Scripture Reflections

On Sunday, we read John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple. Jesus’ motivation (at least part of it) is evident is his statement in verse 16: “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” There is no indication in John that Jesus is bothered by unjust practices; it is merely the presence of trade at all in the temple that bothers him. He is saying, “These things should be outside! They are transforming the purpose of my Father’s house!”
 
His words might have been perplexing, though, to the Jews in Jerusalem These vendors weren’t actually in the temple—they were in the Court of the Gentiles, which is outside the temple itself. (There was a wall, separating the Court of the Gentiles from the gates leading into the sanctuary.) In other words, for the Jews, the vendors did not affect the purpose of the temple. It would be like having a coffee vendor on the lawn in front of the church—what’s the big deal? It isn’t in the sanctuary!
 
But imagine a setting where certain people—the Gentiles—weren’t allowed to go inside. If they wanted to worship God, the closest they could get was the lawn, and having people hawking pigeons and arguing over exchange rates definitely prevented them from praying.  Jesus is outraged by the callousness of the temple leadership towards these “second class” worshipers.
 
Throughout John, Jesus is concerned with drawing all people to himself—not just the Jews. In his own words, salvation is “from the Jews” (4:22b), but God is seeking anyone who will worship him “in spirit and truth.” (4:23) As Jesus said later of the Gentiles, “I have sheep not of this fold; I must bring them also,” (10:16) and “When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself.” (12:32) He was intent on bringing all of humanity to the Father through the temple of his own body, and yet the priests were preventing the Gentiles from even praying in the courtyard in front of the temple building. This is what outraged Jesus—they were hindering others who were seeking to approach God.
 
This raises a challenge to us: Are we callous to the ways we make it hard for those not yet in the covenant to see God? Do place unnecessary barriers in front of people who do not know God? Does our lack of love prevent others from entering the presence of God? Our posture towards those outside the faith should make them want to come in, and not be a hindrance to them doing so.
 
A Prayer for Lent
Jesus Christ, true dwelling place of God with man, with your whip of fierce love drive out from us those ways we hinder others from coming into your presence.
 
Steven+