Restoring Holiness

Bottom Line

Reading through the gospels we see that there have been two times when Jesus needed clear out the temple. Both of these instances reveal just how much God cares for us to live holy lives since our bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. They also reveal the great passion He pursues this purpose for our lives. When we encounter these times we have two options before us. We can either quench the Holy Spirit which parallels the elders who plotted to kill Jesus or we can be humble and accept the chastisement which lets us be transformed into restored holiness. For he cleansed the temple for the purpose of restoring the holiness which was meant to exist in it.

Today’s Scripture References; Matthew 21:13-22, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:44-48, John 2:1-22, Psalm 69:9, 1st Corinthians 6:19-20, and Exodus 12:21-28.

The Full Thought

Last week is known also as Holy Week which starts on Palm Sunday and concludes with Resurrection Sunday. In church, we read the account from Matthew about Jesus riding in on a donkey on Palm Sunday. When I got home I decided to continue reading the next few chapters and saw that Jesus also cleared out the temple that week. I felt a prompting from the spirit to research the other accounts and found something interesting.

In all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there are only two events that were recorded by all of them. The multiplication of loaves and fish to feed the five thousand and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I bring this up because Jesus cleansing the temple has been recorded in all of the gospels but there is one key difference between John’s gospel and the others. The one that John records and gives an account of takes place at the beginning of His earthly ministry right after he turns water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. The one recorded by the other three takes place at the end of His earthly ministry after riding into town on a donkey.

Pairing these accounts up shows us how important it is to God that we maintain reverence towards Him. Restoring the holiness of the temple after turning water into wine has a vast amount of significance. I’m trying to keep things short but I don’t think that’s ever possible with Thoughtful Thursdays but I do my best. The water was turned into wine after it was poured into stone jars used for ceremonial cleansing. A wine that was called by the master of the banquet to be the best wine reference to the best once compared to all of the other wines which had been brought out earlier during the feast. Saying that the best has been saved for last.

Jesus is the final sacrifice for sin because He is perfect or in other words the best. At the last supper, he says that the cup is the blood of the new covenant. One which shall be sealed by His own blood. Blood that brings transformation to our souls making us holy again in the sight of God. And just as the wine is a symbolic foreshadowing of the coming changes so too is Jesus clearing out the temple. The way he cleared out the temple was with zeal fulfilling the words in Psalms 69:9 “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Looking up zeal in Webster’s Dictionary it is defined as an ardent pursuit and synonyms include passion, fervor, and enthusiasm. All of these words mean strong emotions that compel action to be taken. Jesus cleaned out the temple not as some boring chore but as something He had to do. Doing it with dedication and purpose to his actions. Probably comparable to a warrior who charges headfirst into the fray with brandished weapons and a war cry.

All of the Jews who witnessed this event were shocked and the leaders asked him for a sign to prove his authority to do this. He responded by saying destroy this temple and I shall build it back in three days. Referring of course to His own body which ties us nicely into what Paul told the church in Corinth.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples 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 bodies.”

1st Corinthians 6:19-20

With all of this established why should we be surprised when He comes at us about things in our own lives just as passionately? If our body is the new temple then what we do with it is important to God. 

That is why I find it fascinating that Jesus’ first miracle is to foreshadow the transformation that is to occur in our spirit. A final sacrifice that is the best and last one to be made. Then through action, He demonstrates the purpose it is being made for and how ardently it will be pursued. Not with anything done halfway or half-heartedly but with an unending passion until it is completed to fulfillment. That is why Jesus cleared out the temple yet again when He came the second time the time right before He was to be crucified and then cry out “It is finished.” But his disciples only understood this after He was resurrected.

When we look at both instances there is one thing that is the same. The time at which it occurred. During the Jewish feast of Passover which is a remembrance of the plagues put on Egypt before they were made free. The final plague can be found recorded in Exodus chapter 12 and it was the death of the firstborn of all Egypt. The only ones who were protected were the Israelites who had marked their door with the blood of a slaughtered lamb. A signal that would tell the angel of death to pass over the house and not to touch them.

Comparing the two instances of clearing out the temple we find that the second time he does this he also rebukes the people who were involved. Calling them a den of robbers when the temple is meant to be a house of prayer. This makes the leaders angry since He was calling them out publicly on their wrongdoing.

The purpose of the temple was to be a reminder and serve as an image of sorts to all humanity of the splendor that God has in heaven. But bringing in all of the animal sellers and money changers was negating that element. Effectively turning the temple courts into an extension of the common marketplace. Jesus was rebuking them not for conducting business but for letting it enter the temple courts and rob the honor and glory due to God. It was letting the unclean spoil that which is meant to stay clean.

The reaction of the elders was to plot the death of Jesus. We do the same thing when we quench the Holy Spirit. Or ignoring Him to where He quits bringing these things up in our spirits. To quench something comes from blacksmithing. When you quench the metal it cools down making it so that it no longer burns us if we touch it. Like how it sometimes feels when we are convicted by Him for our sins and wrongdoings. 

This is done for the pure reason of bringing us back into holiness. A humble person will repent and seek to do better asking God to receive the promised strength to continue a righteous life. But the prideful one will not do this.

We have to make a choice between those two paths in life. The path of quenching the Holy Spirit which is effectively the same as plotting to kill him. Or we can choose to remain humble which causes the transformation process into holy beings to occur. Making us become holy as He is holy.

Until next time, courage and Godspeed.