The Lord vs The Temple

A few thoughts regarding the temple and the Lord Jesus.

The temple was something for God on earth, and how true that was of the Lord Jesus Christ! He truly was something for God down here on earth, he was God manifest in the flesh, and he daily brought pleasure and delight to his father God as he walked down here. He walked and worked always in the current of God's will and exclusively for his glory. Unfortunately, in the Lord's day the same could not be said of the temple.

Let's look at a few verses together...

The Lord Jesus Presented in the Temple as a Baby (Luke 2)
The first time we read of the Lord Jesus in the temple we read of the encounter with Simeon, that ageing righteous and devout man; “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

What tremendous words! Of course these could only be said of the Saviour, for only he was the light of the world, and the Saviour of sinners.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2)
We remember that as a boy of 12 when discovered by his parents in the temple he could say; "Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?"

Truly the Saviour was ever driven by the work that he had been sent to do, and that single purpose drove his every word, thought and deed.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple (John 2)
"And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”"

His disciples recorded the zeal he had for the things of his father God. Sadly a place for God had become a place for men. The things of God were now secondary to the convenience and greed of men. The temple had become corrupted and defiled, and needed such a cleansing.

How lovely to remember that our Lord Jesus could never be corrupted or defiled! There was never anything that needed to be removed, or purged out, for he was "all fair without, all pure within!"

"Thy stainless life, Thy lovely walk,
In every aspect true,
From the defilement all around,
No taint of evil drew."

The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8)
We go from the Sinless One to a sinful woman, what a contrast! Here the Lord Jesus in the temple courts was presented with one who was a sinner of some repute, there could be no doubt of that, as she was caught in the very act. Here the Saviour taught those hard-hearted and hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees, that sin could be dealt with righteously AND forgiven! He taught them that grace and compassion were just as important as truth and righteousness, and he had come to provide that more excellent way, a way for sinners to be saved. Remember he could say “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

His words are lovely; "And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”"

The Widow's Mites (Mark 12)
"Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”"

This woman was noted by the Lord, and he took the time to call his disciple to him and use her as an example to show the value of true giving, as God sees it. She had cast in all that she had, and the Saviour noted it, how lovely! I thought of another at the temple that day who 'gave all', of course our Lord Jesus Christ. The Saviour spoke of the abundance of men that day, compare this to the Saviour himself, the most abundant one! The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof... all things were made by him and for him... he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor. He humbled himself in coming down from the realms of glory into this sinful world. And he knew physical poverty whilst he was here too.

In going to Calvary however, he truly gave all - he gave himself! He 'offered himself without spot to God'... the use of sacrificial language there in Hebrews not without significance, as we think about the temple as being a place of sacrifices and offerings.

We praise God for the Lord Jesus Christ! Well might he have said in Matthew 12 "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple."

Amen!