Walk With Jesus During Holy Week: Monday Evening
This morning’s Holy Week “participation” post was about Jesus cleansing the temple during the last week of His earthly life.
Did you know that Jesus cleansed the temple twice during his ministry years, once near the beginning and then again near the end?
John 2:13-20 records Jesus first cleansing the temple, soon after His first miracle of turning water into wine. According to the text this miracle occurred shortly before the Passover. John tells us so – with words like “after this,” “stayed for a few days” and “when it was almost time.” He travels from Cana to Capernaum then to Jerusalem for the Passover. The synoptics do not mention this first cleansing, only the second one during Passion Week, while John only mentions the first.
I encourage you to read all of the second chapter of John’s gospel. John steps away from his story in vv.21-22 to give his readers insight into the meaning of the previous text. He then gets back to telling to story in v.23 through the end of the chapter.
Why does he step away? Because I believe that he wants his readers to see clearly the implicit (implied) meaning of what Jesus just said in v.19. By their response in v.20 it is clear that Jesus’s listeners missed His meaning, but it is so important that John does not want us to miss it. John regularly does this throughout his gospel.
Think about what John was emphasizing in vv. 21-22 — from the very beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus had the end in view. Jesus gave pointers (often missed by his followers) all along the way — the temple of His body (John 2:22), elevation on a cross (John 3:14), giving of His flesh for the world (John 6:51), His burial (John 12:7), even announcing to the disciples his betrayal and death (John 13:19, 21). Tonight, as you hang out with Jesus, let His love for you seep into every nook and cranny of your soul. Tell Him how much you appreciate that great sacrificial love.
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