John 2:13-22
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, with the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
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The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have little crossover with John. So, we take note when we find a unifying story across all four Gospel accounts! The four evangelists share the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each describe Jesus as "driving out" the money changers. John, however, offers more detail. In John, we hear about Jesus driving people out by flipping over tables and making (and using!) a whip. This story quickly dispels any image of Jesus as meek and mild. Jesus was kind and gentle; he was also angry with a white-hot prophetic impulse.
John's account differs from the Synoptics in another way; where Matthew, Mark, and Luke report Jesus saying "you have made [the Temple] a den of robbers" (Mt. 21:15, Mk. 11:17, Lk. 19:46), John reports Jesus announcing, "destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (Jn. 2:19). The Synoptics are making a point about corruption and malpractice, while John is making a point about who Jesus is. Historical context is key; what's going on in the Temple is to be expected, given that ordered transactions were essential to support the Temple's functioning. Jesus isn't quibbling about misconduct. Rather, he brings everyone to a standstill to reveal another holy place altogether: that of his very body.
Going Forth Prayer: Lord, cleanse us from the inside out so that we may be a sanctuary in you and for you. Amen.
