Jesus’ Temple Remarks

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My Father’s house

Jesus’ childhood narrative in Luke 3:41-51 records the only words spoken by Jesus while a youth. His family joined the caravan for an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When they could not find Jesus in the caravan, they searched, finally returning to the temple courts in Jerusalem, where Yeshua was in dialog with the learned rabbis.

It is likely that the young Yeshua (age 12) was preparing for his bar mitzvah when He turned 13. Traditions associated with bar mitzvah are relatively recent, but the concept goes back to the first century.

Piker Avot—ancient Jewish sayings written down about 200 A.D. but transmitted orally before that—demonstrate Jewish boys became responsible for Torah observance at age 13:

He [Judah ben Tema] used to say: At five years of age the study of Scripture; At ten the study of Mishnah; At thirteen subject to the commandments; At fifteen the study of Talmud; At eighteen the bridal canopy; At twenty for pursuit [of livelihood]; At thirty the peak of strength; At forty wisdom; At fifty able to give counsel; At sixty old age; At seventy fullness of years; At eighty the age of “strength”; At ninety a bent body; At one hundred, as good as dead and gone completely out of the world.¹

When Joseph and Mary found the twelve year old Jesus engaged in dialogue with these rabbis, they confronted Him about the worry He had caused them.

Even at a young age, Jesus responds with a bit of a scolding—one of His hallmark mannerisms. “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).²

Jesus understood Who He was—even at an early age.

My house shall be called a house of prayer

(John 2:13-21 with Zechariah 14:21, Jeremiah 7:11, Psalm 69:9, Isaiah 56:7)

The prophecy of Zechariah 14:21 is central to understanding Yeshua’s two attempts to cleanse the temple:

And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.

“On that day” refers to the Millennium when Messiah would reign over the world from Jerusalem (e.g., Isaiah 2:1-5). Yeshua gave the Jewish people an opportunity to repent and believe in Him; His future reign is indexed to that response (see Acts 3:19-21).

Jesus’ temple cleansing previewed His reign. Did He understand this messianic prerogative from studying these cited verses, or were they merely prophetic? Or both?

Zechariah (ca. 520 B.C.) prophesying about a time when traders would no longer be allowed in the Temple courts suggests such trading was longstanding. With the Jews dispersed, money changers were needed. Devout Jews were scattered, so it was difficult to transport sacrificial livestock to the temple during pilgrimages. This prophecy envisions a time when the Jews would dwell in their own land, their currency common, their pilgrimages short ones. Thus traders would no longer be required.

However, in Jesus’ day, temple court merchants were more concerned with fleecing travelers than accommodating them. Paul Wallace explains:

Sometime during Jesus’ younger years (6 A.D. – 15 A.D.), Annas had become the High Priest. He instituted a system for the selling of sacrificial animals and exchanging money in the outer court of the temple. It was a very lucrative business and made his family very powerful. Jesus must have witnessed the changes in the Temple after Annas became High Priest. If you brought a lamb all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem, you would first need to have it approved in the temple by specially trained priests. The sacrificial lambs were to be unblemished…[but the] priests took this to the extreme…[using] any possible reason to disqualify an animal.

… then you had to buy one of the lambs from the vendors in the outer court. The outer court was to be a place for teaching the Scriptures and for Gentiles…to worship… now it was filled with merchants hawking their animals and exchanging coins. You paid the priest to inspect the animal you brought, and it was probably rejected. Then you bought an “approved” lamb from a merchant at up to seven times the market rate. You also had to exchange your coinage for the temple tax coin, the only one acceptable for… tax.³

Messiah Jesus had authority to remove those who defiled the temple complex. He was credentialed to refer to the temple as “My Father’s house” (John 2:16b). The use of “my” indicates the Son’s unique relationship to the Father. Likewise, when Jesus visited the temple as a child and was thus located at “My Father’s house” (Luke 2:49).⁴

The Messiah was to be noted for His righteous indignation, not the feminized “nice” Jesus popular in some belief systems. Here is one sample of such prophecies:

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him (Psalm 2:11-12).

In both the early, first cleansing (John 2:13-22) and the latter attempt (Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-48), there were no immediate consequences for Jesus—other than questioning His authority.

This nonchalant response suggests two things: (1) that other zealots probably attempted to do similar cleansings; (2) that much of the population was disgusted with this corruption, including some in positions of influence.

When Jewish leaders challenged His behavior, He replied with a dare: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).

They thought His answer bizarre, arguing that the Temple had been undergoing renovation for 46 years.⁵ Neither they nor the disciples understood His use of “temple” to refer to His body. Nonetheless, His adversaries etched this saying in their minds and resurrected it during His trial and mockery (e.g., Matthew 26:61, 27:40).

Jesus’ response (and John’s commentary in 2:21) carry profound implications. First, Jesus body—not just His spirit—was resurrected. Second, He resurrected Himself (although all Three Persons of the Trinity had part in His resurrection), thus proving His deity. Third, the resurrection is the ultimate sign of Jesus’ authority.

This incident fulfilled the Messianic expectation that the Messiah would be a zealot for righteousness, protecting the sanctity of temple worship (of which prayer is central), and would demonstrate a holy anger.

Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord (Jeremiah 7:11).

For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me (Psalm 69:9).

One day the Millennial promise of Isaiah 56:7 will be fulfilled, “…my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

“All peoples” refers to the gentiles, the very people being crowded out of the temple courts by merchants and money changers.