John2_Cleaning_Day_Discussion_Questions.pdf

The Gospel of John: Cleaning Day

Discussion Questions — John 2:13–22 | OneTwo Church | July 19, 2026

1. Icebreaker

You can tell a lot about a person by walking into their home — not how fancy it is, but the feel of it. What's a home you've been in (as a kid or an adult) that just felt warm and welcoming? What made it that way?

2. When Religion Becomes a Marketplace (John 2:14–16)

By Jesus' day, the temple had turned into a business — special coins, crazy exchange rates, a marketplace atmosphere where worship got crowded out by logistics. The sermon named the lie it communicated: "God is only accessible by systems and transactions."

Where do you see "transaction" thinking creep into faith today — the sense that we have to buy, earn, or perform our way to God? Have you ever felt that pressure yourself?

3. Why the Whip? (John 2:15; 2 Corinthians 8:9)

The whip wasn't random. In Egypt, whips drove slaves to hard labor. The sermon made the connection: Jesus was showing that the people had become slaves again — not to Egypt, but to their own religion, a system of law and sacrifice they trusted instead of the living God.

"Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." — 2 Corinthians 8:9

What kinds of "religious slavery" can still trap sincere believers — rules, performance, trying to earn what God freely gives? What does real freedom in grace look like instead?

4. You Are Now God's House (John 2:16; Ephesians 2:19–22)

God's house is His reputation — it's supposed to make clear who He is. And the sermon pushed this forward: the temple isn't a building in Jerusalem anymore. You are God's house. We represent God to the world now.

"You also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." — Ephesians 2:22

If your life is the "house" people read to learn what God is like — what's the current "vibe" of your house? Where might Jesus lovingly want to do some cleaning, not to condemn you, but because you're His?

5. The Sign No One Can Ignore (John 2:18–22)

When challenged for a sign, Jesus pointed to the ultimate one: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" — speaking of His own body. The sermon put it plainly: every debate about Jesus comes down to one question — did He rise from the dead?

Death is the one rule no one can break — and Jesus' greatest sign was breaking exactly that rule. How does the resurrection function as the anchor of your faith? If Jesus really did rise, what does that mean for everything else He said?