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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.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
- John 2:13-25
Yesterday we read that after Jesus' choosing of His first disciples, and travel to Galilee, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "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!" This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
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." In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) this event takes place at the end of Jesus' ministry. John places it here, at the beginning, after the wedding in Cana. Certain Church Fathers teach that Jesus cleansed the temple twice. Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices. The money changers would trade Roman coins for Jewish coins -- Caesar's image on the Roman was considered defiling in the temple. My study bible points out that this occasion teaches us about the difference between a material-minded life and the way that the life of the Church should be; it mirrors the temple that is each of our bodies (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). It notes that "it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters."
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. My study bible tells us: "Since Jesus is not a Levitical priest, His authority to cleanse the temple is challenged. The term Jews in John's Gospel often refers specifically to the leaders; in this case, it refers to the chief priests and the elders (see Matt. 21:23). As Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He answers in a hidden way: the ultimate sign will be His death and Resurrection."
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. A note teaches that John reports three Passover feasts between the Lord's Baptism and His Passion (note also 6:4; 11:55). This shows that His earthly ministry lasted three years.
It is important that we understand that Jesus' act of cleansing the temple, here in the beginning of His ministry in John's Gospel, is an act of authority. It's a statement about His place, His role. He has no earthly confirmation of that place. He doesn't have a title, nor a "conventional" education. He was not the student of a famous rabbi, so He has no "currency" so to speak, with the authorities who now question Him. So, what this episode does is invite us in to consider the question that the temple authorities raise to Him: "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" They need to be convinced somehow. But, in the end, it really won't matter how many signs Jesus does, because their desire isn't really to test Jesus and find the kind of truth about Him that requires spiritual discernment. Just like the practices in the temple that Jesus cleanses, their minds are more on earthly authority -- and no proof short of some form of force or coercion will do in that place. Jesus points merely to His Resurrection, and in a cryptic way -- which will later be turned against Him in order to construe a charge for which He could be put to death. There's a great hint here in response as John tells us about what happens at the first Passover in His Gospel: He did not commit Himself to those who saw His signs, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. This is the power of discernment in Christ, who is the heart-knower. It is something for which we are immediately set a great example. It's not by force or coercion or even the revelation of signs that faith comes; it's a much deeper, stronger, and "inexplicable" decision. It doesn't come by a rational analysis of proofs and it doesn't come by force or compulsion of any kind -- not by great feats that dazzle (in the Old Testament, the priests of Egypt could do some pretty impressive feats on that score), nor even by popular opinion. Faith is a response in the heart, an impulse that is there even before we understand it somehow, and one that plays itself out throughout our lives as we become more aware and more devoted as we mature in that faith. In the end, faith is a kind of love, a deep longing to join this Bridegroom, an awareness that this is something we need -- and so much more of a mystery beyond all that. It's not a commodity to be bought and sold, but one that works out of love. Most powerfully, it is about entrusting oneself to others. This is the meaning also of the gospel when it reads that "Jesus did not commit Himself to them." He would not entrust Himself to them. What signs teach us about love and the heart and the soul? How do the sheep know the Shepherd's voice - the One who truly loves them, to whom they can entrust themselves?
