Third Sunday of Lent (Year B)

Ex 20:1-17;
Ps 19;
1Cor 1:22-25;
Jn 2:13-25

BIBLICAL-MISSIONARY COMMENTARY

The zeal for Your house

The Gospel of this third Sunday of Lent invites us to reflect on a key episode in the life of Jesus that alludes to the mystery of his supreme sacrifice on the cross. It is the so-called expulsion of the merchants from the temple of Jerusalem by Jesus. In the Gospel of John, this event is recounted in the significant context of Jesus' first Passover in the Temple, after his first sign at Cana in Galilee, where he "revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him" (Jn 2:11). Jesus "went down to Capernaum" (implied with the disciples, v.17) (cf. Jn 2:12). Beyond the difference between the evangelists in reporting the time when the episode occurs (at the beginning of Jesus' public life as here in Jn or at the end, before his Passion, as in the synoptics Mt, Mk, and Lk), these multiple testimonies of various traditions affirm the historical reliability of the episode in the life of Jesus and, on the other hand, underline the theological importance of the narrative in the Gospels: what happens now has a direct and inseparable connection with the crucifixion of Jesus afterwards. It is precisely from this perspective of the Cross that one must meditate on the passage!

Here, as often happens in our journey with the Word of God, it requires a scrutatio, a lectio divina, a contemplation on every detail of the Gospel passage, well-structured in three moments of action-dispute-conclusion, to deeply embrace what the Spirit wants to say to each of us today.

1. The Scene: A Prophetic Action of Jesus

First of all, we see an unusual Jesus with a very vehement action that, however, resembles those carried out several times by the prophets of Israel. It is a sign-action to convey a divine message (vv.14-17). In other words, with his gesture, we do not think that Jesus wanted to solve once and for all the problem of the presence of merchants in the Temple, because it is very likely that He was well aware that they, although driven away by Jesus at that moment, would surely return tomorrow, when He would not be there, to continue business as usual (according to the English saying business as usual!). Jesus wanted to impart, through this somewhat mild action, a strong, fundamental teaching to all present, especially to his disciples.

It all begins with the moment when He "found in the temple area" the various merchants. It must be specified that here the evangelist literally speaks of the temple precinct (ieros) (also in v.15), to be distinguished from the "temple (proper)" or "temple-sanctuary" - naos in vv. 19.20.21. This is the part outside the Temple and the episode perhaps took place in the area called the Court of the Gentiles, where even pagans could enter and therefore there was a lot of confusion, especially during Passover. Right here, as is known from historical sources, the high priest Caiaphas organized a market in 30 AD for the purchase of sacrificial animals (oxen, sheep, doves...) and exchange tables for pilgrims. (The Sanhedrin managed similar facilities under the Temple Mount, in the Kidron Valley!) However, all this was not so evidently against the sanctity of the Sanctuary itself. On the contrary, it was always in the service of the people. (In this regard, someone may think of our modern sanctuaries! It is the eternal problem of discernment - "the devil and holy water". Think of the temple-sanctuary of our body, our ieros-naos! Is there chaos? Perhaps everything seems in order, but in reality, nothing is in order according to God! In any case, always invite Jesus to enter to arrange the things of your temple according to the divine order!) Faced with such a situation, Jesus made "a whip out of cords and drove [...] all out" the merchants.

The liveliness of the details suggests behind the written words an eyewitness. There were no sticks or other heavier tools (like rifles!) available, as they were prohibited in that place. (Interestingly, a lighter treatment is noted for the doves and their sellers. Perhaps in these doves, he saw the image of the Holy Spirit! Of course, this is a joke!) However, as emphasized earlier, Jesus' seemingly wasn't to punish the sellers or destroy their goods so that they couldn't resume their activity. This all leads to the exhortation that clarifies the true sense of Jesus' symbolic-prophetic action: "Stop making my Father's house a marketplace." Here is the message of Jesus' symbolic-prophetic action that alludes to the deeds and words of Jeremiah five centuries earlier (see Jer 7:1-11: "den of thieves"). Furthermore, unlike Jeremiah, Jesus' phrase is not only an invitation to true respect-worship for the Sanctuary but also contains the first self-revelation of divine sonship ("my Father"); think of the words of the twelve-year-old Jesus to his parents, also in the Temple: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Lk 2:49).

Seeing and hearing all this, as noted by the evangelist, "His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me." This is a "personal" comment of the evangelist on the event, which invokes the citation of Ps 69:10 but changing the tense of the verb from the past in the psalm ("has consumed") to the future here ("will consume") (see Ps 69:8-13). The phrase therefore refers not so much to what has just happened but to everything that will happen in Jesus' life. It is, therefore, his motto in life: "Here I am, I come to do your will, with all the zeal of heart, soul, and body" (cf. Ps 40:8-9). It is zeal "for Your house," for the divine Sanctuary, for God's dwelling among men, all in all, for "the things" of God. (If this was so for Jesus, one can naturally ask every disciple-missionary now: "What is your life motto? Where do you stand with zeal for the things of God?" See Is 62:1; Ps 132:3-5; 137:5-6).

2. The Dispute: A Prophetic Word

The reaction of the "Jews" was quite different from that of Jesus' disciples. They asked Jesus, perhaps with a bit of anger: "What sign can you show us?" It is the "classic" question to recognize the authority that comes from God (cf. Jn 6:30), as seen also in the synoptic Gospels (cf. Mt 12:38ff; 16:1ff; Mk 8:11ff; Lk 11:16ff). There as here in John, Jesus rejects the request but leaves an allusion to the sign of the resurrection. He responds with the key declaration, the culmination and center of everything that has happened: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." In this phrase, the verb with dual meaning "I will raise" (or "I will rebuild") is beautiful (intentional?) which indicates both rebuilding a building and resurrection (cf. v.22!). Here we have the usual Johannine ambiguity and hence the misunderstanding of the Jews (the irony of John) and the explanation by the evangelist ("But he was speaking about the temple of his body"). The imperative "destroy" reflects the Semitic way of speaking; it implies a conditional "if you destroy", or rather a statement of fact "you are destroying" or "you continue to destroy". The expression "in three days" does not necessarily indicate an exact time but simply a short period (cf. Hos 6:2).3.

3. Conclusion: the remembrance for faith and the epilogue

The gospel account ends with an important note regarding the so-called "holy memory" of Jesus' disciples, as mentioned earlier in the passage. However, it is now clearly specified that the memory occurred after Jesus' resurrection, thus under the action of the Spirit: "Remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken." The last expression recalls the disciples' reaction at Cana (began to believe in him; Jn 2:11), but it is very original here because it puts Scripture in parallel with the (singular!) word of Jesus in which the disciples believed.

But what does faith refer to here? What is its content? Firstly, it is about believing in Jesus' prophetic announcement about the Temple: "In three days I will raise it up." This has been verified in the resurrection of the Temple of His body, precisely according to the Scripture and according to what He said. Furthermore, it implies faith in the fact that now the Temple is no longer the material one in Jerusalem, but rather the body of Jesus, dead (i.e., destroyed) and risen (i.e., rebuilt). Thus, the true "house of the Father" inaugurates, which is Jesus, through whom, with whom, and in whom every praise pleasing to Him is lifted up (per ipsum, cum ipso et in ipso!). Do you then also believe (in Scripture and the words of Jesus)? Do you feel consumed by zeal for this "house of the Father," which is the Body of Jesus dead and risen? Consequently, are you also passionate about Scripture and the words of Jesus in whom you believe? Where are you with faith in Jesus?

In this perspective, even what is mentioned in the epilogue after the event can serve for the purification of our belief in Jesus. Indeed, it speaks of the phenomenon of the faith of many in Jesus based on the sight of signs. Jesus does not trust such faith! What is needed is a mature, deeper faith, more rooted also and especially in the Word of God, in the Scriptures, and in everything that Jesus taught with the authority of the Son. Moreover, we have already heard the voice of God on the mountain of transfiguration: Listen to him! Therefore, our commitment to careful listening to the Scripture and the words of Jesus Christ, the wisdom and power of God, must also be renewed, so that we ourselves, as his disciple-missionaries, may transmit to others with zeal and fidelity everything that He has taught us to continue his evangelizing mission throughout the world. And so be it. Amen.