John has just revealed to the reader Jesus’ first recorded miracle, the turning of water into wine (2:1-12). He then moves straight into a major event that is out of place in the timeline of Jesus’ ministry. Rearranging the order of events to make a bigger point is a common writing style of the time. It is almost like when a movie shows the major turning point at the end of the movie and then goes back a few years to tell the story of how they got to that point. You then see the whole movie through that short clip you saw at the beginning. John just told us that Jesus had performed the first of his signs (2:11), which invites the reader to then look for more signs.
John 2:13-22 – Why does John then put the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry rather than at the end like the other gospel accounts? There is a less likely chance that he cleansed the temple twice. The accounts of the cleansing in John’s gospel and the other gospels are quite similar and the authorities would have responded quite differently a second time. At least one would think so. John places this story at the beginning of his narrative so that everything you read from this point forward should be read through the lens of Jesus claiming that he is in fact the temple where heaven and earth come together with the presence of God.
When we read this story, we often focus our attention on Jesus cleansing the temple and his righteous indignation for what was going on in the temple. In the last year, I’ve seen people reference these stories as justification for their own righteous indignation while failing to realize that Jesus then went to the cross a week later (in the other gospel accounts) and died for those same people. Be careful not to only model the parts of Jesus’ ministry that match your own desires. You cannot pick up the whip without also picking up the cross.
During our time of Dwelling in the Word Monday morning, I was moved that each person in the group reflecting on scripture together heard the same message in their lives: “What is it in your heart, mind, and life that Jesus needs to drive out so that God can take up residence in your life?” The focus of each person was drawn to different words and phrases within the text, but all felt the same message in their time of meditation. When reading passages like this one, it is important to become introspective for how the Holy Spirit needs to cleanse your life rather than assuming the passage could only be talking about “those people over there that need cleansing.”
We are all in need of cleansing. Reading scripture in a way that only confirms your justification while condemning others is not a reading that invites the Holy Spirit into your life for transformation. This brings us to the next section we will focus on this Sunday, John 3:1-21. Jesus says to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (3:5). What does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit?
I’ll end with this. In last week’s sermon I focused in on Jesus’ question to the disciples of John in 1:38, “What are you seeking?” Jesus calls us to follow him, to be shaped into his image by imitating the kind of life he lives. When he asks us what we’re seeking, we realize that often in life all we really want is assurance that we’re never going to go to hell. His call to follow him calls us to come through John’s baptism of repentance (water) into Jesus’ baptism of transformation (Holy Spirit). If I am not inviting the Holy Spirit into my life to bring transformation to who I am, have I merely settled for John’s baptism? Jesus has called us to greater things than this!