“The Temple Act”

Matthew Sloan 07/03/2021

Readings - Exodus 20: 1-17; John 2: 13-22

Commercialism is the practice of trying to make as much profit as possible without caring too much about how this affects other people or places. We see many important occasions and celebrations commercialised: weddings, birthdays, anniversaries. But the classic examples are Christmas and Easter, when the stories of Jesus’ birth and death are hijacked by commercial interests. (An advertisement by a company at Christmas was shown)

A beautiful, emotional advertisement. But not much focus on the birth of Jesus or on the life of Jesus or on the impact this has had on our world or on the impact is can have on us. The same applies to Easter, when chocolate eggs and other paraphernalia is shamelessly promoted. The classic example of confusion regarding the commercialism of Easter was years ago, when a boy I was teaching in Year 4 made an Easter card. On the cover he depicted the Easter Bunny on the cross.

This morning from John’s gospel we read about Jesus in the temple.

It was Passover, the major Jewish spring festival which commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. This was the holiest of the pilgrimage feasts to which Jews came to make sacrifices at the temple. It was a busy time for Jerusalem, as the population would swell from 50,000 to around 180,000 for Passover. The strain on local resources to house and feed that number of people would have been huge. People were everywhere. The temple was the centre of the celebrations; animals would be offered as sacrifices to God. There were people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. This was normal at that time. People coming from a long way away could not bring their own animals. Only unblemished animals were acceptable for sacrifice, and it would be difficult to maintain an animal in perfect condition even on a journey from nearby Galilee, let alone from faraway cities such as Rome. So the best option was to buy animals, which were sold in a part of the temple.

Money changers were seated at their tables because money needed to be exchanged, because travelers used to bring coins from many nations and the Mishnah specified that only specific coins be used for the temple tax.

So, this was business as usual. Money being changed, animals and birds being bought and offered up as sacrifices. This was an expectation of devoted Jewish people. But commercialism crept into these rituals. How unsurprising! So, what were the consequences of this focus on business?

Nathan Nettleton, from the Laughing Bird website, informs us that these vendors were almost surely located in the outer precincts of the temple, the Court of the Gentiles. One can imagine that there were many people offended by this commerce in the temple—people offended by the overcrowding and stink in the temple precincts. In addition, this was the only area of the temple where Gentiles could enter and worship; this commerce would make Gentile worship impossible by using their space for business purposes instead.

Jesus made a whip of cords and drove the sheep and the cattle from the temple.

It seems likely that there would probably have been hundreds of sheep and cattle—although poor people, and there would have been many, were allowed to sacrifice doves, which were much cheaper.

The atmosphere would have been like a street fair with vendors everywhere, except that these vendors were feeding, grooming, and cleaning up after large animals. The noise and smell would have been overwhelming. One can imagine that the sacrificial system, as prescribed by the Torah, was messy and smelly enough anyway, but the presence of these vendors in the temple just would have made things worse.

Jesus poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  Just imagine the fury of the money changers as they scrambled to recover their coins—trying to keep customers and the other money changers from grabbing them.

Rex Hunt comments that this ‘temple incident’, as written in John, comes near the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. It signals opposition to Jesus by several Jewish leaders. It contrasts with the same story in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) which have this incident occurring at the end of his ministry, just before Jesus’ final encounter with some of the Jewish leaders. These stories reflect the purposes of the authors: Matthew, Mark and Luke imply the main problem is a moral one, of unfair business practices; John, on the other hand, implies the main problem is a spiritual one, concerning the misuse of holy space. In all versions, trouble looms ahead!

John’s purpose, according to Rex Hunt, is to suggest that Jesus’ criticism is going to get him into serious trouble. It is a sign of things to come. In tackling the authorities head on, Jesus has thrown out a challenge to them. Jesus’ ministry is about challenging and reinterpreting authority and living. It is about shedding elements which are no longer useful or helpful and looking afresh at what is important.

Rex Hunt notes, with his typical understatement, that from the book of John we see Jesus as a bit of a protester. His ‘protest’ was against a religious and social system that discriminated against and excluded the majority of ordinary people. And his particular ‘protest’ this time was that ordinary people were being cheated at the point or place in their life where they were most vulnerable and where they should have been nurtured. Jesus is not anti-temple, but anti-exploitation. He is angry because the temple has been turned into a shopping mall. He acknowledges the temple as his Father’s house, and insists that it be treated with the reverence due the house of the Lord. There is no gentle Jesus meek and mild here, but Jesus expressing righteous anger. In response, his authority is questioned by the Jewish leaders. “How dare you! Who do you think you are?”

When asked what church Jesus would attend if living in today's world, John Dominic Crossan responded that he was not sure. But he then added that, which ever church Jesus attended, he was bound to get into trouble with the leadership!

So what, for us living in Perth in the 21st century? During this time of Lent, what might this mean for us, personally, at this moment? Paul Nancarrow, of ‘Process and Faith’ poses this question for us during Lent.

If Jesus were to cleanse the temples of our lives, what would that be like for us? 

The passage then moves to the reference about Jesus rebuilding the temple in three days. Taking his comments literally, the Jewish leaders dismissed his claims.  The temple was the holy place where God dwelt, and they could hardly imagine anyone destroying it (although the Romans did so in 70 A.D.). But the author of John was pointing to the time when the temple would lose its centrality. He was pointing to a time when holiness would no longer be associated only with the temple, but would pervade all of life, so that temple sacrifices, along with the animal sellers and the money changers, would no longer be necessary. The temple will be superceded; there is no longer a need for the temple, as Jesus himself is seen as the new temple. His body is the place where people can come to meet with God.

John is also alluding to Jesus’ death and resurrection. His body is the temple marked for destruction. Even Jesus’ own disciples will remain clueless about this second level of meaning until after the resurrection.

Father Bill Wigmore, in concluding a sermon on this reading, asks the following challenging questions: Kind of makes you wonder what tables Jesus might turn over in our church, in our lives? What cattle and sheep he might shoo away because they’ve become a convenient distraction? What “systems” might Jesus turn upside down because we have refused to challenge them, because we like their comfort and expediency? If Jesus were to come swinging in here this morning, full of righteous indignation, what would our response be? Would we throw him out, ignore him, or take what he has to say (and do) to heart?

As we ponder these questions, let us focus on worshiping God and being followers of Jesus, of being strong and speaking boldly while staying caring and compassionate. Amen.