Tag Archives: temple

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – YOU CAN’T BEND THE RULES

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YOU CAN’T BEND THE RULES

“For the third test the devil took Him to Jerusalem and put Him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that “He has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone”?’

“‘Yes,’ said Jesus, ‘and it’s also written, “Don’t you dare tempt the Lord you God.”‘

“That completed the testing. The devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.” Luke 4:9-13.

How stupid could he be? One thing the devil did not realise – he was not showing Jesus up. He was showing himself up! Did he really think that Jesus would fall for this one? After all, who made the rules?

But there is something more subtle in this test than trying to defy gravity. The devil was questioning the very foundation of Jesus’ authority. What God says is a manifestation of who God is. When He speaks, He places Himself under the authority of His own Word because He and His Word are one.

Before Jesus ever stepped out into public ministry, He had to settle this one. He was the “Word made flesh”; the living, breathing, acting embodiment of what God had spoken. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He also made the universe.” Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV).

Since it was through Jesus that God spoke the universe into existence, and all the laws by which the universe is held together and functions as a unit, Jesus was in perfect oneness with His own word. Did the devil really think that God would overturn His own word to save a foolish man from trying to defy gravity?

But there is something even deeper than that. By manipulating God’s word for His own ends, would He be trying to impress the many people present in the Temple at that moment that He was their Messiah? Was that the way to earn their allegiance? Jesus knew better than that!

It would not be His death by suicide but His death by sacrifice that would bring about God’s purpose to rescue the world from the clutches of the devil and restore them to their rightful place as sons and daughters in His family.

It was God’s way to work through the normal processes of life, including hatred and rejection, to bring about the salvation of the human race, and not through some death-defying act of stupidity at the instigation of a known liar! What guarantee could the devil give that God would overturn gravity for Jesus?

The question was: Would Jesus manipulate His Father by holding Him to His Word, especially applied out of context, or would He place Himself under that Word, no matter what the outcome for Him?

We already know the answer to that one. “…He was heard because of His reverent submission.” Hebrews 5:7 (NIV); “‘Abba, Father,’ He said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'” Mark 14:36 (NIV).

The result of the testing was a resounding victory for Jesus and a tail-between-the-legs thrashing for the devil! Jesus was now a tried-and-tested Son, ready to take up His mammoth task because His modus operandi had been established. It was quite simple, really – exactly what was expected of Him – submission and obedience – do what the Father says!

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – ZACHARIAH HAS HIS DAY

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ZACHARIAH HAS HIS DAY

“It so happened that, as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense…Unannounced an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralysed in fear….” Luke 1:8,9,11,12.

It seems to have been quite an event for Zachariah. It was his turn to enter the Holy Place and burn incense on the golden altar that stood in front of the great thick curtain that veiled the glory of God’s presence in the Most Holy Place. He must have gone over this sacred event in his mind time and again. He wanted to be sure that he did everything just right. He would be frighteningly close to the Shekinah, separated only by the curtain from seeing the symbol of God’s presence.

Finally the day came and Zachariah made careful preparation for his once-in-a-lifetime duty. Worshippers gathered outside the temple to pray and, as he mounted the temple steps and entered the sanctuary through the great door between the pillars Jabin and Boaz, he could hear them chanting the set prayers of the day as the faithful did every day at the time of the burning of incense. As the fragrant smoke on the golden altar curled upwards inside the Holy Place, so the prayers of the people rose in unison, to the throne of God.

Zachariah must have felt the thrill of that holy moment. He was part of a long tradition that stretched over more than a thousand years, interrupted only when the people’s rebellion had caused them to be driven from their land, and their temple razed to the ground by marauding enemy armies. The great and beautiful temple, originally build by Solomon, son of Israel’s greatest king, and destroyed by the Babylonians, had been rebuilt by the exiles returning from captivity in Babylon and restored by King Herod the Great in more recent years. It was the pride of Israel as it kept its silent watch over the city of Jerusalem

Zachariah was enclosed at that moment by the thick walls of the temple in the awesome quietness of the Holy Place, in the gloom of that windowless room lit only by the golden menorah, the lamp that symbolised the fervently-anticipated Messiah who would be sent by God in the anointing of the seven-fold Spirit of God.

Zachariah, too, held that fervent hope of Messiah in his heart but he had no idea that God had chosen him and his barren wife Elizabeth, to be players in the greatest drama of history to begin in his own lifetime. The very pain of seemingly unanswered prayer would be a part of God’s story. In their old age and childless marriage, God would step in to carry out His greater purposes in the bigger picture that Zachariah in his feeble humanness could not see.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. Zachariah was suddenly not alone, as the gloom of the Holy Place was lit up by the glory of an unearthly being and the quietness broken by the sound of an unearthly voice. Zachariah was overcome with terror. This was not supposed to be part of the deal! But he was about to be told about the greatest event in his life and the melting of his forgotten hopes into God’s greatest plan for His people and for the world.  3

THE BOOK OF ACTS – LIES UNRAVELED

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LIES UNRAVELED

“The governor motioned to Paul that it was now his turn. Paul said, ‘I count myself fortunate to be defending myself before you, Governor, knowing how fair-minded you’ve been in judging us all these years. I’ve been back in the country only twelve days — you can check out these dates easily enough. I came with the express purpose of worshipping in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and I’ve been minding my own business the whole time. Nobody can say they saw me arguing in the Temple or working up a crowd in the streets. Not one of their charges can be backed up with evidences or witnesses.'” Acts 24:10-13 (The Message).

Now, Paul, it’s your turn to pit your brilliant legal mind against Tertullius and his clients.

It was Paul’s turn to speak, to make his defense against the pathetic accusations brought by Tertullius on behalf of the Jews who were trying to use emotional hype to make their case stick. The problem was that, for Felix, it was a toss-up between administering justice for Paul or currying favour with the Jews. That depended on the governor’s character and integrity. Was this about justice or about winning a popularity contest with the influential and volatile Jewish leaders?

Paul appealed to the governor’s past performance of good governance, whether it was true or not, in the hopes that Felix would want to uphold his good name.  His defense was not based on emotion but on fact and truth.

Paul dismissed the charges of being a rabble-rouser with the contempt it deserved. He wasted no time in defending himself on that point, appealing to Felix to call the witnesses and check the evidence.

“‘But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshipped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures. And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that’s my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am.'” Acts 24:14-15 (The Message).

Paul knew what the real issue was, just as Jesus did decades before. It was about the Messiah the Jewish leaders had rejected. This was not about his criminal activity. This was about their position of power over the people, and the wealth they garnered from their offerings.  If Jesus was truly the Messiah, whom the people of the Way believed and followed, then the Jewish hierarchy would have to admit that they were wrong and that they had crucified their Messiah. They would have to eat humble pie, give up their position and follow Him.

Paul skillfully put them in a really bad light.  The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, theoretically, but they rejected the resurrection of Jesus. If they were to be true to what they believed, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus was their Messiah. Paul had them cornered because he placed himself squarely on their side. If he were guilty of believing in the resurrection, so were they. He had gone all the way and embraced the resurrection as fact and proof of Jesus’ Messiah ship. They had not.

Paul had dug in the knife. In the next few sentences he would slash open the hearts of these hypocrites and their slimy, useless lawyer who did no more than mouth the feeble accusations of his clients. This had nothing to do with Paul’s behaviour and everything to do with their unbelieving and greedy hearts.

This is a clear lesson for all who claim to be followers of the Messiah Jesus. There is no room in His body for people who follow Him for what they can get out of it for themselves. Jesus is about truth. He is Messiah and Lord, appointed by the Father to be the king over all things. Those who would follow Him may only do so if they abandon themselves to Him as Lord.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?

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WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?

“Soon the whole city was in an uproar, people running from everywhere to the Temple to get in on the action. They grabbed Paul, dragged him outside, and locked the Temple gates so he couldn’t get back in and gain sanctuary.

“As they were trying to kill him, word came to the captain of the guard, ‘A riot! The whole city’s boiling over.’ He acted swiftly. His soldiers and centurions ran to the scene at once. As soon as the mob saw the captain and his soldiers, they quit beating Paul.” Acts 21:30-32 (The Message).

‘So where was God in all this?’ This is the first question we are likely to ask.

If Paul was God’s servant, carrying out all His instructions faithfully, why didn’t He protect him from this kind of trouble? Why did He allow Paul to go through all this, just to get him to Rome? Couldn’t he have just hopped on a ship and sailed there in peace?

Questions like these open up the age-old issue of suffering — why does God allow suffering? We all experience our own version of this universal problem, and there are probably as many solutions as there are experiences, but do they really give answers that satisfy?

The problem for believers is that the Bible itself does not give us an answer. It may address some peripheral issues like, for example, that we live in a fallen world; that Satan is the god of this world; that his intention is to kill, steal and destroy; that God has given human beings the freedom to choose and that people do bad things to each other and God does not interfere because we are not puppets.

But these do still do not answer the central issue: why does God allow these things to happen? Paul experienced God’s protection again and again during his travels in Europe and Asia Minor. When people rioted against him and tried to kill him, he escaped. God caused an earthquake to set him free from prison in Philippi. He raised him from the dead when he was stoned at Lystra. He survived hardships of many kinds, but now he was under arrest and in the hands of Roman soldiers. What next?

Apart from Jesus, Job probably suffered more than anyone whose story is recorded in Scripture. He went from being a fabulously wealthy man with a big family, a name and prestige in his community to a pathetic pauper sitting on an ash heap, ill and in pain, and not even a wife to comfort him because she had turned against him as well. It is quite natural that he would ask why.

His so-called friends didn’t help him either. They insisted that God had done this to him because he had secretly sinned, an accusation which Job vehemently denied. In all his ranting and railing, God said nothing. He allowed Job to get it all off his chest until he had nothing more to say. When He did finally answer him, God was angry. He didn’t speak gently to him; He came at him out of a storm!

What He had to say had nothing to do with Job’s demand to know why. He overwhelmed Job with the majesty of His power over nature. “‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.'” Job 38:4 (NIV). On and on He went until Job was struck dumb. What was the point of all this?

There is a sense in which God was telling Job that he was too puny to understand His ways. There is no answer to the question ‘Why?’ that we humans can grasp because God is painting His picture on a canvas as big as the universe itself. How can we possibly stand back far enough to see the whole scope of what He is doing?

The real issue is not ‘why are you doing this?’ but ‘what must I do in this situation?’ I can either become embittered, turn my back on God and never experience the grace He promised that sets me free from my emotional pain or I can trust Him because I know that He is a loving Father who is painting me into His big picture and will never do anything to harm or destroy me. It’s really my choice!

Permanent Impermanence!

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PERMANENT IMPERMANENCE!

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’ ‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ Jesus replied, ’Not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’ (Mark 13: 1-2).

Massive stones! Magnificent buildings! What a sense of security the temple gave to Jesus’s disciples! Such huge stones and such a beautiful structure which could be seen from miles around as it sat majestically on Mount Zion – the highest point in Jerusalem! How could anything bad happen to them as long as it was there? It was the symbol of God’s presence in the midst of His people – so secure and so permanent. It was strong and indestructible. As long as the temple stood, the people felt safe, although the Romans were everywhere.

This is how the Israelites felt in Jeremiah’s day. They depended on the presence of God in the temple to reassure them that all was well and that they were safe from their enemies in spite of their wicked ways. Jeremiah warned them not to depend on the temple for their security. It was not a building that guaranteed their invincibility but their faith in God and obedience to His instructions that promised His protection.

The Babylonians were coming, warned the prophet, and there were not to pin their hopes in the temple. These false hopes would be their downfall because the temple, big and strong as it was, would come crashing down like a pack of cards if God was against them.

Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever (Jer. 7: 4-7).

Jesus assured His disciples that this great building which they looked at with such awe, was soon to be a pile of rubble, sacked and destroyed just as Solomon’s magnificent temple had fallen to the Babylonians. Why would God’s judgment fall on Jerusalem again? The people no longer blatantly worshipped idols as they had in Jeremiah’s day, but their hearts were just as wicked and disobedient as they were when he spoke out the warning which no one took seriously until the day the Babylonians arrived.

They disciples must have looked at their rabbi in amazement. “But why, Jesus?” they would ask. “Why would God allow this to happen to us? What have we done to deserve this?” Jesus response lay in His bitter tears and heartfelt grief when He wept over the city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say. ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ (Luke 13: 34-35).

Wonderful words – treacherous hearts! Jesus grieved over His people for their lost potential. They stood on the brink of the greatest season of their lives. Messiah, for whom they had longed and waited, was among them. It was their moment. Had they recognised and embraces Him, they could have entered into the most glorious time of their history – deliverance, not from Rome but from the inner slavery to sin that was destroying their lives.

 

They could have become heralds of the kingdom of God, announcing and being witnesses to the establishment of God’s rule again in the hearts of men. They could have experienced a freedom from slavery far worse than slavery to Egypt or Rome. But they turned it down because they were offended by their Messiah. He represented a God who was too “nice”. They preferred their “God” who made unreasonable demands on them and punished them when they failed.

How like them we are. We run from a God who has done everything for us, who had sacrificed His Son for us so that we can have life, and given us everything we need to live His life in the midst of a broken world. But we reject His offer and make religions of our own which demand and take and leave us empty, disillusioned and dead.

Ever the message of Jesus has been pulled out of shape and heaped with unnecessary and irrelevant garbage until Jesus disappears under the rubble. What has become of His simple invitation, “Follow me,” and His promise, “I will take you to the Father”? What more do we need? What more do we want?

It is not the “temple” that will save us or give us security but our trust in the Master and our simple obedience to His call.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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