Jesus Cleaning House Before Passover.

"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 2:13-16 KJV

"And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." - John 2:17 KJV [“Passion for God’s house will consume me.”]

Passover is also called the feast of unleavened bread.

"Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel." - Exodus 12:15 KJV

This is accomplished in Jewish homes throughout the world by their intensive cleaning and inspecting of their homes before Passover, and gradually eliminating leaven from every room and crevice.

In the Bible, we see Jesus accomplishing an intensive cleaning of His house, the temple, and eliminating the “leaven” that He found there.

What does leaven represent?

Jesus spoke of leaven on several occasions.

"Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. ... Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." - Matthew 16:6, 12 KJV

"Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." - Luke 12:1-2 KJV

Paul spoke of leaven.

"It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you…and ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. ... Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." - 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 6-8 KJV

While Jesus cleaned His house, the Temple, we are to clean our house, our temple (our self). We do this by self-examination and repentance.

Jesus is the Lamb of God that shed His blood so that our sins could be remitted. He is our Passover Lamb that is sacrificed for us.

We can be baptized in His name and apply His blood to our lives after we have cleansed our temple (our life) by repentance. With a repented life and the blood of the Lamb applied to our temple by baptism in Jesus name, we can receive the gift of His resurrecting Spirit to walk in newness of life in Jesus.

Right after Jesus cleansed the Temple, He spoke of His death.

"Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said." - John 2:18-22 KJV

Jesus died for our sins. We take up our cross and follow Him by repentance. We are buried with Him by baptism in Jesus name. We rise to a new life in Christ when we receive the gift of His Spirit. We become the temple of God as part of the body of Christ.

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 KJV

"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 KJV