The episode of the cleansing of the Temple -- as found in the Synoptics -- appears as one of the first things Jesus does upon his entrance into Jerusalem. Matthew and Luke, following Mark present the cleansing as the beginning of the end of the Jerusalem which in 70 AD will be utterly destroyed by the Romans (click on the image above for the Synoptic version of the episode). Jesus, the Son of Man, has come to bring judgment upon the leaders of Judaism and the Temple, symbol of a religious piety that has been emptied of its true meaning. In John's gospel, the evangelist transposes the episode at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, in the Book of Signs. Here, the disciples' mention of the resurrection (v. 22) connects the episode to Jesus' Hour and his glorification.
The episode of the cleansing of the Temple is situated between two other episodes: the wedding at Cana on the one hand, and the meeting with Nicodemus on the other. The wedding at Cana where Jesus changed the water into wine is the first sign recorded in the Book of Signs. It was here where his mother forced his hand, so to speak, and made him perform a sign that anticipates his Hour (John 2:4). John comments that by this first sign, Jesus showed his glory to his disciples who began to believe in him (John 2:11). This last comment will be echoed in John 2:23-25 where , because of the signs Jesus performs during Passover, many came to believe in him. In Jesus' meeting with Nicodemus (John 3:1-21), the theme of Jesus' being raised and the judgment that will come upon all men will be underlined. The theme of the raising of Jesus anticipates his Hour. Judgment in the Gospel of John however begins in the Book of Signs: for judgment is enacted in the way people react to the light that is Jesus (John 3:20-21, see also Jn. 3:35-36). In the cleansing of the Temple, the themes that are found in the above mentioned episodes will also be brought to light.
The Temple symbolized the special relationship that exists between God and the people of His Covenant. It was the "sacrament" of the way God makes his people holy, drawing them to His own realm. As an act of gratitude to His continuing providence, Israel offered Him sacrifices and offerings. In concrete practice, the Temple was so constructed so that it can accomodate not only the place for sacrifice and prayer, but also a place where sacrifices are bought and sold using temple money that can be acquired at a moneychanger's table. King Herod the Great had enlarged the Temple and constructions were still going on at the time of Jesus' visit to it. The outward beauty and grandeur of the building covered the commercial exchanges going on within it.
In the Synoptic version of the episode, a quote from Jeremiah on Jesus' lips underlines his purpose: "My house is a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves." It is clear from this passage that the commercialism in the Temple has prompted Jesus to cleanse it. In John, however, we find Jesus addressing those who sold doves, and it is the disciples who are reminded of Psalm 69:10 when they see what Jesus was doing.
Jesus addresses those who sell doves, thereby highlighting the act by which he drives them away. John perhaps does this in order to underline the extent to which the commercialization of the Temple. Doves were sacrificed by the poor who cannot afford the more expensive animals. Commercialization has become so oppressive that even the poor cannot perform sacrifices. Psalm 69 is an innocent man's prayer for help after he gets accused of stealing (cf. Ps. 69:5) There are two lines here used in the New Testament. Verse 10a is quoted in John 2; verse 10b is used by Paul in Rom. 15:3. The use of the verse in John anticipates the sufferings of Jesus later on and prepares for the interrogation that follows.
In the Synoptics, some time elapses before Jesus is confronted by temple authorities. Here, the reaction is immediate. "What sign can you show us...?" Jesus' answer to the question, one of the grounds for his being put into trial in the Synoptics, is worth nothing here. "Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days." The response has double-meaning, and will characterize Jesus' speeches from now on. The authorities understand it one way, the destruction of the Temple that is still being constructed, but to Jesus' disciples, it meant another. It is John who gives voice to what the disciples would later on understand: "he meant his Body."
At this point in the Gospel of John, the identification of the Temple with Jesus' Body is in keeping with the underlying theme of replacement. In John, Jesus replaces the institutions of Judaism. Later on He will be saying that He is the true Bread from Heaven, among others. Later on in the Gospel of John, he will be saying that He is the Vine (see Jn. 15) This year (2008) the 32nd Sunday OT A coincides with the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran, the Pope's Basilica and residence in antiquity. Feasts revolving the dedication of a Church building is always related to the people for which it was built. A church building, in other words, is a sign of the presence of the People of God. 1.
The theme of water in the first reading and the responsorial psalm gives the connection to Baptism, for it is through the baptismal font that one becomes numbered among the living stones that make up the new temple built on Christ. The second reading from 1 Corinthians 3:9-11.16-17 underlines the association of Christ's Body, the Baptized and the Temple of God. See also this article. and this: The Temple, Its Place In Salvation History
A Note on the Liturgy of the 32nd Sunday of OT A
