13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
¹⁴ He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, 13 as well as the money-changers seated there.
¹⁵ He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables,
¹⁶ and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
¹⁷ His disciples recalled the words of scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
¹⁸ At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?"
¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
²⁰ The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?"
²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
²² Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

• This account of the purification of the temple follows right after the account of wedding at Cana (2:1-12)
• (v 16) my Father's house: For Jesus, the temple is not merely a building where people gather to worship, but a place among men and women where the God of Israel whom Jesus calls "my Father" has his dwelling.
• (v.17) "Zeal for your house has consumed me" is a quotation from Psalm 69:10. The disciples realized that what Jesus did fulfilled the words of Psalm 69. Their recollection cites the psalm with the verb in the future sense: "Zeal for your house will consume me". They unwittingly saw Jesus' actions as paving the way for conflict and death.
• (v.18) "sign": In the narrative of the wedding at Cana (v 12), John describes the transformation of water into vine as a "sign" of the fulness of the gifts of God to Israel. Here (v 18) people request for a "sign", a miraculous proof to guarantee belief. In (v 23) John concludes with many in Jerusalem going to believe in Jesus because of the "signs" that he did.
• (v.21) "his body": One of the great Johannine symbols. The body of the risen Christ is to be the focus of worship in spirit and truth (4:21-24); and the spiritual temple from which living waters flow (7:37-39) and (19:34)

For Christian, the new temple is the Body of Christ, and collectively they are the body of Christ and temple of God (2nd Reading: 1 Cor. 3:9)

1. Imagine that you are the temple Jesus visited. How would his visit be different or similar to this account?
2. How might the zeal for God's temple inspire and sustain your willingness to serve others?

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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community