Hi. My name is Emily Bourke and I'm from Spirit River, Alberta, and I'm a second year student here at St. Therese Institute. 

This week I'll be reflecting on John 2:13-25, the cleansing of the Temple. 

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Of the four Gospels, John is the only one who puts the cleansing of the temple at the beginning. John moved the episode to the beginning of his narrative to highlight an important truth. The passage before this one is  John's account on the wedding feast at Cana. He has put them side by side to show the same theological point: that Jesus brings a new covenant that supersedes the institutions of the old. 

The Temple is divided into several courts. The outermost court was the place for Gentile worship. This also happened to be the place where they would sell sacrificial animals and exchange coins for proper temple currency. Jesus is angry because the Jews are robbing the Gentiles of the opportunity to worship and pray. With all the selling in the outer courts, it makes it too crowded to be a place of worship. Not only this but the  [money changers] are also robbing the people with their inflated tax rates. 

Jesus cleansing the temple with such zeal is highlighting the important and clear connection that Jesus is the son of God and with that, showing that Jesus does have the authority to cleanse the Temple for the Old Covenant was falling into corruption and ruin, and Jesus wishes to bring the temple into the glory it was meant to be. By disrupting the sacrificial system, Jesus symbolically announces change to come to the worship of God. Just as the water was transformed into the wine of the Gospel at Cana, so would the worship of God be transposed into the worship of the New Covenant, and with that it's Salvation. This Salvation is Jesus himself. He was sent by the Father to Institute a new covenant. 

The reference to Jesus' body is an allusion to his resurrection. So when he says destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days, he's talking about his body, which is the new temple that will be raised. Jews and disciples alike thought he was speaking about rebuilding the Temple and because of this they did not understand him. They were amazed and in denial that anyone could raise a Temple in three days, one that they'd been working on for the past 46 years. 

Because of this, the people despised Jesus and wanted to kill him. They could not see past their own ways of understanding. Little did they know they were blind to the truth and were clinging to what they believed to be right. Because of the manner in which his power was displayed, they accepted him as a great Prophet and perhaps even as the Messiah. 

This, however, is not the same as saying they surrendered their hearts to him. Jesus knew the people had not surrendered their hearts, for it was not necessary for Jesus to listen to testimony concerning any particular persons for his own penetrating eyes were able to look into the very depths of that person's heart. Jesus knew the Jews hearts and because of this he knew they needed to be cleansed. They could not understand that what they were holding on to was corrupt and unfinished. 

But Jesus knew this, and this is why he brought them the new Covenant to fulfill all the desires of their hearts, even when they couldn't see them. The Jews desired truth, however, they decided to rely on their own strengths and knowledge, turning their faith down at the door. But Jesus died so they would have the real truth, for he knew what the heart was made for. 

We, like the Jews, hold on to what we know. We convince ourselves that we know best. But Jesus knows better. He wishes to bring us a new covenant. But for us, we must let our hearts be cleansed so a new temple may be instituted there. 

During this time of Lent, let the Lord come into your heart and cleanse you of everything that makes you settle for less. What is it that keeps you from surrendering your temples to the Lord? Give it to God and let him transform it to the temple of his body. So on the last day, you too may be resurrected with him into full glory.