A New Temple

John 2:12–25 ESV

After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Passover—1 of 3 in John…this helps us date the time of Jesus’s ministry.

Jerusalem would have gone from about 50,000 to 250,000.

One of two temple cleansing accounts—why?

The temple—the holiest site.

Jesus restores the temple.

Cleanses/Purifies

Explain:

People would have to make sacrifices but wouldn’t have taken animals on long journeys.

They were also required to pay a 1/2 shekel temple tax…had to be a temple coin because the Roman coins had Caesar and Roman gods on them.

The whole system of worship is corrupt.

Malachi 3:1–4 ESV

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Application: Just as Jesus confronted the corruption of institutional worship, believers today must examine what has infiltrated their personal worship. What “commerce” crowds out genuine prayer—busyness, distraction, performance for others’ approval? Restoration begins when we recognize that God’s house must be pure and holy1, and that includes the temple of our hearts. Invite listeners to identify one area where they’ve substituted religious activity for authentic devotion, then commit to clearing that space for genuine encounter with God.

Jesus reclaims the temple.

“My father’s house…”

vv 18 & 19 — two ways of understanding this…1) he is reclaiming with authority…& 2) …

Application: Jesus’ reclamation of the temple reveals that he alone mediates access to God. Congregants may feel they must “earn” God’s favor through religious performance, church attendance, or moral achievement. Challenge them: Where are you still approaching God through human intermediaries or systems rather than directly through Christ? What false gatekeepers have you allowed to stand between you and God’s grace? Restoration happens when you bypass every substitute and come directly to Jesus.

Jesus replaces the temple.

Jesus is the greater Passover sacrifice.

Jesus is the greater Priest.

Jesus is the greater Place.

Application: The most radical shift for your congregation: worship is no longer location-dependent or performance-based. True worship is now at hand because Jesus, the Son and Messiah, is at hand—this is worship in Spirit and in truth, and he is the truth. This liberates believers from anxiety about “doing worship right” and relocates worship’s center from external observance to internal alignment with Christ. Ask: Are you still worshiping at a “temple” of your own making—a system, a church building, a spiritual practice—rather than encountering the living Christ? Invite them to experience the freedom of direct, Spirit-empowered communion with God through his risen presence.