John 2:13-25

¹³ And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: ¹⁵ And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; ¹⁶ And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. ¹⁷ And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. ¹⁸ Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? ¹⁹ Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ²⁰ Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? ²¹ But he spake of the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. ²³ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. ²⁴ But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, ²⁵ And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not only the center and foundational truth of the Christian faith, it is central to the plan of God in restoring all things. Our faith is not based upon the imaginations of man, myths, legends, or fables meant to teach moral truths. The Christian faith is based upon facts and evidence. It is founded upon the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who took on human flesh in the virgin birth, lived a perfect and sinless life, performed many confirming miracles, spoke the Word of God, was betrayed and condemned by His own people, died on a cross for the sin of the world, and rose again on the third day. The words of the Apostle Paul capture this in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 saying, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” In doing so, Jesus became the perfect representative of the human race and the only sufficient sacrifice for sin. His resurrection serves as the proof and confirmation of all else that He said and did. It also serves as the hope of the believer because it promises to all who place their faith in Christ total victory over sin and death. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation. Without the resurrection there is no gospel hope. 1 Corinthians 15:17 tells us, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” But Christ arose! There is no more sure truth in history and God validated it with “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3) when He showed Himself risen to hundreds of disciples (1 Corinthians 15:5-11). What does Easter mean for us? What work can we trust that Christ is still accomplishing in the hearts and lives of people today because He lives?

Early in Jesus’s ministry, He attended the first Passover of His public ministry that began when He was 30 years old. John 2:13-25 records for us that first Passover where Jesus went into Jerusalem and cleansed the temple. When He did this, He gave a clear foreshadowing of His purpose in coming into the world, how He would lay down His life for sin and rise again, and the work that His resurrection would accomplish for His people. We find in this passage three things that He accomplishes through His work on the cross and rising from the dead.

First, His cleansing of the temple teaches us that He came to purify God’s people. At the first Passover of His public ministry, Jesus went into the temple grounds and found that the temple was filled with animal salesmen and money changers. The animals were sold as sacrificial animals. The practice developed over time for Jewish people who traveled long distances and could not practically or safely transport a sacrificial animal in appropriate condition. These animals were inspected by the priests of the temple and the merchants charged extorted prices for the animals. In addition, money changers were there to change out all forms of foreign currency, that would have images of the emperor or other things, for temple currency. They would charge as much as 12.5% to exchange money. Since all Jews were required to pay a half shekel temple tax (Exodus 30:13), this added a significant burden to that tax. Jews who were simply trying to be obedient to the law by paying their taxes, participating in the feasts, and offering their required sacrifices were being taken advantage of. Jesus found the temple full of such extortion, made a whip of the cords that held the animals, and drove the merchants and money changers out of the temple grounds. He cleansed the temple. Malachi 3:1-4 records that the work of the Messiah was to come to God’s house and purify the worship of His people. While the temple is no longer a building today, the temple of God is His people. He lives in His people through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and Christ works in His people to purify them and make us into His holy people. What does He see in our hearts and lives that needs cleansing?

The next thing that Jesus’s temple cleansing teaches us about His death and resurrection is that He fulfilled God’s Word and all the righteous requirements of the law. The disciples remember Psalm 69:9 as Jesus cleanses the temple. In that Psalm, King David expressed longing for pure worship of God. Jesus came to provide it and fulfilled that Scripture among many others. The religious leaders came to Jesus demanding a sign to validate that Jesus had the authority to do what He did. He had the right to what He did because He was the Son of God. The “Father’s house” was His house. What was the proof that He was really the Son of God with such authority? His response was to point forward to what would take place exactly three years later at His final Passover. He would lay down His life and rise again. His words were, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Of course, the religious leaders are thrown off into thinking about the temple building and grounds that had taken 46 years (roughly 20-19 B.C. – 27 AD) just to renovate under Herod the Great. They saw the worship of God centered in Jerusalem at the temple, but Jesus came to establish a new sacrifice, new temple, and new worship. The new sacrifice would no longer be the Passover lambs or animals of any kind, but Himself. The new temple would not be the building in Jerusalem, but His body and His people, the Church. The new worship would no longer be at the physical location of Jerusalem, but in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).  Jesus fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law through His sinless life, His sacrificial death, and His glorious resurrection. He fulfilled the Scripture in its entirety. The disciples would understand the significance of what He spoke of in regards to raising up the temple after He had risen from the dead. The resurrection, the cornerstone truth of the Christian faith, would make sense of it all. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The only hope we have of righteousness is Christ and His fulfillment of all of God’s requirements on our behalf. Is Christ your righteousness?

The final thing that Christ’s death and resurrection accomplishes that we find in this account of the temple cleansing is that Christ is the One who searches the hearts of men. John tells us that there are many who believed because of the great number of miracles that Jesus. While they believed, Jesus did not “commit” Himself to them because He knew what was in them. What does this mean? The words for “believed” in verse 23 and “commit” in verse 24 are actually the same Greek root word. It speaks to Jesus not committing to their faith because their faith was less than genuine. They loved His miracles and were fascinated by them, but they were not truly submitted to Him in faith. Therefore, He did not “commit” Himself to them. He is the Lord of all and He searches the hearts of all people. One day, all people will stand before Him and given an account of our lives (John 5:25-29). When He died and rose again, He proved once and for all that He is all that He claimed to be and He will do all that He promised. He is the Son of God with all of the authority of God tol judge the living and the dead. He is coming again and all people will have to answer to Him. Right now, He knows the inner thoughts in the deepest recesses of your heart and mind. He knows every action you’ve ever taken or will take. He knows every sin you have ever committed or will commit. Yet, while He is the Judge to whom we will answer, He died for our sins and rose again that we might be saved and forgiven.

Easter is about the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Because He lives, He continues His work today of purifying God’s people, fulfilling God’s Word and the righteous requirements of God’s law, and searching, convicting, and proving the hearts of men. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords who stands ready to receive all who will humble themselves and place their faith in Him. Do you know the risen Savior?