Posts
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
Yesterday, we read about 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." My study bible explains that those who sold oxen and sheep and doves were trading in live animals that would be used for sacrifices. The money changers traded Roman coins for Jewish; Roman coins bore the image of Caesar and were considered defiling the temple. It suggests that this cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be "kept from earthly pursuits." It says, "As each person is considered a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters." In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) this event happens at the beginning of Holy Week, which is the last week of Jesus' ministry on earth. John's however, places it here, at the beginning. There are those Fathers, among them John Chrysostom, who teach that these are two separate events in which Jesus performed the cleansing of the temple. If that is so, it teaches us something of the significance of this event and its central meaning to Christ's ministry. The quotation of Scripture is from Psalm 69:9. Again, in the significance of the act is Christ's fulfillment of the images of the Old Testament.
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 explains that since Jesus isn't a Levitical priest, His authority to cleanse the temple is challenged here. In John's Gospel, use of the term "Jews" indicates most often specifically the religious leadership. It is used somewhat as one would use a name for a political party, reflecting historical realities of John's time in which persecution became fierce for those who followed Christ. Here, it refers to the chief priests and elders. My study bible says, "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." In the earlier verses, the disciples recall Old Testament Scripture fulfilled in Jesus. Here, Jesus Himself is prophetic, and they will remember after His Resurrection.
In today's passage there is a lot of "fulfillment" happening. We get a sense of what prophecy does and is, and how prophecy is embodied in Christ and in the moments of His ministry. Here there are two prophecies fulfilled: one from the Psalms (69:9) and the other directly from the spoken word of Jesus: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." It's not quite clear to me exactly when the disciples reflected upon the Psalms and Jesus' fulfillment of this Scripture. Did it happen immediately? Perhaps they discussed it among themselves. But we're given a clear timeline regarding Jesus' direct saying about destroying the temple: it's when He had risen from the dead that His disciples remembered this saying. Either way, we get a sense of what the word of God is all about, and how fulfillment of this word works, how prophecy works. If we consider the entire body of Scripture the word of God then we have a sense of how Jesus -- as the personal human incarnation of the Word -- is at work. Whether written by David or the Prophets, it's the Word that has spoken through them, via the Holy Spirit. As it's said in the Creed, "He has spoken through the Prophets." St. Peter writes that "prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (see 2 Peter 1:19-21). So, in the end, we have a kind of seamless reality that permeates everything, and is not measured by time but rather works through it. In other words, the reality spoken of by one Prophet, or another word of Scripture, or the words of Christ Himself, works as a sort of seamless whole. Each complements the other, and in Christ it is all fulfilled. Perhaps it also lends itself to the understanding that in the life of Jesus Christ (as told by the Gospels) new things are always being revealed to us now, in the fulfillment of His Church, and His work in the world via the Spirit and the promise of the Kingdom that is near to us. Whatever way we wish to think of the Word, we have to remember that life as lived via this ministry is about a Kingdom that goes through all things, and meanings and values that come to us regardless of time. Even in the present moment, everything is relevant -- but we need that window in which we look with the eyes of those who see and the ears of those who hear: capable of discernment in spiritual terms. In that way, there is nothing that is irrelevant, but rather, everything holds the promise of the Word. Can we hear today what this cleansing of the temple is all about? Let's remember the reference to the fact that we ourselves are temples of the Holy Spirit. How best do we cultivate a clearer discernment? This Lent, what do we need to "clean up" that gets in the way? Let's think about His example, in this first Passover reported by John, and His last in Holy Week. Where is our zeal?
