John 2:13-22
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, with the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 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.
For centuries, astronomy had been based on Ptolemy’s theory that Earth was the center of the universe and motionless. The problem was to explain how the other planets and heavenly bodies moved. At first it was thought that they simply moved in circular orbits around Earth. Calculations based on this view, however, did not agree with actual observations. Then it was thought that the other planets traveled in small circular orbits. These in turn were believed to move along larger orbits around Earth. With this theory, however, it could not be proved that Earth was the center of the universe.
Copernicus, an accomplished scholar, and studier of astronomy, presented the revolutionary idea that Earth should be regarded as one of the planets that revolved around the Sun. He also stated that Earth rotated on an axis. Copernicus, however, still clung to the ideas of planets traveling in small circular orbits that moved along larger orbits. His work was well-received by some but many, especially in religious circles, deplored his contradiction with long-held theories of the Earth being the center of the universe.
The center of the world for the Jewish people was the Temple. The first Temple was constructed under Solomon, completed in 957 BCE. The Temple was the home for the Ark of the Covenant, God’s dwelling place, that had been brought to Jerusalem in David’s time. It was also the place of assembly for the entire people.
King Josiah declared that the Temple was the only place where sacrifices to God could be made in the kingdom of Judah as it was only there that God dwelt. Prior to his declaration, sacrifices were held at many sites throughout the kingdom on altars built by the people.
In 587/586 BCE, the Temple was plundered and then destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. In 538, the Syrian Emperor Cyrius took control of the empire and allowed the Israelites to return and rebuild The Temple. Decades of plundering and desecration followed.
The rebuilding of the second Temple began under the watch of Herod the Great. Herod wanted a larger and grander building than the previous Temple, one that reflected his greatness. A Temple square was created as a gathering place. Porticos sheltered the merchants and money changers. This Temple took 46 years to build.
The Herodian Temple became the center of life for the Jewish people, just as the first Temple had been. The Temple was thought to be the place where heaven and earth met, the one place God’s presence was known to dwell. Annual pilgrimages to worship God and present acceptable sacrifices were held as specified in the Law. Hence the need for merchants and money changers. Most people didn’t bring their sacrifice with them on the long journey to Jerusalem. The currency of the Roman Empire was the only one accepted for purchases.
Knowing the religious requirements for worship and sacrifice at the Temple, why would Jesus drive out those merchants and money changers? By doing so, he destroyed the system God had put in place for the people to worship. What Jesus did called the entire system into question. And not only the way the process was being carried out, but the entire way of worship.
A question for the church today is the need for all that which makes worship possible. Buildings, pulpits and communion tables, organs and pianos, hymnals, pew Bibles, and, now, audio/visual systems for live streaming. It costs money to maintain a house of worship. Often new ideas are quashed by the question, “How are we going to pay for it?” Additional offerings, appeals to give more, and capital campaigns are used to raise money for what needs to be done. The focus shifts from the purpose of worship to what do we need for worship.
The fire in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris turned people’s focus to a house of worship. The Cathedral had become a monument that many thought would stand forever. Suddenly, this testament to the church appeared fragile. Reconstruction would be expensive. The money needed was well beyond what most thought could be raised.
The destruction of Notre Dame caused people, especially the Church, to mull over what was deemed sacred and necessary for the worship of God. Universally, the devastation of Notre Dame was a loss of something crucial to the church and world community. The Cathedral had been a testament to the presence of God.
There was an outpouring of concern and financial assistance for the rebuilding efforts. Well-known companies contributed large sums of money. Money that many thought would be better used to help people rather than rebuild a building, no matter how sacred. In any case, Notre Dame was seen as a landmark and a sacred space.
“Zeal for your house will consume me.” These words in verse 17 describe Jesus’ view of the Temple of God. He observed that the focus on buying and selling had usurped the intended purpose of worship and offering a sacrifice. Upselling and exploitation were the norm. People had lost sight of the reason for coming to the Temple. It had become a place to visit instead of the place to worship God.
The pilgrimage required by Jewish Law had become something different. The visit to Jerusalem had become a meet and greet. It was a time of food, festivals, and parties. Worship had taken second place, a duty you took care of so that you could spend time enjoying the atmosphere of the event.
Jesus turned all that on its head when he drove out the merchants and turned over the tables of the money changers. His actions represented a re-orientation, a change on how to worship God. The Temple would no longer be the earthly center of God’s presence. A building wouldn’t be needed to worship God. Jesus rebuilt a different kind of temple, one that was dependent on him. The temple he would build in three days, what became to be understood as the three days between his death and his resurrection.
Although it took a while, this was news that the disciples embraced. They had walked with and lived in the presence of Jesus. They experienced his teaching and miracles. They were present to see the appearances of the resurrected Christ. The message was accessible to them.
The message was less accessible to John’s readers, most of whom were a generation removed from the actual events. It is even less accessible to us through the distance of time. We must rely on centuries of word of mouth and on scripture. Our faith comes from generations before us who believed.
Often, it seems that the temple of Jesus’ body has come and gone. Of course, we know that Jesus lives in our hearts. We learned that in Sunday school. But that isn’t the real presence or the first-hand experience of God’s presence that the disciples had. We want more than we have.
Earlier in John’s gospel is the familiar proclamation, “The word became flesh and lived among us.” Jesus came as a human body and stays with us as a collective body. We are now the body of Christ. His hands, feet, and words in the world. Those who are to share his love with one another and with everyone else. Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit is realized when the Spirit fills the church, creating that body. Even through generations of a flawed body, God stays with us still.
In Communion, we proclaim that, even though we are flawed, we still belong to Christ. Through the sharing of the bread and the cup we remember all that Christ has done for us and all that he will continue to do in us. As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper today, remember that we are the body of Christ. The body that is called out into the world.
Amen.
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