John records that early in His ministry, when Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Passover, He found corruption in the temple courts:
“And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’” (John 2:14–16)
The temple was meant to be a place of prayer and worship, but it had been turned into a marketplace. By cleansing the temple, Jesus revealed His zeal for His Father’s honor. John notes:
“Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.’” (John 2:17)
When the leaders challenged Him, Jesus pointed to the greater meaning of His authority:
“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” (John 2:19–21)
The cleansing of the temple was more than an act of reform; it was a declaration that the true temple was standing before them in Christ Himself. Worship would no longer be tied to the building in Jerusalem but fulfilled in Him. This act at the beginning of His ministry foreshadowed both His authority as the Son and His mission to purify God’s people.
