John 1-3: A 12-Day Reading Plan Sample

The Bible refers to Jesus as our “High Priest” (Heb. 4:15). In the Old Testament, one of the primary responsibilities of the priest was to cleanse the temple and make sure it was prepared to receive people for worship. But in John 2:13-25, we see the priests had failed to do their job by allowing the temple to become a place of commerce. So Jesus, the true Priest, came in and scourged the temple and He purged it from filthiness and ungodliness. 

Jesus wants to cleanse us from all sin—the ones we are aware of and the ones we don’t even know about. The text says “he drove them all out” (John 2:15). That might sound harsh, but in reality Jesus was demonstrating mercy rather than judgment. It would be judgment if the text said, “He left them there in their sin.” Jesus was showing mercy by calling attention to their sins and giving them the opportunity to repent and reprioritize worship above everything else.  

Why was it loving of Jesus to drive the money-changers out of the temple? What was He trying to teach them?