Scripture:": John 2:13-22 (ESV)
“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 all 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 it 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 had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”
I have now lived long enough to see several events that will go down in history. I write this on September the 11th, a day that changed the way the western world worked. This day marks the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre towers in New York, when terrorists flew their planes into the buildings. Once they collapsed these buildings would never be rebuilt. Instead in their place there is a haunting but sacred memorial that helps people remember and reflect on what happened.
This memorial serves a very specific purpose - it connects people to their past so that they can live in light of their history. In Israel the temple and the Passover functioned in much the same way. Every year the Israelites would celebrate the Passover feast. This continues to this day. It is a ritual that connects Israelites to their history. It reminds them, every year, that God acted powerfully to save them and deliver them from Egypt. Now as the Passover approached the temple in Jerusalem would have been filled with Israelites who had come to offer sacrifices to God.
Now to offer a sacrifice, one needs an animal. But if you are pilgrim getting your animal sacrifice to Jerusalem would be difficult. So instead you could bring money and buy a sacrifice once you got to Jerusalem instead. This was permitted by the religious authorities. The problem was that the traders were exploiting the people. The very place that was supposed to connect people to God, became a place where people worshipped money.
So when Jesus comes, he clears house. When I was younger, I had one of those What Would Jesus Do? arm bands. Turns out, at times, Jesus sinless as he was, would make a whip, turn over tables, and chase people out of the temple. But Jesus didn’t only chase these people away. Instead he was giving people yet another sign in the “Book of Signs”. He tells the people “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). They scoffed, thinking only of the physical temple, which had taken decades to build. But Jesus wasn’t speaking of bricks and mortar - he was talking about himself.
Jesus announces to everyone who would listen: “I am the true temple”. And with His resurrection, Jesus became the place where we meet God—not in a building, but in the living Christ.
Will you come to Him?
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that I do not need to go to temples to connect with God the Father. Help me never to corrupt my worship with noise or greed. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Today consider that your body is a temple. Are there distractions or corruptions you need to drive out to make space for true worship?
Jesus: The True Temple