John 2:13-16
2:13 a Passover, an annual spring festival, commemorated Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt (Exod 12 b). Jews traveled to Jerusalem to participate in the festival (Deut 16:1-16 c). Because John refers to three Passover festivals (John 2:13 d; 6:4 e; 11:55 f), many conclude that Jesus had a three-year public ministry.Summary for John 2:14-17: 2:14-17 g Those who came for Passover needed to have approved sacrifices for worship. From this need grew a considerable industry for selling animals and exchanging money, but this business was being conducted in the Temple. Jesus, like a prophet, demanded that God’s house be returned to its intended uses—worship, prayer, instruction, and sacrifice. This put Jesus at odds with the Temple leadership.
• The synoptic Gospels place the clearing of the Temple near the end of Jesus’ ministry (Matt 21:12-13 h; Mark 11:15-17 i; Luke 19:45-46 j). John might have placed his account of the event here to emphasize a connection with the miracle that transformed the water in purification jars into wine (John 2:1-11 k). The Temple and the stone jars were both instruments of purification in Judaism. Stone jars filled with water for ritual washing now contained Jesus’ wine, and a stone Temple dedicated to sacrificial purification would be replaced by Christ himself (2:19-21 l). Another view is that Jesus cleared the Temple at the beginning and again at the end of his ministry.
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