06 Jesus Cleanses the Temple: Understanding His Authority (John 2:13-25)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome back to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Today is the sixth talk in our series on the Gospel of John. We'll be looking at John chapter 2, verses 13 through 25. I'm so glad you joined us. We're continuing in our big picture series on the Gospel of John today. I have been arguing that the fundamental assertion of the book of John is that eternal life comes to those who believe the testimony that Jesus is the Christ. But belief is not simple and straightforward. John is exploring the complicated set of issues which surround belief. As we've talked about, John's gospel focuses on three related themes. First, the importance of testimony. We believe because of the testimony of those who were eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus. Second, believing in Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life. The point of all that testimony is that we believe in Jesus, and it's important we believe because Jesus is the only one who can grant us eternal life. And the third theme we've seen is the necessity of being born again or baptized with the Spirit. John contrasts those who believe with those who don't believe, and the difference between them is the activity of the Spirit of God. Today we're going to look at the third of three stories that involve the first disciples of Jesus. These are the men who will eventually become the twelve apostles. Two weeks ago we looked at the first of the three stories where Jesus calls his disciples. We saw Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel, and John himself believe because of the testimony of John the Baptist. Then their belief is strengthened through Jesus' miraculous knowledge of Nathaniel. Then in the second story, these disciples see Jesus turn the water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Whatever else is going on with that miracle, John is most interested in the fact that the disciples believed in Jesus as a result. They are now further convinced that they are following the right man and Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. The original disciples who became the twelve apostles serve as eyes and ears for you and me and for all believers throughout church history. John wants us to know how they became so convinced that Jesus is the Christ. In his gospel, John focuses on the relationship between testimony and belief, and the apostles play a very important part in that relationship. They see firsthand the evidence that Jesus is the Christ. They are role models of people who respond to that evidence, that testimony with belief. And it is their testimony, ultimately, that you and I must believe. We didn't see the life of Jesus firsthand, we rely on their testimony, and these three stories tell us how the disciples came to believe and why they're so convinced. Let's look at the third story. We'll start with John chapter two verses twelve through sixteen. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and stayed there for a few days. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting there, and making a whip of cords, he 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 he told those who sold the pigeons, take these things away, do not make my father's house a house of trade. This little story has been the subject of much debate in church history. In John's telling, following the miracle at the wedding, Jesus goes to Capernaum, and a few days later he travels to Jerusalem for the Passover, where he cleanses the temple. So John tells us this cleansing of the temple occurred early in the ministry of Jesus. But the other three Gospels describe the cleansing of the temple as an event which happened in the last week of Jesus' earthly life. So what's going on there? Well, if we were doing a detailed study, we'd get into the various theories that have been proposed and we'd sort out the evidence between them and make a decision. For the purposes of this big picture study, I'm just going to tell you what I've concluded. Without getting into a lot of the details and the arguments, I think the best way, the simplest way actually, to understand the situation is that Jesus cleansed the temple twice, once in his early ministry, and again in the last week of his earthly life. Now, if you listen to my introduction, you're familiar with how John organizes the story of Jesus differently than the other three Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell the story in two parts. The first part they focus on the ministry of Jesus in Galilee, and they all tell the story of Peter confessing that Jesus is the Christ, and after that confession, they begin part two, which is Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, culminating with his death, resurrection, and ascension. John uses a different structure. He includes many small side trips that Jesus made to Jerusalem before the final triumphal entry. For their purposes, Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not include these side trips, and since they didn't include these side trips, they also would not include the events which happened on those side trips, like this first cleansing of the temple. Given the different goals and purposes of the authors, I think it makes perfect sense that the other three Gospels omit this incident. However, some people are upset by this idea of duplication, they're bothered by the idea that Jesus did something twice and they reject that explanation because of it. I would argue back, repetition is the mark of a teacher. I find myself teaching the same ideas over and over again because the same themes come up repeatedly in many different books of the Bible. Pick your favorite teacher. If you wander through the bulk of their teaching, I'll bet you discover they often give the same message more than once. I don't think it's stretching things at all to claim that Jesus cleansed the temple twice during his earthly ministry. In fact, given human nature, it's difficult for me to imagine that the first cleansing solved the problem. I suspect after Jesus left town, it wasn't very long before all the tables were upright once more and the money changers were back in business. It doesn't surprise me that when he came back later the money changers were back in their usual spots. So let's move on to the heart of the story. What provokes Jesus to cleanse the temple? Many Jews didn't live in Jerusalem or in Judea. They lived around the Mediterranean in various places. Some people lived quite a distance from Jerusalem. At least once in their lifetime, Jews were expected to travel to Jerusalem during one of the feasts or festivals and make sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. To make the various offerings, you needed various livestock. Well you could imagine traveling with a live animal in those days was difficult and slow, especially on a long walking trip. Instead, pilgrims converted their livestock to wealth, like coins, pearls, or other valuables, things they could travel with easily. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they used those valuables to buy whatever animal they wanted for whatever sacrifice they wanted to make. Now once in Jerusalem they might encounter another problem, the region they lived in might use a different kind of coinage than what Jerusalem used. For example, Galilee was under a different Roman ruler than Judea and Galilee used different coins. Also, the temple authorities were very particular about what kind of coins were acceptable and what coins were not. The temple authorities only wanted currency of the purest silver. You can see how money changers would thrive in that kind of situation. The money changers would take whatever impure coins the pilgrims had and exchange them for the silver coins required by the temple authorities and also sell them the required livestock, keeping a commission for themselves, of course. So far so good, but over time the money changing system became a thriving marketplace. I think the critical words here are in verse 214 where he says in the temple, the oxen, the sheep, the doves, and so forth, they were being bought and sold on the temple grounds. I suspect that if the money changers had set up shop on a nearby hill, maybe across the Kidron Valley or someplace, Jesus would have left them alone. Instead, they converted the outer court of the temple, the Gentile court, into a marketplace and a currency exchange. Imagine trying to worship and offer your sacrifices when you're surrounded by the sound of bleeding animals, stomping hooves, and voices calling and haggling in an open marketplace. Jesus is outraged by the way God's house has been trivialized, so he fashions a whip to drive out the animals and he turns over the tables and scatters the coins of the money changers. Why is this event important to John? Well John tells us in 217. His disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house will consume me. Now for a long time I misunderstood this verse. The typical translation is Zeal for your house will consume me. And in my early study, I didn't go back and look at where it's written in the Old Testament, so I understood that in the sense we use the word consume today. So I thought Jesus was consumed with jealousy, like I might say, I'm consumed with curiosity or I'm consumed with fear. I assume this verse meant that zeal for God's house had totally and passionately filled his mind. But when you look at the context of Psalm sixty nine, that's not what that verse is saying. In Psalm sixty nine, David is lamenting the results that have befallen him because he follows God. Let me read Psalm sixty nine six through nine. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts, let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Verse nine of Psalm sixty nine is the verse the disciples remembered. This Psalm is written in Hebrew poetry. The main feature of Hebrew poetry is parallelism. Each idea is written in a paired parallel line, and the two lines work together to complete the meaning. Oftentimes the two lines mean the same thing. For example, the first line might be my mother's son hates me, and the second line might be my brother despises me. Those two lines mean basically the same thing and you have to put them together to get the full idea. Look at the two lines in Psalm sixty nine nine. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Those two statements, zeal for your house has consumed or devoured me, and the reproach of those who reproach you has fallen on me, are in parallel. They're meant to be taken together, they're meant to complete one meaning. In the second line, there's this ironic twist. The enemies of God want to reproach God, but they can't get at him, so their reproaches fall on David instead. David follows God, these people hate God, so they hate David, and they take it out on David because David follows God. So they're shooting at God, but David's the one getting hit. The zeal line, I think, is meant to restate that same idea. If we translate the word consume as devour, I think the parallelism becomes more clear. Zeal for your house has devoured me. My zeal for your house has the same negative consequences. Those who hate your house hate me, and this Hebrew word often has this sense of consumed, devoured, or destroyed. Zeal for God's house ended up having the same kind of negative consequences for Jesus. The religious authorities want to kill him, and eventually they will succeed. John's comment is that's what the disciples remember. The story's over now. Jesus has been executed and resurrected. Now the disciples have seen how the story played out, they think back to this event early in his ministry, and they put it in context of now everything they've learned about Jesus and what he came to do. As they recall this event in the ministry of Jesus, they remember this lament that David made. David had zeal for God's house. That zeal led to devastation for David at the hands of his enemies. And they look back and say, the same thing happened to Jesus. And you can see why they might be thinking about this as they look back on the life of Jesus. Here Jesus is at God's house in the temple. He's throwing down the tables, he's driving out the animals, he's creating all the chaos, and that provokes the religious authorities. At the time, the disciples were probably thinking, uh-oh, the priests and leaders are not going to like this, they're going to be really mad, they're going to be outraged that Jesus is doing this, and we're going to get in a lot of trouble. And in fact, they do. This kind of provoking the leadership in Jerusalem is what ultimately led to Jesus' crucifixion. This is one of those events that turned the Jewish leadership against Jesus. And we can see that because John dwells on their reaction. John is interested in how the disciples reacted to this event and how the Jewish leadership reacted. Let me read the rest of the story and you can see how that plays out. I'm going to start in 217. His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me. So the Jews said to him, What sign do you show us for doing these things? Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said, It's taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had spoken this, and they believed the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. Jesus makes this scene. It provokes the leaders. The leaders come to him and say, Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to overturn the tables and drive out the animals? We want to see a sign from God that gives you the authority to take this action, because only God Himself could give you the right to come into the temple and upset everything. And Jesus says, You want a sign? I'll give you a sign. Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. The Jewish leadership is angry, they're dismissive of him. I suspect he knew they wouldn't believe any sign he gave them. So he gives them a kind of riddle, a kind of metaphor, and he says, Destroy this temple and I'll raise it in three days, by which he meant, kill me and in three days God will raise me again. You want a sign that I have the right to do this? You're going to kill me, but God will raise me up as proof that I am the Messiah. Now remember, John has set the stage by saying the disciples remembered this verse, zeal for your house will destroy me. This angry response is exactly what the disciples were afraid of at the time. They were worried that Jesus is provoking the powers that be, and that is going to turn out badly for him. Jesus says, You want a sign, kill me, and in three days I will rise again. Well, killing him is exactly what the disciples are afraid of. Now, naturally, because they're standing in the temple, the Jewish leaders are going to think literally, not metaphorically, and they say, Well, that's a safe sign to say you'll give. If you destroy this temple, you'll raise it up in three days, because of course we're not going to destroy the temple, just to see if you can rebuild it. Besides, it took 46 years to build this temple. Rebuilding it in three days is impossible. They misunderstand Jesus doesn't explain. He's not ready to reveal that part of the plan yet. But in the end, we know that's exactly what happened. The Jewish leaders and the Romans destroyed the temple of Jesus' body, and three days later God raised him up. And what he said to them in this context is exactly what ended up happening. It's only in retrospect that the disciples looked back and they put all the pieces together. I don't think Jesus expected anybody to understand what he was saying at the moment he said it, but he knew this would be a lesson that his disciples would learn eventually, they just weren't ready to understand it yet. But later the disciples would look back and understand. This event would be another piece of evidence that confirmed their belief. It's also interesting that Jesus displays so much courage in this situation. He's taken this provocative and disruptive action. The powers that be are angry and upset, they can bring down the force of Rome on him. But he doesn't back down. He doesn't say, wait, I can explain, don't take it wrong. Instead, he says something nobody there will understand at the moment he says it. Even his disciples had no idea what he was talking about. Yet he's so completely confident in the plan of God that he can speak with utter courage and conviction. He knows the authorities aren't going to harm him yet, that's not part of God's plan. He can act boldly, he can speak in riddles, he doesn't have to explain himself. He knows God's plan will be done, and he can trust God no matter how angry the leaders get. Similarly, he knows the disciples won't really get it right now. They won't understand the significance of this event. He knows they'll be confused on the day it happened, but one day they will get it. God has them in his plans too, and when the time is right, they will look back, they will understand, and they will believe. And that's exactly what happened. After the resurrection, his disciples remembered he had said this thing about being raised after three days, and they put all the pieces together. He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up, and after three days he rose from the dead, and now the disciples realize Jesus was talking about himself. He knew early on that he was the Messiah. And what's the significance of all of this as John tells the story? Look at 222. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed of the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. The disciples believed the scripture, they believed the words of Jesus. They had this experience with Jesus, and that experience reinforced their confidence that Jesus is the Messiah. This event is one more piece of evidence for them, and they believe. Why are they so confident that Jesus of Nazareth, who died on the cross and was resurrected is the Messiah? Well, here's another reason. Jesus knew he had the authority of the Messiah, and he could throw out the money changers. As Messiah, it was his right to clear the temple. Further, he knew from the beginning that as Messiah he was going to die, and God would resurrect him. And the disciples saw that. They have evidence that Jesus knew who he was, knew what was going to happen to him, knew the plan of God in advance, and once they'd seen the whole plan, they remembered and understood, and it reinforced their belief. Now John gives us a note of caution. Up until now we've seen this pattern of testimony and belief, miraculous sign and belief. But belief is not always simple and straightforward. Sometimes belief is not genuine, it's not what it appears to be. Let's look at verses twenty three through twenty five. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. With the next story, John changes tone. Author John is going to start exploring the nature of belief. These three little verses set the stage for that change. While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover feast, he did many other signs, people saw him perform those signs, and many people believed. Well, at this point, it would be easy for Jesus to get all excited. Look, all these people are believing in me. This is great. The crowds are interested. I'm popular. Momentum is building. Look at this great big initial response. But Jesus did not entrust himself to them. He did not assume that they were really on his side. He did not assume they had genuine saving faith. Because he knows what people are like. People are fickle. People can get excited by seeing a miracle and then turn and walk away. People can be drawn by the miracles, but ultimately refuse to believe. Just look at the story of the Exodus. God did miracle after miracle for that generation, and ultimately the people grumbled, got to the edge of the Promised Land, and said, Let's kill Moses and go back to Egypt. Later in John, we'll read about how many disciples quit and stopped following him because they didn't like something he said. Another example, eleven of the original twelve disciples developed into men of mature and stable faith, but one of those twelve betrayed Jesus and ended up committing suicide. Jesus knows that sincere, committed, genuine saving faith takes more than just being impressed by a miracle. And John is going to start exploring that theme in the next story. Is initial excitement and interest enough to qualify as belief? No. Belief requires something more, and we'll see that explored next. But first, let's review the themes we've seen in the last three stories. The original disciples serve as eyes and ears for all believers throughout church history. John is explaining to us how they became so convinced that Jesus is the Christ. In fact, they become so convinced that Jesus is the Christ that all except John would eventually suffer and be martyred because of their faith. John wants us to have confidence in their testimony, so he traces the progress of their belief. John is explaining how the disciples came to know that Jesus is the Christ. First, they're drawn to Jesus by the testimony of John the Baptist. Prophet John said, God told me how to recognize the Messiah, and the Messiah is Jesus. The sign happened when I baptized Jesus. Then they saw Jesus' miraculous knowledge of Nathaniel, and Author John tells us they believed. A few days later, the disciples see Jesus turn water into wine at a wedding. God testifies that Jesus is the Messiah through this supernatural event, and again they believe. Then they see Jesus cast the money changers out of the temple. When the leaders confront Jesus, demanding to know what gives him the right to do this, Jesus said he would perform a sign. If the Jewish leaders destroyed the temple, he would raise it up in three days. After the resurrection, the disciples remember this event, they remember what Jesus said, they realize he was talking about a great sign, he was talking about the temple of his body, and they realize he knew early on that as Messiah He was going to be executed and resurrected. They now understand what he was getting at back then. And what's the result? They have all the more confidence, they have all the more belief that Jesus is who he said he is. So the disciples had testimony from the prophet John the Baptist, they have seen several miracles firsthand, and they have the words of Jesus demonstrating his understanding of who he was and what he came to do. During the wedding, he implied that his hour had not yet come, that hour when he's glorified as Messiah. It was not yet then, but it will come. He audaciously takes it upon himself to defend the purity of his father's house by vigorously disrupting the merchants in the temple, and there he hints that he would be executed and resurrected. This is the picture we've seen so far of this man whom the disciples are coming to believe is the Messiah, and this is their testimony to us. John is telling us these things because each of us has to decide for ourselves whether or not we will believe their testimony. You've been listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. My mission is to explain not only what a passage means, but how we figure it out. The blog version of this episode is on the link below this podcast, or go to wednesdayintheword.com slash John 6. If you've been blessed by this podcast, please support the show by subscribing and leaving a positive rating on your favorite podcast platform. But most importantly, tell a friend what you learned and where you learned it. Our theme music is graciously provided by my friend and favorite musician Reggie Coates. You can find all of his music at heartfeltmusic.org. If you want to find out more about Bible study or hear all the episodes in this series, please go to wednesdayintheword.com. Thank you so much for listening today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.