John 2:19 –
“All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
With full knowledge of the story of Jesus this makes sense to us today; imagine hearing it for the first time and trying to figure out what He meant. Imagine the “light bulb” moment the disciples had when Jesus rose on the third day. When you really think about it, the idea is nuts. Now this is John’s first documented action with the Jewish leaders and already He is getting under their skin. Also, Jesus is making them think about His words.
What prompted this was Jesus cleared out the market place they had set up in the temple. The disciples noticed his passion for the temple and remembered Psalm 69:9 which describes David’s passion for his father’s house and how it consumes him. They apply this same passion to Jesus who is from David’s blood line. I find it interesting that the disciples read this verse as a “prophecy” of Jesus’ passion. But at the same time, there were very few in this time that took the seriousness of the Fathers house.
I have seen this at church before when they do flea markets and rummage sales and wonder if this is the same thing. I know it’s one of those lines where when your church is doing a fund raiser and selling donated items may be ok in the eyes of God. Or even more narrowing, the Temple was the one place to sit with God, so having a market place there was wrong. Where has once the curtain split and the Holy Ghost entered the picture things changed. The church is not the same as the Temple. This is something to think about today while at church.
Also, this chapter contains Jesus’ first miracle, changing water into wine. This has so many levels of significance that it could easy be glossed over, so read this a couple of times. Notice Jesus did this in the background; few knew where the wine came from. Also, notice the quality of wine. Think about why Jesus did this and what the purpose of saving the party was about.