John 2:13-23

We cannot be swayed by the opinion of others. We must base our beliefs on the Scriptures and the things of Jesus explained to us by the Holy Spirit. 

For there is no man righteous other than the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.

The Passover was one of the three pilgrimage festivals during which all Jews were to travel to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. People who had traveled from a great distance for the festival could hardly have brought their sacrificial offerings with them; traders took advantage of that by selling animals for sacrifice in the outer courts. People likely paid exorbitant prices for the convenience of buying at the temple. Turning the outer courts into a market effectively prevented worship for non-Jewish people. Jesus’ quotation of Isa 56:7 in the Synoptics underscores His desire for the temple to be a “house of prayer for all peoples.” Jesus is angered by the commercialization of temple worship, which created an obstacle to true worship. The use of misunderstanding is a prominent part of John’s style. He regularly records Jesus’ hearers misunderstanding His sayings, sometimes requiring further elaboration as in the case of Nicodemus. Faithlife Bible.

Every male Jew was required to go to Jerusalem three times a year—for the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Law of Moses required that any animal offered in sacrifice be unblemished, and that every Jewish male over 19 years of age pay a temple tax. As a result, tax collectors and inspectors of sacrificial animals were present at the temple. However, these officials would not accept secular coins because they had an image of the Roman emperor, whom the pagans worshiped as a god. To put such coins into the temple treasury was thought to be an offense. So in order to accommodate visitors in need of animals and the right kinds of coins, animal merchants and money changers set up shop in the outer court of the temple. These inspectors, collectors, and exchangers, however, charged high prices. The cleansing of the temple was the first public presentation of Jesus to Israel; He presented Himself as Messiah. The Messiah’s ministry began in the temple; He came to purify.  Jesus was not talking about the physical building; He was referring to His body. Jesus was speaking of His death. I will raise it up: Note that Jesus did not say, “I will build it again.” He was referring to His resurrection, three days after His death. The sign Jesus gave the Jews was the sign of His death and resurrection. The disciples understood that Jesus was the Messiah, but they did not understand that He was speaking of the resurrection of His body until it actually happened. John’s purpose in recording Jesus’ miracles was for people to believe and have eternal life. NKJ Bible.

John 2:13-25

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

Exodus 12:14 | ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

Matthew 26:61 | and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”

Matthew 27:40 | and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

Mark 14:58 | “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ”

Mark 15:29 | And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,