Deacon Scott on Nostr: He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep ...
He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” John 2:15–16
The Jewish Temple, at the time of Jesus’ public ministry, was the place people traveled to each year for Passover to offer the sacrifice of a spotless lamb in commemoration of the first Passover in Egypt when God set the Jews free from slavery. During this annual celebration, Jewish families who traveled to Jerusalem would purchase a lamb for sacrifice. At the appointed time, they slaughtered the animal in the courtyard of the Temple and then presented it to the priest who gathered some of the blood and sprinkled it on the altar, and then removed the skin, organs and fat to be burned in sacrifice. The meat was returned to the family and roasted on a pomegranate branch so that they could feast on it as they recalled the saving action God granted their ancestors in Egypt.
Today, we see the Jewish Temple as a symbol and prefiguration of Christ, the New Temple Who is also the priest and the Lamb of Sacrifice. Recall, also, that at Jesus’ death, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, opening it up to the whole world so that all may share in the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We are now invited into this Holy of Holies to share in the new life of grace accomplished by His Sacrifice. Since the grace of this Sacrifice of our Lord enters into each and every heart that believes, to cleanse and purify, then every person receiving this grace becomes a new dwelling place of God, a member of His new Temple, the Body of Christ.
When Jesus came to the Passover feast and witnessed the buying and selling of these animals in the Temple, He drove them out with much zeal. It was clear that this holy celebration of the Passover had become less of a celebration of faith and more of a marketplace for profit. (1/2)
The Jewish Temple, at the time of Jesus’ public ministry, was the place people traveled to each year for Passover to offer the sacrifice of a spotless lamb in commemoration of the first Passover in Egypt when God set the Jews free from slavery. During this annual celebration, Jewish families who traveled to Jerusalem would purchase a lamb for sacrifice. At the appointed time, they slaughtered the animal in the courtyard of the Temple and then presented it to the priest who gathered some of the blood and sprinkled it on the altar, and then removed the skin, organs and fat to be burned in sacrifice. The meat was returned to the family and roasted on a pomegranate branch so that they could feast on it as they recalled the saving action God granted their ancestors in Egypt.
Today, we see the Jewish Temple as a symbol and prefiguration of Christ, the New Temple Who is also the priest and the Lamb of Sacrifice. Recall, also, that at Jesus’ death, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, opening it up to the whole world so that all may share in the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God. We are now invited into this Holy of Holies to share in the new life of grace accomplished by His Sacrifice. Since the grace of this Sacrifice of our Lord enters into each and every heart that believes, to cleanse and purify, then every person receiving this grace becomes a new dwelling place of God, a member of His new Temple, the Body of Christ.
When Jesus came to the Passover feast and witnessed the buying and selling of these animals in the Temple, He drove them out with much zeal. It was clear that this holy celebration of the Passover had become less of a celebration of faith and more of a marketplace for profit. (1/2)