Sep 25 2024 27 mins 2
Jesus Cleanses the Temple: Understanding His Authority (John 2:13-25)
Jesus cleanses the temple, provoking the leaders to demand a sign of his authority. No one understood his answer until later.
Review
The thesis of John’s gospel is the only way to gain eternal life in the kingdom of heaven is to believe Jesus is the Christ. John chose certain aspects of the ministry of Jesus to highlight certain themes.
* Theme 1: The importance of testimony. Why should we believe what we haven’t seen for ourselves? We believe because of the testimony of those who saw it.
* Theme 2: The only way to receive eternal life is to believe in Jesus. What’s the point of all this testimony? That we believe in Jesus. Why is believing in Jesus so important? Because he’s the only one who can grant us eternal life.
* Theme 3: Those who believe do so because of the activity of the Spirit of God. We don’t manufacture belief. The Spirit gives it to us.
* First story: Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel follow Jesus based on John The Baptist's testimony.
* Second story: Jesus turns the water into wine, reinforcing the disciples' belief.
* Third Story (Today's Focus): Jesus cleanses the Temple.
Jesus Cleanses the Historical Setting
* John places this event early in Jesus’ ministry. Other gospels record Jesus cleansing the temple during the last week of his life. Jesus cleanses the temple twice.
* Jewish pilgrims needed to exchange coins and valuables for the livestock required for the sacrifice they wished to offer. Money changers grew as a thriving business to meet this need.
* The money changers set up their marketplace on the temple grounds.
Jesus’ Zeal for God’s House (Psalm 69)
* "Zeal for your house will consume me," is from Psalm 69.9
* Zeal for God’s house had negative consequences for David.
* Likewise, zeal for God’s house had negative consequences for Jesus.
* The religious authorities want to kill him, and eventually they succeed.
* After the resurrection, the disciples see the parallel.
Reaction of the Jewish Leaders
* The Jewish leaders demand to know what gives Jesus the right to cleanse the temple.
* Jesus speaks metaphorically about raising "this temple" after three days, referring to His resurrection.
* The leaders misunderstand, and Jesus doesn’t explain.
* After the resurrection, the disciples recall these words and understand what Jesus meant.
* Recalling this event strengthens their faith and understanding that Jesus knew his mission all along.
A Note of Caution
* Sincere, committed faith takes more than being impressed by miracles.
* Many believed because of signs, but not all belief was genuine.
* John explores this theme next.
Next: 07 Nicodemus: You must be born again (John 3:1-13)
Previous: 05 Jesus Turns Water into Wine (John 2:1-12)
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