John 2:13

John 2:13. And the passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. The expression, ‘passover of the Jews, is very remarkable, and can be explained only by the usage already noticed in John 2:6. To John's mind the nation cannot but present itself habitually as in opposition to his Master. As yet, indeed, Jesus is not confronted by an organized band of adversaries representing the ruling body of the nation; but we are on the verge of the conflict, and the conflict itself was only the outcome of ungodliness and worldllness existing before their manifestation in the persecution of Jesus. The light was come, but it was shining in darkness: this darkness rested on what had been the temple, the city, the festivals, of the Lord. The feast now at hand is not ‘the Lord's passover' (Exodus 12:11), but ‘the passover of the Jews.' The prevailing spirit of the time has severed the feast from the sacred associations which belonged to it, so that Jesus must go up rather as Prophet than as worshipper, not to sanction by His presence, but powerfully to protest against the degenerate worship of that day. The word of prophecy must be fulfilled: ‘And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple,... but who may abide the day of His coming?' (Malachi 3:1-2).