Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken 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. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

- John 2:13-22

In yesterdays' reading, we read of Jesus' first miracle or sign in the Gospel of John. Jesus, His disciples and His mother were at a wedding at Cana in Galilee. It may have been the wedding of a relative. During the wedding feast, the party ran out of wine, and Jesus' mother told her son about this. Jesus asked what that has to do with Him and her - His hour has not yet come. But nevertheless, she confidently instructed the servants to do whatever He asked. He told them to fill the stone waterpots with water - and then to take some out to the master of the feast. When the master had tasted it, he said to the bridegroom, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!"

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In today's reading, we have the second great act of Jesus' public ministry. Yesterday, we read of the first sign, or miracle - turning the water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Today, during Passover, Jesus cleanses the temple. In the synoptic Gospels, this incident is reported during Holy Week, but in John's Gospel it takes place right away, after His first sign. St. John Chrysostom considered that this incident took place twice - at the beginning and at the end of Jesus' public ministry. My study bible notes that Jesus performs His miracles during the major Jewish feasts, thereby demonstrating that the Old Law is fulfilled in Jesus Himself. It notes that, by transferring this incident to the beginning of Jesus' ministry, John's Gospel teaches that Jesus is not merely a prophet of the Old Testament, renewing the Old Covenant, but initiating an altogether new type of worship. At any rate, we "begin," after Jesus' identity is established with a sign, with the old, the Passover - which is also where we will end in Holy Week, before Jesus' great catharsis of His Passion.

And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" The cleansing of the temple takes place against the backdrop of the commercialism of the Passover festival. It is clear that Jesus is not there to destroy the Old, but to renew it - and to save it from the corruption of those who would use it for their selfish purposes. Over and over again, Jesus will insist that He has come to fulfill and not destroy. This catharsis is an important image for our journey in Lent. What is it that we need to cleanse from ourselves? What attachments do we build up that get in the way of the purity of our relationship to and worship of God? What obstacles do we cling to?

Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." It is important that we tie in the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Old Testament with the acts of Jesus; in this sense, we - as did His disciples - come to understand Him better. He is as He said, the fulfillment of the Old Prophecy; in Himself He is what is awaited and more. He gives the needed new perspective to the old understanding. Over and over again, the Scriptures will work in this way: in the "new" events of Jesus' life and ministry, the "old" Scripture will be better understood. This verse is from Psalm 69:9. And it is clear that it is the love of the House of God that prompts His acts - He has come to fulfill and not destroy, to make new.

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken 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. It's important to understand that, for the most part, when John's Gospel speaks of "the Jews" it is referring to the Jewish leadership. Here, the authorities in the temple question His behavior and His authority to act as He did. It is the act only of a Messiah, someone with such authority. This is why they ask for a sign. Prophecy about the temple itself is linked to the identity of the Messiah; after its destruction, expectation of its re-establishment would be linked to the coming of the Messiah and his victory. But Jesus teaches here about His understanding of temple, and our understanding of the Body of Christ. He speaks of the sign of His authority, and the establishment of His kingdom and His victory.

Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Again, we understand the reading of a sign and of prophecy through the life and ministry of Jesus. His disciples will understand His words only after the Resurrection, and the Church will establish itself in this sense of the renewal of understanding and worship and the victory of His kingdom.

Ponder, if you will, the layers of meaning that are in prophecy and in all Scripture. And if we look at Jesus' life and ministry, we will see layer upon layer of meaning, as we are drawn into its understanding and its power. The grace of the Spirit means that we are invited in - to this mystery, to Jesus' life, to the understanding of worship, to layer upon layer of meaning and value. And there is always more. This sign of the cleansing of the temple is not a sign like one of the seven miracles He will perform in this Gospel, but it is nevertheless a kind of sign. It is a sign of the Messiah and the initiation of the age in which we currently live. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." It is His to raise, His to cleanse and renew. The power of His life will continue to feed us with His bread, through renewal of understanding and faith, just as it did His disciples. In today's lesson, what do you read for yourself? What needs cleansing and renewal in you? Are you ready to be drawn in, and to understand anew, afresh? Are you ready to see your faith with new eyes, and the fulfillment of a promise?