The people that heard Jesus sign were thoroughly confused. Maybe you would be, too!

(20) Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? (21) But he spake of the temple of his body. (22) When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.  (John 2:20-22)

What was Jesus talking about?

The idea that it would only take Jesus 3 days to re-raise the temple was preposterous to those who demanded a sign from Him.  They give an accurate accounting as to how long it took to erect the temple at the time of this writing.

John though helps us to understand what Jesus was referencing.   He called his body the temple, and announced that He would raise it up in three days.  This would not have been in their mind at all.  It seems that Jesus is concealing the sign for future understanding.  They seemed to demand a sign to signify His authority in the moment, and He does not satisfy what they want.  He gives them a sign for sure, but does not yield His authority to them by submitting to their request in their way.

Verse 22 points again to the purpose of the book, to help the reader believe on Jesus.  He points out that the disciples remember this after Jesus rose.  It says they “believed the scripture”.  It could have been scripture like Psalms 16:8-11.

[8] I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. [9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. [10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. [11] Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:8-11)

Not only has the Old Testament predicted Jesus resurrection, but Jesus himself predicted it here and in other instances recorded in the Gospels.

This gave the disciples great courage later.  They went from being fearful after his death, to being bold after His resurrection once they had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and believed in the reality of what they had seen and heard.  This is what Peter and John said to the very people who killed Jesus.

[18] And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. [19] But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. [20] For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. [21] So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. (Acts 4:18-21)

There is no greater demonstration of the authority of Jesus Christ than the Gospel- that he was crucified for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

We should respond to this in three ways, among others.

We should believe.  The purpose for which John gives the narrative is that we should believe.  Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and is the only way to get to God through forgiveness of sin by trusting in Him.  We should repent and believe on Him.

We should be bold.  What was predicted by Jesus is exactly what happened.  He called His shot and then made it.  Should we obey men rather than God?  Eternity is too long to go against the God who gave us His Son.  We should go with Him, and try to get everyone we can to hear the Gospel so that they can go, too.

We should obey.  Jesus is in charge.  He has the authority to deal with my sin, and to correct my wrong thinking and behavior.  He is in charge.

Application Questions

1. Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ?
2. Are you bold or are you ashamed?  Who have you told about Jesus lately?
3. Is there some area of your life that you are treating as off limits to the authority of Jesus Christ?  Stop!  Obey!

Those that saw Jesus turn over tables had a question about his authority.

Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign she west thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? (19) Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. (John 2:18-19)

Jesus gives them a sign.

The most obvious question that could be asked gets asked in verse 18.  After overturning the tables, running out the exchangers, and claiming that His Father’s house should not be a house of merchandise, those that were there had the question about authority.  But notice the nature of the question.  The word translated “sign” is the same word often translated “miracle”.  If any other person would have done this, would they have asked for a “sign” of his authority?  It’s as if they kind of believe, or they have some sense of his reputation.  The question was essentially this- What right do you have to do this in the temple?

Jesus answers with a sign in the form of a prophecy.  He speaks of “this temple” being destroyed.  He speaks of raising the temple again.  That certainly would be some kind of a sign to destroy something that large and imposing, and to rebuild it in three days.  When you think about building almost any kind of structure of any magnitude, three days would certainly be very quick.

We know that he was not referring to the literal temple that they occupied at this moment which we will look at in tomorrows post.

The truth that we see here is that Jesus is claiming authority to do this.  He is able to back up the fact that He has this authority.  He does so by predicting the destruction and resurrection of “this temple”.

The resurrection is evidence of Jesus’ authority.

Jesus Christ is in authority over what happens in the temple.  In fact, it is by His death, burial, and resurrection, that we have been made the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit once we trust in Christ.  We become priests, able to go to God through the person and work of that Spirit and Christ.    He does have a right to say what should be done and what should not be done in His temple.  He’s in charge.

Response

1. Are you fighting Jesus’ authority in some area of your life?
2. As a believer, are you accessing time with God and talking to Him on the regular?

Here we see Jesus explain his actions in the temple, and the prophecy that predicted it.

“And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” (John 2:16-17)

Notice Jesus motivation for his actions.

In this section of scripture, we see Jesus’ motivation for turning over the tables and running out the money changers and retailers from the Temple. He tells them to get out. He tells them that they have made this place of prayer, this place of sacrifice, this place of devotion to God, into a house of merchandise.

This means that they were all about profit. They were all about making a buck. As we have seen earlier, they were exploiting people who were coming to worship. They were using the obedience and desire of the people coming to worship to enrich themselves in the wrong kind of ways.

You also see here Jesus’ authority in that motivation. He claims that God is His Father. He claims that this is His Father’s house. He is enforcing what should be in the temple—what should be done in the temple with these people. He is literally kicking them out. Jesus is in charge, and He sees Himself in charge.

The disciples later ended up remembering when this happened, and that’s what John notes here from Psalm 69. The Bible describes—or predicts—exactly this about Jesus. It says, “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me” (Psalm 69:9). John essentially remembers this part of a lyric of the Psalms that they used to sing, which predicted that this kind of attitude is something that Jesus would have.

What does this mean for us in local churches?

The temple and the church are not exactly the same. We don’t really have sanctioned buildings like the temple was sanctioned by God. The church really isn’t the building—the church is the people. Yet the church does use buildings as a tool to practice what God’s told us to practice as the local church.

We’re told to assemble. We’re told to pray. We are told to read and help people understand the Scriptures. We’re told to proclaim the gospel, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. And we use buildings to do that.

But the church is not a money-making venture. The church uses money to accomplish its mission, but it does not use its mission to make money. Jesus makes it clear that this ought to be the case, at least in principle. And if we’re gonna be like Jesus, then we want to make sure that we don’t do that.

What does this mean for you?

• What’s your relationship like with the money that you have?
• Do you own money and use it for kingdom purposes, or does it own you?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

This week we are taking a look at the actions of Jesus towards the money changers and sellers in the temple.

“And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables.” (John 2:13-15)

Understanding Jesus Actions

In this section of Scripture, we see Jesus in an authoritative position—He’s taking on authority by what He’s doing. We’re going to see it throughout this week in four different areas, four different ways that authority is described. We see it first of all in today’s text in this correction.

The context here is that it’s Passover, and Jesus went to the Passover to celebrate with the Jews. It says that He went up to Jerusalem. This is common phraseology describing how people went to Jerusalem. Even though they may be headed south, they always went “up” to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was a city that was elevated. They also honored the city of Jerusalem by saying you went up to it.

When you go to the Passover, you go to the temple. Many of the people that would go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover came from out of town, and so they were coming to make sacrifices. In doing that, it was much more convenient to not travel with the sacrifice you would bring, but to buy the sacrifice once you got there. They would also come with their local currency, but to pay the temple fees they would have to exchange their money. In doing so, the changers of money would give them exploitative rates of exchange—predatory fees, that kind of thing.

When Jesus got there, He sees these practices going on of people selling these oxen, sheep, and doves. It probably wasn’t wrong necessarily to sell; it’s that they were doing it in these exploitive ways. You see Him in verse 15 making a scourge of small cords, and He drives all of them out of the temple. He drives out the sheep, the oxen, He pours out the money, and He overthrows the tables.

Now we know that Jesus was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. There is such a thing as righteous anger, and that’s what we see here exhibited by Jesus.

How should we worship?

When it comes to how we think about practicing the disciplines of our faith, we ought to have pure motives in how we practice it. The New Testament describes worldliness as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. If those three descriptions of worldliness are not of the Father, but are of the world, when those things enter into the way that we practice our faith, then we’re doing it wrong.

If we are like Jesus, then some things should make us angry. There are some things should move us to action. That’s what we see going on here. Jesus is righteously angry in this moment. He is also revealing something of the heart of God in how he is to be worshipped, how people are to be treated, and how God’s commands are to be obeyed.

RESPOND

1. Is there any part of your life right now that is characterized by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? Is that entering into how you’re doing life and how you’re practicing your religion?
2. What makes you angry? Is there anything that doesn’t make you angry that makes Jesus angry?