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SHOCKING WISDOM
- by Revd Gilbert Wong Opening Prayer: Eternal God, give us insight to discern your will for us, to give up what harms us, and to seek the perfection we are promised in Jesus Christ our Lord. SERMON IN A SENTENCE: Just as Jesus cleansed the temple, so also he is ready to cleanse our hearts and lives of gods that are too small. VERSES 13-22: THE SYNOPTICS & THE GOSPEL OF JOHN All four Gospels tell the story of the cleansing of the temple (see Matt. 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48), but the Synoptics place it near the end of Jesus' life, and it provokes the chief priests and scribes to plot to kill him (Mark 14:10). John's Gospel places the cleansing at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and the raising of Lazarus is the precipitating event for his trial and crucifixion (John 11-12). In John's view, Jesus' life was not taken from him, but he laid it down of his own accord (10:17-18). There are three theories about the difference between John and the Synoptics with regard to the timing of this story: -- Most scholars believe that the cleansing of the temple took place toward the end of Jesus' life, as reported in the Synoptics. It makes sense there as the precipitating incident for the crucifixion. This would also account for the abruptness of the transition from the Cana wedding story to the temple-cleansing story. It seems unlikely that Jesus could come from nowhere to cleanse the temple without stirring more significant opposition than John records. Also, the style of the Synoptics is quite different from the Gospel of John -- the Synoptics emphasizing more the history of Jesus' life and John emphasizing more the theology behind his life. It would be more in character for John than for the Synoptics to move the story out of sequence, and it seems likely that he did so to establish important themes at the outset of his Gospel. -- Some scholars believe that John's sequence is correct and that the Synoptics moved the story to the end of Jesus' life to show why Jesus was crucified. -- Still others have suggested that there were two cleansings of the temple, but this theory has not met with widespread acceptance. VERSES 13-17: MY FATHER'S HOUSE "The Passover of the Jews" (v. 13). This peculiar phrase leads some to suggest that there might have been a corresponding Christian Passover in the early church, but there is no evidence to support that. Christians have no reason to observe the Passover, because Christ, our paschal lamb, was sacrificed once and for all (1 Cor. 5:7). It seems more likely that, by the time that this Gospel was written, the church included a great many Gentiles who might not understand the Jewish Passover. Passover was celebrated on the 14th day of Nisan in accord with the provisions of Exod. 12, and was followed by the Festival of Unleavened Bread on 15-22 Nisan (Carson, 176). "Jesus went up to Jerusalem" (v. 13). Passover is the holiest of the pilgrimage feasts to which Jews come to make sacrifices at the temple. People "go up to Jerusalem" in two senses: First, Jerusalem is on a mountain, so they literally go up to get there. Second, Jerusalem is the holy city, so a pilgrim would have a sense of going up into the presence of God. Jeremias estimates that the population of Jerusalem would swell from 50,000 to 180,000 for Passover (Howard-Brook, 83). The strain on local resources to house and feed that number of people would be enormous. The crowding at the temple would be near gridlock. This is the first of three Passovers that John records (see also 6:4; 11:55ff). It is possible that 5:1 refers to yet another Passover, but it is more likely a different festival. The Synoptics record Jesus going to only one Passover at the end of his life. It is largely on the basis of the record of three Passovers in John's Gospel that we believe that Jesus' ministry extended over a period of 2-3 years.
"In the temple" (hiero) (v. 14). Jesus finds sellers of animals and changers of money in the temple. Such commerce is necessary, because people coming from afar cannot bring their own animals. Only first-rate, unblemished animals are acceptable for sacrifice, and it would be difficult to maintain an animal in perfect condition even on a journey from nearby Galilee -- impossible for those coming from Rome or Egypt or other far away places. A money exchange is also required, because travellers bring coins from many nations and the Mishnah specifies that Tyrian coins be used for the temple tax (the Romans would not allow Jews to mint their own coins). A number of scholars say that Roman coins were unsuitable because they bore images of Caesar and inscriptions regarding his deity. However, Israel Abrahams says that Tyrian coins bore similar markings and suggests that it was the exceptional quality of the Tyrian coins (exact weights and high silver content) that made them acceptable (Morris, 170). Those responsible for merchandising in the temple can also defend it by claiming that money generated by concessions is used to fund temple activities throughout the year. We hear the same argument in the church today -- "It is for God," so it must be all right. The hiero includes the whole temple complex, and these vendors are almost surely located in the Court of the Gentiles, the outer precincts of the temple. Earlier, they were located in the Kidron Valley, but Epstein says that the high priest, Caiaphas, permitted his supporters to move their stalls to the temple as a way of a avenging himself against rivals in the Sanhedrin (Brown, 119). If this is, indeed, the case, there are surely a large number of people offended by this commerce in the temple -- Caiaphas' rivals for sure, but also people offended by the unnecessary crowding and stink in the temple precincts. Palmer notes that nobody moves to stop Jesus, probably because they are pleased to see him remove the offence from the temple area (Palmer, 38). Imagine, though, how angry Caiaphas must be to have his authority so directly challenged. "Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple" (v. 15). Making a whip of cords, Jesus drives out (Greek: exebalen) the large animals from the temple. We most frequently encounter this word, exebalen, in connection with exorcisms, where Jesus drives out demons. With over a hundred thousand pilgrims in the city to make their sacrifices at the temple, it seems likely that there would be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sheep and cattle -- although poor people, of whom there were many, could sacrifice doves. What comes to mind is an atmosphere like a street fair with dozens or hundreds of vendors, except that these vendors are feeding, grooming, and cleaning up after large animals instead of serving soda and hot dogs. There is always danger that a crazed animal might break loose and desecrate the holiest parts of the temple. The noise and smell would be overwhelming, and could not be walled off totally from the sanctuary. In fairness, we must acknowledge that the sacrificial system as prescribed by Torah is a messy, bloody, smelly business, but the presence of these vendors in the temple exacerbates that by adding overcrowding and a commercial emphasis. To those of us accustomed to buying our meat shrink-wrapped, using a whip to drive animals might seem cruel, but sheep and cattle have thick hides and minds of their own. " SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1For a single person to drive the thousands of sheep and cattle out of the Temple precincts… was not only an awesome act of prophetic boldness but also a miracle of movement amidst the overflowing Temple grounds" (Howard-Brook, 83). Jesus overturns the tables of the moneychangers, and commands the sellers of birds to take them away. In the Synoptics, Jesus criticizes the vendors for making the temple into a den of thieves, suggesting that the problem is their unethical business practices. In the Gospel of John, however, Jesus criticizes not their ethical behaviour but their very presence in "my Father's house." He commands, "Stop making my Father's house (Greek: ton oikon tou patros mou -- the house of my Father) a marketplace" (Greek: oikon emporiou -- a house of commerce). "The hieron is now called an oikos. It is not only an area where people gather to worship God (hieron), but a place among men and women where the God of Israel, whom Jesus calls 'my Father,' has his dwelling (oikos)" (Moloney, 77). There is an allusion here to Zech. 14:21, "And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day." This is the first time that Jesus identifies God as his Father, but the Jews who challenge him in v. 18 fail to pick up on this. By his actions, "Jesus, a complete outsider to the power structure of the Temple, issues a challenge to the authority of the Temple that quite literally shakes its foundations. Jesus throws the mechanics of temple worship in chaos, disrupting the temple system during one of the most significant feasts of the year so that neither sacrifices nor tithes could be offered that day" (O'Day, 545). "The disciples remembered" (v. 17) -- after the resurrection, the disciples began to understand what had happened at the temple. "Zeal for your house will consume me." The words come from Psalm 69:9, where the Psalmist is lamenting the suffering that has resulted from his faithfulness to the Lord. The Psalmist says, "has consumed me," but John changes that to "will consume me" to correspond to Jesus' circumstance. "In quoting this psalm..., John provides readers with an important interpretive clue to the story of the story of the purification of the temple. The ministry of this Jesus is going to be rooted in zeal for his Father's house, and this fervour is going to lead to alienation" (Johnston, 494). "Observe that (Jesus') wrath was directed not against those engaged in or leading worship, but against those detracting from it.... That the action in the temple can be characterized as 'zeal for your house' suggests a positive attitude to the temple, and not one of total rejection" (Beasley-Murray, 39).
VERSES 18-22: IN THREE DAYS I WILL RAISE IT UP "The Jews then said" (v. 18). In this Gospel, there are frequent references to Jews. In many cases, the references are neutral and on rare occasions positive (12:11), but "the Jews" will increasingly be identified as Jesus adversaries. "What sign can you show us?" (v. 18). This is not the response that we would expect if "the Jews" were convinced that Jesus was breaking the law. It is apparent that they see the cleansing of the temple as a prophetic, possibly Messianic, act, and they expect prophets to perform miracles to authenticate their authority. Their question here seems more an invitation for Jesus to bring them on board than a hostile challenge -- although such an invitation can quickly turn hostile if unanswered. Mark identifies these Jews as the chief priests and scribes (11:18), and tells us that they are plotting to kill Jesus -- but keep in mind that the Synoptics locate the cleansing story at the end of Jesus' ministry and see it as the precipitating act for the crucifixion. "Destroy this temple (Greek: naon -- the temple sanctuary), and in three days I will raise it up" (v. 19). In previous references to the temple, the word has been hiero, which refers to the whole temple complex. Now Jesus uses the word naon, which refers to the temple sanctuary. Like much that happens in this Gospel, Jesus' words here can be taken on two levels. "The word temple is used both for a religious shrine and for the 'body,' as in 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19. The word for destroy is used both of the demolition of houses or temples and of the dissolution of the body; so also raise can be used of erecting a building, and in Christian use it constantly referred to the resurrection of the dead" (Howard, 499). On the surface, it appears that Jesus is challenging these Jews to destroy the Herodian temple and offering to rebuild it in three days -- which is how they understand him. In this Gospel, it is typical that Jesus' adversaries, and even his disciples, misunderstand him in this way. These Jews, of course, could never bring themselves to accept this challenge -- to destroy the great building as a way of testing Jesus to see how he might replace it in three days. The temple is the holy place where God dwells, and they could hardly imagine anyone destroying it (although the Romans will do so in 70 A.D.). They Synoptics record that, later, Jesus' adversaries will claim that he threatened to destroy the temple and to rebuild it in three days, but they will not agree on their testimony (Mark 14:58-59). John's Gospel provides our only record of what he actually said. But, of course, at the second level of meaning, Jesus is alluding to his death and resurrection. It is his body that is the temple marked for destruction. Even Jesus' own disciples will remain clueless about this second level of meaning until after the resurrection. At that point, they will remember that he said this (v. 22). " SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1The contrast is painfully clear. A temple, built as a witness to God and as a means of drawing persons near to God, is now an object of adoration, an end in itself. It is, therefore, ripe for destruction. But in the throes of death and in a move toward self-preservation, the temple keepers will destroy the One in whom God and humankind meet?" (Craddock, 155) "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years" (v. 20). Construction began under Herod the Great in 20 or 19 B.C., which means that Jesus' cleansing of the temple takes place in 27 or 28 A.D. The majority of the work on the temple has been completed by this time, but refinements will continue until 63 A.D., only seven years before the Romans will destroy the temple. "But he was speaking of the temple of his body" (v. 21). In this Gospel, explanations are often offered as an aside to clarify misunderstandings to the reader (see 6:64, 71; 7:5, 39; 11:13, 51-52; 12:6, 33; 20:9). It is Jesus body that will become "the living abode of God on earth, the fulfilment of all the temple meant, and the centre of all true worship (over against all other claims of 'holy space', 4:20-24). In this 'temple' the ultimate sacrifice (will) take place" (Carson, 182). "After 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" (v. 22). During his ministry, Jesus will try to prepare his disciples for his passion, but they find the idea incomprehensible. We should not judge them, because we, too, find it difficult to see a vision that is different from that which we are expecting. At this point, the disciples are still looking for a warrior-king Messiah, and intimations of death and resurrection only confuse them. Later, after the resurrection, the picture will suddenly come into focus for them. They will believe "the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken." The scripture is not identified, but is presumably Psalm 69:9. It is interesting that John places "the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken" side by side, suggesting the great authority of Jesus' word. Closing Prayer: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
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