The first public demonstration of the authority of Jesus, according to John's gospel, was the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. His teaching was to supersede the Law so the first public act which witnessed to this was in the centre of Jewish worship where everything was regulated by the Law. His death, as the Lamb of God, was to be the ultimate sacrifice, so he drove out the animals of Jewish sacrifice, the ineffectiveness of which was proved in destroying sin.

The Jewish authorities demanded a sign from Jesus to prove his Messianic right to do what he had done (John 2: 18, Mark 8: 11, 11:27-28) and Jesus gave an answer which they did not understand (2: 19-20). In Mark 14:58, the saying of John 2:19 is used as the basis of one of the false accusations brought against Jesus at his trial. The author explains the real meaning of what Jesus said, relating it to the Resurrection (2:21). The Resurrection would be the ultimate sign to the disciples of who Jesus was (2:22).

The reference to the building of Herod's Temple, which began in 20 B.C., indicates a date of either A.D. 26 or 27 for the beginning of Jesus' ministry, according to John's record. The symbolic meaning of the action of Jesus becomes clear if we see it as foreshadowing the destruction of the old worship of the Temple and its replacement of a new order of worship, that of the Christian Church, understood by Paul as the living body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12 :27). Paul also refers to the physical human body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6: 19). The disciples remembered the very strange words of Jesus (2: 19) although not under-standing them until after the Resurrection.

The understanding which Jesus had of the inner thoughts of people is referred to again in 2:24--25. Belief in him because of miracles done by him was not what Jesus wanted; this kind of belief saw him only as a 'wonder-worker.' In 2:23 there is a reference to miracles not described by John.

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