First Passover—Cleansing the Temple

13 (A)The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus (B)went up to Jerusalem. 14 (C)And within the temple grounds He found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a whip of [a]cords, and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling (D)the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making (E)My Father’s house a [b]place of business!” 17 His (F)disciples remembered that it was written: “(G)Zeal for Your house will consume me.” 18 (H)The Jews then said to Him, “(I)What sign do You show us [c]as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, (J)Destroy this [d]temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 (K)The Jews then said, “It took (L)forty-six years to build this [e]temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about (M)the [f]temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His (N)disciples (O)remembered that He said this; and they believed (P)the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at (Q)the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name as they (R)observed His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, because (S)He knew all people, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about mankind, (T)for He Himself knew what was in mankind.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 2:15 Or pieces of rope
  2. John 2:16 Lit house
  3. John 2:18 Lit that You do these
  4. John 2:19 Or sanctuary
  5. John 2:20 Or sanctuary
  6. John 2:21 Or sanctuary

Jesus in the Temple

12-17 After this incident, Jesus, accompanied by his mother, his brothers and his disciples, went down to Capernaum and stayed there a few days. The Jewish Passover was approaching and Jesus made the journey up to Jerusalem. In the Temple he discovered cattle and sheep dealers and pigeon-sellers, as well as money-changers sitting at their tables. So he made a rough whip out of rope and drove the whole lot of them, sheep and cattle as well, out of the Temple. He sent the coins of the money-changers flying and turned their tables upside down. Then he said to the pigeon-dealers, “Take those things out of here. Don’t you dare turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered the scripture—‘Zeal for your house has eaten me up’

18 As a result of this, the Jews said to him, “What sign can you give us to justify what you are doing?”

19 “Destroy this temple,” Jesus retorted, “and I will rebuild it in three days!”

20 To which the Jews replied, “This Temple took forty-six years to build, and you are going to rebuild it in three days?”

21-22 He was, in fact, speaking about the temple of his own body, and when he was raised from the dead the disciples remembered what he had said to them and that made them believe both the scripture and what Jesus had said.

23-25 While he was in Jerusalem at Passover-time, during the festivities many believed in him as they saw the signs that he gave. But Jesus, on his side, did not trust himself to them—for he knew them all. He did not need anyone to tell him what people were like: he understood human nature.

Read full chapter