Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!

 

 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 that, on the sixth day given of seven in John's Gospel, telling the story of the beginning of Christ's public ministry, 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. Today's reading gives us the story of the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem.  In the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, this event occurs at the end of Christ's ministry.  But John places it at the beginning, which sets a strong tone for the Gospel.  My study Bible notes that some patristic commentary holds that Christ performed this act twice.   John's Gospel gives us three occasions on which Jesus participates in the Passover festival during Jesus' ministry, teaching us that His ministry lasted three years.  

 

 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."  Those who sold oxen and sheep and doves were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers would trade Roman coins for Jewish coins, since Roman coins bore the image of Ceasar and were considered to be defiling in the temple.  John gives us the detail that Jesus made a whip of cords, giving us an image of His decisive and strong action here.  It is also here in John's account that we're told the disciples remembered the words of the Psalm:  "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up" (Psalm 69:9), also giving us a picture of the strength and energy of Jesus.  My study Bible reminds us that the cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  Additionally, as each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it is a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  Jesus' energetic and decisive response is reminiscent of His language illustrating decisive action to separate ourselves from sin (see for example Matthew 18:8-9).

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.   As Jesus is not a Levitical priest, His authority to cleanse the temple is challenged by the religious leaders.  My study Bible reminds us that by the time of John's Gospel, early Jewish Christians had been subject to persecution.  Hence the term "the Jews" is used most often as a political term here, and does not mean the Jewish people.  It is most frequently used specifically to refer to the Jewish leadership at the time of Christ.  In this case, it's referring to the chief priests and the elders (see Matthew 21:23).  We would do well to remember that Jesus and all of His disciples, including the author of this Gospel, were Jews.  My study Bible comments that, 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.  These words, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" will be twisted and used against Him by false witnesses at His trial (Matthew 26:60-61).

 

Today's reading gives us an image of Christ that is dynamic and powerful.  In the cleansing of the temple, it shows Him as a man who is ready to take decisive action, and who can use strength for the right purposes.  Many people seem to get the impression from Christ's preaching, such as in the Sermon on the Mount (where we are taught, for example, to pray for our enemies), that Jesus was a man of very passive nature.  But to see Christ this way is not to understand Him or His strength, or even His teaching in a full perspective.  To know Christ is to know the great and true passion and dynamism in Him, even in the way that the disciples understand the line from the Psalm, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."   In Matthew 5:5, we read iJesus teaching (in NKJV English), "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."  In Matthew 11:29, we read Him saying, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."    "Meek" in the first case, and "gentle" in the second case, are both translated from the same Greek word.  That word is πραΰς/prays (pronounced pra-EES).  This can also mean humble, but it is more than that.  It indicates not weakness, as is often imaged by English translations, but rather God's exercising strength under God's control.  That is (according to HELPS Word-Studies), "demonstrating power without undue harshness."  This kind of gentleness is a blend of both reserve and strength.  So John's picture of the dynamic Jesus here gives us a fullness of Christ we're apt to miss at times.  Although He comes into the world as a human being without social or material power, He is the Incarnate Son.  As such, He manifests and pronounces judgment and justice.  Therefore His actions in the temple represent this, as do His powerful words to the religious leaders as well -- see Matthew 23 for His vivid critique of their habits.  This is not a shrinking violet, not the meekness of someone who shows any fear whatsoever, but the supreme confidence of One who takes absolute nature and strength and judgment from God (and who is God), and One who has come into the world to show us what that is ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - John 14:9).  If we are to model Christ in our lives, we must take an understanding from the fullness of what we are taught in the Gospels, and our understanding must come not from contradiction between strength and meekness, but from a comprehension of what grace is and does, and the power of God's truth and judgment.  Moreover, the phrase "strength under control" could serve as a model for what real discipleship will make of us.  Above all, we rely on God, as does Jesus in the example He sets before us.  This is where we take confidence, and where Christ derives His supreme confidence.  In one other example of this we might note, when Jesus is arrested in Gethsemane, He says to His disciple who took up a sword, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (Matthew 26:52-54).  In citing the "more than twelve legions of angels" Jesus reminds us all of who He is, of His strength that He has available to Him.  But we are given to understand yet again that He is the Son of Man, on a mission, and that mission must be fulfilled as the supreme command for Him; it is the line He will not cross.  Let us understand meekness and gentleness not as weakness but as power under grace, strength under God's command -- a reserve that knows its boundaries and mission, with discipline and ultimate service.  Let us not be like those who cannot see for their blindness to God's grace.