Jesus Cleansed The Temple Twice

Jesus cleansed the temple twice. He cleansed the temple at the beginning of His ministry.

This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And 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; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. John 2:11-16 (KJV)

He cleansed the temple a second time at the end of His earthly ministry.

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Matthew 21:12-17 (KJV)

There is significance in this for us today. According to I Corinthians 3:16, we are now the temple of God. When we are born-again, Jesus comes in and cleanses us of all sins so we can be called a house of prayer. Temple in Greek is naos, which refers to a shrine, sanctuary, specifically the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God, the habitation of God. Jesus cleansed us at the first and cleanses us again as needed. He will cleanse His church more than once. His house must be a holy habitation, separate from sin in order for Him to dwell within us.

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. II Corinthians 6:16-18 (KJV)

This emphasizes that we are the temple of the Living God. He dwells and walks in us. If we become unclean, Jesus cleanses His temple with His blood. This is so God can be our God and we can be God’s people. We are to try to stay clean by living separate from the world. We are in the world to make a difference, but we are not of the world because we are born of God. We are not our own- we belong to the Lord .

The two cleansings of the temple by Jesus is also significant because Jesus cleansed the temple during His first coming, and He will also cleanse His temple a second time at the rapture, shortly before the tribulation and His second coming. The cleansing of the temple two times in Jesus’ earthly ministry is a prophetic picture. As believers, together we are also the temple of God. Judgment begins in the house of God. He wants us to be a bride that is without spot or wrinkle, ready for Jesus to receive His own when He comes for us. He cleansed the temple during His first coming, and He will cleanse the temple (us) again to be ready for His second coming.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!