One or Two Cleansings of the Temple?
John 2:14 recorded a cleansing of the
Temple. John says it happened at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. However, in
the Synoptics it is located at end of His ministry and leads directly to His
death (cf. Mark 11:15-18). This leads us to the question of how many times did
Jesus cleanse the temple—once or twice?
Because John places the event at the beginning of His ministry, while
the gospels place it toward the end, after the triumphal entry, there seems to
be two. This question is much debated. Those who hold to one cleansing of the
temple contend:
·
No gospel records
two cleansings, only one. It may well be that each writer omits the second
cleansing because both did not fit their purpose.
·
Borchert says the
problem may be one of perspective and false expectation.[1]
Many hold that it is because John is writing topically, not chronological and
one should not try to harmonize with the Synoptics. It is assumed that John is
to be read chronologically.
·
Hamblin takes the
gospel as more of a Platonic dialogue or a sequence of plays than a modern
history or biography. He sees it as theme oriented indicating the account is Messianic
presenting Him as the Lord of the Temple.[2]
There are with the view problems:[3]
·
The bias of
scholars who do not see anything as double in Scripture.
·
It is argued that
if Jesus cleanses the temple once, the leadership and temple police would never
have allowed it again. However, the two cleansings are separated by 3 years. Since
His other visits were peaceful, it likely the expectation had subsided. Jesus
visited the temple a number of times and there was no other such occurrence
until His passion at the end of His ministry.
·
In spite of the
time references (the next day, on the third day, etc) in John’s record of the
event, these are ignored and downplayed. They hold to the synoptic order and
that holding to the time references is to miss the point as a picture of Messianic
leadership and authority.[4]
(This view lends itself to the spiritualization of the text as the expense of
the literal facts).
·
In addition, I have
found the one cleansing view seems to skip over the differences between the two
accounts.
Two cleanings are possible based on the
following facts:
·
The historical placement
of the two accounts.
·
The event is placed
in the non-Synoptic section of John. Morris points out “Apart from the work of the Baptist nothing
else in the first five chapters of this Gospel is to be found in any of the
Synoptics.”[5]
·
The differences in
wording and setting. There are some things that only John mentions—e.g. the
oxen, sheep the birds, and the whip.
·
The words “after this” in verse 12, as well as the
words “a few days” indicate the time
and the nearness of this event to the wedding in Cana. These time references do
not interfere with the focus on Messianic authority. It is consistent with a literal
view of the text.
·
Only John records
three Passovers, the Synoptics record only two. This is the one that is not
recorded in the Synoptics.
·
Unlike the Synoptic
cleansings, there is no hint in John that this cleansing immediately leads to
Jesus’ death (cf. Mark 11:15-18).
While the difficulty is not settled. I see
the weight of the evidence being with the two cleansing view as being the most
natural way to see the text. To harmonize the differences of the cleansing in
John with that of the Synoptics is impossible, whether one sees John adapting
the event for his purpose or not. This failure adds somewhat to the support
they are not the same events. Blum reflects the two view position well, saying,
Probably there were two cleansings, for there are differences in the narrations. John was undoubtedly aware of the Synoptics, and he supplemented them. The first cleansing caught the people by surprise. The second cleansing, about three years later, was one of the immediate causes of His death (cf. Mark 11:15-18).[6]
Probably there were two cleansings, for there are differences in the narrations. John was undoubtedly aware of the Synoptics, and he supplemented them. The first cleansing caught the people by surprise. The second cleansing, about three years later, was one of the immediate causes of His death (cf. Mark 11:15-18).[6]
[1] Gerald Borchert, NAC: JOHN 1-11.
[2] William Hamblin, John 2:13-25. THE
PURIFICATION OF THE TEMPLE, paper, Academic.edu, Feb 1, 2011, 2
[3] D.A. Carson, PNTC: JOHN, 177-178.
[4] R.T. France, “Chronological Aspects of
‘Gospel Harmony’,” VOX EVANGELICA 16,(1986), 30-66.
[5] Leon Morris, NICNT: JOHN, 190.
[6] Edwin A. Blum, BKC: “John,” 279.
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