Dr. Alan J. Meenan
My parents never went to church. I think in many ways it was an embarrassment for them to have a son who was a preacher and for them not to be "churchgoer's," so they eventually became believers. In fact, they became staunch believers, and they both died in Christ. They sent me to church because they thought it would be good for me, but I never saw anyone else in the family go to church. I didn't like religion. I thought much of it was fake and hypocritical. People were "goody-two-shoes" on Sundays and not much other use the rest of the week. Certainly, there are people who attend church and engage in that kind of hypocrisy. In fact, the problem addressed in this passage of scripture is fake religion and fake worship.
What is the big deal about worship? It was Passover time in Jerusalem. The city was in frenzy. People had come from great distances. They'd traveled from the upper Jordon, the region of Syria, Northern Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, the mountains of Moab, and the coastal plains of Sharon. The streets of Jerusalem were crowded with people pushing and jostling their way from one place to another. Sheep and cattle drovers were taking their animals to market. In the narrow tortuous street, people peddled their souvenirs and trinkets. Everyone was trying to make a living.
In the midst of the teaming multitudes stood Jesus. Hoping to get away from all the hustle and bustle, He went to the temple precinct. He found no solace or grace there. Instead, the rancorous, mercenary attitudes that permeated the streets of Jerusalem had infiltrated the temple. Cows, sheep and cages of doves were there. Amid the raucous laughter, the clatter of coins, the smell of beasts, and the jostling crowd, a sacred place of worship was hardly recognizable! It hardly seemed like the temple of Jerusalem where one could worship God. It was more like an eastern bazaar.
Temple authorities would claim there was good reason for this chaos. They were simply serving the pilgrims who came from such great distances. It was a matter of convenience. All of the pilgrims had to pay a temple tax, about five hundred dollars in today's terms, and they couldn't pay with secular money. The coins of Greece, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt all carried imprints of Caesar as god. It was a desecration of the temple to pay in this currency. So, pilgrims exchanged their secular money for sacred money at a fee of 12.5%. Also, the animals that they brought for sacrifice needed to be without blemish. They had to be inspected by a religious priest, who would invariably find a flaw. The priest would say, "This animal will not do. You'll need to buy one of ours." The inspection fee was 12.5%, and the price an animal inside the temple was twenty times more than outside the temple. A dove that cost fifty cents outside would cost you ten dollars inside. These guys had a good thing going! We recognize it as "bare-faced" extortion, all in the name of religion.
A man's hands begin to tremble with anger. He weaves a crude whip, and with righteous indignation, He whips people and turns over tables. Money flies everywhere and people scurry in every direction. He marches through the temple precinct snapping the whip. That's not the Jesus we usually imagine, is it? This is an angry man. What prompted our loving, patient, gracious Jesus to take up a whip? Fake religion.
Jesus encountered worship without reverence. He encountered the kind of worship that is formalized. Prayers are read, not like genuine pleas to the throne of God but like an auctioneer catalog. There's no real sense of the presence of God and no expectation that God might break into a worship service and do something absolutely amazing. There is none of that. There is no vision. Ministers and congregation alike are unprepared and non-expectant. There is no sense of the awesomeness, wonder, and glory of the present God. It is simply standing up and sitting down at the appropriate times. It is saying the appropriate words and going through the motions. Worship without reverence makes Jesus angry.
He also encountered worship without relevance. The temple sacrificial system was really passé. The prophets of Israel had been trying for centuries to tell them that animal offerings were irrelevant. Look at the Psalmists and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea. All of them indicate that's not where it's at. God demands the heart. Psalm 51:16-17 reads, God you do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. A mighty chorus of prophetic voices screams, "Don't you get it? Worship has got to be relevant! Don't bring any sacrifices. What care I for your sacrifices, if your heart, and your spirit, and your life is not given to me?" Jesus saw worship without reverence. While we do not offer animal sacrifices today, there are other substitutes for irrelevance. You know what they are. You know what the substitutes are in your life.
The third thing that troubled Jesus was seeing worship without relationship. Many of you know the structure of the ancient temple. Right in the very heart of the temple was the Holy of Holies. Beyond the Holy of Holies, the temple was made up of concentric circles. There was the court of the priest, then the court of the Israelites, then the court of the women, and the outermost court of the gentiles. Most of us would probably not get any further than the court of the gentiles. All the buying, selling, and money changing was happening in the outermost court, the court of the Gentiles. If there was a Gentile who had a hunger for God burning within his heart, and he went to find the God of Israel, the only true God, the only thing that he would encounter would be moneychangers and animal sacrifices. It was the exact opposite of the sublime purpose that people could find their way to the living God. Isaiah wrote of his vision, In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. That is not what Jesus saw. He saw the filth and the stench of an April day, and He was angry.
It's easy for us to condemn. Before we do so, however, we should ask ourselves this question, "Is there anything in our church that would hinder the seeking of a stranger?" Is there exclusiveness, or lack of commitment, or even lack of joy? Would people come in here and say, "Those Presbyterians are such a dower, dull, dismal kind of people." or, would they see people who are in love with Jesus Christ? They're energetic in their faith! They are really committed to Him. They have arms open to embrace the stranger within their midst.
Jesus was moved to anger. It's quite a picture. In verse eighteen the Jewish religious leaders demanded Him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all these things?" In other words, by what authority do you do this? And Jesus answers in a wonderful way. Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days." His claim was greatly misunderstood. Later, at His trial, that statement was thrown back in His face. What did Jesus really mean? He was issuing a new way to God. He was, of course, referring to Himself. He was referring to the power of the resurrection. "Destroy this temple, the body, and I will raise it up in three days." He did that at the resurrection. If you want to see Jesus' authority, just wait until you see the power of the resurrection. It will unleash upon the world such a temple that will forever render the temple at Jerusalem irrelevant.
I am not interested in any plans to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. We have a new temple in Jesus Christ that is far superior to one built by Solomon or others. In Jesus there will be a mighty, living temple that will come, vast and glorious. The gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it. It will be made not with buildings but with the lives of human beings who have given themselves to Christ. The old Scottish theologian, James Stewart said, "Not all the excesses of militant nationalism, not all the outbursts of racial bitterness, not all the mad follies of the sectarian spirit, not all the pathetic spiritual exclusiveness which has claimed a monopoly of the grace of God, have ever been quite able to destroy it."
This new temple gives us the opportunity to experience real worship. It enables cleansing to take place. People become forgiven and forgiving. Worship evokes commitment rather than adherence to the externals of religiosity. Worship isn't "going through the motions." It is having a heart that is open to obedience and love. In real worship, we take upon our faltering lips those lovely words of Juliet as she speaks to Romeo. "Henceforth," she said, "I am ever ruled by you." To be able to take those words and apply them to Jesus Christ is the essence of real worship. Real worship embraces Christ. If the old temple made it difficult for people to encounter God, Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection, through the Veil of the temple being torn from top to bottom, has opened up the way so that for the first time in history, even a person in the Court of the Gentiles can see right into the Holy of Holies. All of this is made possible in Jesus.
Worship that is reverent. Worship that is relevant. Worship that has at its very core, a relationship of love through Jesus Christ. I might stop there, except that John in his wisdom drops a footnote in the last three verses of chapter two. Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing, and believed in his name. Isn't that wonderful? Many people believe in His name. It filled my heart with joy. If that could happen in our church, wouldn't we be excited and pleased that many people believed and came to faith? We would embrace them! We would celebrate! But verse twenty-four goes on to tell us: But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. Jesus didn't believe in them. Why? Why didn't He believe in them? Maybe something about them was reminiscent of the old temple. Maybe their commitment was a commitment without reverence, without relationship, without relevance. Maybe it was superficial and shallow and vacuous. Maybe they were just stirred by the emotion of a hymn or the oratory of a preacher, or the desire to be well thought-of in the community and latched onto the church. All the while, Jesus is asking for our hearts, a total and complete surrender of our entire lives.
These words echo again in my mind. Destroy the temple and I will raise a new temple. I believe that for many people, coming to church every Sunday is just a matter of duty and form. Our faith is not vital and vibrant. It's a Sunday thing. Hear this word of Jesus: Destroy that temple. If you're willing to turn your back on formalized irrelevant worship and irrelevant faith, He will raise up a new reality in your life. It will be reverent, relevant, and filled with relational longing. However, you cannot embrace the new temple, until you are prepared to destroy the old one. I challenge you in the name of Jesus Christ, to heed these words of the Master, Destroy the temple and I will raise up in your life a new temple. May the Lord bless you.
My parents never went to church. I think in many ways it was an embarrassment for them to have a son who was a preacher and for them not to be "churchgoer's," so they eventually became believers. In fact, they became staunch believers, and they both died in Christ. They sent me to church because they thought it would be good for me, but I never saw anyone else in the family go to church. I didn't like religion. I thought much of it was fake and hypocritical. People were "goody-two-shoes" on Sundays and not much other use the rest of the week. Certainly, there are people who attend church and engage in that kind of hypocrisy. In fact, the problem addressed in this passage of scripture is fake religion and fake worship.
What is the big deal about worship? It was Passover time in Jerusalem. The city was in frenzy. People had come from great distances. They'd traveled from the upper Jordon, the region of Syria, Northern Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, the mountains of Moab, and the coastal plains of Sharon. The streets of Jerusalem were crowded with people pushing and jostling their way from one place to another. Sheep and cattle drovers were taking their animals to market. In the narrow tortuous street, people peddled their souvenirs and trinkets. Everyone was trying to make a living.
In the midst of the teaming multitudes stood Jesus. Hoping to get away from all the hustle and bustle, He went to the temple precinct. He found no solace or grace there. Instead, the rancorous, mercenary attitudes that permeated the streets of Jerusalem had infiltrated the temple. Cows, sheep and cages of doves were there. Amid the raucous laughter, the clatter of coins, the smell of beasts, and the jostling crowd, a sacred place of worship was hardly recognizable! It hardly seemed like the temple of Jerusalem where one could worship God. It was more like an eastern bazaar.
Temple authorities would claim there was good reason for this chaos. They were simply serving the pilgrims who came from such great distances. It was a matter of convenience. All of the pilgrims had to pay a temple tax, about five hundred dollars in today's terms, and they couldn't pay with secular money. The coins of Greece, Tyre, Sidon and Egypt all carried imprints of Caesar as god. It was a desecration of the temple to pay in this currency. So, pilgrims exchanged their secular money for sacred money at a fee of 12.5%. Also, the animals that they brought for sacrifice needed to be without blemish. They had to be inspected by a religious priest, who would invariably find a flaw. The priest would say, "This animal will not do. You'll need to buy one of ours." The inspection fee was 12.5%, and the price an animal inside the temple was twenty times more than outside the temple. A dove that cost fifty cents outside would cost you ten dollars inside. These guys had a good thing going! We recognize it as "bare-faced" extortion, all in the name of religion.
A man's hands begin to tremble with anger. He weaves a crude whip, and with righteous indignation, He whips people and turns over tables. Money flies everywhere and people scurry in every direction. He marches through the temple precinct snapping the whip. That's not the Jesus we usually imagine, is it? This is an angry man. What prompted our loving, patient, gracious Jesus to take up a whip? Fake religion.
Jesus encountered worship without reverence. He encountered the kind of worship that is formalized. Prayers are read, not like genuine pleas to the throne of God but like an auctioneer catalog. There's no real sense of the presence of God and no expectation that God might break into a worship service and do something absolutely amazing. There is none of that. There is no vision. Ministers and congregation alike are unprepared and non-expectant. There is no sense of the awesomeness, wonder, and glory of the present God. It is simply standing up and sitting down at the appropriate times. It is saying the appropriate words and going through the motions. Worship without reverence makes Jesus angry.
He also encountered worship without relevance. The temple sacrificial system was really passé. The prophets of Israel had been trying for centuries to tell them that animal offerings were irrelevant. Look at the Psalmists and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea. All of them indicate that's not where it's at. God demands the heart. Psalm 51:16-17 reads, God you do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. A mighty chorus of prophetic voices screams, "Don't you get it? Worship has got to be relevant! Don't bring any sacrifices. What care I for your sacrifices, if your heart, and your spirit, and your life is not given to me?" Jesus saw worship without reverence. While we do not offer animal sacrifices today, there are other substitutes for irrelevance. You know what they are. You know what the substitutes are in your life.
The third thing that troubled Jesus was seeing worship without relationship. Many of you know the structure of the ancient temple. Right in the very heart of the temple was the Holy of Holies. Beyond the Holy of Holies, the temple was made up of concentric circles. There was the court of the priest, then the court of the Israelites, then the court of the women, and the outermost court of the gentiles. Most of us would probably not get any further than the court of the gentiles. All the buying, selling, and money changing was happening in the outermost court, the court of the Gentiles. If there was a Gentile who had a hunger for God burning within his heart, and he went to find the God of Israel, the only true God, the only thing that he would encounter would be moneychangers and animal sacrifices. It was the exact opposite of the sublime purpose that people could find their way to the living God. Isaiah wrote of his vision, In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. That is not what Jesus saw. He saw the filth and the stench of an April day, and He was angry.
It's easy for us to condemn. Before we do so, however, we should ask ourselves this question, "Is there anything in our church that would hinder the seeking of a stranger?" Is there exclusiveness, or lack of commitment, or even lack of joy? Would people come in here and say, "Those Presbyterians are such a dower, dull, dismal kind of people." or, would they see people who are in love with Jesus Christ? They're energetic in their faith! They are really committed to Him. They have arms open to embrace the stranger within their midst.
Jesus was moved to anger. It's quite a picture. In verse eighteen the Jewish religious leaders demanded Him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all these things?" In other words, by what authority do you do this? And Jesus answers in a wonderful way. Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days." His claim was greatly misunderstood. Later, at His trial, that statement was thrown back in His face. What did Jesus really mean? He was issuing a new way to God. He was, of course, referring to Himself. He was referring to the power of the resurrection. "Destroy this temple, the body, and I will raise it up in three days." He did that at the resurrection. If you want to see Jesus' authority, just wait until you see the power of the resurrection. It will unleash upon the world such a temple that will forever render the temple at Jerusalem irrelevant.
I am not interested in any plans to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. We have a new temple in Jesus Christ that is far superior to one built by Solomon or others. In Jesus there will be a mighty, living temple that will come, vast and glorious. The gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it. It will be made not with buildings but with the lives of human beings who have given themselves to Christ. The old Scottish theologian, James Stewart said, "Not all the excesses of militant nationalism, not all the outbursts of racial bitterness, not all the mad follies of the sectarian spirit, not all the pathetic spiritual exclusiveness which has claimed a monopoly of the grace of God, have ever been quite able to destroy it."
This new temple gives us the opportunity to experience real worship. It enables cleansing to take place. People become forgiven and forgiving. Worship evokes commitment rather than adherence to the externals of religiosity. Worship isn't "going through the motions." It is having a heart that is open to obedience and love. In real worship, we take upon our faltering lips those lovely words of Juliet as she speaks to Romeo. "Henceforth," she said, "I am ever ruled by you." To be able to take those words and apply them to Jesus Christ is the essence of real worship. Real worship embraces Christ. If the old temple made it difficult for people to encounter God, Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection, through the Veil of the temple being torn from top to bottom, has opened up the way so that for the first time in history, even a person in the Court of the Gentiles can see right into the Holy of Holies. All of this is made possible in Jesus.
Worship that is reverent. Worship that is relevant. Worship that has at its very core, a relationship of love through Jesus Christ. I might stop there, except that John in his wisdom drops a footnote in the last three verses of chapter two. Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing, and believed in his name. Isn't that wonderful? Many people believe in His name. It filled my heart with joy. If that could happen in our church, wouldn't we be excited and pleased that many people believed and came to faith? We would embrace them! We would celebrate! But verse twenty-four goes on to tell us: But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. Jesus didn't believe in them. Why? Why didn't He believe in them? Maybe something about them was reminiscent of the old temple. Maybe their commitment was a commitment without reverence, without relationship, without relevance. Maybe it was superficial and shallow and vacuous. Maybe they were just stirred by the emotion of a hymn or the oratory of a preacher, or the desire to be well thought-of in the community and latched onto the church. All the while, Jesus is asking for our hearts, a total and complete surrender of our entire lives.
These words echo again in my mind. Destroy the temple and I will raise a new temple. I believe that for many people, coming to church every Sunday is just a matter of duty and form. Our faith is not vital and vibrant. It's a Sunday thing. Hear this word of Jesus: Destroy that temple. If you're willing to turn your back on formalized irrelevant worship and irrelevant faith, He will raise up a new reality in your life. It will be reverent, relevant, and filled with relational longing. However, you cannot embrace the new temple, until you are prepared to destroy the old one. I challenge you in the name of Jesus Christ, to heed these words of the Master, Destroy the temple and I will raise up in your life a new temple. May the Lord bless you.
