Get the Hell out of here!
Who is Jesus? Part 40—John 2:12-22
“Heaven is a place on Earth,” says the song, and before you accuse me of being old by picking a 40-year-old Belinda Carlisle song, Jada Facer has released a cover version this year. However, you’d still have been right, I am old.
13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
[A]17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
[B]18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”
[X]19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
[B’]20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
[A’]22 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.
John 2:12-22 ESVUK with layour alterations to show the structure
There is a structure to these three chapters. They are one big chiasmus. Chiasm, meaning crossing over, is a poetic form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. Where there is a central section, here marked X, that is usually the focus of the poem.
A. John 2:1-11 Miracle at Cana – Water into wine.
B. 2:12-22 Temple cleansed – new Temple of his body.
C. 2:23-3:13 We must be born from above.
X. 3:14-21 God so loved the world that He gave His Son.
C’. 3:22-4:3 Christ comes from above.
B’. 4:4-46 Temple to be replaced by a new place of worship.
A’. 4:46-54 Miracle at Cana – healing of a nobleman’s son.
The Jews during Jesus’ time would have agreed with Belinda and Jada that Heaven is a place on Earth, specifically the Temple in Jerusalem. Most of the laws about the Temple actually refer to the Tabernacle, a portable tent that housed it. The most sacred part of the Temple was the Holy of Holies, which was separated by a curtain and could only be entered by the High Priest once a year, after making a sacrifice for his own sins.
When Jesus cleared the Temple of merchants, he was acting as the High Priest. Calling it the cleansing of the Temple is a reminder of this High Priestly function. Who is Jesus? Jesus is our High Priest, the one who enters the presence of God to offer a sacrifice for sin.
Some view life as a straight path: you are born, experience good and bad, and after death, go to Heaven or Hell. This perspective is very individualistic; however, the Christian experience involves more than just you and God, even though that is significant. We are saved individually, but we live out our faith within a community of believers and among those who do not believe in God.
If you build your picture on the Jewish picture, my quick sketch above, you will see it is about kingdoms, one of Heaven and one of the Earth. Hell? That is a place on Earth which has been created because of mankind’s rebellion against God. Jesus came to get Hell out of here.
I have seen different styles of churches: some prioritise worship, whether through music, preaching, or sacraments; others focus on social action, building believers, or mission work. These are all important aspects of what Christians do.
The issue with the Temple was that it prioritised worship, including animal sacrifices, over its true purpose. The court of the Gentiles, meant for non-Jews to learn about God, had turned into a marketplace. God’s glory had left the Temple and now resides in Jesus, who embodies the fullness of God. The connection between Earth and Heaven had grown stronger as these two kingdoms began to merge. For this to happen, Hell must be eliminated from Earth. Jesus came to accomplish this, declaring that by destroying and rebuilding the Temple, which referred to his body, he would achieve his mission through his sacrifice and resurrection.
Does your church focus on its mission, worship, or something else? As a church musician, I see that worship supports the church’s mission, but it is not the mission itself.
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