Skip to main content

Spring Cleaning with Jesus



John 2:13-22 in the Common English Bible (CEB) reads:

It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there. He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep. He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency. He said to the dove sellers, "Get these things out of here! Don't make my Father's house a place of business." His disciples remembered that it is written, Passion for your house consumes me.

Then the Jewish leaders asked him, "By what authority are you doing these things? What miraculous sign will you show us?"

 Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple and in three days I'll raise it up."

 The Jewish leaders replied, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?" But the temple Jesus was talking about was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered what he had said, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

 These verses describe Jesus' version of spring cleaning: cleaning out the temple. There are several major points to this lesson, including:
  • This, in the Gospel of John, is the beginning of the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.
  • Jesus is the purifying presence of God.
  • The renewal of the temple equals true worship.
  • Jesus is the true temple.
This scene takes place in Passover, which is the 15th of Nisan. On our calendar, Passover happens in the middle of April.

Also, the story mentions taxes. The temple tax was one half-shekel, which would be your paycheck after two days of work. You had to pay this tax in Galilean or sanctuary shekels. If you were anywhere else in Jerusalem, you could use money from Rome, Greece, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, or Palestine. Since the temple tax had to be paid in Galilean or sanctuary shekels, there were money changers. And you guessed it, they drew a commission off the exchange rate, which was equal to another day's paycheck.

But that's not all, if you were going to present an animal for a sacrifice--to make atonement for your sins--you had to pay a fee to have the animal inspected. And since animals were sold inside the temple, your animal would probably have a defect if it wasn't bought inside the temple at an inflated price.

How inflated were the prices? William Barclay notes that doves cost fifteen times more inside the temple. This was extortion and exploitation and it was deliberate and shameless. The contrast we see is between Jesus and the religious system. There is a conflict of values. It is a broken system.

The real point of these verses is that Jesus is the temple of God.

A temple was built as a witness to God and as a way that people could draw near to God. It was meant to be a place of worship, not a place for profit.

Is Christ our sanctuary? Are we worshiping him? Or have we put our faith in a system? Is our devotion to God or to a service?

Before we build an altar, we should kneel before God and listen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Grand Tour: Repentance, Justification, and Sanctification

Eventually, in life, we will all wonder if there is more to life than what we do, what we see, and what we feel. Even after we accept Jesus into our heart, we will still feel a longing. We don't believe that accepting Jesus is the final step. Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is only the beginning of our faith. The Holy Spirit continues to work in our lives. John Wesley used the illustration of a house to describe this work. When you're beginning to feel that there has to be more to life than this, you take a look at the house. Then, you’re moved to take a risk and step up on the porch of repentance. There you find new life. After that, you walk into the living room through the front door of justification. Justification is when God makes right what we never can; God, through Christ, makes things right. Wesley ended by saying that sanctification is the exploration of the rest of the house. How sad would it be to live your entire life in the living room? That would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ash Wednesday 2019

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive (Joel 2:12-13 CEB) Today is a new beginning. A new season. And anytime we step into something new, we can feel vulnerable. We know our own brokenness. This is a season where we journey through the wilderness of our hearts and souls to the heart of God. This is a time that calls for us to walk carefully and to think deeply. And if we are to make progress on our pilgrim's path, then we must be willing to lay bare all that is hidden, buried, or repressed inside of ourselves. This path is uncomfortable. But if we want to move closer to God, then it is a path we must take. Lent doesn't make sense. It's counter-intuitive. We begin with death and move towards life. Today, many Christians will go to chu...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Anxiety to Hope

In the early winter of AD 28, an extraordinary rumor spread across the shores of Galilee. A new prophet is on the scene. God had been silent for so long. Believers had longed for a new word from God. The last prophet to speak about the Messiah lived nearly 400 years ago. Some thought prophecy was dead. Others hoped it would be revived. Many longed for a movement which would bring them a new kind of freedom. Then John appears. Crowds come to hear this voice in the wilderness. It may helpful to remember the Exodus story: When Israel left Egypt, they were ed through the Red Sea, through the wilderness of Sinai, and, finally, through the Jordan into the promised land. People were desperate for a new exodus, a new freedom. Then John appears. He tells people to turn their lives around. He calls for people to change their hearts and lives. He's not calling for a one-time event. Instead, this is a radical change of life. John is preparing the road for the Lord to return. He...
Post a Comment
Read more