the money changers.  See Matt. 21:12 for an account of the second cleansing of the temple.

2. Many churches today need to be cleansed of unscriptural practices.  The church is to be supported by tithes and offerings.

a. The worship service is to be glorifying to God, not man.

b. The music of worship should draw us closer to God.

3. Not only do churches need to be cleansed so that we can worship properly, but our homes need to be cleansed.  If we have homes that are not spiritually clean, this will affect the worship service of the church.

a. Satan exercises power over homes and churches through evil things.  The work of God is hindered when our homes are not clean (Acts 19:19-20).  God works mightily when they are clean.

b. We are to cleanse our homes of all abominable things (Deut 7:25-26).

c. We need clean hearts and clean minds (Rm 12:1-2; II Cor 10:4-5).

D.      Vs 16, Jesus told those that sold doves: “Take these things hence.”  Jesus wanted these things out of His house.  He drove out the sheep and cattle, but had them carry the doves out.  The cattle and sheep could be easily recovered, but the doves would have flown away.

1. Jesus called the temple “my Father’s house.”  He identifies Himself with his “Father’s house,” the temple.

a. He emphasizes His deity.  Only Christ could call the temple “my Father’s house.”

b. Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Moses never called the tabernacle “my Father’s house.”  Solomon never called the temple “my Father’s house.”  Jesus did so because it is His “Father’s house.”

c. When He cleansed the temple, He was exercising “His right as the Father’s only begotten Son” (Hendriksen 123).

2. Just as the temple had to be clean for worship, so do we.  Let us allow God to search our hearts and see if there are any wicked ways in us.

a. God does not want us to be caught up in materialism.  Our lives are not to become “a house of merchandise.”

1- Mt 6:33  Seek ye first the kingdom of God– not material things.

2- A man’s life does not consist in the things that he owns; his life’s purpose is to serve God.

b. Realize that your life is no longer your own; if you are saved, it belongs to God ( I Cor 6:19-20).

1- Stay clean morally.

2- Stay clean spiritually– our theology determines our morals.

E.       Vs 17, As the disciples watched the Lord Jesus cleanse the temple, they were reminded of Psalm 69:9.

1. Jesus had great zeal because He wanted the temple to be a house of prayer, a place of worship.

2. Jesus desires that our lives be filled with prayer and worship.  Jesus wants to fellowship with us.

 

III.      VSS 18-22, THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS FORETOLD

A.       Vs 18, The sign that they required had already been given.

1. According to scripture (Mal 3:1-3), the cleansing was in itself a sign.  What more did they need.

2. The reason that the request of the Jewish authorities was wrong was because it was a result of their being unwilling to admit guilt.  They should have agreed with Jesus and His action.

a. Because they did not admit guilt, they became bitter and eventually crucified Jesus.

b. If you and I do not admit guilt, if we rebel against the actions of God in our lives, we will become bitter and people will be hurt.

B.       Vs 19, The word “destroy” is the Greek word luo which means “to untie.”

1. This is a veiled message.  Jesus was not speaking about the temple building.  He was referring to His own body.

2. The Jewish authorities were spiritually blind (Mt 13:13) and could not understand as is seen in verse 20.

C.      Vs 20, The temple at this time was Herod’s temple and was still in the process of being built.  It had been being built for 46 years.

D.      Vs 21, Jesus said in verse 10: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

1. “Raise it up” is the Greek word egeiro meaning “to wake up,” and refers to awakening form the dead.

2. Egeiro speaks of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

E.       Vs 22, It was not until the resurrection that the disciples understood what Jesus had said in verse 19.

1. The belief spoken here is not salvation, but belief in what the Old Testament scriptures teach about the suffering of Christ, the death of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ.

2. The Holy Spirit brought Christ’s words to remembrance (Jn 14:26).

 

IV.      VSS 23-25, MIRACLES AND BELIEF

A.       Vs 23, The faith spoken of here is not saving faith, but merely intellectual assent to the miracles that they saw.

B.       Vs 24, Jesus did not commit Himself to these folks because Jesus knows the hearts of men.