John 2:13-22
Chapter 2
Jesus Purifies the Temple
In the temple courtyard, he saw merchants selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and moneychangers seated at their tables.
Making a whip out of cords, he drove them all out of the temple courtyard, along with the oxen and sheep. He knocked over the tables of the moneychangers, scattering the coins
and then ordered the people selling doves: “Take all this away and stop making a marketplace of my Father’s house!”
His disciples remembered the words of Scripture: Zeal for your house consumes me like fire.
The Jews then questioned Jesus:
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered them:
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews then replied:
“The building of this temple has already taken forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking of the temple of his body.
It was only after he had risen from the dead that his disciples remembered these words; then they believed both the scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.
Commentaries
Jesus Purifies the Temple.
The story’s theme is Jesus himself, portrayed by the evangelist as the new and ultimate temple.
Messianic Sign (13-17). Jesus’ action doesn’t seem to be a revolutionary act; in fact, the disciples do not intervene. However, Malachi’s prophecy (3:1f) is fulfilled: Jesus appears with divine powers to purify the house of God. This passionate zeal for the glory of the Father will consume him and ultimately lead him to death.
Sayings of Jesus (18-22). The Jews do not understand Jesus’ mysterious words (20). They think he is talking about a stone temple, but he is referring to the temple of his body. Jesus willingly gives up his body to destruction and death, but after three days, he will return to reclaim it in glory. The body of Jesus, dead and risen, becomes the place where God reveals himself, the only place of prayer, the true temple that connects us with God. Later, the disciples remember and understand Jesus’ mysterious words. It is an allusion to the Spirit, the living memory of the Church, who helps us remember, internalize, and truly understand Jesus’ words (14:26).