Cleansing the Temple
or
Temple is Cleansed
John 2:13-22
International Sunday School Lesson
April 15, 2012
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
Do you ever have difficulty with these transitions we make with our lessons due to Christmas and Easter? For me sometimes it is rather like the changing of the clocks we do in Spring and Fall but I like the transition this time. I think too often we lower our standards after all we do in building up to Easter and this lesson can be an eye opener if we let it.
But it is difficult to switch from the joy of Christ’s resurrection last week and the scene in today’s scripture of Christ’s righteous indignation. But if it is difficult for me I consider how it happens throughout every day for Him as the lives of men play out before Him. I can only say it is a good thing that God is patient or the way that we swing back and forth in our behaviors like a pendulum would have brought an end to man long ago.
And as we speak of men it reminds me that Jesus the man was the one who cleared this temple. He took His strong carpenter’s hands and put them to work fashioning a whip of sorts and went about clearing the court of the temple of those things that though necessary for worship at the temple had no place within the temple.
If you had a background similar to mind it would be much easier to realize the size of the task of getting animals of various types and temperaments to go anywhere you want them to especially by yourself. As Passover was a required time for adults to come to Jerusalem to make their offering who knows the numbers of animals that may have been involved here. Once done with the larger animals He moved on and made small work out of the money changers tables. Doesn’t it make you wonder why no one attempted to stop Him?
Clearly this was a consuming zeal for Jesus but have you considered in what ways he could feel the same way today? Let’s think about what He saw in His Father’s house that day.
As we said, these sheep and cattle and doves were all necessary for the people in order to make their offerings. As the Jews traveled from all over to reach the temple in Jerusalem they needed the correct animal for their sacrifice and they needed to purchase the animals with money from different sources and of differing denominations. Jesus knew all this, so what was the problem?
As we mention often, our God is a God of peace and order and His house would be as well. Again for me it is easy to imagine the cacophony of sound and the mess from all these beasts and the more there were the louder and messier and smellier.
Besides the literal stink there is the figurative one that no doubt filled Jesus’ senses as the money changers sought to make a profit from their enterprise at the expense of those they were doing business with. His problem wouldn’t have been with the honest but rather those that even in the temple couldn’t keep from being dishonest in their trade. This would have been no less offensive and perhaps more so to Christ.
So let’s put all this manure and all these dishonest businesses that would have been found in this holy place at this holy time and transport them far away to the sanctuary of your church. Can you imagine? The carpet would be wet and stained forever; wood floors and pews or upholstered chairs would be gouged and ripped. Oppressive odors, sights, dander and flies would violate your senses. Add to that the din of beast and business haggling and all remaining sanctity would escape like the air from a balloon.
Now let’s imagine that you are the first on the scene. How would you feel and what would you do? It would not matter if you were a pastor or elder, deacon or secretary, 30 year member or new Christian, you would be filled with indignation and justifiably so. Can you imagine the absurdity of someone questioning you if in your indignation you cleared your church of this abhorrent mess? The thought is bizarre that it would have to be asked and one would think the asker delusional if they could not see the authority that any believer would have in removing this unclean and unholy chaos.
As long as we have moved from that day and time in Jerusalem to your church today let’s do a freeze frame so to speak of this picture in our minds eye and pick out the most offensive thing in the room to God. Is it the smaller mess of a dove or the largest of that of the cattle? Would it be the unfair exchange of one type of money or the incorrect change purposefully given back? The answer is that one is just as offensive to God as another.
Now let’s look at our church mercifully cleaned of that scene and examine what remains in your house of worship. Are there things that don’t belong? I don’t think there are going to be any animals and their messes but are there things that don’t belong that might be offensive to Christ? No money changing tables but are you raising money for things that aren’t for the true benefit of the kingdom? Are there things being practiced that a holy God of order would find offensive? There might not be any offenses as large as that left behind by the cattle in the temple but there might be some “doves”. In God’s eyes they are all the same.
God does not change. If order and sanctity and a holy, reverent, awe-struck approach to Him were important once they still are now. We don’t need crystal cathedrals to approach Him but we do need to make sure our worship doesn’t need some cleaning.
For Discussion:
1. In case you haven’t thought of it there is a temple within us as well (1 Cor 6:19).
2. Discuss how God might cleanse our “temple”.
3. Would your place of worship pass inspection? Discuss.
4. For some OT background see Exodus 12 and Deuteronomy 16:16-17.
5. Mark 11:16 tells us that Jesus “would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.”
6. According to Mark 16:18 that at that time the chief priests and the teachers of the law began looking for a way to kill him. Discuss.
7. Be prepared to discuss the difference in timing of the clearing of the temple from John’s account and that found in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Upcoming Adult Sunday School Class Commentaries
4-22-12: Woman of Samaria (Samaritan Woman Finds Living Water) John 4:7-15, 23-26, 28-30 or John 4:7-15, 21-30
4-29-12: Healing the Blind Man (Blind Man Receives Sight) John 9:1-17
5-6-12: The Bread of Life John 6:22-35
5-13-12: The Good Shepherd John 10:7-18
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
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