(...) where we dive deeper into the Gospel of John together. Last time around, we finished John chapter 2, verses 1 to 11 and we saw that beautiful symbolism in the story of the wedding of Cana of Galilee. So, without wasting any more time, we will jump into verse 12 right now.
So, verse 12 says:
'' 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.'' (John 2:12)
So, we notice from Mark, chapter 1, that Capernaum is the city where Peter and Andrew and James and John lived and had their business. So here, being a disciple of Christ involves something much deeper than just believing in His name. It involves Him coming to our household, Him becoming a family member. And that's what the Church is. The Church goes beyond the idea of just being a community. It is a community, obviously, but it goes beyond that. We are members of one another and we are members, obviously, of Christ, being the body of Christ Himself. So, truly being a disciple involves a deep intimate relationship with Christ.
Also, the word brother here is not meant literally. When we look at how Scripture behaves, whether Old or New Testament, we find that the word brother is used to call an uncle, a nephew, to call cousins. So, brothers here means a close-by family, but not immediate family, not literal siblings. Christ did not have any brothers or sisters. If He had, He would have not given charge of St. Mary to St. John, 'cause St. Mary's other sons and daughters would have taken care of her. But since she had none, Christ gave her to John for John to take care of her.
So, moving on to verse 13, it says the following:
'' 13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 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. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, ''Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!'' '' (John 2:13-16)
So here, we see the events of the cleansing of the temple. We have to first note that St. John Chrysostom is very clear when he says that this event is a different event from the one that we see in the synoptic Gospels. So, in Matthew, Mark and Luke, there is a cleansing of the temple that happens at the end of Christ's ministry, during the Passion Week.
But this one happens in John, chapter 2. So, he says this is three years prior to the Passion Week's. This is in the beginning of the ministry of Christ. And we can actually see this through the text, because in the text, in the Gospel of John, it talks about Christ taking and making a whip of cords. This is not seen in the synoptic Gospels.
Also, in the Gospel of John, we find that the people try to challenge Christ. They're still wondering who this person is, so they're only challenging Him. But three years later, in the synoptic Gospels, they don't challenge Him. They want to destroy Him. They want to kill Him, because they have heard enough of Him.
As well, in the Gospel of John, we see that Christ says that destroy this temple, talking about Himself, right?, and I will raise it up in three days. We don't see this in the synoptics and that actually makes a lot of sense, because when Christ was under trial, the people couldn't remember how many days He said that He would rebuild the temple in. They couldn't remember, because it happened a few years ago. It didn't happen last week, let's say, or two, three days ago and they couldn't remember. They couldn't remember, because it happened a while ago.
Also, when we look at the synoptics, the writers, they quote Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, right?, and these quotations are not found in the Gospel of John. So, all of these things together demonstrate that these events were two separate events. And as soon as Christ, in John 2, kicked the people out, because they were selling and they were making money in a place of prayer, right after, they went back again and continued, right?, potentially the second year and definitely the third year, because Christ went and challenged them again and asked them to get out once again.
So, why was Christ upset? Is it because people were making money or doing business? Not necessarily. It's because they were doing business inside the temple. They had used the court of the Gentiles, the place that is reserved for the non-Jews to pray, and they put their business there. So, they transformed a place of prayer into a place of doing business. And this, obviously, was completely unacceptable to Christ and it's still unacceptable for us today in the church.
But the more pressing question here is: How is it that Christ uses a whip of cords? First, we have to understand that the whip of cords was not used for humans; it was used on the animals. And anybody that has any experience in herding animals understands that the only way to get them moving is by whipping them with a whip of cords, right?
So, as the animals were going, the owners of the animals were following. So, Christ, here, hits two birds with one stone, if I may. But when we look at how He dealt with the money changers, He turned the tables. There was no whipping involved. So, this is a very important detail for us to understand.
But can we say that God was angry? Well, yes and no. We have to understand there are two types of anger. The first one is when we feel fire inside of us when we're angry at someone and that's not the type of anger Christ had within Him. The other type of anger is holy anger or, if I may call it, zeal, right? This type of anger is given to all humans and the purpose of it is for us to resist the devil and resist sin. And therefore the verse:
'' 26 Be angry, and do not sin...'' (Ephesians 4:26)
So, in this specific case, because of holy anger, Christ steps up, right?, and does something about it. And this is the type of anger He had in Him and that's not a sin. That's what holy anger is meant to do, right? But the corrupted form of it is the sin anger, the sinful anger, right?, that... when we use that sinful anger against each other rather than using holy anger against the devil.
So, moving forward, verse 17 says:
'' 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ''Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.'' (John 2:17)
Now again, we have to remember the context of the Gospel of St. John. Writing at the end of the 1 st century when the Church is still plagued by the resistance from the Jews and they're still saying: How is it that you are worshipping a man that was crucified?, which is a fair question to ask.
But St. John, here in his Gospel, he wants to emphasize a point. And this point is that, ultimately, Christ needed to be crucified. It was a natural process that He had to go through. Why? Because of the hardness of the heart of the people. Christ came to cleanse humanity, right? Here, there's an example of the cleansing of the temple. Yet when He wants to cleanse the temple, you, as Jews, you are resisting Him.
But He says: no, no, no, even if He will be resisted by the Jews, zeal for your house has eaten me up. The zeal that God has for His people, for humanity, for the Church has eaten Him up on the cross. Ultimately, the cross had to happen because of the hardness of the hearts of the people.
So, we also see the Jews' resistance against Christ in the following verses. It says:
'' 18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, ''What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?'' 19 Jesus answered and said to them, ''Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'' 20 Then the Jews said, ''It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and [You will] raise it up in three days?'' 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.'' (John 2:18-22)
So, there are several points to consider here. The first one is that the Jews ask Christ: show us a sign, right? Since you do these things, show us a sign. Why are they asking this? It's because Christ, by cleansing the temple, He's defying the high priest and the temple's authorities, right? So, in their understanding, only a prophet can challenge the high priest, and therefore, they're asking for a sign. In other words, prove to us that you are a prophet.
But in verse 16 prior to that, essentially, Christ had 'ready answered them, because He told them: Do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise!, and therefore, associating Himself with the Father, declaring Himself as the Messiah. But Christ answered them still. It says in verse 19:
'' 19 Jesus answered and said to them, ''Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'' 20 Then the Jews said, ''It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?'' 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (John 2:19-21)
So obviously, the Jews' reaction to Christ's saying is, you know, how is it that you will rebuild this temple that has taken forty-six years to build? And they think that He's talking about that temple because He's just cleansed that temple.
But here, Christ is not talking about that temple, you know, He's actually answering their question. Their question is: What sign will you show us? And His answer is, ultimately: well, this is my temple, right? You will crucify me, right? And after destroying this temple, I will raise it up. I will rebuild that temple.
So here, the sign that Christ will show to the Jews is the cross and the resurrection. That's His answer. And again, St. John the Evangelist ultimately wants to put this at the heart of his Gospel, emphasizing this point... For all of those who still haven't believed in Christianity still, you know, sixty-seven years later, you have to understand: this was the purpose of the Messiah. Now, I beg you, believe, right?
And we will see later how believing was something that St. John was very focused on throughout the Gospel. He wanted the people to be saved, and therefore, to believe, right?, and to follow in the footsteps of Christ, to become His disciples.
So, moving on to verse 22. It says:
22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.'' (John 2:22)
The end of that verse is very nice, because it joins together the word Scripture, meaning here the Old Testament, with the words of Jesus or the New Testament. We have to understand there's a big difference between the term Hebrew Bible and the term Old Testament. We don't have a Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is for the Jews that don't believe in a New Testament, and therefore, don't have an Old Testament. To them, it's called the Hebrew Bible.
But to us, no! To us, it is called the Old Testament, because we believe in a new one and because we see clearly what the Old Testament means. We see the types of Christ in the Old Testament. We see the New Testament hidden in the Old Testament. The veil that the Jews have when they read the Old Testament, for us, it is lifted and we see clearly the New one hidden in the Old one.
So, moving on to verse 23. It says:
'' 23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. [So, they believed in Christ, because they saw the miracles.] 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.'' (John 2:23-25)
So, this verse sounds very complicated, but St. John Chrysostom clarifies it and it's really very simple. Because Christ here is God, like St. Cyril says as well, right?, and therefore, He knew the hearts of men and He understood that the same people that would say Hosanna! Hosanna!, right?, on Palm Sunday would say Crucify Him! Crucify Him! on Good Friday. So, He understood that their belief was not a deep belief, because He understood what was in man. And because He understood this being God, He did not commit Himself to them.
So, this verse is very crucial, because it demonstrates to us what the meaning of the word believe actually is. And it's more than just a thought process, because we see here in this verse that people actually believed in Christ, right?, because they saw the miracles, yet He did not commit Himself to them, because He understood what was in man. He understood that their belief was not complete. He understood that they would refuse to deny themselves,
to pick up their crosses and to follow Him. They would refuse to become true disciples. They would refuse to follow all the commandments and to unite with Him through the commandments and the sacramental life and so on and so forth.
So, definitely, believe involves a thought process, but it goes beyond it, right? It goes to the point that I have an intimate relationship with Christ. And that's why St. James would say that faith without works is dead. And he would say again that I will show you my faith by my works, because they both go hand in hand.
There's also an obvious spiritual message that we need to take from these verses, because these people had seen miracles, but even with the miracles, their faith was not deep enough. As Christians, we do not run after miracles. If miracles happen, great! If they don't happen, great! Because we don't run after them: we run after Christ. We run after His person and we deeply understand the need to suffer with Him to be raised with Him. So, we need to become good grounds, like the disciples were, right?
Although they had certain doubts, you know, throughout the road, although they suffered many things, they still kept going, believing in who Christ was, believing in His cross, His resurrection, His Ascension, and so on and so forth. We need to be like them, regardless if we see miracles or not. We do not want goods from Christ. We want Christ Himself.
And Glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.
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Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.