The portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Gospel appointed for this day has proven to be something of a conundrum for interpreters through the years. What we see is the Lord Jesus in a violent rage driving animals and people out of the Temple. Years ago Bruce Barton, in a very popular book, The Man Nobody Knows, used the story to demonstrate how virile the Lord Jesus was. He surmised that the Lord Jesus was capable of herculean strength and prowess because of his outdoorsy lifestyle and vigorous walking missionary tours. However, others have been concerned that this public demonstration which had all the earmarks of a near riot was most unbecoming of the normal life style of Jesus. Also, if this were a pique of temper, could not someone accuse Jesus of being guilty of a sin which all of us dislike very much?
Then, of course, there is the additional problem of finding this story in the beginning of the Fourth Gospel, whereas the other evangelists place it in Holy Week at the beginning of his passion. Could it be true that Jesus cleansed the Temple twice? Is John right and the others wrong? Or is it the other way around? Or could there be another reason why John places the story where he does? There is good reason to think that it is the latter. The story of Jesus cleansing the Temple helps us to understand several very important aspects of the church and its worship.
The Context and the Importance of the Temple
The evangelist relates for us that this occasion was a Passover festival. The Passover attracted worshippers to Jerusalem from all over the world. They came speaking different languages and carrying foreign monies. Enterprising merchants had set up booths and stalls in the Temple to accommodate the travelers coming to worship who needed to exchange their monies in order to pay their temple taxes and make their contributions. Others were busy selling animals to be used in the sacrifices. To be sure, there was great commotion and excitement. One can imagine the carnival character of those festal days as travelers found relatives and old friends among the many consumers who populated the precincts of the Temple.
The temple area covered some 35 acres. It had originally been built by Solomon about 950 B.C., but was burned to the ground by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. The Temple was rebuilt under Zerubbabel in 516 B.C. It was desecrated and stripped by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C. and cleansed and restored by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 B.C. The temple in which Jesus found himself amid these cattlemen and money sharks was the glorious temple begun by Herod the Great, who began the work in 20 B.C. It was not yet completed while Jesus was there and was not finished until 68 A.D., a short time before its complete destruction in 70 A.D. The Herodian Temple was extremely lavish and more beautiful than the Temple of Solomon.
With this long history of the Temple in the life of the Hebrew people, one can imagine how important a shrine this was. From the very beginning of the Hebrew people, sacred places had been important to the patriarchs. Then, the tabernacle, the traveling shrine of a tent, had been the center of the life of the Hebrew community. However, just as the people longed for a monarchy with a throne as other peoples had, they wanted a permanent shrine. The most popular of all their kings, David, gathered the materials for his son Solomon to build the first temple on that holy site, Mount Moriah, where Abraham had offered to sacrifice his son Isaac. The temple had always symbolized for the people the presence of their most holy God, Jahweh. That is why it was so important that after each time the Temple was destroyed that it be restored to proclaim once again the assured presence of the Almighty and Holy One of Israel.
It was especially gratifying for the people that Herod the Great should have given so much attention to the restoration of the Temple in such an extravagant manner. Herod had done much to promote the hellenistic or Greek culture with special buildings. However, he also curried the favor of the Jews by investing so much in the building of their shrine. The people were grateful to worship in Herod's temple, regardless of Herod's motives. The temple was the center of their life and helped to define what it meant to be a Jew. It gave shape and form not only to the Hebrew worship but also to their entire culture.
The Shock of Challenging an Old System
Recognizing the centrality of the Temple, and the joyous character of that festal moment, you can imagine what kind of shock waves ran through the Temple and the entire city of Jerusalem when this controversial rabbi created the ruckus he did in the temple area! It appears this happened at the beginning of the feast when the greatest excitement had to do with the preparations so that the commerce had to be at its height. Into that busy crowd Jesus rushed with a homemade whip of cords and struck out wildly at people and animals to put them into a rout.
The reason that the Evangelist John includes this story at the very beginning of his gospel is because he wants to show throughout his gospel that Jesus gave new shape and meaning to the worship life of the people of God. In this very early story John is able to set the stage for all that is to follow in explaining the sacramental character of the worship life of the church. Therefore it is quite striking when Jesus shouts as he confronts those selling the little doves for sacrifice, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" Jesus had come to replace the sacrificial system of the Hebrew covenant, by making the once-for-all sacrifice on a cross.
Quite symbolically, Jesus was driving out the old system. However, at the same time he was making it clear that he was highly displeased that people had made their sacrifices and their worship commercial.
The disciples were really shaken by what they witnessed Jesus doing. This does not appear to be the same Jesus who is so gentle and considerate otherwise. However, the evangelists said that they "remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for your house will consume me.' " They recalled Psalm 69 which they saw Jesus fulfill. They understood at that moment Jesus was making a rightful claim to his Father's house. That meant he clearly identified himself as God's Son, who was linked to all that God had revealed in the covenant read in the First Lesson this morning. That covenant established God's claim on the undivided attention, affection, and trust of this people. Just so, Jesus forcefully demonstrated his right to claim the fidelity of this people.
The people were impressed, taken back, but quizzical. "What sign can you show us for doing this?" they asked. Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." That sent the people reeling. They responded. "This temple has been under construction for 46 years, and will you raise it up in three days?" The Herods had been at it all this time and it was still not finished, and Jesus thought he could rebuild it in three days! That was ridiculous. This Jesus of Nazareth was impossible. The disciples were also confused at this time. They did not understand. The evangelist says that "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."
The Body Of The Church and the Sacramental Body
It was in the light of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ that we can understand this spectacular event. As John had placed this event at the beginning of his gospel to indicate how Jesus had come to replace the former manner of worship with the sacramental life of the church, he was also saying something about the nature of the church. Formerly, the people of God had to be reassured of the presence of God by symbols and the people had to gather at shrines symbolized by the likes of the Temple; now they would gain those assurances in Christ himself.
The assurance of God's presence among us is the Risen Christ. Jesus died for our sins and rose again that he might be present among us. Because this Risen Christ is present among us in the Spirit of God given to us, the Apostle Paul could refer to us as the Body of Christ. The Church is the Body of Christ. Thus it was true that the people did destroy the Body of Christ, but he was raised to new life in three days, and we are now part of that Body. The boast that Jesus made that day in view of the promises of God and in perfect trust that God would complete them in him are now fulfilled in us.
What was also important to the evangelist was the sacramental character of the church. When our Lord talked about the temple of his body replacing the Temple at Jerusalem, that was also true in a sacramental sense. The sacrificial system that was practiced in the Temple at Jerusalem along with the priestly entrance into the Holy of Holies were signs of God's grace and mercy for God's people. The people did not have to sacrifice themselves and they were always reminded of God's presence and their access to him. Now it is the Risen Christ who offers his body to us in the Holy Eucharist as the sure sign that he has been sacrificed for us and is present with us. In the giving of that body and blood to us we are literally filled with the Presence of the Risen Christ. Together we are his body.
Luther found it fascinating to talk about us as being baked into one loaf. As we all receive of the same bread and eat of the same together, we become one loaf. We are bonded together in this Christ. For us that means that we are not alone. Not only is God present in us, but we are also present in one another to be a strength and a presence for one another. We emphasize that when we go to the home of shut-ins bearing bread and wine that have been consecrated in the Eucharist. For those who have not been present with us, Christ is present with them in the Sacrament, so we also are united with them in this body of Christ.
Our Worship in the Spirit of the Lord
Later in his gospel John gives an account of a confrontation between Jesus and a woman of Samaria. When the woman perceived that Jesus was a prophet she asked him why the difference in attitude of the Samaritans and the Jews, who each claimed separate shrines for worshipping God. Jesus said to her, "The hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).
Taken with the Holy Gospel for this day we should understand that we can never permit buildings, symbols, signs, organizations, traditions, customs, liturgies, or any features of church life or worship to become substitutes for our real devotion to our Lord himself. All these things in themselves can become too important. We know how difficult it is to introduce a new book of worship, a new liturgy, a new hymn, or a new custom into the church, because people make idols of their traditions. Ask church officials also how difficult it is to close down a church building where only a handful still come to worship. When we worship God in spirit and in truth we know his Real Presence in us and among us is the Risen Christ, who is our Real Temple, our Real Altar. We worship him and adore him when we receive all that he offers to us by grace. We dramatize that when we come together for worship, and we gather him to ourselves when in faith we receive him.