John 2: 12-22.
Again, John is consistently faithful in chronology, geography, and purpose. He aims to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God, our Savior. After the miracle of turning water to wine, the focus is on the story of Jesus clearing the temple. Now, why in the world would this story be so significant? It's probably obvious to most decent citizens that it is wrong to be misusing the church for profit, taking advantage of poor people, and promoting a corrupt image of the house of God. As with most other stories, I believe there is much, much more being shown here. The Spirit is taking John deeper behind the scenes, and He is inviting us to join the journey.
The time is Passover, April 14, A.D. 27. It is an annual requirement for the Jews to participate in the Passover traditions in Jerusalem. The original Passover was instigated by God, Himself, requiring His people to place the blood of sacrificed animals on their household door thresholds. When the Angel of the Lord came in the night to kill the firstborn of Egypt, it "passed over" those houses covered by the sacrificial blood. Thus, it is not much of a stretch for us to understand that Passover, for the believer, is a picture of God's saving mercy and grace, where His Son, Jesus' blood was the propitiation for our sins that deserved wrath.
Now, friends, it is time for us to realize this moment of truth before us. It is time for us to realize that our bodies are temples and, we, humans, are the church. "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" (I Cor. 3:16). "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (Jn. 14:23). In consideration as this is a part of His great, amazing love for us, we should allow Jesus to enter our temple and drive out any corrupt or unclean habit or activity. His love accompanies His awesome power, authority, and wrath.
I must interject an old peeve of mine. I hear it in so many songs and teachings to "lay it all down at the cross and empty myself of all that is bad, etc." I agree, that is a great part of our response to discovering God's love and grace, but please be careful here. If we empty ourselves and do not fill ourselves up with His Word and Spirit (Him, basically), we are in grave danger of being shipwrecked. "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first." (Luke 11:24-26).
You see, most commentaries agree that Jesus cleared out the temple twice. John made a point in his gospel to be complementary and written in retrospect, often including events the other gospel writers either excluded or missed. So John is the only writer to put the clearing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The other writers put the story at the end of His ministry. The words and details of the two different accounts prove the validity of their independence in scripture. So, what happened in between the two clearings of the temple? The temple obviously didn't fill itself up with God and found itself backslidden into the same old corrupt institution as before, a perversion of God's intentions. This is why it is so important we disciple all believers, new and old, but especially new ones. We are so quick to evangelize and hurry a new convert through the "sinner's prayer", slap them on the back, and move on. Who is left to disciple, counsel, encourage, and teach them? They must be continually filled with God after being rid of their old, sinful nature. They are prime targets for the devil and his demons to attack. Remember the parable of the seeds falling on different soils? Souls are at stake here.
And we also must take this to heart, right here in the present. The relevant application today includes us allowing the Holy Spirit to shine His holy light into our temples, illuminating every dark corner. What is holding you back from being an effective believer today? What are you harboring that holds God back from His rightly place on the throne of your heart? Will you let Him roll through your temple like a roaring lion, driven only by His wild love for you, and cleanse you of those very things?
This sets the stage for the need of the brotherhood to participate in accountability relationships. Old school accountability just focused on the bad things we do. Newer thoughts include more of an advocacy relationship, where brothers and sisters challenge and encourage each other to pursue and fill themselves up with God, attempting to bring life and light into their lives. I encourage all disciples to seek out personal advocates to partner with in this God-following journey. I challenge them to be bold, even in work relationships, wisely and courageously working through awkward boss-subordinate roles to allow it to sharpen and maximize their lives in all areas. It's worth it. We've only got one shot at this. This is our time to let God reign in our lives. He didn't develop and mature us into our roles today to be left alone, with no one to come alongside to help and sharpen. These relationships just may be your missing link to breaking through and finally seeing the power of God integrated into every aspect of your life. Topics of discussion could include: real time with God, reading and praying, family, work, fitness, spiritual gifts, purpose, holiness. "I dare you to move..." (Switchfoot).
