Jesus Cleanses the Temple & Jesus Knows What is in Man

JOHN’S GOSPEL MEDITATION # 6

John 2:13–25

Jesus Cleanses the Temple &Jesus Knows What is in Man

  1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
  2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
  3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
  4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
  5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
  6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
  7. The temple in Jerusalem, still in the process of being rebuilt, and this begun by Herod the Great, was used for many purposes. It was the center of trade, a money exchange, a bank, a depository of the nation’s wealth, and lots of gold plating. Besides, sellers of animals for ritual sacrifices made for a zoo like environment. The hides of which were sold.
  8. Here Jesus, being upset and angry, zealous actually, causes extreme consternation for the temple authorities.
  9. These authorities challenge Jesus. They ask for a sign, or miracle, from Him. If such could be produced, then maybe Jesus is a prophet sent from God and His actions would have to be accepted. Jesus’ reply is mysterious: If the temple is destroyed, He would raise it up.
  10. Jesus is looking ahead to His crucifixion, and that He is the temple, the real temple, and He would be raised from the dead. We note the “echad” of the Trinity here. On the one hand Jesus said, “I will raise it up” then on the other, when “he was raised from the dead.” There is no difference here.
  11. At the Passover Feast, many began to believe in Jesus due to the signs or miracles Jesus did.
  12. Jesus, despite His growing popularity, would not “entrust” Himself to His fan base because He knew what is at the core of human beings. He did not know every person’s wickedness, but He knew human beings. He knew and knows that we are corrupt and polluted in our inner being.

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