By Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, Cap., The Catholic Thing - All four Gospels tell of Jesus cleansing the temple. The Gospel of John, however, provides the most detail about what took place, which bears witness that the Evangelist was present at this event. (John 2:13-22) Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the feast that commemorated both the Israelites’ passing out of slavery in Egypt and the covenant that God made with the Jewish people in the wilderness.