The Gospel of John 2:13-23 (Jesus and the money changers).

Here is the next section (John 2:13-23) about Jesus clearing the Temple, with questions below.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.^] But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Questions and discussion:

What signs were the Jews looking for to show his authority to clean the temple of the money changers (thieves)?
What did Jesus mean by he will destroy the temple and raise it again in three days
Jesus’s anger was justified in these circumstances. Not all anger is justified or proportionate to an act that caused it. Have you had trouble controlling your anger?

Leave a Comment:

3 comments

van says June 2, 2023

1. His death and resurrection is the sign
2. After He was dead He would come back in 3 days
3. Some days better than others, and only gets better the older I get

Rick says June 3, 2023

Hey Van,

Thank you for your candid answers. I guess us looking at the circumstances in retrospect, it is easy to see what Jesus was talking about, but not to those back in his day. I will comment on Monday.

Rick says June 6, 2023

Rick’s thoughts on John 2:13-23.

1. If Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, then the test would be satisfying the prediction from Isaiah 35:5-6. There, the prophet predicts that when the Messiah comes, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” John writes in his Gospel in vs 23 that those were the things that Jesus performed in Jerusalem. He also did it the previous three years in Galilee.

2. As Van commented, the Jewish leaders thought Jesus was speaking of the temple BUILDING. He was speaking of his body as a temple. (Each of our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us- 1 Corinthians 6:19). What Jesus meant was that he will be killed and will raise from the dead in three days.

3. I used to have a temper about twenty years ago. It scared my wife and kids. I worked to control my emotions and now, though things may make me angry, I don’t lose my temper.

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