Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: JOHN #5 - 2:12-25)
II. 2:12-3:21 JESUS EXPLAINS SPIRITUAL NATURE OF HIS MINISTRY
A. 2:12 JESUS RETURNS TO CAPERNAUM WITH FAMILY AND DISCIPLES
MeTA TOUto kaTEbe eis Ka-phar-naOUM,
After this he went down to Capernaum,
auTOS, kai he MEter auTOU, kai hoi a-delPHOI, kai hoi ma-theTAI auTOU;
he, and his :mother, and the brethren, and his :disciples;
kai eKEI Emei-nan ou polLAS heMEras.
and there they remained not many days.
B. 2:13-22 JESUS CLEANSES TEMPLE AND PREDICTS HIS RESURRECTION
a. 2:13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand, and :Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Kai egGUS en to PAScha [2957]IouDAIon, kai aNEbe eis Ie-roSOlu-ma ho IeSOUS.
b. 2:14-16 JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE AT BEGINNING OF HIS MINISTRY
kai HEUren en tohi-eRO [2411]tous poLOUNtas [4453]BOas [1016]kai PROba-ta [4263]
And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep
kai pe-ri-steRAS [4058], kai tous ker-ma-tiSTAS [2773] ka-theMEnous: kai poiEsas phraGELli-on ek schoiNIon,
and doves, and the money changers sitting: 15 and he made a scourge of cords,
PANtas eXEba-len [1544] ek tou hi-eROU, TA te PROba-ta kai tous BOas;
andcast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen;
and he poured out the money of the changers, and overthrew theirtables;
kai tois tas pe-ri-steRAS poLOUsin EIpen, Ara-te TAUta enTEUthen;
16and to the :dove-sellers he said, Take these from here;
mepoiEIte ton OIkon tou paTROS mou OIkon em-poRI ou [1712].
make not the house of my :Father a house of merchandise.
c. 2:17 THUS JESUS FULFILLS THE SCRIPTURE
EmNESthe-san hoi ma-theTAI auTOU HOti ge-gramMEnon esTIN,
His :disciples remembered that it is written,
Ho ZElos [2205]tou OIkou sou ka-taPHAgeTAI [2719]me.
The zeal for your :house is devouring me.
d. 2:18 THE JEWS DEMAND A SIGN TO JUSTIFY THIS CLEANSING
a-peKRIthe-san oun hoi IouDAIoi kai EIpan auTO,
The Jews therefore answered and said to him,
Ti seMEIon deikNUmeis [1166]heMIN, HOti TAUta poiEIS?
What sign do you show us, because you do these things?
e. 2:19 THE SIGN - HIS OWN RESURRECTION
a-peKRItheIeSOUS kai EIpen auTOIS,
Jesus answered and said to them,
LUsa-te [3089] ton naON [3485] TOUton, kai en triSIN heMErais e-geRO auTON.
Destroy this :sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.
f. 2:20 THE JEWS MISUNDERSTOOD
EIpan oun hoi IouDAIoi, Tes-seRAkon-ta kai hex Ete-sin [2094] oi-ko-doMEthe[3618]ho naOS HOUtos,
The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this :sanctuary in building,
kai su en triSIN heMErais e-geREIS auTON?
and will YOU raise it up in three days?
g. 7:21 But HE spoke of the sanctuary of his :body.
eKEInos de Ele-gen peRI tou naOU tou SOma-tos [4983]auTOU.
h. 2:22 BELIEF IN SCRIPTURES = BELIEF IN LIVING WORD
HOte oun eGERthe ek neKRON, emNESthe-san hoi ma-theTAI auTOU HOti TOUto Ele-gen,
When therefore he was raised from thedead, the :disciples remembered that he said this,
kai ePIsteu-SAN te graPHE [1124], kai to LOgo [3056] hon EIpen ho IeSOUS.
and believed the scripture, and the word which :Jesus had said.
C. 2:23-25 JESUS IS CAUTIOUS - EVEN WITH BELIEVERS!
a. 2:23 BELIEF OF MANY - RESULT OF JESUS' SIGNS
Hos de en en tois Ie-ro-soLUmois en to PAScha,
Now when he was in :Jerusalem at the passover,
en te he-o-roTE [1859], polLOI ePIsteu-san eis to Ono-ma auTOU, the-oROUNtes auTOU ta seMEIa ha ePOIei.
during the feast, many believed unto his :name, beholding his :signs which he did.
b. 2:24-25 JESUS KNEW THE FICKLENESS OF HEART - EVEN OF BELIEVERS!
auTOS de ho IeSOUS ouk ePIsteu-en [4100] auTON auTOIS, diA to auTON giNOskein [1097] PANtas,
But Jesus himself did not trust himself to them, for that he knew all men,
kai HOti ou CHREIan EIchen HIna mar-tuREse peRI tou anTHROpou;
25and because he had no need that any onebear witness concerning :man;
auTOS gar eGIno-sken ti en en to anTHROpo.
for himself knew what was in :man.
NOTE: 2:13-22 - Jesus in His ministry on earth cleanses the Temple twice: once at the beginning of His 3 year ministry at the time of a Passover, and again at the end. This created great questioning among the Jews. The fact that His ministry began at a Passover, and ended when He became our Passover, seems to point out the time of His ministry on earth.
Note that Jesus always put the honor and glory of His Father above all fear of man! God's House meant a great deal to Him for His Father's sake. At 12 years of age He had His Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem, and following that Feast of the Jews, He tarried for several days in the Temple, asking questions, and answering the questions of the Jewish leaders. They were amazed at the spiritual insight, knowledge and wisdom of this young boy now turned into spiritual manhood. In pedagogy it is said, “It is more difficult to ask a good question, than to give a good answer.” This I believe.
Jesus later in this Gospel, says that prophecy does not too clearly show us the future - but that when the prophecy is fulfilled, we can look back and say, “See that! That's what God meant, when he foretold this! - Fulfillment is the key! It really will let us down if we try to “split the infinite” and “unscrew the inscrutable” - by trying to understand all details of the future. I started out this way as a young believer, and spent much time in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Then God communed with me - “You are interested in prophecy, aren't you?” Yes, I agreed with Him. “But tell Me,” He said, “How is your life adding up in walking in the teaching of the Gospels and the Epistles?” I had to acknowledge that I had far to go. “Do this”, He said “Master letting the Holy Spirit lift your life to the level of the Word you read and meditate on, and thenI will open your eyes to the accurate understanding of prophecy.”
I must confess - I haven't yet met God's goal for me to release His promise relevant to prophetic understanding! But I do have a great peace as I learn to walk with Him in greater and greater intimacy - and to learn increasingly the secret of “Personal, Passionate Devotion to Jesus”!
2:24-25 reveals something we all need to realize. Man - even newly converted man - has much of the realization of the Christ-life within him yet to attain. As a result, Jesus still loves us and cares for us - but knows how fickle unregenerate and carnal man can be - like the crowd on Palm Sunday hailing Him as King - and a few days later in Pilate's Hall calling out - “Crucify Him - Crucify Him!”
The secret is 1 John 2:13b-14 - “I wrote to you, little children, because you know the Father. I wrote to you, fathers, because you know him who isfrom thebeginning. I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of :God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” There is a 3-fold development for as as believers: little children; young men; and fathers. It is the fatherhood stage where Jesus can trust us like a Paul; a Joshua; a Daniel. First the blade; then the ear; thenthe full cornin the ear. First the Outer Court; then the Holy Place; and finally the Holy of Holies - the very place of intimate union and communion with our Holy God! J.A.W.