John 2:13-25 | Psalm 69:1-18
Now we really know that John isn’t too concerned with an orderly account (as was Luke) in regard to exactness in detail and time concerning Jesus’ life. He places the clearing of the Temple here almost at the very beginning whereas the other gospel writers place it during the week leading up to Good Friday and Easter.
John is primarily concerned about function and role above historicity. Take note.
The Jewish leaders ask for a sign and Jesus doesn’t give them one, but tells them of the final sign we’ll read in this gospel.
(Sorry, should have given a spoiler alert.)
John 2:13-25
It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency. He said to the dove sellers, “Get these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it is written, Passion for your house consumes me.
Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? What miraculous sign will you show us?”
Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up.”
The Jewish leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” But the temple Jesus was talking about was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered what he had said, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, many believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs that he did. But Jesus didn’t trust himself to them because he knew all people. He didn’t need anyone to tell him about human nature, for he knew what human nature was.
Psalm 69:1-18
Save me, God,
because the waters have reached my neck!
I have sunk into deep mud.
My feet can’t touch the bottom!
I have entered deep water;
the flood has swept me up.
I am tired of crying.
My throat is hoarse.
My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God.
More numerous than the hairs on my head
are those who hate me for no reason.
My treacherous enemies,
those who would destroy me, are countless.
Must I now give back
what I didn’t steal in the first place?
God, you know my foolishness;
my wrongdoings aren’t hidden from you.
Lord God of heavenly forces!—
don’t let those who hope in you
be put to shame because of me.
God of Israel!—
don’t let those who seek you
be disgraced because of me.
I am insulted because of you.
Shame covers my face.
I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
an immigrant to my mother’s children.
Because passion for your house has consumed me,
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!
I wept while I fasted—
even for that I was insulted.
When I wore funeral clothes,
people made fun of me.
Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me;
drunkards made up rude songs.
But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord,
at just the right time.
God, in your great and faithful love,
answer me with your certain salvation!
Save me from the mud!
Don’t let me drown!
Let me be saved from those who hate me
and from these watery depths!
Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters!
Don’t let the abyss swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!
Answer me, Lord, for your faithful love is good!
Turn to me in your great compassion!
Don’t hide your face from me, your servant,
because I’m in deep trouble.
Answer me quickly!
Come close to me!
Redeem me!
Save me because of my enemies!
Prayer
God,
Sometimes I get nervous that some of the things I do out of regularity or seeming necessity are actually totally against what you’d want me to do.
I might have been one of those selling animals in the Temple. Was there a Law against it? I might have been providing a service to those traveling a long distance who yet wanted to make a sacrifice. And yes, I might have been trying to make a living.
Surely I’m missing some of the contextual and cultural considerations.
But nonetheless, I’m wary of doing things unassumingly that are a detriment to your kingdom.
So help me, God:
Give me wisdom to see to all the implications and consequences of my actions and words. Give me vision to see beyond the moment, to have the foresight to see when what I’m doing may be aversely affecting others, particularly those already taxed by the difficulties of life.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.