God isn’t against sacrifice, He’s against the corruption of the temple. It was terrible. There was nothing wrong with selling them, but there’s a huge area outside the wall.
Why don’t you sell them out there? Why are you here? Because you know you could rip the people off, you can tell them that the stuff that is closer to the altar is worth more and more dedicated to the Lord, so you get more money for it.
Don’t make my house of prayer a house of merchandising and making money. The graft and greed here is abominable and the Lord is driving it all out.
This is Hope for Today with David Hocking. In today’s lesson, found in Chapter 2 of the Gospel of John, verses 13 to 25, Jesus walks into the temple, sees corruption everywhere, and flips tables upside down. It’s not exactly the meek and mild image of him that we often have, is it?
But what does this bold move mean for us today? And why did he say, destroy this temple, and I’ll raise it in three days? Well, stick around.
This is no ordinary Sunday school story. It’s a spiritual showdown.
And we’ll open the passage in just a moment. First, David’s son, Matt, has something very special to share with us.
Matt, Hope for Today is all about sharing the life-saving, life-changing hope of the Gospel within a world of darkness. We are passionate about equipping believers in these difficult days through the faithful teaching of God’s Word. And a vital part of sustaining this ministry is prayer.
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Well, thank you, Matt. And friends, you can donate and let us know you’re praying for this ministry by calling us at 800-75-BIBLE. In Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE.
And Bible by the numbers is 24253. You can also reach us at davidhocking.org. Well, now, here’s David with day one of his message, Cleansing of the Temple.
Take your Bibles and turn to John chapter 2, John 2, beginning at verse 13. Now, the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.
When he had made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father’s house a house of merchandise.
Then his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house has eaten me up. So the Jews answered and said to him, what sign do you show to us since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Then the Jews said, it has taken 46 years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did, but Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. There are three Passover’s mentioned in John. Some think there are four, because one feast that is mentioned, they think is the Passover.
So when you talk about the ministry of Christ, his public ministry beginning when he was 30 years old, some say it lasted for three years, some say three and a half, some say even four. But we do know that it mentions in chapter two verse 13 that this is the Passover. And then if you look at chapter six verse four, you realize a year has gone by, because it says, now the Passover, a feast of the Jews was near.
And then the third one that’s clearly identified is in chapter 11 verse 55. It says, the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. But there’s at least three of them that are mentioned in the book.
Passover is quite an occasion. It’s a religious feast that requires every Jewish male 20 years old and above to attend. So Jerusalem’s population, which normally is about 250, 300,000 people, swells to about 3 million people at the time of our Lord.
A Josephus recorded that at one Passover in his day, there were 256,000 lambs killed. Now, one lamb is killed for a household of 10, minimum, 20, maximum. So you see how big the population would have been in that day.
They come from everywhere. Not everybody could bring animals. They weren’t farmers, or the distance was too long, and they didn’t bring the animals for sacrifice.
But there was nothing wrong with selling that, but you did it outside of the temple area, not within. Listen, folks, this is a terrible time in the religious history of Israel. Now, crowds are everywhere.
The temple area is huge, covering many, many acres. There are four courts. There’s the court of the Gentiles, which is the outside one.
That’s where all this selling was going on. The court of the Gentiles was designed to be a house of prayer for all nations, for all Gentiles. But they had made a travesty of this whole thing.
It was terrible what they had done. You’ve got all the priests on duty, by the way. There are 24 divisions of Levitical priests.
They rotated in their service to the temple, except on the day of Passover. They’re all on duty. They’re all involved sacrificing animals, blood animals screaming.
You can imagine the noise. Also, all the Levitical singers are on duty. They sing all day long.
They basically sing Psalm 113 to Psalm 118, which is called the Hallel. And they sing it all day long. There is noise everywhere.
And you’ve got two to three million people. And they’re trying to send a representative to go get that lamb killed. And they are all in there, maybe 200,000 people at once, crammed in there.
And it is the Carnival. Now you’re ready for John 2. Jesus did this not only at the beginning of his ministry, but also the last week before he went to the cross.
He cleansed the temple twice, which shows you how quickly they went back to it after he was gone. There are two problems here that are problems discussed throughout John. One is the problem of worship, seen in the cleansing of the temple.
But in the last three verses of John 2, we have the problem of belief or faith. And that is a main issue in the Gospel of John. Let’s start with the problem of worship.
I want you to see seven things as we walk through verses 13 to 22. One, the Bible says he discovered the problem in the temple area. He knew what was going on, but the Bible says he found or discovered in the temple.
Now, the word temple is not referring to the holy of holies. They weren’t in there. It’s the Greek word hi-erone, which refers to the whole area, the temple area.
It’s not referring to the holy of holies. That’s another word, naos. But as a matter of fact, just saying the words to you is not my point here, but to see a difference.
Hi-erone versus naos. Naos refers to the holy of holies, hi-erone to the entire temple complex. The reason why I point this out is look at verse 19.
When Jesus said destroy this temple, he did not use the word hi-erone, which is found in verse 14. He used the word naos. When he referred to himself, he referred to him as being the holy of holies.
Now back to verse 14. He discovers the problem in the temple. Now I believe that everybody knew that Jesus was right.
Have you ever wondered when you read this story, well, how did Jesus overpower them? And you’ve got all these Roman soldiers on duty watching the crowds, and there were more of them on duty at Passover than any other time of the year. Then how did Jesus get away with this?
How did he drive them out? Why didn’t they all overpower him or grab him and stop him? Because the Jews knew what he was doing was right.
The common people, the Bible says, heard Jesus gladly, and they would give anything to have anybody do something about the corrupt priesthood and the high prices they were charging and ripping the people off. They knew what Jesus was doing was right. That’s why they didn’t do anything.
You see, such pollution of the temple was condemned in the Old Testament. The prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zephaniah spoke out against it. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that one of the reasons for the Babylonian captivity, 2nd Chronicles 36, 14, was because they defiled the house of the Lord which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
And it was the priests who had done it. They did it in the past, they’re doing it again in Jesus’ day. The second thing I noticed in verse 15 is he drove out the sellers and money changers.
He just drove them out of there. The Bible says he used a whip of cords. The word cords appears only one other place, Acts 27, 32, and it refers to ropes on a ship.
You say, where did he get the ropes? Simple. All the animals are brought in with ropes.
There are hundreds of them. A lot of people who picture him as some sort of a feminine person have never really understood this story. He drove them out, the Bible says.
And he wasn’t just doing it in a passive way like, to tune, please go.
The zeal for the house of the Lord had consumed him, the Bible says. He is doing this in a rather zealous way, and getting them out of there. You can imagine what was going on.
Well, whether you know it or not, prophecy is being fulfilled. Turn to Malachi, please. Or Malachi, as you say in Hebrew, or as some of us refer to him, Malachi, the Italian prophet.
The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, or we say Malachi in English. In chapter 3 of Malachi’s prophecy, we read this. Chapter 3, verse 1.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. That’s John the Baptist. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple.
Even the messenger of the covenant, the Messiah himself, in whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming?
Who can stand when he appears? He’s like a refiner’s spire and like fuller soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.
Watch this next statement. This is something every Jew at the time of our Lord longed to have happen. He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.
Jews knew about that prophecy. The Messiah will come suddenly to his temple. He’ll surprise us with what he does, and he’ll purify the sons of Levi so that they will offer sacrifices of righteousness.
Jews knew that passage well. Malachi was a very, very popular passage because it spoke of the coming of the Messiah and also his messenger. And from that moment on, there was a lot of silence in terms of revelation from God to his prophets.
Some 400 years, nothing was said. And the Jews knew of that prophecy, and they were expecting it. There was a lot of messianic expectation.
In Israel, and when Jesus did what he did, it was what the Messiah would do. He came suddenly, he surprised us. And he drove them out.
And you can imagine what the common people were thinking. Without speaking up for fear, yet they were rejoicing in their hearts. At what Jesus was doing.
He was fulfilling prophecy, and they knew it. It’s obvious by what is said in John chapter 2. Turn back there, please.
John chapter 2. He’ll purify the sons of Levi. The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.
He not only discovered the problem in the temple and drove out the sellers and money changers, he also denounced their practices. We read in verse 16. John 2, 16.
He said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Let me stop right there and say, isn’t it interesting that he didn’t over turn the doves and hurt them and, you know, I don’t know, maybe it’s a small deal, but I like small stuff. And it seems to me that the Lord shows his tenderness here in the moment of his anger.
Because doves were always considered to be innocent, harmless birds. They would never attack anybody, and they were rather docile, and they were perfect animals for sacrifice. And the Lord Jesus made them who sold the doves take the doves away.
It’s just a little thing, but I like the touch of the Lord here. He didn’t break open the cages and beat up the birds. Jesus said, be wise as a serpent and harmless or innocent as a dove.
And it may be a small little thing, but I like what the Lord did here. He told those who sold them, get these away. Now here’s the denouncing of their practices.
He says, do not make my father’s house a house of merchandise or trade. Wait a minute. He didn’t say, our father’s house.
He said, my father’s house. Turn to Isaiah, please, chapter 56. And once again, the Lord starts fulfilling Bible prophecy.
Isaiah chapter 56. And look, please, at verse 7. Isaiah 56, verse 7.
Even them I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
That’s Gentiles. And that giant court of the Gentiles was designed for Gentile proselytes to come and all interested Gentiles to come there and to pray. To pray towards the Holy of Holies, where the glory of God, the Shekinah glory would dwell.
And to call upon the Lord. If all Gentiles will call upon the Lord, they will be saved, the Old Testament prophets talked about. So the court of the Gentiles is to be a house of prayer for all nations.
Now go back to John 2. With that understanding, you understand what Jesus is saying. Do not make my Father’s house a house of merchandise.
It’s to be a house of prayer, he said. Now does that mean that they’re not to bring sacrifices? No, not at all.
Make sure you don’t misunderstand this passage. First of all, in the court of the Gentiles, straight through that court, while Gentiles supposedly are trying to pray, you’re also bringing all those animals. And you can imagine the noise and the bleeding of the animals and all of that.
That’s all passing right straight through the same exact area. No, God isn’t against sacrifice. He’s against the hearts of people that are making those sacrifices something they were never intended to be.
They aren’t to be items by which we make a lot of money and rip people off. And that’s what he’s talking about. The corruption of the temple.
It was terrible. There was nothing wrong with selling them. But give the money outside.
Don’t sit them right in here. There’s a huge area outside the wall. Why don’t you sell them out there?
Why are you here? Because you know you can rip the people off. You can tell them that the stuff that is closer to the altar is worth more.
More and more dedicated to the Lord, so you get more money for it. Don’t make my house of prayer a house of merchandising and making money. The graft and greed here is abominable, and the Lord is driving it all out.
The fourth thing I draw to your attention is he demonstrated to his disciples the fulfillment of another prophecy. As they watched what he was doing, it says in verse 17, his disciples were remembered that it was written, and this is a messianic psalm, Psalm 69, verse 9, zeal for your house has eaten me up. That’s a quote of the Messiah.
So as they watch him, that’s why I said it wasn’t just a casual, would you men please leave? No, we’re talking about a man obsessed with it. The Lord is consumed with zeal for the house of God.
I like what one old writer of 100 years ago said. It would help if all the Christians of today would have the same kind of zeal for the Lord that the Messiah had when he threw those money changers out. Zeal for your house has eaten me up.
Once again, he demonstrated to the disciples the fulfillment of prophecy. The fifth thing I draw to your attention is in verse 18. They demanded a sign for what he was doing.
The Jews answered and said, What sign do you show us since you do these things? That proves one thing to me. They knew that what he was doing was messianic.
They knew it. That’s why they didn’t oppose him. They knew the prophecies.
And they see what Jesus is doing. And he’s basically claiming to be Messiah. And they can feel it.
They know it’s happening. So they quickly get on and say, Okay, show us a sign. You think they wanted to believe?
No way.
That’s Bible Teacher David Hocking, and this is Hope for Today. Our study time with David continues in just a moment. Do stay with us.
First, Matt’s in the studio with me, and we have a wonderful tool that’s going to help people get the most out of the series. What do we have?
Yeah, this is awesome. It’s my dad’s original sermon notes for the Gospel of John series.
Okay, 50 messages in the series. It’s going to take us a few months to get through this. And there is a set of sermon notes for each and every one of those messages.
That’s right, and they’re just $10.
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In Canada, call us at 888-75-BIBLE. And Bible by the numbers again, 24253. Well, here’s David to close out our time.
Now, one thing is clear from the story that we are looking at the last part of John, Chapter 2, is the authority of our Lord. And He called the temple, in verse 16, My Father’s House. That’s incredible.
He overthrew the money changers’ tables. He made a scourge and drove them all out of the temple with their animals and all of that. It wasn’t that animals weren’t to be purchased by visitors or strangers who came from long distances to participate in the great Passover celebrations.
That isn’t the issue. The issue is where they were located. And they were turning this all into a commercial enterprise that got away from the true worship that God wanted from His people.
And then the statement that Yeshua is going to make about destroying the temple. They took 46 years to build that thing in a restoration process by Herod the Great. And he says, in three days, if you destroy it, I can raise it up.
They didn’t understand. He was talking about the temple of his body. He was referring to his own resurrection.
And his disciples, after he was risen from the dead, they’re the ones who remembered what he said and believed the Word of God. That’s found in John 2 and verse 22. But it’s very clear from the last few verses that Jesus did not believe in many of the people who, apparently, because of his miracles, were responding to him, but he didn’t believe in them, because he knew all men.
He had omniscience. That’s an important thing for us to understand. You may put on a good act in front of your family and friends, but God knows the truth.
Be careful about just going around, picking up the vocabulary of Christians and hanging out with them and acting like you’re in the end group. The Lord knows the truth. God bless you.
Well, friend, next time on Hope for Today, we continue with David’s message, Cleansing of the Temple. We pray you can join us then, and that you’ll invite a friend to listen along with you. As David continues bringing you the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, right here on Hope for Today.
