John 2

PLUS

Jesus called the temple my Father’s house (verse 16). God was Jesus’ Father in a special way. We believers become God’s children by ADOPTION (Ephesians 1:5). But Jesus was God’s child by birth (Matthew 1:18).

17 For Jesus’ disciples, the cleansing of the temple was another sign that Jesus was truly the Messiah. Only the Messiah would dare to drive out all the merchants and their animals. This was a fulfillment of prophecy, for in Psalm 69:9 the Messiah says, “… zeal for your house consumes me.” The Psalmist is saying that the Messiah will be anxious and eager to protect the honor of God’s temple. Jesus was concerned for God’s honor. To turn God’s temple into a marketplace was to dishonor God. God’s house was for worship and prayer, not for making money (Mark 11:17).

18 The Jews also understood that by cleansing the temple, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. Therefore, they asked Him to show them a sign, a miracle, to prove that He had the authority to do such a thing. The Jews were always seeking signs. Without a miraculous sign, they would not believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah (see Mark 8:11-13; 1 Corinthians 1:22 and comments). Without a sign, they would consider Him to be only a troublemaker and lawbreaker!

19 Jesus said, “All right, I’ll give you a sign. Let this temple be destroyed, and I will raise it again in three days.

20 of course, the Jews did not understand Jesus’ meaning. Already it had taken forty-six years to build the temple, and the temple was still not completed. (The temple was finally completed in 64 A.D.) How could Jesus build such a great temple in just three days, when hundreds of workmen hadn’t been able to finish it in forty-six years?

Later the Jews used this statement of Jesus to accuse Him of opposing the law of Moses and the Jewish religion (Mark 14:57-59). The Jews claimed that Jesus said He would destroy the temple; but, in fact, it was they themselves who in the end destroyed the “temple”—that is, Jesus’ body—by causing Him to be put to death. They had asked for a sign of His authority, and the “sign” He gave them was to raise from the dead the body they had destroyed.

21 Here John gives Jesus’ meaning. Jesus was not talking about the Jewish temple in Jerusalem; He was talking about His own body. When He said, “I will raise it again in three days,” He meant: “Three days after my death, my body will be resurrected.”

The only sign that Jesus agreed to give to the Jews was the sign of His resurrection (seeMatthew12:39-40 and comment). His resurrection would be the final proof that He was the Messiah, the Son of God.

John says here that the temple was Jesus’ body. God dwelled in the Jewish temple; God also dwelled in Jesus’ body (Colossians 2:9). But now the church is also Jesus’ body (see Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18 and comments). John is saying that the old Jewish temple with its sacrifices would disappear, and that a new spiritual temple, or body—that is, the church—would be raised up. God does not live only in temples built by human hands (see Acts 7:48-49; 17:24 and comments); He lives also in the heart of every believer.

22 Even Jesus’ own disciples did not understand His saying at the time. Only after the resurrection did they remember what He had said about rebuilding the temple in three days. They remembered that He had also taught them that He would be killed and be raised after three days (Mark 8:31; 9:31). Only after they saw Him risen from the dead did they fully understand and believe what the Scriptures had said about Jesus and what Jesus had said about Himself (John 12:16). Jesus told His disciples, “… the Holy Spirit … will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). For the disciples, this promise was fulfilled; and it continues to be fulfilled today in the life of every true believer.

23-24 Many people believed in Jesus because of His miracles (see John 6:2). But their faith was not deep. They regarded Him as a wonderworker, a great leader—even, perhaps, a king. But they had no spiritual understanding that He was, in fact, the Son of God.

These people “believed” Christ one day, but the next day they were ready to condemn Him to death. Their faith was not true faith. Their faith was only in miracles. Such people believe one day and forget the next.

Therefore, when Jesus saw the crowds praising Him and following Him, He did not entrust himself to them (verse 24). That is, He did not rely on their support. He did not seek to be their leader. He did not seek their approval and praise. He knew that they praised Him mainly with their lips. He knew that their faith was shallow.

Today, also, many people follow after Jesus who have no real faith. They may prof ess faith in hope of receiving some benefit or assistance—a scholarship, a job, some food, money. Some come to Christ because they have been healed, but their faith is of ten weak. They look mainly for what they can get from Christ, not for what they can give to Him. Such people quickly turn away when the benefits they are seeking come to an end.

It is true that everyone who comes to Christ comes, at first, for some selfish reason—that is, because of some need. But after meeting Christ and believing in Him, we must then renounce selfishness and follow Him, not for our own sakes, but for His sake.

25 Jesus did not need man’s testimony about man. That is, He did not need anyone to tell Him what the human heart was like. Because of His supernatural knowledge, He knew every man’s heart. … for you alone know the hearts of all men (1 Kings 8:39). Therefore, because Christ knows everything about us, He is perfectly suited to be the doctor of our souls (John 4:29). He is also—for the same reason—perfectly suited to be our judge! (John 5:22).