Communion With the Christ:: The Season of Lent: The Temple Cleansed

The Season of Lent is far more than a season of legalistic performance based religious self-examination, it is rather a time of fully embracing the grace of God and the reality of the risen Christ and the Season of Easter.

“So, Jesus made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts,”

The Season of Lenten is situated in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar by intent, it is placed there to lead us all into the reality of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and our own sharing in Jesus’ life and death, this is the purpose of the Lenten Season, to begin to see our new life in him and our own sharing in all that is Jesus’.

St. John, in his Gospel, gives us the account of Jesus Christ who was motivated by his zealous perfect love for his Heavenly Father entering into the Temple of God at Jerusalem and seeing the money changers buying and selling and making merchandise of the people. Our Lord in his righteous indignation drove them out with a whip made of rope.

“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So, Jesus made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves Jesus said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Jhn: 2:13-17

Some Biblical Scholars believe that this event actually took place at the end of Jesus’ ministry just prior to his arrest and crucifixion as it has been recorded by St. Matthew in his Gospel, but some scholars believe that St. John choose to place it early in his Gospel account as a literary device to set the tone for the whole purpose for which Jesus had come. Still, others believe that Jesus, in reality, drove the money changers out twice, once at the beginning of his ministry and another time at the very end. Either way the account is there in the inspired record for our edification.

Religious Leaders Confront Jesus

Regardless of the actual time order of the event, it is what Jesus did that is important. Jesus purged out of the Temple what should have not had been there in the first place. The money changers and the making of merchandise of the people and exploiting them for gain, ultimately to the profit of the religious establishment who worked with the less than savory money changers and others to gain wealth.

After Jesus’ zealous confrontation with the money changers and others who sold the sheep and doves used for the temple sacrifices, we are told by St. Matthew that it is the religious leaders the Chief Priest and the Elders, who confronted Jesus wanting to know who and what gave him the right to take such actions.

“The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” (18)

When asked about his authority to enter the Temple and drive out those who had no place to be there Jesus answers them in a way which to them seemed cryptic and strange.

“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (19)

The religious leaders were misunderstanding and perplexed by Jesus’ response, they could only perceive with their eyes and ears and interpret Jesus’ words as a threat to their very place of authority, the Temple itself, for the Temple as it stood gave them their place and position and power.

“They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” (20)

St. John wrote with historical hindsight now, inserts a comment giving explanation as to what Jesus was referring to in answer to the issue of authority to enter the Temple and drive out those who did not belong there.

“But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken”. (21-22)

Authority and Power

St. John is telling us that it is Jesus’ divine identity, which is confirmed by his resurrection that gives him authority to take such an action. Jesus’ actions were telling the religious leaders that his resurrection gives evidence to his authority and power to act in cleansing the Temple and that this authority does not come from men but from God himself. This means that Jesus’ not only had the right and authority to act but the power to act.

St. Paul wrote of the connection between Jesus’ divine identity and his resurrection in his Epistle to the Church at Rome.

“and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” Rm: 1:4

What St. Paul is telling us is, that Jesus is not the Son of God because he was resurrection but rather Jesus was resurrected because he is the Son of God, his resurrection only confirms to us what is and always has been true.

Jesus, being God's Son, has the Authority and power to act and Jesus acts zealously to bring all things into conformity to the will of God the Father.

Came to Cleanses

Jesus came to set things right, to make them the way they were intended to be by God, to cleanse our Temple, that is, Jesus came, and continues to come and enters the Temple courts of our lives and zealously takes up the scourge to drive out any and all things which have set up a marketplace within us and makes merchandise of us, and making our Temple courts clean.

St. John’s Gospel is not just giving us a glimpse of a piece of history about something Jesus did centuries ago, rather he showing us what Jesus has and continues to do within the lives of his people.

St. Paul tells us that through our association with Jesus, the very resurrected Son of God, and by the residency of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we, the Church, that is all Christians, are the Temple of God in the world.

“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst? “1Cor: 3:16

St. Paul tell us that it is through the work of Jesus we are, in the view God, now made clean, that we have through Jesus been set right with God. Through Jesus’ Salvation work of incarnation, life, death and resurrection this has been accomplished for us by Jesus apart from any effort on our part.

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.1Cor:6:11

When we heard the word of God preached to us and accepted it we entered into experiencing what Jesus has done for us. Jesus spoke to his Disciples this very thing on the night he would be betrayed and arrested.

“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” Jhn: 15:3

Many years latter St. Paul speaks of the very same truth of hearing the word of God spoken and embracing the message of Jesus by the Church and coming to experience the cleansing which Jesus has accomplished for us.

“That God might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” Eph: 5:26

Our Temple Courts

Jesus has entered into the Temple courts of our lives and with a zeal he confronts any and all things which should not be there within our hearts and minds, driving them out with the power of his word and the Spirit, convicting and removing anything which is a part of our lives which might make merchandise of us. Jesus has both the authority and power to do this as God’s Son.

Jesus acted with power and authority as the Son of God to drive out and reclaim and set right our whole being for God, that with in our hearts there is only found the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. We then are set right with God as our whole being be a place of worship and praise of God and service to him.

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Heb: 9:14

The season of Lent is a time when we, the people of God, his Holy dwelling place, can look within the temple courts of our own selves and reflect upon the finished work of Jesus which has accomplished our salvation. This truth should move us to walk fully into the lives of salvation; we are saved therefore we should as such and allow nothing to make merchandise of us, but being wholly given over to our God.

Our lives set right by the salvation work of Jesus, made free of anything which might make merchandise of us, all that we might serve our God as he has always intended for us all. The Season of Lent helps us focus on the saving work of Jesus, he has come to cleanse the Temple courts of our lives that we might be that Holy Temple of God all for his glory this is the purpose for which Jesus has zealously come.

Benediction: May we each and all live as a cleansed Temple of God, that we might worship, praise and serve our God, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen