Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Embracing Jesus - Cleansing the Temple John 2:13-25





The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.   And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.  And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;  and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”  His disciples remembered that it was written, “ Zeal for Your house will consume me.”   The Jews then said to Him, “ What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”  Jesus answered them, “ Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”   The Jews then said, “It took 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. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.  John 2:13-25

I chewed on this for a long time.  My initial impressions of this passage were rather negative in regards to our churches today and I wasn't sure I agreed with what I was first feeling, so I let it be as I promised myself I would and waited till I was sure.
There are a lot of churches that are taking this passage seriously in my eyes.  There are a lot of churches that are not using their buildings as a place of business but a place of Christ.  We are the church and our bodies are His temple.  The buildings the body of Christ fellowships in are being used to reach out to their communities, to the lost, those who need help.  They are not interested on what they look like on the inside, they spend little on appearance and pump out what is brought in to help those who truly need it.   We cannot use our churches as a place of personal gain, and I honestly haven't been in a church that has.  Praise God.

When Jesus is showing His authority all I can think of in this instance is "truth".  Jesus always does what He says He is going to do.  He was talking about His body being raised up in three days... and it happened.  

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