John 2:12,13 - Jesus went up to Jerusalem

2:12

John frequently uses “after this” as a connective between narrative sections. It does not give any indication of the length of time between the two connected sections. Jesus travelled with His mother and brothers, and His disciples.

2:13

The next recorded incident is the clearing of the temple. Now a clearing of the temple is recorded in the synoptic gospels, but there it occurs towards the end of His ministry, rather than at the beginning. Most commentators seem to find the concept of a similar event happening twice as highly unlikely, and so surmise that this is the same incident as in the synoptics and John has moved it for thematic reasons. Now it is true that the gospel writers are often more concerned with linking themes than with maintaining strict chronological order, and this is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. However, there is a two to three year gap here, and it is unlikely that John would have made such a jump in time. It is far more sensible to take the text as it is presented and there is nothing inherently impossible, nor unlikely, about there being two clearings of the temple. The fact that they both occur at the time of the passover is also perfectly plausible as Jesus did not spend that much time in Jerusalem, and when He did it was at the Passover.