Name: Tsang Yuk Fai Date: Jan 15, 14.

Student No.: 10117

Email address: [email protected]
Lecturer: Dr. Ng Wai Yee .

New Testament Theology

Term Paper
John 2:13-17

Introduction

The Gospel of John is without a doubt one of the most fascinating books among
the Four Gospels. In this essay, John 2:13-17 is the passage we will look into. There is
little room for debate that the passage John 2:13-17 is one solid segment in the larger
chunk of the text, so we will stick to the passage, but will digress a little at times to look
into how and why this event is situated among the broader context. We will also compare
and contrast the accounts in the other three Gospels with that of John in hope of noting
the highlights in John and from there deduce theological significance, if any. Before we
actually dig in, however, there are two presuppositions we need to be clear. First of all,
John the disciple is supposed to be the author of the book. The corollary is that John used
the Septuagint as the text of the Old Testament, so whatever books or verses the
Septuagint contains might possibly be at his disposal; also, we suppose inter-textual
analysis is a legitimate way to interpreting biblical texts. While attempting a valid
interpretation, I would employ the historical approach and salvation historical approach
of New Testament theology to the text. First I am here laying the original Greek text and
juxtaposing relevant verses of the Four Gospels with wording worth attention underlined.

13
Καὶ ἐγγὺς ἦν τὸ πάσχα τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ ἀνέβη εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ὁ Ἰησοῦς. 14Καὶ εὗρεν ἐν τῷ
ἱερῷ τοὺς πωλοῦντας βόας καὶ πρόβατα καὶ περιστερὰς καὶ τοὺς κερματιστὰς καθημένους, 15καὶ
ποιήσας φραγέλλιον ἐκ σχοινίων πάντας ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τά τε πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς βόας, καὶ
τῶν κολλυβιστῶν ἐξέχεεν τὸ κέρμα καὶ τὰς τραπέζας ἀνέτρεψεν, 16καὶ τοῖς τὰς περιστερὰς
πωλοῦσιν εἶπεν· ἄρατε ταῦτα ἐντεῦθεν, μὴ ποιεῖτε τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου οἶκον ἐμπορίου. καὶ
ποιήσας φραγέλλιον ἐκ σχοινίων πάντας ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τά τε πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς βόας, καὶ
τῶν κολλυβιστῶν ἐξέχεεν τὸ κέρμα καὶ τὰς τραπέζας ἀνέτρεψεν, (John 2:13-17 BGT)

John 2:13-17 Luke 19:45-46 Mark 11: 15-17 Matthew 21:12-13

13 45 15 12
When it was almost time for the Then he On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus Jesus entered the

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Jewish Passover, Jesus went up entered the entered the temple area and temple area and
to Jerusalem. 14In the temple temple area began driving out those who drove out all who
courts he found people selling and began were buying and selling there. were buying and
cattle, sheep and doves, and driving out He overturned the tables of the selling there. He
others sitting at tables exchanging those who money changers and the overturned the
money. 15So he made a whip out were selling. benches of those selling doves, tables of the money
46 16
of cords, and drove all from the "It is and would not allow anyone to changers and the
temple area, both sheep and written," he carry merchandise through the benches of those
cattle; he scattered the coins of said to them, " temple courts. 17And as he selling doves. 13"It is
the money changers and 'My house will taught them, he said, "Is it not written," he said to
overturned their tables. 16To those be a house of written: them, " 'My house
who sold doves he said, "Get prayer'[3] ; but " 'My house will be called a will be called a
these out of here! Stop turning my you have house of prayer for all nations'[3] house of prayer,'[5]
Father's house into a market!" made it 'a den ? But you have made it 'a den but you are making
17
His disciples remembered that it of robbers.'[4] " of robbers.'[4] " it a 'den of
is written: "Zeal for your house will robbers.'[6] "
consume me."[2]

Analysis

The following pieces of wording are particular in John and are missing in other
Gospels: “the Jewish Passover”, “So he made a whip out of cords”, “Get these out of
here” and “His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume
me.’” We will skip “Get these out of here” for the time being until it comes to the part of
interpretation.

1. the Jewish Passover

The historical approach to the Scriptures would certainly dig into the historical
background and meaning of the Jewish Passover. According to Exodus 12, when Pharaoh
refused to free the Israelites, God inflicted disasters on the land of Egypt, and the last
one, being slaying the firstborn of the Egyptians, caused Pharaoh to soften. In order to
protect the Israelites from the calamity, God ordered them to put the blood of a lamb on
the doorframes while eating the lamb that night. Since then, Judaism has it that it is a
festival as remembrance of God’s salvation. Therefore, one looking at the NT from a
historical approach might see little significance of this act, except that Jesus, being one of
the Jews, came to Jerusalem to observe the law like any other Jews would, and that

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scenario matches traditional Judaism. Such conclusion would at least show approval of
the accuracy of the New Testament, at least in this verse.

So why at the time of the Passover? The salvation historical approach would spot
the significance of Jesus act at that point time, among all other festive events what would
require a Jew to go to Jerusalem. Now that the Passover is a remembrance of God’s
salvation, the timing of Jesus’ act might in fact hint God’s timely salvation in that
context. The Passover indeed points to the death of Christ1.

2. the whip

The Greek word of “whip” is φραγέλλιον, and the word does not re-appear in John,
Nevertheless, this word – or a word of the same root – appears once in Matthew27:26 and
at another time in Mark 15:15.

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and

handed him over to be crucified. (Matthew 27:26 NIV)

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had

Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. (Mark 15:15 NIV)

In both occurrences, φραγέλλιον points to the suffering of Christ.

When depicting the same scenario of Christ’s suffering, however, John uses
another Greek word, which is ἐμαστίγωσεν. In Septuagint, this word – again, or a word of
the same root – appears five times, scattered in Deu 25:2, Psalm 91:10, Sirach 23:11;
26:6; 40:9. With the exception of Sirach 26:6, all these verses use the word “whip”
metaphorically to symbolize punishment or calamity or harm inflicted by God on sinful
men2 (Sirach 26:6 depicting a scenario of harm or bitterness inflicted by man on one
another poses no significance here).
1
T.R Schreiner, Magnifying God in Christ: A Summary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Academic, 2010), 212.
2
http://www.bibleforyou.net/Wisdom_of_Jesus/Book/

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 Now one reading the NT with the historical approach would say that there is
literally no significance of a whip, despite that John is the only book that mentions it. A
whip is merely a whip, and it was simply there in Jesus’ hand to deal with the sellers. Yet
from the salvation historical point of view, the word “whip” in John – as inter-textual
analysis allows it – would indicate Christ’s suffering. After all, Jesus did not use a plank
or a stick or a goad to drive the animals. Instead, He used a whip and a whip only, as
specified in John.

In that case, why didn’t John use the word μαστιγόω instead of φραγέλλιον? Does
John indeed intentionally mention the whip to point to Jesus’ suffering? There seems no
obvious answer to that. However, despite the apparent difference in choice of words,
John vividly depict the scene, at least in some sense draws readers to take note of this
whipping act, first fall upon the sacrifices in the temple court, then upon the sacrificial
Lamb God has appointed. If such inference is valid, John’s depiction is no coincidence.

3. “Zeal for your house will consume me”

The verse is from Psalm 69:9. This is a psalm of David, a plea for God’s
deliverance3. The point to note is that the psalm is a lament 4. The psalm has a total of 36
verses, and verse 9 is so situated that it is embedded in verses on the extremely adverse
situation and torment the author experiences. With verse 13 as the only exception, all
verses from 1 to 21 describe such plight.

1 Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck…

7 For I endure scorn for your sake,

and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
3
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1140-psalm-69-a-plea-for-gods-deliverance
4
G. Wong, Hebrew III lecture notes

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 9 for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me…

21 They put gall in my food

and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

Again, from the historical point of view, the quotation might merely show the
some continuity of the two testaments, or at best approval of the authority and validity of
the Old Testament. In other words, the quotation seems to lack any religious significance.
However, the skeptical eye might see discontinuity, or at least tension, between the Old
and the New, as it might cast its focus on the verse “You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.” (Psalm 69:5). Now that the author of the psalm has
guilt, this “I” cannot point to Christ, and therefore, the quotation is invalid.

From the salvation historical point of view, on the other hand, one would see
Christ as the Savior appointed ages ago by God, proven so by the work of David. So God,
through the psalm, prophesied the coming of Christ. More than that, when Jesus’ act has
been prophesied in a psalm of lament, where a plight is depicted and torment in the heart
is described, the psalm itself points to Christ’s suffering, as such layout is, again, no
coincidence.

Interpretation

The historical approach of analyzing the text would yield very little. Jesus’
visiting the template at the Jewish Passover is readily justified, according to the customs
of Second-temple Judaism, and in a sense, Jesus has done this “to fulfill all
righteousness” (Matt 3:15). On the other hand, as discussed above, the historical eye

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could say that the quotation of Psalm 69:9 is inapproriate, as the first-person “I” could
never have meant Christ.

From the salvation historical point of view, the approach I would adopt, John’s
selection of material into the Gospel displays a consistent theme: the predestined
suffering of Christ. Synoptic Gospels have been focusing on “house of prayer” and
“robbers”, which are objects of visual imagery, and are so narrated from man’s point of
view. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John displays high Christology, and
predestination is one of the features of such. To avoid distraction, John removes these
objects and secure “the Jewish Passover”, “the whip” and the quotation in place. “The
Jewish Passover” tells the coming of God’s salvation; “the whip” on the sacrifices points
to the second whip in the Gospel, which is the one on Jesus; the quotation from Psalm is
the exploitation of the Old Testament to validate Jesus’ suffering. Now that these three
parts parallel to each other, they, as analyzed above, all points to the predestined
suffering of Christ, and thus serve the purpose of testifying to Jesus and identify Him as
the Anointed One.

If such analysis is deemed valid, the phrase “Get them out of here” might then
have grounds for its existence. Jesus rids the sacrifices from the Temple court, and has
himself all alone. This is visually phenomenal, as He has become the perfect sacrifice in
place of other sacrifices. Though a bit too far-reaching in some way, it is arguably the
reason why John puts such phrase there, and at least, that seems to be the only
explanation, if a need of it be required.

If Jesus’ suffering is one side of the coin, salvation is surely the other, as Jesus
suffers for the sake of sinners. From the salvation historical point of view, this passage
shows precisely the core of the gospel, in that Jesus has suffered at the appointed time,
and as evident from His own quotation of Psalm 69, Jesus is well aware of it. Therefore,
it is an intended act of sacrifice. He suffers, so that he can save. The passage put the
salvation history in a nutshell, and all who are able to grasp the in-depth meaning should
rejoice, as the prophesied Messiah has come, and He has suffered and has rescued.

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Conclusion

Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, which would have drawn readers’ attention to the
“house of prayer” and the “robbers’ heart and motives” and in turn an interpretation on
God’s desire and human desires, the Gospel of John seems to display a shift of attention,
focusing on the metaphorical and prophetic aspect of Jesus’ act, and in turn the true
identity of Jesus.
Given that the presuppositions are valid and that inter-textual analysis is at one’s
disposal, the salvation historical approach yields fruitful insights, while the fact that the
Gospel of John displays high Christology makes the historical approach inapplicable. To
me, the passage John 2:13-17 does indeed reveal John’s original intent of testifying to
Jesus by pointing to His predestined suffering at a later time. John has been faithful
throughout his book making plain his testimony, as he goes:

5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John [the
Baptist]. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that
through him all men might believe. (John 1:5-7 NIV)

To John, as evident from both his Gospel and his epistles (1 John, 2 John and 3 John),
making testimony is the very spine, and he has succeeded in doing so.

(2317 words)