John 2:13-22
In our busy culture, one business that has done very well is
the cleaning profession. These
companies clean businesses, churches, hospitals, and homes. We have one in our area of Texas called
Molly maids, and my wife uses me.
In the last few weeks we as a society have observed mobs of people who
take over parks, I do not know what is in their hearts, but my observations are
that they need someone to come behind them and clean up their mess, or better
yet, they need to put their house in order. They need to be responsible for their personal hygiene, and
to the others camped around them to remove trash, and they have a
responsibility to the owners of the park and the many who work and shop in the
area to keep their protest from causing harm or being disruptive to many who do
or do not share their views. I’m
almost sure you are asking how does this tie into the action of Jesus cleansing
the Temple?
I do believe there is some symbolism between the two events,
though time and setting or vastly different. The people that took over the park were using it for
something the owners and designers never envisioned, and the same could be said
about the Temple. Those who sold
oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the moneychangers were not part of the design
and builder’s plans for the temple.
These people had an agenda and it was built around self, and if you get
no other message from the people in the park, it was all about them, all about
self.
If you are reading this paper, more than likely you are of
the Christian faith, and many of us missed the story, just like the Jews did at
the time Jesus made the whip of cords and drove out those businessmen with their
sheep and oxen and turned over the tables of the moneychangers. “And he
told those who sold the pigeons “Take
these things away, do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” (John
2:16) Do you believe these
businessmen were concerned that the outer court of the Temple smelled like a
cow lot, no more than those people in the park who revealed by their actions
they did not care about the park or the businesses around the park? But Jesus was telling a much bigger
story, and once more we Christians, like the Jews, missed the message; the Jews
wanted to know “What sign do you show us for doing
these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John
2:18-19) The Jews said, are you
out of your mind it took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will
raise it up in three days? “But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed
the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”
Is your body a temple?
The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 6:19&20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought
at a price. Therefore honor God
with your body.” This
body of ours, houses the real you; mind, will, and emotions, and Scripture
tells us it needs maid service, each and every day. Ephesians 4:22&23, give clear directions on what to put
off. “To
put off your old self, which
belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Shall we look at the
short list of what you and I need to put off: (1) Lack of Love - 1John 4:7, 8,
20, (2) Judging - Matthew 7:1,2, (3) Bitterness - Hebrews 12:15, (4)
Unforgiving spirit - Mark 11:26, (5) Selfishness - Philippians 2:21, (6) Pride
-Proverbs 16:5, (7) Boasting (Conceit) - 1Corinthians 4:7, (8) Ungratefulness - Romans1: 21, (9)
Disrespect for Authority - Acts 23:5, (10) Prayerlessness - Luke 8:1.
Folks, that is a very short list of what needs to be cleaned
up in our temple, but we also need to do some refurnishing and we find that in
Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
flesh, to gratify its desires.” Once
more, this is a very short list of what needs to be put on: (1) Love - John
15:1, (2) Let God search my heart - John 8:9; 15:22, (3) Tender hearted and
forgiving - Ephesians 4:32, (4) Forgiving spirit -Colossians 3:13, (5) Self
denial - John 12:24, (6) Humility - James 4:6, (7) Esteeming others -
Philippians 2:3, (8) Gratefulness - Ephesians 5:20, (9) Honor authority -
Hebrews 13:17, (10) Praying - Matthew 26:41.
When you invited Christ into your life, at that moment you
got all of God you will ever get, and your body is home to the Holy Spirit, is
it not time to ask Jesus to send in His cleaning service? But it will require you and me to listen
and obey, and to put off and put on what He has instructed us to do in His Hand
book on living life now.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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