And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
Mark 11:11-15
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
John 2:11-15
The Claim: Mark says Jesus overturned the tables near the end of his ministry, but John says it was near the beginning of his ministry.
The Explanation: Both passages are missing a bit of context, so let’s finish out both events in Mark and John and see what all happened when Jesus overturned the tables.
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that is was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he has said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
John 2:13-22
And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city
Mark 11:11-19
Given the events and dialogue between the two passages, we can conclude that John and Mark are describing two different events. In John, Jesus made a whip of cords, said not to make His Father’s house a house of trade, and had a conversation with the destroying and raising the temple. In Mark, there was no whip of cords, Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations,” and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to destroy him, which is not mentioned in John.
Further evidence that these are 2 separate events comes from the fact that Jesus was in Jerusalem twice during his ministry, and we can see this in passages from John and Matthew. John 2 is talking about the beginning of his ministry, which has already been established. Later in John, we see Jesus returning to Jerusalem.
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
John 12:12
And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Matthew 4:25
Here, Matthew is mentioning that Jesus was in Jerusalem in the early part of his ministry. Later on in Matthew, Jesus is entering Jerusalem again.
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
Matthew 21:10
Due to the facts that Jesus was in Jerusalem at multiple different points in his ministry, and the differences in dialogue and the whip of cords, we can conclude that Mark and John are recording 2 completely different occasions of Jesus overturning the tables. There is no contradiction.