Reflecting on the reference to Psalm 69:9 in John 2:17, Alan Kerr ( The Temple of Jesus’ Body: The Temple Theme in the Gospel of John (Library of New Testament Studies) 
Thus, “within this pericope dealing with the expulsion of the sacrificial animals from the Temple here is an intimation that Jesus Himself will become a sacrifice. Furthermore, Caiaphas’s prophecy . . . has a clear sacrificial nuance. Hoskyns puts it succinctly when he says, ‘[T]he purification of which His action is a sign depends on the sacrifice of his body . . . . And with his sacrifice Temple sacrifices will end.”
Thus, “on a post-resurrection reading the text takes a deeper meaning. Zeal for Jesus’ Father’s house will precipitate the consumption of his life as a sacrifice.” Kerr argues that it is precisely in this way that he becomes “the Passover Lamb to take away the sin of the world.”
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
