John 2:13-22
“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.”
Jesus flipping tables is not a mental image we generally have when reflecting on the incarnation. This depiction of Jesus seems a long way off from the manger scene. This is why I love the structure of opposites that frames this Advent devotional. Jesus – peaceful and wild. The Christian faith and Jesus himself is forever eluding perfect definition and comfortable resolution. We have a faith that is often confusing, holds paradox, and requires continual wrestling as we walk in this way. So in an unexpected move, we encounter table-flipping Jesus in our Advent reflections. What does this mean for us?
We might respond in different ways to this wild, whip-wielding portrait of Jesus that John gives us. By clearing out the money changers in the temple, Jesus is firmly situated with the Old Testament prophets who denounced injustices amongst the people of God. Some of us read this depiction of Jesus and get excited. We are ready to follow Jesus into our own institutions with our own whips to drive out those who do wrong.
Others may read about table-flipping Jesus with unease. Jesus holding a whip? He is the one who came to bring peace. This doesn’t seem to square with the prophetic vision of the future kingdom, one where people “will beat their swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4).
Or perhaps this passage brings discomfort because we recognize we might be on the other side of Jesus’s ire. What if the whip is unfurled in our direction for our own participation in corruption and for our own arrogance in the presence of God?
Commentators have different theories on what exactly Jesus was so angry about in this story. The sacrificial system at the temple required animals, which those who traveled to the temple needed to procure, and the type of business he seems to be opposing was likely normal for the temple’s functioning. Whatever the exact issue was, Jesus is clearly presented as one who is challenging the existing order.
The incarnation is an absolutely shocking, upside-down event. I think part of our role as followers of Jesus is making sure we do not grow numb to such an astonishing story. God made flesh. Power giving up power. The incarnate Word, from the manner of his birth, life, death and resurrection has always presented a challenge to the existing order. This is a comfort, yet it is also a confrontation.
This is comforting because we know that things are not the way they are supposed to be, and we look forward to the day when all will be made right. How do we join the prophetic work of Jesus this Advent season in seeking the justice of the Kingdom of God?
This is a confrontation because we know that as Christians, we are particularly susceptible to domesticating Jesus and not letting ourselves be challenged by our peaceful yet wild Savior. What things need to be overturned in our hearts and in our lives this season?