Zealous Jesus
Last week we talked about grumpy Jesus and his exchange with Peter. Today in John's gospel, we see Jesus and he is beyond grumpy, he's downright angry and aggressive. Last week it seemed like he needed an attitude adjustment. This week, Jesus needs an intervention in anger management. Did Jesus let his emotions get the best of him? Is Jesus overreacting? Is John's purpose of including this story to emphasize Jesus' humanity? There are lots of questions we should be asking about this passage of scripture.
One
very important question is, why would Jesus do this? What is Jesus really up
to?"...in the temple he found people selling" (v. 14). No wonder
Jesus reacted in the way he did. Can you imagine what it would be like if we
found our sanctuary full of loud people, smelly animals and merchants making a
profit off of those who came to worship? Wouldn't we be incensed at such
inappropriate behavior?
But
things are rarely as they seem when it comes to Jesus. He is not meek and mild
or tame and definitely doesn't like staying inside the boxes we like to put him
into.
First
of all, what the gospel calls "the temple" was a part of the temple
complex, but it was not the part where sacrifices were made and worship took
place. Rather, the merchants would have been in the Court of the Gentiles which
was outside of the temple proper. Jesus just turned over a few tables in one
section of the area surrounding the temple--an area specifically designed for
the sort of commerce that was being conducted there.
The
merchants were there because the feast of Passover was one of the great
pilgrimage feasts bringing people from far and wide to Jerusalem's temple. The
pilgrims would need animals for the sacrifice, but it would be difficult to
bring animals along from great distances. So, the merchants were providing a
service for the throngs who needed an animal to bring for a sacrifice.
What
about the moneychangers? They too performed a service for those making the
pilgrimage to the temple. Worshippers were required to pay a half shekel temple
tax. However, when people arrived at the temple, the only currency they would
have would be Roman currency. The problem with that is Roman currency was not
allowed to be used to pay the temple tax because it bore portraits of the imperial
rulers who were worshipped as gods by the Romans. The image on the coins was
considered idolatrous. For a small fee, the money changers would exchange the
Roman currency for the temple currency.
Scholars
have espoused several different theories for why Jesus turned the temple system
upside down that day. The lifting up of Jesus' humanity is believed by some to
be the issue John is writing about. Others
believe the temple system at Jesus' time within agrarian social structures was
oppressive and perceived by many (especially peasants) as "highway
robbery." They suggest that Jesus didn't reject the temple, but the
redistributive institution benefiting only the few.
However,
the most common and believable theory in my opinion,is that Jesus' act was
staged as a symbolic demonstration. It symbolized destruction. Cleansing was
not enough. The temple needed to be destroyed. Jesus was challenging the very
essence and continual existence of the temple, issuing a challenge to the
purity of the temple that literally shook its foundations. Jesus disrupted the
temple system during one of the most significant feasts of the year so that
neither sacrifices nor tithes could be offered that day. Was it any wonder that
the Jewish leaders asked for a sign to warrant his actions? After all, what
gives this man the right to derail their whole system of worship?
The Jewish leaders evidently understood the claims
Jesus was making by his actions with the merchants and money changers, so they
asked him for proof of the authority he claimed to have.
How
did Jesus respond? He declared, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). The force of Jesus' response is more than
"if you destroy," but is more like the challenge, "Go ahead, I
double dog dare you and do this and see what happens."
Jesus
speaks what is true and the religious leaders hear what is apparent.The Jewish
leaders were thinking in strictly human physical terms, so Jesus' words went
over their heads. The temple had been under construction for 46 years and may
well have not yet been completed. Jesus was speaking about a completely
different plane of existence, a spiritual one which leaves us with the message
of his coming crucifixion.
For
Judaism, the temple was the center of God's presence on earth. For John, the
temple is more than just a building, it is the resurrected body of Jesus, the
new focal point of God's presence. In Revelation we are told that the New
Jerusalem will not have a temple because the Lord and the Lamb are its temple.
As the place where people go to meet God, the temple has been supplanted and
replaced by Jesus himself, in whose resurrected person we may now encounter
God.
For
John, the point of the story of Jesus' actions in the temple complex was that
this was a Passover story, meaning it relates to the death and resurrection of
Jesus. It's also a story of a conflict of values between what Jesus really
means and those values espoused by the structures of religion with which Jesus
contended. They asked for a sign and Jesus gives them the ultimate and final
sign, his death and resurrection.
Finally,
this is a story directed to us as the church. We have to be careful of allowing
even good acts and intentions to intrude on the space that belongs to God
alone. It's not the big things like murder, robbery etc. that are problems for
most Christians. It is the good things that can keep us from the best God has
for us.
Doubtless
we have all known people who were faithful and devoted, but when there was a
change in the building, the pastor or the style of worship; they packed up
their toys and left. We want to be in charge of our lives and manage all our
relationships, even those with God. Why is it so difficult for us to first bow
our hearts before God and listen before we proceed with action, before building
our altars and framing our liturgies and falling on our swords? Knowing Christ
as our sanctuary allows us to know what the church building is and is not.
What
encroaches on the holy space in our lives, that which belongs to God alone?
Lent is a time to look at our lives, to examine ourselves in the light of God's
word and will, in the shadow of the cross. Throughout the gospels, Jesus'
presence and actions challenge those around him to make a decision about who Jesus
is. The disciples identified Jesus positively, while his enemies question
Jesus' action. How do we identify Jesus? Positively or negatively?
Amen!
References
Fred B. Craddock, Preaching
Through the Christian Year B
Beverly Gaventa, Texts for Preaching:
A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV-Year B
K. C. Hanson and Douglas E.
Oakman, Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social
Conflicts, Second Edition
Mark Allan Powell, Jesus as a
Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee.
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