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Christ Confronts Corruption in the Temple
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up.”
Psalm 69:9
. Soon the courts of the temple were free from
unholy commerce. Deep silence and solemnity settled on the scene
of confusion. The presence of the Lord had made sacred the temple
constructed in His honor.
In cleansing the temple, Jesus announced His mission as the
Messiah and began His work. The temple was designed to be an
object lesson for Israel and for the world. God intended that every
created being should be a temple for the Creator to live in. Darkened
and defiled by sin, human hearts no longer revealed the glory of the
Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, God dwells
in humanity, and through saving grace the heart becomes His temple
again.
God planned that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual
witness to the high destiny open to every person. But the Jews did
not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The
courts of the temple, filled with unholy trade, represented all too
accurately the temple of the heart, defiled by sensual passion and
unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple, Jesus announced His
mission to cleanse the heart from sin—the earthly desires, selfish
lusts, and evil habits that corrupt the soul.
“The Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight. ...“But who can endure the day of His
coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire. ...
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver.”
Malachi 3:1-3
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God,
God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple
you are.”
1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
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