Temple or Temptation

Lent 3 March 19, 2006
Rev. Steven D. Spencer

 John 2:13-22

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." 20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

A New Orleans lawyer was hired to help a client apply for a loan.  He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to some property being offered as collateral.  It took the lawyer 3 months to finish the title search and send in the application.  The FHA sent back a letter pointing out that he had only cleared the title to the year 1803.  They said it was necessary to clear the title back to its origin before the loan could be approved.

The lawyer became angry and responded as follows:

“Your letter regarding title in case 189156 has been received.  I note that you wish to have title extended further than the 194 years covered by the present application.  I was unaware that any educated person, in your position, in this country… would not know that the U. S. purchased Louisiana from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our application...  The title to land prior to U. S. ownership was obtained from France, which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain.

The land came into possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to India by then reigning monarch, Isabella.  The good queen, being a pious woman and careful about titles… took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to fund Columbus' expedition.  Now the Pope, as I'm sure you know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  And God, it is commonly accepted, created this world.  Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that God also made that part of the world called Louisiana.  God, therefore, would be the owner of origin.  I hope you find God’s original claim to be satisfactory.  Now, may we have our loan?"

In this case, the lawyer’s anger paid off.  They got the loan.  

It can become easy to forget who has the title of origin for everything we have.  When we live someplace long enough, we begin to think that the land and everything on it belongs to us, at least that's the temptation.  We think of this country as our country.  But it belonged to Native American people for some time before our ancestors found it and settled on it.  And even before Native American people lived here, the land belonged to its original creator.  The fact is this; God is the owner of origin of everything including this part of the world we call Salem, Oregon.  

The same can be said about our places of worship.  When people build a house of worship, a temple, they begin to think it belongs to them.  We sometimes forget the First Commandment that God is first; at least that's our temptation.  We forget the covenants that God made with Abraham and Sarah, with Moses and the people of Israel.  God understood this might happen and even warns His people of it in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Beware when have you have entered the good land and have built good homes, filled your stomachs, covered your feet, have done well for yourselves and your wealth has multiplied that you become proud and forget the Lord your God. And when we forget who holds the title of origin; that can make God angry. 

The word “anger” appears in the Bible over 270 times in New American Standard Version.   Most of the time the word refers to God’s anger at the people of Israel.  When I discovered that, I became curious; what makes God angry?  God got angry with Moses when Moses argued that God should send someone else to tell Pharaoh to let his people go.  God got angry and frustrated with His people when they murmured, and whined, and complained about life in the wilderness.  God was angry when they acted like cowards, afraid to take possession of the land that He had given them.  God gets very angry when His people disobey God’s commandments; when they worship other gods; when they tempt and provoke God with their unfaithfulness. 

Today’s Scripture about Jesus in the Temple is directed to the church.  It's an account of misplaced emphasis.  The Temple was built as God's dwelling place. It's right for Jesus’ to be there, it's right for Him to be angered.  The purpose of the Temple was to draw people close to God.  It was the place where God dwelled and sacrifices were made for the forgiveness of sin.

Confronted with the scene in the temple courtyard, Jesus was outraged by a religious system that used God’s house of worship for self-seeking purposes.  His actions were not just directed at the merchants but against the business of the priests, those responsible for the spiritual well being of His church.  The ones in charge of worship were profiting from the people’s need for God.  They took a Temple built for God and made it subject to the idolatry of money.  The structure was no longer the place of God but the place of men. How did this happen? What had happened with the Temple?

The Jewish Temple was originally built by Solomon and replaced the wandering Tabernacle that had preceded it. In the Tabernacle was a placed called the Holy of Holies. In Holy of Holies sat the Ark of the Covenant and upon the Ark sat the Mercy Seat of God. This was the place God chose to show His presence. It is there where God's Glory dwelt and it was there that God chose to show His forgiveness. That was God's purpose for the Temple. For in Exodus 25 the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  "Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.  "And this is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, rams' skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.  "And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them." (Exodus 25:1-8) In 1st Chronicles King David said to the entire assembly, "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen,  is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the LORD God. (1 Chronicles 29:1)  King Solomon did finish the Temple and for many years it served the people well. For it was only there that sacrifices could be made, only there atonement was available. Why, because God was present there!

It is said if you wish to conquer a people, destroy their God; if you cannot destroy their God, then destroy their place of worship; by doing so your remove the hope within them. Nebuchadnezzer well versed in this technique and he destroyed the Great Temple of Jerusalem: The dwelling place of God.  Nehemiah and Ezra rebuilt it on the site of its ruin. While it was not again destroyed, its inferior condition led to a gradual rebuilding from the foundation up, on a grander and more elaborate scale, under Herod - Hence it was called Herod's Great Temple. In about 20 B C the great restoration started. For 46 years the Temple had been under reconstruction. The best of everything was being used. Marble from Greece, Gold and Silver from Spain it was an incredible sight. The building became the emphasis; who dwelt there became secondary.

Construction is expensive business. When emphasis is moved from God's business, which is the forgiveness of sins, to man's business the increase of pocket books or souls to fund the expansion; then anything goes. The theology is to get more people sitting on the premises and make standing on the promises secondary. The primary concern then becomes who controls the churches purse rather than who owns the Church.

This was the emphasis in Jesus day and it was way off the mark! Jesus had to deal with this abuse. With a scourge made of cords He clears His Father's house of the filth and idolatry that had overrun it. Swinging the whip back and forth He drives out the offenders and says: "Stop making my Father's house a house of merchandise."

This was God's indignation at work the action is complete and through. In driving off the offenders He clarifies His authority for the actions He has now taken. The words "My Father's house", Jesus speaks as the Son of God and He contrast His Father's house with house of merchandise. For the Father's house is Holy, a place for the Holy things. But this house of merchandise is secular, full of corruption and unjust dealings. The other Gospel accounts use the phrase: "Den of Robbers" to describe what's going on. What a desecration, this is, to make God's house into a secular place of common trading and marketing. This action was invading the very Holiness of God's own dwelling place.

The Temple was for God but had now become a God.  The Temple had been made corrupt by corrupt men. Jesus in His actions had just started the process of building an incorruptible Temple formed by God's own hands.  

When Jesus chased the moneychangers out of the Temple, people asked him “What sign can you show us for doing this?”  Jesus said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."   Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body." He Himself is the dwelling place of God; the place where “God can be seen among us.”