This part of the text tells us that the Passover was at hand. Exodus 12 is the Bible chapter dealing with the Passover as an event, and the Passover as a memorial meal, to remember that event. That final plague against the Egyptians was terrible, taking all the firstborn sons and animals of the Egyptians. The Israelites were safe, because they had followed the instructions given by the Lord. Passover is still celebrated today, because Exodus 12:14 commands the people to observe it forever.
So what's the big deal? Why is Jesus so upset that people are selling things in the Temple area? There are a couple of reasons. Most religious traditions in the world recognize a difference between sacred things, and ordinary things. "Sacred" refers to something set apart for a holy purpose. The Temple was sacred, and people were treating it like the lobby of a Wal-Mart. Secondly, according to the rules the people were given for worship, the outer court of the Temple was reserved for non-Israelites to gather to worship and pray. They were not allowed to go into the inner places of the Temple, where the children of Jacob would go, and certainly not into the very most important sacred places, where only the high priest and other priests could go. But they had a right to hear the word of God to them, and you can't even hear it, if people are selling things in the place where you're supposed to be.
It is also worth pointing out that a ritual cleansing was something that a priest would do, before making a sacrifice. Hold that in your mind, for the rest of this Gospel, if you can.
The quotation in verse 17 is from Psalm 69:9, and if you read the entire Psalm, I think it is fair to say that it's about Jesus, whether it's suffering he endured, or mockery, or persecution. And the psalmist is trying to say that he only wants to bring the mercy of God to everyone, and that is exactly what he was doing, and why others were angry. Sometimes it happens that religious people want to keep the things of God for themselves, like a symbol or a token, rather than share them with the people who need to hear about God's love.
It's a good idea that if you see a quotation in the New Testament from somewhere in the Old Testament, you should assume that the writer intended you to read maybe even the entire chapter, and not just the quotation. If you make it a point to do that, everything Jesus does and says makes a lot more sense.
They get into a discussion here about the Temple, because Jesus says if the leaders destroy it, that he will rebuild it in three days. This obviously sounds crazy, because they note that Herod didn't finish his finishing touches for 46 years.
Jesus is speaking spiritually here, and St. John eventually tells us that he was speaking of his body as the Temple. Even to say that is pretty thought-provoking, because the ordinary person would think of the Temple as the place where God dwells. In that way, Jesus is talking about his Incarnation, as God in human flesh.
St. John gives us a little preview of the resurrection of Jesus. He won't stay dead, but will rise again. Some skeptics and scholars claim that because St. John was sort of interpreting his own book right here, by telling us what it means, that some guys made it up later. That explanation doesn't really hold water, because St. John lived for a long time, and if he had been making up things about Jesus, the Church would have called it out really fast. But the early Church was absolutely united and unanimous in the belief that Jesus was God, and that he rose again from the dead, after his death on the Cross.
John gives us a little note here at the end, to say that Jesus gained some popularity, after these miracles and sayings. We should be able to say that Jesus is at least as smart as we are--and much more--because even we know not to be too impressed with people who spend a lot of time telling us how great we are. Chances are, they're up to something.
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