The portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Gospel
appointed for this day has proven to be something of a conundrum for
interpreters through the years. What we see is the Lord Jesus in a violent rage
driving animals and people out of the Temple. Years ago Bruce Barton, in a very
popular book, The Man Nobody Knows, used the story to demonstrate how virile the
Lord Jesus was. He surmised that the Lord Jesus was capable of Herculean
strength and prowess because of his outdoorsy lifestyle and vigorous walking
missionary tours. However, others have been concerned that this public
demonstration which had all the earmarks of a near riot was most unbecoming of
the normal life style of Jesus. Also, if this were a pique of temper, could not
someone accuse Jesus of being guilty of a sin which all of us dislike very much?
Then, of course, there is the additional problem of finding
this story in the beginning of the Fourth Gospel, whereas the other evangelists
place it in Holy Week at the beginning of his passion. Could it be true that
Jesus cleansed the Temple twice? Is John right and the others wrong? Or is it
the other way around? Or could there be another reason why John places the story
where he does? There is good reason to think that it is the latter. The story of
Jesus cleansing the Temple helps us to understand several very important aspects
of the church and its worship.
The Context and the Importance of the Temple
The Shock of Challenging an Old System
The Body of the Church and the Sacramental Body
Our Worship in the Spirit of the Lord
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