CAC Living water

LIVING WATER🌊 DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

📆 Tuesday, July 31, 2018

CHRIST, THE NEW TEMPLE

READ:John 2:13-22
13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
MEMORISE: But He was speaking of the temple of His body (John 2:21).

EXPOSITION
For many Jews travelling long distances, the ability to purchase the required sacrificial animals in Jerusalem was a necessary convenience. Yet when Jesus entered temple in today’s passage, He was clearly not happy with the marketplace scene. One reason is the specific location of the market stalls–in the temple courts (v. 14; NIV), that is, in the outer court of the Gentiles.

Gentiles were not allowed to proceed beyond this area of the temple, and their worship would have been disrupted by the chaos of bargaining voices, bleating sheep, and lowing cattle. The merchants had indeed made My Father’s house a house of merchandise! (v. 16). In a parallel account, Jesus specifically identifies His concern for the Gentiles: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17; cf. Isa. 56:7). Jesus’ actions in the temple demonstrate a judgement promised earlier by God in Malachi. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple… For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap (Mal. 3:1,2).

This is more than just saying that the worship practices had gone wrong. Jesus’ words and actions hint at the coming end of the animal sacrificial system. When the religious authorities demanded a sign from Jesus, He responded that He could restore a destroyed temple in three days (Jn. 2:19). His audience misunderstood His words to refer to the physical temple, not realising that He was the full embodiment of the temple (v. 21). He was the presence of God in their midst. Only after the resurrection did the disciples understand.

John 2 is a continuation of the theme of John 1:14. With the coming of Jesus, God now tabernacles with humanity, and Jesus Himself is the new temple.

In Jesus, worship of God is open to all. What friends, co-workers, neighbours, or family members, need is an invitation to come into relationship with the God who dwells with us? Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, then, look for opportunities today, to share the gospel. Pray that hearts would be open to receive Christ.

PRAYER POINTS
1.  Lord, help me to see things the way You see them, not the way others see them.
2.  Lord, help me not defile or desecrate Your temple (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19).
3.  Lord, purge our churches of all the unrepentant spiritual merchants and marauders that are ravaging and defiling them.

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Job 24 - 27 & 1 Peter 4