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3 Overlooked Reasons Jesus “Cleansed” the Temple

April 4, 2012 — 11 Comments

Just as with His ride into Jerusalem, there’s more to Jesus’ violent actions in the temple then the exchange rate. Here are three all too often overlooked reasons Jesus cleansed the temple.

1. Jesus as the “Son of David” is the Builder of God’s House

In His entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus claimed to be like Solomon, the “Son of David,” and thus rightful heir to the throne. And in the temple cleansing which follows, he demonstrates how he has taken up the responsibility given to David’s son.

In 2 Samuel 7, God says to David

When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he will be my son.

Of course David’s son Solomon built the temple. But Jesus by entering Jerusalem on a donkey and then cleansing the temple claimed that “one greater than Solomon is here (Matthew 12:42).”

2. Jesus was Angry Because the Temple had become a Barrier to God’s Praise

As he overturned the tables of the money changers, Jesus said,

Is is not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers.

We emphasize the connection between the money changers and “den of robbers” but often fail to see the quotation of Isaiah 56:7 in between. The temple establishment is not robbing from men. Scholars have noted the reasonable necessity of the temple exchange based upon the law. The temple system is robbing from the universal glory due God’s Name.

Isaiah prophesied (Is. 2)

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it.

The word “nations” in this passages as well as the one quoted by Jesus is gentiles. It Isaiah who prophecies,

And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant–these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

But the foreigners and gentiles by and large are not coming. Jesus is angry because rather than a bridge, the temple has become a barrier to the worship of God among pagans.

3. Jesus was Prophetically Acting Out the Coming Destruction of the Temple.

The word “cleanse” is not an appropriate description of Jesus’ actions here. He’s not cleansing the temple. He’s attacking it! This temple must be removed.

Look to Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree to find the truth in this point. Mark, the earliest of the four New Testament gospels, records the following scenes in this order.

Jesus looks for fruit on a fig tree but finding none curses it (11:12-14
Jesus enters Jerusalem and attacks the temple (11:15-19)
The disciples see the fig tree withered from the root and ask Jesus about it (11:20-25)

The sandwiching of these stories indicates that the fig tree is a symbol of the temple. The cursing of the fig tree and its subsequent withering represents Jesus attack on the temple and its subsequent destruction.

The destruction of the temple in AD 70, a generation removed from the events recorded in the gospel, is no where explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. But there are numerous implicit details which indicate that it has already occurred or is about to occur when the gospels are written.

Jesus teaching on the mount of Olives (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) has this event in mind. Here, Jesus once again links the temple and the fig tree.

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth, will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Like Ezekiel and Isaiah, Jesus prophetically acts out the coming violent removal of the temple.

Jesus is Building a New House for God

But Jesus has not left a temple in ruins. He has built a new one! The New Testament continually indicates that the rebuilding of God’s true temple is found in the death and resurrection of His son.

In Devotions, Easter, Gospels

The Reason Jesus Entered Jerusalem on a Donkey

April 3, 2012 — 6 Comments

There’s more to Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey then a fulfillment of Zachariah 9:9. Jesus’ actions replay a crucial moment in Israel’s monarchy, the day Solomon, the son of David, was crowned king of Israel.

Solomon’s Coronation

1 Kings 1 records the important events surronding Solomon’s coronation.

When David was old his eldest son, Adonijah, took advantage of his father’s weakness and united publically with the king’s men. And thus declared his intentions to the throne.

But a few were troubled by his plans. Bathsheba, for one, went to David and reminded him of the promise he made to her and her son.

The king then took an oath: “as surely as the Lord lives who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

He instructed them.

set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to the Gihon. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

And they did as he said.

Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon. And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

But of course the news didn’t make everyone glad. Adonijah and his supporters fled from their feast in fear.

The Significance of the Coronation.

The fact that the elements of the coronation are repeated three times in 1 Kings 1(1:32-35; 38-40; 43-48) indicates that they are very important. This is the first dynastic transfer of power in Israel’s history. An event the nation could not easily forget. And while I do not know for certain, it would not surprise me to discover that these elements, including the entry into Jerusalem on a mule, became standard practice for all subsequent davidic coronations. Zechariah 9:9 may hint at the continuation of this practice.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus’ Coronation

Certainly the people present at Jesus’ entry that day understood his actions. There interpretation of the events is evident from their cries recorded in each of the four gospels. In Matthew they shout,

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Mark records them saying,

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

In Luke we hear them say,

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

And in John they cry,

Blessed is the King of Israel.

That the public recognizes Jesus’ claim to the throne is significant because no where in the gospels does Jesus openly declare himself king. Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:13-19, Mark 8:27-30 and Luke9:18-21 is met by Jesus with a blessing as well as a command for them not to repeat this to anyone. (Matthew 16:13-20). While it may be likely that some in the crowd remembered this small passage in Zachariah, Its more likely that they looked upon Jesus’ actions with one eye on the past and remembered how the first ‘son of David’ was crowned king in Jerusalem.

Jesus actions that day were symbolic. By riding a donkey into Jerusalem, Jesus declared his right to throne.

In Bible, Easter, Jesus

The Trouble with Devotions

March 30, 2012 — 4 Comments

A number of years ago, as a youth pastor, I delivered a challenging message to the youth of my church. The students had just finished singing songs, professing their love for God. As I stood in front the room, the spiritual feeling that only true worship brings was still evident in the room.

“I have a word for you,” I told them. “I felt it as we sang. I don’t think this youth group loves Christ enough. There’s a lot of half-hearted people in this room and it needs to stop. So from now on you need to make a commitment to come every Wednesday night. if you can’t come every Wednesday then don’t bother coming at all.”

The students sat stunned in their chairs. All except for one. From the front row I could hear Trista agreeing with my every word. “Amen,” she said.

I continued. “And I’m tired of seeing people only raise one hand to the Lord in worship. If you can’t raise both hands than you’re half-hearted. From now on raise both hands or don’t raise them at all.”

I could see students start to clam up. But good old Trista there in the front row kept right on saying, “amen, amen.”

“You need to bring you’re bibles to Church. How can you say that you love God if you don’t love his word.”

Students started shaking their heads and I heard some quietly say “no.” And there Trista was “amen, amen, amen!”

“No!” I said. I had been playing and sweet Trista had walked right into the trap. (love you Trista!)

Rules Lead to Rebellion

What I wanted to demonstrate is that rules breed rebellion. When told to do something our immediate reaction is to respond, “the hell I will.” But all too often our devotions to the Lord, things like prayer, worship and reading the bible, turn from something that we desire to do into a rule that must be followed. And the devotions that we started as a simple demonstration of love for our Lord become something we despise.

This is the trouble with devotions that good things started with right intentions become a burden to bare rather than a blessing to share. This is the struggle that Paul finds himself in in Romans 7

But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death…

God’s commandment’s when brought against our flesh breeds rebellion in us. This is a trap from which it seems we cannot recover. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Paul asks in verse 24.

God’s Love Sets Us Free

But Paul has the answer. We find it in Romans 8 – one of the greatest, if not the greatest chapters in all the Bible. It’s worth quoting in full.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation— but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs— heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all— how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died— more than that, who was raised to life— is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s free gift of His Son has taken away the commandment and given us a new spirit which cries out in love and thankfulness to God. Be mindful of your motivations. Check your heart. Remember this is why you do your devotions.

What do you think?

Originally posted February 18th, 2008.

In Bible, Devotions, Life

Will Some Who Have Never Known Jesus Enter His Kingdom?

March 22, 2012 — 48 Comments

According to Jesus’ parable of the Sheep and the Goats the answer is no and yet also surprisingly yes.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

You’ve heard this parable right? Pastors often share it when imploring followers of Jesus to help their fellow man. In Matthew 25:31-46, we read

When the Son of Man comes… All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

To those on his right he says,

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

The righteous are shocked. They ask,

Lord, when did we see you…

He answers,

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

The King then turns to those on his left and pronounces the opposite judgement with a similar pattern. They are cursed and sent away to the eternal fire because when they did not do it for them they did not do it for him.

So what is the meaning of the parable? All sorts of explanations have been offered but the most common interprets the sheep and the goats as true and false Christians and the brothers of Jesus as the needy of this world. The point of the parable is therefore to encourage believers to lend a helping hand because in doing so they unknowingly lend a hand to Jesus.

Its a great application. But is it really what the parables about?

Who are Jesus’ brothers?

The parables’ interpretation hinges on the identity of Jesus’ brothers. While it is true that at least some of these “brothers” are in need, their need does not define them. The need simply identifies them as the “least.” Jesus, in Matthew 12:48, has already made known the identity of his “brothers.”

Who are my mother and my brothers?” Then pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

His brothers are His followers.

Who are the Sheep and the Goats?

It doesn’t make sense than to say that the sheep and the goats are likewise Christians, followers of Jesus. You would think at least the sheep as “true believers” would recognize their Lord in helping those who likewise followed Him. They’ve heard this parable right? But its significant that neither the sheep nor the goats recognize the Son of Man.

The parable identifies the sheep and goats as the gathered nations or gentiles. And in Matthew 18:17 gentiles means outsiders.

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Thus it appears that the sheep and the goats collectively represent all those who in the days prior to the kingdom did not knowingly follow Jesus. The nations are all those who have not recognized the Son of Man.

The Inclusive Jesus

The message of the parable thus appears to be the exact opposite of the one we’ve grown accustomed to. Here, Christians are not blessed for serving the needy of the world. Instead non-Christians are blessed for serving needy Christians.

Its a comforting message that should not be carried too far. Salvation is still found only in Jesus. But the parable likewise indicates that its possible in some sense to unknowingly serve Jesus. Because He loves His family, He loves those who have loved them. The promise given to Abraham is now extended to Christ’s followers.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse…

Such a message should comfort all those who have seen loved ones die without explicitly acknowledging Jesus. The parable teaches that in the end Jesus will be good to those who have been good to his people.

What do you think?

In Bible, Jesus, Life

A Case for Luke and Atonement

March 15, 2012 — 2 Comments

Luke’s view of Christ’s death is controversial today. Though there is little doubt that Luke finds significance in the crucifixion, a question arises in weather or not he teaches that it satisfies God’s punishment for sin.

The issue becomes clearest when comparing Luke and Mark. Luke follows Mark’s gospel with near verbatim agreement but at 22:27 he declines to follow Mark 10:45 in saying that Jesus came to “give his life as a ransom for many.” This has led some to read another meaning than the vicarious atonement found elsewhere in the New Testament.

It is not my intention to rehash all the issues here (You can find excellent overviews here and here). Instead I want to suggest an entirely overlooked way through the maze. Jesus as a victorious Adam.

Luke Presents Jesus as a New Adam

This is beyond a doubt the intention of Luke’s genealogy. Instead of beginning with Abraham and working forward to Jesus as Matthew’s does, Luke begins with Jesus and works backwards to Adam. The net effect makes Luke’s genealogy a list of sons rather than a list of fathers and emphasizes Adam rather than Jesus. Of course Luke’s intention is not to diminish Jesus. Instead he reveals how Adam, like Jesus, is also “the son of God.”

Luke’s seemingly odd placement of the family tree outside the nativity lends weight to this comparison. The list is bookended by statements concerning Jesus’ sonship. In the baptism God declares Jesus to be His son, and in the temptations Satan challenges “if you are the Son of God…” Both Jesus and Adam are God’s son.

Luke Depicts Jesus Tempted Like Adam

Jesus temptation follows after Adam’s name. If Luke intends to present Jesus as the second “son of God” as I have suggested, then the temptations could not have been better placed. But Jesus’ success here is merely the beginning of a battle that will continue in the later part of Luke. Luke tells us that the devil left him until an “opportune time.” Satan finds such opportunity at the beginning of the crucifixion plot, entering into Judas Iscariot (Luke 22:3).

This suggests that the events surrounding the crucifixion are themselves a continuation of the temptation. Certainly there are echoes of the devil’s challenge at the trial when they ask “Are you the Son of God…” It’s Jesus bold affirmative to this question which becomes the hinge on which His condemnation comes. As with the other gospels Jesus confession is juxtaposed with Peter’s denial. If Peter’s denial is due as Luke tells us to the sifting of Satan (22:31-32) then there is little doubt that Satan is here present in this challenge to Jesus.

Luke Portrays Jesus Undoing the Curse of Adam

Much has been made about Luke’s version of the centurions confession. In Mark the centurion declares “Truly this man was the Son of God!” but in Luke he says “Surely this man was innocent!” Owing to the fact that Luke has already declared Jesus to be the Son of God, it is doubtful that Luke is here shying away from this fact. Instead it appears that the verdict of innocence is indeed what Luke emphasizes.

For Luke, however, this verdict of innocence is more than a reference to the crime for which Jesus has been charged. It is Jesus victory over all temptation which is more likely in mind. What Christ has done in this victory is reopen the way closed by Adam. Jesus final words to the thief on the Christ are connected to Luke’s Adam motif. Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” It this word that the Septuagint and the book of Revelation use in reference to the garden of Eden.

Several of these points have been noted by others (here and here) but no one that I’ve found looks to Luke’s Adam motif as the key to understanding Christ’s death on the cross. Does Luke teach that the crucifixion of Jesus satisfies God’s punishment for sin? Absolutely. Jesus is the victorious Son of God who’s innocent death reverses the curse of Adam.