Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome –
Nov. 9, 2025
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9,
12; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22
Theme:
“Stop Making My Father’s House a Marketplace”
A. A
Brief Exegetical Analysis of John 2:13-22
1.
Historical and Literary Contexts
In
the Gospel of John, right after the Prologue (1:1-18), comes the section known
as the Book of Signs (1:19–12:50), where the narrator reveals Jesus’ divine
identity. Our Gospel, taken from this larger section, directly follows the
account of the first sign, the Wedding at Cana (2:1-12), and comes before the
story of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus (3:1-21). Through our passage, the
sacred author aims to show his community that Jesus’s body is the new temple.
2.
Form, Structure, and Movement
This
story, rich in imagery, is divided into two main sections besides the
introduction (v. 13) and the conclusion (vv. 23-25), which the lectionary has
omitted from our reading. In the first section, Jesus drives out the sellers
and buyers from the temple area (vv. 14-17), and in the second section (vv.
18-22), he argues with the Jews about the temple. Each section ends with a
comment on how Jesus’ disciples respond.
3.
Detailed Analysis
V.
13. The Passover is the Jewish festival during which the people of
Israel annually remember their ancestors’ liberation from Egypt. The Gospel of
John mentions Jesus attending this celebration in the temple three times. Our
Gospel story covers his first time. The second time is noted in Jn 6:4, and the
third in Jn 13:1.
Vv. 14-17. Unlike the Synoptic evangelists,
who place this story in the last days of Jesus’s life, precisely on the
occasion of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, the fourth evangelist recounts it at the
beginning of Jesus’ life. “The order of events in the gospel narratives is
often determined by theological motives rather than by chronological data.”[1]
Worshipping
God in the temple, offering animals as sacrifices, and paying temple taxes were
part of the requirements for the people of Israel. Since the temple in
Jerusalem was far from most of them and it was difficult to travel with their
flocks or herds, the law of Moses allowed them to set up a marketplace in the
temple area. This made it easier for people to travel light, carrying only
their money. In the temple area, they could buy animals for sacrifice and
exchange money for the temple tax (see Dt 14:24-26). However, this permission,
though with good intentions, compromised the sacredness of worship just as the
permission for divorce compromised the sacredness of marriage (see Dt 24:1; Mt
19:1-12). Market activities in the temple’s area created a highly profitable
business that overshadowed the sacred purpose of their pilgrimage.
In
this passage, Jesus drives out all the buyers and sellers, teaching them that
material needs should never take precedence over spiritual life. God must
always be the priority. Through his actions, especially when referring to the
temple as his Father’s house (v. 16), Jesus reveals his divine identity as the
Son of God. The words from Scripture that the disciples recall (v. 17) are from
Ps 69:10. These words are shifted to the future tense to relate to Jesus.[2]
Vv.
18-22. The Jews challenge Jesus by asking him to show them a sign that proves
he has divine authority to clear them out of the temple area. In response,
Jesus identifies his body as the new Temple when he says, “Destroy this temple
and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). He speaks metaphorically about
his upcoming Passion, Death, and Resurrection. At the Cross, the blood and
water that flow from Jesus’ side, the New Temple, fulfill Ezekiel’s vision of a
river flowing from the old temple (cf. Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12). Therefore, Jesus’s
Resurrection is the sign that confirms his divine authority. The disciples will
remember Jesus’ words when he rises from the dead, which will strengthen their
faith in his Resurrection.
Vv.
23-25. In these concluding verses, which the lectionary omitted from our
reading, the narrator comments on the limits of faith based on signs. “Jesus
thus knows that signs-faith is not a sufficient response to the fullness of the
gift of God that he brings into the human story.”[3]
4.
Synthesis
The
people of Israel misused Moses’ law regarding the organization of market
activities in the temple area. While the law was intended to help travelers
carry only their money to buy animals for sacrifice and exchange money for the
temple tax, people turned it into a profitable business that obscured the
sacred purpose of their pilgrimage. Jesus drove them all out of the temple
area, teaching them that God must always come before material needs. He first
referred to the temple as his Father’s house, showing that he is the Son of
God. Second, he identified this temple as his Body, which the Jews would
“destroy,” and that he would “raise” in three days, pointing to his Death and
Resurrection.
B. Pastoral
Implications
1.
Liturgical Context
In
this Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the Scripture
readings discuss the temple as (1) a physical building that serves as God’s
house and a place of worship (first reading and Gospel), (2) the Body of Christ
(Gospel), and (3) a community of believers who, in turn, become Temples of God
(second reading).
2.
What the Church Teaches Us Today
First,
our local churches are the houses of God, places where we come to worship our
Lord. In the Gospel, Jesus confronts the people of Israel who have turned the
temple into a marketplace. These people come to the temple not to pray to God
but to conduct their business. They prioritize their material needs over
spiritual needs. Jesus drove them all out of the temple area, teaching them
that God must always come before material concerns. We, too, like these
Israelites, turn our churches into a “marketplace” when we do not attend Mass
actively, intentionally, and reverently. Let us avoid anything that distracts
us and prevents us from praying to God reverently during the liturgy of the
Mass.
Second,
our local Church is the Body of Christ. In the Gospel, when Jesus drove out the
people who turned the temple into a marketplace, he identified this temple as
his Body, which the Jews would “destroy,” and that he would “raise” in three
days, pointing to his Passion, Death, and Resurrection (Jn 2:19). The vision of
the prophet Ezekiel, which we heard in our first reading, foretold this.
Ezekiel saw water flowing out from the temple, producing life and refreshment.
This water alludes to the water and blood that flowed from the side of Jesus on
the Cross, representing the water of baptism and the Blood of the Eucharist,
which give eternal salvation to us who believe in him. Therefore, the Temple or
the Church is the Body of Christ.
Third,
our local Church is the Christian community, and each of us is the Temple of
God. In our second reading, Saint Paul first tells us that we are both God’s
building and builders. (1) When he refers to us as God’s building, he means
that we are a Christian assembly, and each of us is the Temple of God, with the
Spirit of God dwelling in us (1 Cor 3:16). Therefore, let us avoid sins because
they turn our lives from the “temples of God” to “marketplaces.” (2) When Saint
Paul calls us “God’s builders,” he means we are the ministers of our Christian
community, helping each other grow in our relationship with God. He advises us
to be careful in how we “build” or serve others, because “no one can lay a
foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ” (1 Cor
3:11). This means our ministries should not be based on what we or others want,
but on what the Church has already established in Jesus’ name. Then, he warns
us that God will destroy anyone who destroys God’s Temple (1 Cor 3:17). We destroy
God’s temple when we do not use our lives to reflect his holiness, when we
create division among people, or when we mislead our brothers and sisters by
neglecting our ministries.
May
the liturgy of this Mass help us believe that our local Church is the House of
God, the Body of Christ, and a Christian community in which each of us is the
Temple of God. Let us then ask God for grace so that we do not destroy this
Temple of God by turning it into a “marketplace” of distractions, division, and
other sins, but instead build it to reflect a true Christian assembly and
transform it into a place to worship God. Amen.
Rev. Leon
Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, Jackson, MS
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
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