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John

About this book
Chapter 2

1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.”⁠ 4 Jesus replied, “Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time has not yet come.” 5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding 20 or 30 gallons.⁠ 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did. 9 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. 13 Now the Jewish Feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. 15 So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.⁠ 16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will devour me.” 18 So then the Jewish leaders responded, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 19 Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”⁠ 20 Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “This temple has been under construction for 46 years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body.⁠ 22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken. 23 Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he knew all people. 25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.

Texts in conversation

Compare Zechariah 6:12 and John 2:19

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Zechariah describes a figure called the “Branch” who will grow out of the fallen tree of the Davidic line to rebuild the temple, a depiction of authority. In John, Jesus refers to this tradition when speaking of raising the temple in three days.

Passages

Zechariah 6:12

Hebrew Bible
10 “Choose some people from among the exiles, namely, Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, all who have come from Babylon, and when you have done so go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Then take some silver and gold to make a crown and set it on the head of Joshua the high priest, the son of Jehozadak. 12 Then say to him, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “Look—here is the man whose name is Branch, who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 Indeed, he will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed in splendor, sitting as king on his throne. Moreover, there will be a priest with him on his throne and they will see eye to eye on everything. 14 The crown will then be turned over to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

John 2:19

New Testament
15 So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will devour me.” 18 So then the Jewish leaders responded, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 19 Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “This temple has been under construction for 46 years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

References

"... John reports that at this point Jesus also said, "I will destroy this Temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands" (Mark 14:58; compare Matt. 26:61). In Mark (14:57-59), however, this is the testimony of a false witness. If it was true that Jesus really said that he would rebuild the Temple, then Caiaphas, the Sadducee, was not listening to rabbinic fantasies. There is a biblical verse which was understood by all to speak about the Messiah, who would build the Temple. 'The man whose name is Branch ... he shall build the Temple of God' (Zech. 6:12). The Branch was generally understood to be a designation for the Messiah. It's therefore logical to suppose that if Jesus said that he would build the Temple, he confessed that he was the Messiah. Likewise, it would be logical for the high priest to respond and ask him 'Are you then the Christ?' ..."
David Flusser and R. Steven Notley, Jesus (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1997), 138–141.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Zechariah 6:12 and John 2:19

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