The Cleansing of My Father’s House

John 2:13-25

When we think about the personality of Jesus, what do we think? Do we only think about His gentleness? Or patience? Kindness? He is indeed all these things, and scripture proves it. But if Jesus is fully God and fully man, He also has to possess a deep conviction to uphold God’s law and bring the Kingdom of God to earth. God’s heart cares deeply about His creation, so if something or someone were to defile it, He would care about that. God’s perfect design was stained by sin, and since God’s justice has been displayed, the peak is His own son's death and resurrection.

When Jesus walked into the temple, it was the time of Passover, and Jerusalem would have been filled with thousands of Jews; the process of Passover included a ‘cleansing’ of the household, then the sacrifice of a lamb whose meat would be cooked and shared among the household. In this passage, Jesus is taking literal means to display the Passover process that also displays God’s justice. As Jesus was in the temple, various profane transactions were taking place. A place meant to be sacred was surrounded by sin, and Jesus drove them out. He would not allow this and displays justice in an obvious way.

Jesus then describes the New Testament Passover that can only be attained through His death and resurrection… “Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up” (John 2:19). He was referring to Himself, His body, as the temple. It will be destroyed through crucifixion but ultimately will be restored and resurrected three days later.

What is God teaching you through this passage?

What’s becoming clear?