Sermon(Jn 2:13-22): Jesus' body

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025251889

 

 

 

>> ... 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; you shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ... 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign have you to show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ... 21 But he spoke of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (Jn 2:13-22) <<

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Why did Jesus describe his death as destruction of temple? People gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the most important Jewish holiday. Jesus also came with his disciples to Jerusalem, and drove out from the temple all who did business there. Then the Jews protested to him. "Who are you that you drive out those who give accommodation to the people in the temple court? Do you think they are selling animals only for business? They are all the workers of the temple, too. Is it wrong to sell animals for sacrifice to those from afar? And is it right to offer up Roman money to God? Can we use the money, on which the face of the Roman emperor is inscribed, for the holy offering? No, we can not! That's why people exchange other money for the money used in the temple. By the way, it was permitted by the high priest. And who are you? Why are you making a scene here? Show me your right and permission to disturb the temple. If you don't have the permission from God, do a miracle that supports your authority to do so. Then we'll believe you."

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At this request of the Jews, Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." After all, the Jews killed Jesus and Jesus resurrected three days after his death, demonstrating that it was a legitimate work of God that he had driven out sellers from the temple. Jesus thought that the Jews had been destroying the temple for a long time. There ought to be right priests in the temple. But there were no right priests in the temple of Israel then. The right priest is one who makes the temple a genuine temple of God. You should not fill the temple with worldly things. Priests must not carry out their duties in ritual robes made of wool. They must wear robes of fine linen, because they sweat a lot when they minister rites in warm woolen clothes, so smell of sweat, which is an inappropriate situation. Like this, the temple must not smell of humans. The smell of human sweat is smell of money, power, struggle for rights and gains, and blood of fight. This smell of human sweat distracts believers who have come to the temple to worship God, and makes the temple an extension of worldly life. The temple must be a place where you can repent your sins committed in the world and pray to God for forgiveness. But a temple smelling of human sweat only adds sins to humans.

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Therefore a priest is tearing down the temple of God if he struggles for a divine office (a sacred occupation), commits simony, uses the pastorship for private interests, and flatters a person in power to secure help and support from him. The priests in Jesus' days were like this. And it is wrong to sell sacrificial animals and to exchange money in the court of the temple, whatever excuses they may have. To make a temple a market place for the convenience of those who want to offer sacrifice is to destroy the temple. Jesus, as the heir to the kingdom of God, purified the temple. In fact, from the point of view of Jesus, the high priest in Jerusalem was just a servant of God. This servant of God neglected his duty, failed to teach people rightly and destroyed the temple of God. So Jesus as the Son of God personally taught people rightly. Jesus says that the temple is the prayer-place for all people. Both priests and lay people can pray to God there. People feel like praying in the temple if the temple is truly a temple. In a good temple (a good church), there is a priest (a pastor) who fears God, lives an exemplary life and loves and cares for the sheep of God with all his heart as a servant of Jesus. And in the good temple, there is not any smell of sweat but the fragrance of love. Such a temple is a good temple in the sight of God and man. Your church must be a church where people can see not a greedy pastor but a pastor with integrity, nobility and love of God. Your church must be a holy place where there is a beautiful sound of praises and prayers of thanks to God instead of the tumult of the marketplace. The most important factor is the priests indeed. Priests should be well aware of God's command to wear robes not of wool but of fine linen. The first virtue of the priest that God requires is >noble unselfishness<. A priest is one who should wear the robe of unselfishness and unavariciousness. Ungreediness is his clothes. A priest begins to destroy the temple from the moment he looses this robe of ungreediness. A holy temple of God is standing where there is a pastor who is never greedy in a temple although the temple is a tent, while a dirty house of Devil is standing where there is a pastor greedy and hypocrite in a temple even if the temple is a wonderful building decorated with silver and gold like the temple of Solomon. The precious jewels on the priestly robe represent the glory of God and his grace, mercy and love for humans. They never justify the luxury of the greedy clergy. The clergy must not clothe themselves with worldly things but with the glory from above. Are you trying to compete now with the king living in the palace? Of course, almost all of the pastors in Korea are clothed in robes of fine linen. They must not try to take off the linen and put on wool.

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Man is indeed weak creature. Time and circumstances will not leave you unmoved, however firmly you may make your mind or however good a man you may be at first. There is no perfect priest in the world. There is no perfect temple in the world. When humans hold the sacred profession, they tend to destroy the temple. Thus, Jesus became the eternal high priest and king. Jesus became the most holy high priest and established a perfect temple before God. >>So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee”; as he says also in another place, “Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 5:5-6) << The Bible says that Jesus' death is a death as the sin offering for the remission of human sins. "For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Heb 9:13-14)" "So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb 9:28)"

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Humans are frail and corrupt, so even a servant of God is exposed to many dangers and tests. So the temple of God has been destroyed by many since the beginning of the human history. Now Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come to the world to abolish the defiled old temple and to establish a new temple. In the old temple, there was a priest of Judaism; in the new temple, Jesus the eternal high priest. How was the old temple demolished? Jews had to remove the signboard of the old temple, that is, >The Temple of God<, because they killed Jesus. Jesus was God the Creator and the God of Israel. Can a servant who has killed his master still be the master's servant? No, he can't! Are those who were proud as God's people still God's people after they have killed the God who came into the world in the form of man? Are the priests who must serve God still the priest of God when they have killed the God? (They have killed the humanity of God who became a man.) No! As far as they have killed Jesus, they are not the priests of God any more; as far as they have been deprived of their priesthood, the temple they are occupying can't be the temple of God any more. So, as far as the Jews including the priests killed Jesus, their temple has been destroyed already.

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The visible Jewish temple itself is not the body of Jesus. Jews envied and killed Jesus, and as a result their temple was torn down. Jesus abolished the old temple defiled and collapsed, and established a new temple to its original purpose. That is, he established the original religion of God. This new temple was built on the third day after the Jews killed Jesus. This temple is not a visible temple but a holy gathering of holy ones who have God as their Father and Jesus Christ as their Savior. "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! (1 Cor 6:15)" "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though may, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Cor 12:12)" "Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Eph 4:25)" "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Eph 5:23)" "I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. (2 Cor 11:2)"

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Jn 2:21, "But he (Jesus) spoke of the temple of his body." The Bible says that the whole of God's people is the body of Christ, that each believer is a member of the body of Christ, that Christ is the head of God's people (the church). Jesus destroyed his old body by abolishing Judaism, and erected his new body by his death on the cross and resurrection. The day of Jesus' resurrection is the birthday of the church. So Easter is really important for the church for it was born on that day. Jesus' disciples, who had gone to the Jewish temple until then, now began to live as full-scale God's people after meeting the risen Jesus. In Easter week, we should think of an uninterrupted church renewal. If we sleep spiritually and are not awake, we'll see Jesus with a whip in his hand on the eve of Easter. "Why are you tearing down my body (the temple, the church)?" "Why are you letting evildoers destroy my body?" "Your indifference and dereliction of duty are more painful to me than the big nail of the cross!"

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Jesus suffered the death of crucifixion to make us the members of his body. His pain was beyond description. He underwent all human suffering, but never committed sin. We must endure our crosses in the world to become the members of his body. "And he who does not take his cross and follow me (Jesus) is not worthy of me. (Mt 10:38)" God puts this cross upon us not to make us suffer but to award us a greater prize. And we bear this cross with Jesus. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mt 11:28-30)" And Jesus gives us even the strength to take the cross. "I can do all things in him who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)" He who expects resurrection and eternal life without the cross is one who wants to be higher than Jesus. If we see Jesus' true love for us in his crucifixion, it is recommendable for us to bear a cross for him, even if it is a light cross. When we'd like to take even a light cross for him, Jesus comes to us to bear the cross with us. Isn't it a good cross to us if Jesus allowed it to us? Everything that comes from the good one is good for us. Jesus is a good shepherd.

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My beloved brethren! Jesus gives us not only the strength to bear the cross but also the power of life to live forever after our death. Jesus himself has shown this power of eternal life to us. We who believe in him will rise from death like him and enjoy the eternal life with him. There is the eternal victory of resurrection after the death of crucifixion. The new temple can be built only after the old one is pulled down. We are changed into ones who will enjoy eternal life if we believe in Jesus as the Savior, abandon the old shameful life and become new humans. Resurrection and eternal life are our privileges.

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May all of you abandon the old man (the old self) and become a new man in Christ to be the pillars of the temple of God and to gain eternal life.

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Chong Tack Kim

                                   - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -

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