Jesus Clears the Temple

Monday, December 16, 2013      Jesus Clears the Temple     

John 2: 13-25

It is important to remember that John’s Gospel is not a travel log of all the places Jesus went, and the things he did and said. Neither is it an historical record of the life of Jesus. John’s Gospel is a theological interpretation of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It would be very confusing to compare the timeline in this Gospel with the other three Gospels. As an example, Matthew, Mark and Luke only have Jesus, as an adult, going to Jerusalem one time, at the end of his ministry. John will follow Jesus in and out of Jerusalem several times. Jesus’ first of three Passover visits to Jerusalem in the Gospel of John is the subject of today’s passage.

The people of Israel expected the Messiah would purify the Temple to make it ready for the presence of God. However, they made the same mistake we all make; they assumed it was the Roman presence and symbols in the Temple that made it unclean. They didn’t look within themselves for the sin that corrupted the Temple. Jesus made it abundantly clear that it was their religious practices that turned the Temple into a marketplace. The Temple leaders didn’t so much dispute Jesus’ action; rather, they demanded a sign to prove he had the authority of God to clean the Temple. Jesus alluded to a sign yet to come, but it went right over their heads. Sometimes we really can’t see the forest for the trees.

What would Jesus say or do if he visited our church on Sunday? One way to consider this question is to ask, “What is the most important mission of the church?” (Hint: It has something to do with making disciples for Jesus.) Then ask, “What percentage of all the words, prayers, and actions within the church are specifically related to this mission?”  If they are less than 50% you might want to duck for cover.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.