John 2:13-25 “Jesus Makes A
Scourge Of The
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at verses 1-12 of chapter 2.
1.1.1. Jesus began His public ministry by turning the water into wine at a
wedding a Cana in
1.1.2. We looked at the incredible prophetic portrayals in that story as well
as the practical aspects that affect our own lives directly.
1.2.
In our study today we are going to look at chapter 2:13-25.
1.2.1. In our last
study, we finished with verse 12 by observing that Jesus had left and gone with
His mother and brothers, and His disciples, to the city of
1.2.2. In this
study, we will look in depth at the story of Jesus driving the money changers
out of the temple.
1.2.3. As we come
to this story of Jesus driving out of the temple the ones selling animals for
sacrifice and the money-changers, we are struck first of all with the contrast
from the previous story where Jesus turned the water into wine at a wedding in
1.2.3.1.The wedding
in
1.2.3.2.At the
wedding in
1.2.3.3.The wedding
of
1.2.3.4.Jesus
demonstrated compassion to men in meeting a real need at the wedding in
1.2.3.5.At the
wedding of
1.2.3.6.Jesus’
miracle at the wedding of
1.2.4. Why then would
John the apostle be recording here for us this story of God’s judgment in
Jesus’ scourging of the temple which so contrasts with that of the previous
story in which Jesus performed a great miracle that reveals the loving and
compassionate nature of our Lord?
1.2.4.1..I would
propose first of all that we consider the fact that we discussed that this is a
“spiritual” gospel that was written by John some 65 years after Jesus
had said and done the things that are recorded here, a gospel written to reveal
the true “spiritual” nature of Jesus and His teachings and works. John’s gospel reveals more about Jesus’ true
nature (christology) and is more theological in nature than the other
gospels. As such we observed that John
began this book writing not about Jesus birth but rather His pre-incarnate
personage as God the Son from all eternity.
Therefore, I would conclude that John is including this story here after
the story of the wedding of
1.2.4.1.1.In that
light, it is important for us to consider the fact that the scriptures reveal
that there will come a day of judgment for those who reject the Lord and refuse
to believe in Christ, and there are many scriptures in both the New and Old
Testament which speak of this, including for instance :
1.2.4.1.1.1.2
Thessalonians 1:6-10, “6 since it is a righteous thing
with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give
you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those
who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He
comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all
those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”
1.2.4.1.1.2.The book of
Revelation is a book which reveals the coming seven years of Tribulation upon
the earth in which the Lord shall judge all of the nations in His wrath and in
Revelation 6:12-16 as Jesus (the Lamb) is opening the seven seals of judgment
we read the following, and notice the term “the wrath of the Lamb” that
is used, “12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold,
there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to
the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty
wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and
every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the
kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty
men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the
rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks,
“Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from
the wrath of the Lamb!”
1.2.4.2.Secondly,
and also very important, this story confirms what we dwelt upon in our previous
study, that Jesus’ wonderful miracle at the wedding of Cana which began His
public ministry occurred at the appropriate time because the history of the
Jewish nation had revealed from day one that the Jews could not keep the Laws
of Moses; that the covenant of rules and
law keeping could not impart life and a new covenant, one of grace was needed; that the nation of Israel was bankrupt
spiritually and without hope; and, that
the Jews, as well as the rest of the world, are in need of a Savior. Paul wrote about how this was the appropriate
time for Jesus to appear in Gal. 4:4, “4 But when the fullness of
the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.”
1.2.5. Another fact
that is worth noting is that though the other three gospels include the story
of Jesus making a scourge whip and driving those selling the animals and the
money-changers out of the temple, the other gospel writers all include this
story as occurring much later in Jesus’ life, namely, at the beginning of that
last week of His life when He appeared in Jerusalem for His last Passover, when
He would fulfill the Passover as being the true and realized Passover lamb that
provided the sacrifice and blood of covering for the sins of the nation. So, did Jesus twice drive out these ones from
the temple, once at the beginning and once at the end of His ministry? Or, instead is it the fact that John’s gospel
places the occurrence of this event in a different place in time than the other
three gospels?
1.2.5.1.Arthur Pink,
in his commentary on John, makes a compelling argument for the two events being
one, with the Holy Spirit displacing the timing of John’s rendition of the
story for a purpose we will discuss later.
Pink makes his argument by listing the similarities between the accounts
in Matthew’s gospel with those written in John’s account, stating :
1.2.5.1.1.“First,
Matthew places the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of the Passover
wee, and John tells us that “the Jew’s Passover was at hand (2:12).
1.2.5.1.2.Second,
Matthew mentions those that “sold and bought” being in the temple (21:12); John says the Lord found in the temple “those
that sold oxen,” etc. (2:14).
1.2.5.1.3.Third,
Matthew refers to the presence of those that “sold doves” (21:12); John also speaks of the “doves” (2:16).
1.2.5.1.4.Fourth,
Matthew tells us that Christ “overthrew
the tables of the money-changers” (21:12);
John also tells us that Christ “overthrew
the tables” (2:15).
1.2.5.1.5.Fifth,
Matthew mentions that Christ “cast out
all them that sold and bought in the temple” (21:12); John declares He “drove them all out of the temple” (2:15). Note, in the Greek it is the same word here translated “drove” as is rendered
“cast out” in Matthew.
1.2.5.1.6.Sixth,
Matthew declares Christ said, “My house shall be called a house of payer; but ye
have made it a den of thieves” (21:13);
John records that the Lord said, “Make not my Father’s house a house of
merchandise” (2:16)...
1.2.5.1.7.Seventh,
Matthew records how Christ spent the night in Bethany, and next morning He
returned to Jerusalem, and was in the temple teaching, when the chief priests
and elders of the people came to Him and said, “By what authority does thou these things?” (21:23). John also records that after Christ had
cleansed the temple, the Jews said to Him, “What sign showest thou unto us,
seeing that thou doest these things?”
(2:18).”
1.2.6. So, if the
Holy Spirit has displaced this story of Jesus’ driving these ones out of the
temple, placing the story just after Jesus’ first miracle in turning the water
into wine at the wedding of Cana, why might this have been done? What is the Lord teaching us through this
displaced alignment in John?
1.2.6.1.My response
would be that this was placed here primarily for the two reasons stated above
for this subsequent story having great of contrast to Jesus’ miracle of turning
the water into wine at the wedding of Cana :
To reveal concisely the two opposing attributes of God’s nature, His
love and compassion vs. His justness and holiness, and, to reveal clearly the
fact that it was appropriate for Jesus to appear at this time in history and
usher in the new covenant of grace through His shed blood.
1.2.7. So, though
it is not certain that this incident is displaced by John and that two
different scourgings were not performed by Jesus, it is very possible that this
is the case. If this is a separate
incident occurring at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry that was reported by
John, then the reasons I have mentioned for the event occurring do not change
anyway.
1.2.8. In our study
today, we will see the word “sign” mentioned often and this word always
refers to an “attesting miracle” by Jesus of some sort, one that
demonstrates and proves that He is the Messiah, the Son of God.
2.
VS 2:13-14 - “And the Passover of the Jews was at
hand, and Jesus went up to
2.1.
Notice here in introducing this story that the apostle
John does not tell us that it was the Lord’s Passover that was occurring at
this time. He tells us that it was the ‘Passover
of the Jews.’ The Jewish priests and
leaders had so defiled the temple and their worship of Jehovah that John could
not refer to this event as the Lord’s Passover.
2.2.
It is fitting that on the Passover (whether this
occurred as Jesus began His public ministry or near the end of it), that He
would show His zeal for His Father and His Father’s house.
2.3.
Imagine the fact that with Jesus that it was the
incarnate Lord of all creation who was coming to the temple of His worship on
this day. However, as the Lord looked
around at what should have been pure and holy and dedicated to Him, He saw
instead as a “den of thieves” and the idolatry of hearts that were
filled with greed and covetousness and every sin imaginable.
2.4.
Several
things about the Jewish worship in the temple in this day bothered Jesus,
including:
2.4.1. The commerce mentioned here (minus any fraud) might
not have been objected to by Jesus if it were occurring any other place, but it
was being done in the temple itself.
2.4.2. The commerce was taking place not in the holy place
where the Levites ministered, but rather in the Court of the Gentiles.
2.4.2.1.Gentiles
were not allowed any closer than this court, and the Jews wouldn’t allow the
commerce to profane their holy place, but where the Gentiles gathered was an
acceptable place for it in their eyes, after all the Gentiles were considered
to be as dogs by the average Jew. The
Jews had been called to be a blessing to the Gentiles and bring them to the
Lord, however this was a calling which they despised and rejected and refused
to carry out. They didn’t want Gentiles
in their worship.
2.4.2.2.If a Gentile
wanted to come to the temple to worship he would have to fight through those
who were selling animals and exchanging money, and then instead of having a
quite place to worship and pray to the Lord he instead would have a busy place
of merchandise and corruption as his place of worship.
2.4.3. The Jews enforced the fact that the yearly ½ shekel
temple tax could only be paid with their money since they considered Gentile
money to be unclean. However, this meant
that everyone had to have their money changed by them, which ensured they could
set their own profit margins for the exchanges.
Those who changed the unclean Gentile money with its idolatrous image of
Caesar on it into Jewish money were making a healthy profit of usury (interest)
in the transaction.
2.4.3.1.These money
changers were making profit on religion, and not only so but they were doing
this in the temple.
2.4.4. The Jewish law required the sacrifice of animals that
were 100% pure of any blemishes.
However, the Jews enforced the fact that only their animals were
certified to be free of blemish which then required that everyone buy their
animals in order to make a sacrifice.
Then, they again could set their own healthy profit margins, and make a
profit they did.
2.4.5. The Jews were defrauding the poorest of people in
demanding high profits for doves to sacrifice, making worship of Jehovah a
burden and inaccessible to many.
2.4.6. The Jews were making religion convenient for the
people in selling these animals right in the temple.
2.4.6.1.One didn’t
have to raise his own sheep for sacrifice or buy one at the markets in town, he
could simply come to the temple and pay cash for one.
2.4.6.2.Religion had
become merely external with no real substance.
The people were merely going through the rituals of religion without
have the real substance of it. In
response to this attitude, Jesus had to drive out these merchants and their
goods.
2.4.6.3.We
Christians must be careful never to allow our commitment to the Lord to be one
of convenience.
2.4.6.3.1.We must look
not at man for justification in how we give to the Lord, but rather seek the
Lord as to how He wants us to give.
2.4.6.3.2.His word says
that we are to give sacrificially, not conveniently.
2.4.6.3.3.If there is
no cost involved with our serving the Lord, then how could it mean anything to
us? How could we show our love to the
Lord?
2.4.6.3.3.1.Is your
relationship with God costly to you, or is it also a relationship of
convenience?
2.4.6.3.3.2.I remember a
man sharing once at a church service I once attended, and he said in essence
that if our relationship with God does not affect our pocketbook or wallet,
then it also will not affect our heart.
2.5.
In Exodus chapter 12, Moses was given instruction by
the Lord that was to be for the people of Israel in their yearly preparation
for the Passover, and he was told the following in verse 15, 15 ‘Seven
days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove
leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day
until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” “Leaven” in the scriptures is a type
for sin, and the people were told to keep their houses free from “leaven”
in preparation for their worship of the Lord, worship which was to be carried
out with clean hands and a pure heart, free from unrepented of sin. Likewise, in Ephesians 5:3 we are told that
covetousness (or greed) is a sin and thus should always be avoided, “3 But
fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among
you, as is fitting for saints.”
However, right here in God’s house and during the Passover the very
religious leaders and priests were given over to covetousness.
3.
VS 2:15-17 - “And He made a scourge of cords, and
drove them all out of the temple,
with the sheep and oxen; and He poured
out the coins of the money-changers, and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He
said, ‘Take these things away; stop
making My Father’s house a house of merchandise’. His disciples remembered that it was written,
‘Zeal for Thy house will consume me’.”
- John tells us that Jesus drove the
money-changers out of the temple with a scourge of cords He made
3.1.
Jesus picked up some cords and made a whip in order to
drive out of the temple all of the merchants and their merchandise.
3.2.
In many ways, this is an incredible act performed by
Jesus :
3.2.1.
How could one man singly drive out a whole temple
court full of these men?
3.2.1.1.This act
demonstrates the deity of Christ and the authority of His character, as well as
the miraculous power of God working within Him!
3.2.1.2.This act by
Jesus in itself should have been a sign to these Jews that they needed to repent
of their sins, but their hearts had hardened to the truth. Sadly, instead of repenting they will ask Him
for a sign proving His authority to do this sign and drive these ones out of
the temple.
3.2.1.3.This story
also strongly implies the guilt of those who were thrown out of the
temple. No one objected to Jesus’
actions as being unwarranted or immoral themselves. They instead wanted only to see a sign to
prove His authority in doing what He did.
3.2.2.
The scriptures actually did provide a sign for the people
in this action of Jesus’, for the prophesy in Psalm 69:9 was fulfilled by His doing this, “9 For zeal for Thy house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me.”
3.2.2.1.Not until
Jesus was raised from the dead and the disciples minds were opened to
understand the scriptures, did they remember the significance of this incident
and correlate the prophecy in Psalm 69:9 to these events.
3.3.
Do you have the ‘courage’
and ‘zeal’ for the Lord and His
holy and righteous character that you should have?
3.4.
Do you stand up for ‘the truth’ no matter what the consequences may be for your
life?
3.4.1.
May God forgive us for our cowardliness and lack of
concern that He be glorified and honored in every area of our lives and even in
all the world...
4.
VS 2:18-22 - “The Jews therefore answered and said to
Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’. The Jews therefore said, ‘It took forty-six
years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His
body. When therefore He was raised from
the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the word
which Jesus had spoken.” - John tells us that the Jews asked Jesus to
show them a sign proving that He should do these things
4.1.
On this occasion, it was actually out of compassion
for the people that Jesus did not perform an additional sign for the Jews who
were requesting one. The people were
already rejecting Him and refusing to see the sign that was right in front of
their face, and, they were refusing to admit their own sin of idolatry by
allowing this corruption to occur in their temple. Thus, had Jesus performed another sign for
them it just would have caused the hearts of the people to become harder and
they would have turned completely away from the Lord into wickedness.
4.2.
When the Jews who were blinded by their own unbelief
and hardened hearts asked Jesus for this sign to show His authority in
performing the sign which He performed, Jesus did what He did on many other
occasions, He spoke to them in a parable which no one understood.
4.2.1.
In reality, Jesus gave the people a sign in this
parable, one which if they pursued it would have given them what they
wanted. Jesus said that if they
destroyed the temple, ‘He’
would raise it in 3 days.
4.2.2.
The temple which Jesus was speaking of was the temple
of His own body, of which the physical temple in
4.2.3.
Jesus told them in effect, that in His death by
crucifixion and His subsequent resurrection in 3 days, He would prove His
authority.
4.2.4.
On another occasion, Jesus mentioned this very same
sign, saying, “An evil and
adulterous generation craves for a sign;
and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the
prophet; for just as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man
be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,” Matt. 12:39b-40.
4.2.5.
This parable spoken by Jesus was not understood by
those present and yet stuck as a stumbling block in the minds of the Jews to
such an extent that one of the ridiculous charges raised against Him to Pontius
Pilate in Matt. 26:61 was regarding this very statement of His that He would
rebuild the temple in three days.
4.3.
The Jews didn’t understand that Jesus spoke of His
body, and therefore scoffed (and probably laughed) at Him saying that the
present temple had taken 46 years to build.
In fact, Herod’s temple, which at this time was still under completion,
would continue being rebuilt another 10 years even after they said this.
5.
VS 2:23-25 - “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the
Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs
which He was doing. But Jesus, on His
part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He
did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was
in man”.” - John tells us that at this Passover in
5.1.
Jesus’ act of zeal for His Father’s house attracted
the curiosity of the masses who knew of the abuses of the temple and the Jewish
worship. Then, at that time when the
people came to Jesus, He performed many signs for them of which there is nothing
recorded. But, as a result of these
signs performed by Jesus many believed on His name.
5.2.
The belief of those in this multitude was not at this
time a ‘saving belief on Him,’
instead it was merely a mental acknowledgment of Him as Messiah.
5.2.1.
People often have given an intellectual to His claims,
yet have not had the commitment to Him as their Lord (master) nor the belief
unto salvation.
5.2.2.
In times of persecution, testing and trial, people
prove their true faith and commitment to Him, and many end up not being that ‘good soil’ which bears fruit
unto eternal life, but instead they fall away from Him.
5.3.
Jesus’ omnipotence is seen in these verses. We read that He knew that all men were sinful
and therefore their hearts were bent upon rebellion against God. He knew that He couldn’t trust unregenerated
men and thus He was not relating much about the intimate details of His life to
the people outside of His little group.
He also knew all men individually, and what was in each person’s heart
and thoughts. Because Jesus knew what
was in men He knew He could not commit more of His teaching to the people in
5.3.1.
Jesus would have ended up being betrayed and crucified
before His proper time if He told the masses more about His being the Messiah,
the Son of God.
5.3.2.
Likewise, Jesus knew that the people in Jerusalem
could not digest any more of His teaching because they were blinded since the
Spirit of God did not fill their hearts but they were merely natural men, and 1 Cor. 2:14 says that the natural man
cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of
God; for they are foolishness to him,
and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
5.4.
What type of belief do you have? Is your belief in Jesus the type of belief
resulting in salvation, or is your belief merely mental assent? Does your belief in Jesus cause you to commit
your way, plans, and future completely to Him?
5.5.
From the parable of the Sower in Mark chapter 4, are
you the ‘good soil’ which bears fruit?
Or, are you the ‘soil along the road,’ the ‘soil on rocky
ground,’ or the ‘soil amongst the weeds’ ?
5.6.
How much do you think that the Lord is willing today
to be entrusted to you? Are you a ‘worthy
slave’ of Jesus, walking in a way pleasing to Him?
6.
CONCLUSIONS:
6.1.
As we
consider this story and how we ought to apply it to our lives, I would ask you
first of all to consider the nature of God as revealed in the person of Jesus
Christ (the God/man in whom all the fullness of deity dwelt in bodily
form). Do you understand the
implications in the fact that God is both loving and compassionate as well as
holy and just? Have you believed that
God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that He could bear the
punishment of your sin so that you can come into fellowship with Him?
6.2.
Do you
have the type and amount of courage and zeal for the Lord and the pure worship
of the Lord that you should have?
6.3.
Are you
standing up for the Lord and His Name as you should in your own sphere of
influence?