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Lent 3, Year B, 3-11-12 Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm 19 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 God is Building a Temple There is a memorable passage in C.S. Lewis’ ‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader.’ Lucy and Edmund are engaged in their adventures when they come to a large grassy expanse. The green of the grass spreads off into the blue horizon except for a white spot in the middle of the green expanse. As Edmund and Lucy look at this spot intently, they have difficulty making out what it is. Being adventurous, they travel across the grass until finally the white spot comes into view. It is a lamb! The lamb, white and pure, is cooking a fish breakfast. The lamb gives Lucy and Edmund the most delicious breakfast they have ever had. Then ensues a wonderland conversation as they talk about how to get to the land of Aslan – Heaven. As the lamb begins to explain the way, a marvelous thing happens. The lamb’s snowy white flushed into a tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane. Lewis was illustrating a great truth of our faith – the Lamb is the Lion. In Biblical terms, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Qualities we consider to be lamb – like, gentleness and meekness, are indeed in Christ, but so are the regalness and ferocity of a lion. In the book of Revelation we see the Lion of Judah and the Lamb contrasted with one another. The Lion who reigns is the Lamb who was slain. This morning we are told in the Gospel of John that Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover. As he was approaching Jerusalem the roads became very congested. When he entered the city the congestion became even worse, with sellers of trinkets and souvenirs on all sides. Then Jesus entered the temple courts, “In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. From Jesus’ point of view, what he saw in the temple was an outrage! The money changers claimed their business was a necessity – changing foreign currency into Jewish currency because foreign money was not acceptable for offering in the temple. Authorities tell us that the money changers charged as much as two hours of a working man’s wage to change a half shekel. So a man would end up paying an entire days wage just to change his money! This brought a lot of money into the temple. Furthermore, the sellers and inspectors in the temple sold all the sacrifices. The inspectors had a good thing going. If they did not approve an animal, it would not be approved. Extortion was common. So when our Lord came to the temple, he found a religious circus! As his eyes scanned the great Court of the Gentiles, he saw sheep, oxen, fowl, and everything else that goes with them. There was huckstering, bartering, and haggling over the weight of a coin. The commotion going on was certainly unacceptable to our Lord! The following verse gives a glimpse of the drama which occurred. Jesus reached down, picked up some chords, and quickly knotted them together. Then he began to cleanse the temple. Tables crashed and money jangled across the floor as our Lord drove the money changers, the sellers, and the inspectors out of the temple. Jesus’ words wee, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market” (v. 16). The Lamb was the Lion! Jesus was displaying a great underlying truth: Love for the downtrodden, the poor, and the oppressed also brings about a hatred for the conditions that caused their suffering. Jesus’ detractors came to him and said, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body” (vv. 18-21). Jesus was speaking of the destruction of the temple which would take place in forty years. He was also speaking of what would take the place of the temple. He was speaking of his resurrection body. He would be the temple of God. The temple where the Jews worshiped had become corrupt. That temple no longer fulfilled its purpose of proclaiming the Word of God and the gift of God’s salvation. Jesus was now going to build a temple which would be born out of his resurrection. In the book of Ephesians we read: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph. 2:1922). The new temple would not be a structure of brick and mortar. The new temple would be made up of Jews and Gentiles. Up to this point Gentiles were excluded from the temple by a wall and signs threatening death. Both Gentiles and Jews would be members of God’s household. It would be built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The prophets of the Old Testament spoke of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The apostles were specifically commissioned by Jesus to preach the good news of salvation. Jesus himself is the cornerstone. The cornerstone determines the architectural unity and symmetry of a building. Jesus is the ‘tested stone’ that sets the symmetry of the Church. The shape and stability of God’s new temple is determined by Jesus Christ. In Jesus the whole building is joined together and becomes a holy temple in the Lord. The whole structure becomes a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit. The important issue here is this – the Church which is founded upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not made of brick and mortar. It is made up of God’s people. If for some reason this building of St. Luke’s was destroyed it would not stop St. Luke’s ministry. We would simple meet in a different location. What is important is what God is looking for in his Church. He wants a Church that will honor and glorify Jesus Christ. He wants a Church that will hunger for and feed upon God’s Word. He wants a Church that will humbly love him and serve him in the world. God wants a Church that honors Jesus as the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world and recognizes Jesus as the Lion of Judah who has conquered evil and reigns victorious for all eternity.