Year B 3rd Sunday Lent: John 2,13-25

02:13   When the time of the Jewish Passover was near Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

02:14   and in the Temple he found people

selling cattle and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting there.

02:15   Making a whip out of cord, he drove them all out of the Temple,

sheep and cattle as well, scattered the money changers' coins,

knocked their tables over

02:16   and said to the dove sellers,

'Take all this out of here and stop using my Father's house as a market.'

02:17   Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture:

I am eaten up with zeal for your house.

02:18   The Jews intervened and said,

'What sign can you show us that you should act like this?'

02:19   Jesus answered, 'Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'

02:20   The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple:

are you going to raise it up again in three days?'

02:21   But he was speaking of the Temple that was his body,

02:22   and when Jesus rose from the dead,

his disciples remembered that he had said this,

and they believed the scripture and what he had said.

02:23   During his stay in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover

many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he did,

02:24   but Jesus knew all people and did not trust himself to them;

02:25   he never needed evidence about anyone;

he could tell what someone had within.

Context

In the foregoing story we heard that Jesus changed water into wine. That was a reference to the meaning of Jesus’ mission: he changed the water of the Law into the wine of grace. As John announced in the prologue of his Gospel (1:16-17), ‘Of his fullness we have all received grace after grace. The Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.’

The same happens in the story of the cleansing of the temple. Jesus removes everything that has to do with the offer cult from temple: the merchants, the merchandise, the animals, the money, ‘The house of my Father is not a market hall.’

Moreover, the two stories are connected by the word ‘three days’ (vss.1 and 19.20). ‘Three days’ or ‘the third day’ are key words: they refer to the mystery of Jesus’ resurrection. With Jesus’ resurrection the old religion has been changed into a new one.

Information

Reading the Greek text there is at least one striking thing. John/Jesus uses two different words for temple: the word ‘hieron’ (= sanctuary) and the word ‘naos’ (= temple building): the word ‘hieron/sanctuary’ in vss.14.15; the word ‘naos/temple’ in vss.19.20.21. Is that important? I think it is in fact so important as to be the clue for this text.

Let us reread the text:

02:14   and in the hieron/sanctuary he found people etc.

02:15   Making a whip out of cord, he drove them all out of the hieron/sanctuary...

Later:

02:18   The Jews asked, 'What sign can you show us that you should act like this?'

02:19   Jesus answered, 'Destroy this naos/temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'

Note that Jesus doesn’t speak about ‘hieron/sanctuary’, but about ‘naos/temple’.

02:20   The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this naos/temple:

are you going to raise it up again in three days?'

02:21   But he was speaking of the naos/temple that was his body...

The first Christian generation spoke about themselves as God’s temple and they used the word ‘naos’ there, the word Jesus is using against his opponents. Cfr. for example 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, ‘You know that you are the naos/temple of God’s spirit.’ That casts a special light upon the words of Jesus in the Gospel. It will be clearer when I translate Jesus’ word ‘naos’ into ‘church’, ’Destroy this church and I will raise up a new one in three days...!’ He was speaking about his body, the church. He was speaking about you and me! We are meant to be the risen Christ, the Church, the dwelling place of God.

Picture Meditation

We look at a stained glass window in the St-Leonard church in Zoutleeuw, Belgium, made in 1919 by Stalins.

In the centre of the picture Jesus, clothed in red and white. He is barefoot: sign that he is going the way of the Lord. His face shows a severe expression; he raises his right hand and points, full of authority, to where the merchants have to go. They are clothed in green, pink and grey: there is one in a red hat and another with one red sock. He has a whip in his left hand but he doesn’t use it. It is striking that all people look at Jesus. What is the expression of their faces and their attitudes? Three of them bring their money to safety. The fourth one is involved with the animals who were destined to be offered. However, the animals - the bull and the birds in the cage- don’t seem to be aware of what is going on and that their lives have been saved by Jesus.

Looking at the picture I remember the words Jesus spoke, according to John: ‘Stop using my Father's house as a market.’ The scene happens in the temple. In the background I see four columns but otherwise there is noting that reminds me that we are in a house of prayer and worship.

God is not worshipped by money and offerings but by prayer which has to be transformed into actions of charity for one’s neighbour, especially the neighbour in need.  Looking at Jesus I remember that he himself is a temple, a dwelling place of God’s presence (‘spirit’), and that I am invited to follow his example. People who act like that: they are his body, the temple, the church.