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Section 020 · The Galilean Ministry Begins

The First Cleansing of the Temple

At Passover Jesus drives the traders and money-changers from the temple — “make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise” — and to those who demand a sign he answers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” speaking of the temple of his body.

John 2:12–252 of 5 accountsReading: RE

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Study — reading text with parallel accounts; changes available.
? How to read this edition

The reading is the Restoration Edition — the Joseph Smith Translation reading — carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the RE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.

JST
Green — Joseph Smith Translation. Where the Restoration Edition departs in substance from the King James text and the change is in the JST (confirmed against the parallel-column edition). Modernized English (“has” for “hath,” “you” for “thou”) is not marked.
RE
Burgundy — Restoration Edition. Where the RE’s reading departs from the King James but the change is not in the Joseph Smith Translation — the RE’s own editorial reading (e.g. “this day I have begotten you” at the baptism).
DS
Plum — Testimony of St. John. The TSJ (a separate scripture text) and Denver Snuffer’s later commentary share the plum mark.
JohnJohn 2:12–25RE John 1:9–10

12After this he went down to Capernaum — he and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples. And they continued there not many days. 13And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem 14and found in the temple those who sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and changers of money, sitting. 15And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables. 16And he said unto them who sold doves, Take these things from here. Make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise. 17And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of your house has eaten me up.

18Then spoke the Jews and said unto him, What sign do you show unto us, seeing you do these things? 19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. 20Then said the Jews, Forty-six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days? 21But he spoke of the temple of his body; 22when therefore he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them, and they remembered the scripture and the word which Jesus had said unto them.

23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover on the feast day, many believed on his name when they saw the miracles which he did. 24But Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all things 25and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.

Testimony of St. JohnJohn 2:12–25T&C 171 · TSJ 1:18–20

12After this he went down to Capernaum, he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and they were there a few days. 13As the Passover arrived, Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem 14where in the temple, there were appointed traders selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and others exchanged coins to profit from the temple donations. 15Seeing this, Jesus made a whip using small cords, and he drove the profiteers out of the temple, and also their sheep and oxen; and dumped out the exchangers’ money, and turned over the tables; 16and confronted those who were profiteering from Passover, saying, Get your business out of here and do not degrade my Father’s house to merely your place of business. 17It reminded his disciples of the Psalm, The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.

18The temple authorities, who had authorized the profiteering, confronted Jesus asking, If you think you have a right to exercise authority over the temple, while identifying yourself as God’s son, show us a sign to prove you have this right, so we can believe you. 19Jesus answered and said, I will replace the holy of holies in three days with a new holy House of God. 20The Jews declared, It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you replace it in three days? 21But he was talking of the temple of his resurrected body. 22Later after he was resurrected from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this to the temple authorities, and they remembered the scripture, and what Jesus had said to the disciples.

23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover many believed on his name when they saw the healing miracles he did. 24But Jesus did not attempt to have them pledge loyalty to him because he knew they were fickle, 25and miracles alone cannot produce faith, because sign-seekers are wicked and adulterous.

Cross-references · other works
Psalm 69:9 — the zeal of thine house↗Malachi 3:1 — the Lord shall suddenly come to his temple↗Matthew 21:13 — a house of prayer; a den of thieves↗Matthew 26:61 — destroy the temple… build it in three days↗
Hugh Nibley on the temple

A Den of Thieves

Nibley, the temple’s great modern scholar, read the cleansing as the verdict on a sacred economy gone wrong — and saw the same perversion in the marble-and-bronze “temples” of finance today.

Mormonism and Early Christianity“The Expanding Gospel” · Collected Works, Vol. 4
Jesus declared that the House of his Father had been turned into a den of thieves as he drove the money changers from its courts — a reminder that large financial institutions today, as well as government buildings, occupy structures faithfully copied from the classical fanes of ancient temples and add to the bronze and marble the sanctimonious hush of holy places. Thus the temple economy has been perverted along with the rest.
Points to Ponder
  • Jesus’ first public act in Jerusalem is to clear his Father’s house — and his first recorded “sign” is to offer his own body as the temple to be destroyed and raised. What does it mean that the cleansing of the temple and the resurrection are bound together from the start?
  • The disciples only understood the saying “when he was risen from the dead” — and the JST sharpens it: they did not merely *believe* the scripture afterward, they *remembered* it. How does remembering differ from believing, and why might the Restoration reading prefer it here?
  • Many “believed” when they saw the miracles, yet Jesus “did not commit himself unto them… for he knew what was in man.” What is the difference between a faith built on signs and the faith he is looking for?