John 2:13-17 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.… I. THE SIGN AND ITS APPLICABILITY. The temple a symbol of the temple of humanity, built of living stones. To cleanse this He entered on His ministry; and if He had a right to do the greater work, He had a right to do the lesser. II. THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY THE SIGN. 1. All men are created to form part of God's temple. The Divine idea of humanity is an organic whole — Christ the centre, the shrine; human hearts grouped round Him forming the courts. Contrast the ideal with the actual. Yet in the midst of chaos God is working out His purpose, and will not rest till the idea is realized. 2. Men have misused the courts as markets. Commerce is good, but its place is outside the heart, not inside. It defiles when it intrudes on the sanctuary. Yet how hard even in the most sacred seasons to exclude their profane associations. Business for most is more absorbing than God and His will. 3. Christ has power and authority to cleanse the courts. (1) With His scourge He may drive away the property which usurps His Father's place. (2) He may scatter the money-changers' money, and leave him at leisure to reflect with out it. (3) He may speak His orders to those who defile the sanctuary with lighter profanations through judgment and disease. 4. The time will come when the temple shall be purified. In the Revelation we see the design perfected. A city without a temple, because itself is a temple. There shall be gold there, and all the good things of the earth shall be sanctified to Divine uses. (C. A. Goodhart, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,WEB: The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
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