Our Security for Eternity - the Gospel of John নমুনা

Read: John 2:12–22

SOAP: John 2:22

So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.

Our reading today brings us to a familiar scene from the life of Jesus. John recorded this event at the beginning of his Gospel account, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include the cleansing of the temple in the last few days of Jesus’ life. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each had a different approach to the re-telling of the life of Jesus. John’s approach was to select specific events in Jesus’ life and present them to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to eternal life. It is a strategic explanation of who Jesus is. When we keep this in mind, we are better able to discern the intended meaning of the passage.

When Jesus walked into the temple courts during the Passover feast, He became noticeably angry. He fashioned a whip and began driving out the sheep and oxen and those selling them. He overturned tables of those exchanging money and instructed those selling doves to leave immediately. Jesus’ response shows how the Jewish religious system had become corrupt.

The Law required that an unblemished animal be brought to the temple for sacrifices, and the type of animal depended on the type of sacrifice. Rather than bringing animals from far distances, the people could purchase an animal in Jerusalem for their sacrifice (Deuteronomy 14:25). The people were also required to pay a temple tax (Exodus 30:13) as an offering to the Lord. The tax and payment for animals could not be made with Roman denarii, so the money had to be exchanged for the temple currency.

The exchange of money and the selling of animals was happening in temple courts. The temple was meant to be a place of worship, a place of honoring the holiness of God through sacrifice. Instead, these people had turned it into a marketplace and a bank. Their actions show a disregard for the holiness of God and the temple, and this was detestable to Jesus.

The Jewish leaders demanded Jesus prove how He had the authority to drive these people out of the temple courts and disrupt the entire system. Instead of playing their games, Jesus foretold His resurrection. Verse 22 shows us how John expected his readers to know the end of the story—that Jesus was crucified and resurrected after three days. When we read this account with the end in mind, it offers further concrete proof that Jesus is who He says He is.