John 12:13-25 What does it mean to be the Church of Jesus? Could that be the question raised by Jesus’ actions in the Temple? In this story, Jesus makes a rather bold claim on the Temple. This is his “father’s house,” and it’s been turned into a marketplace. The house of God, which Jesus was claiming for his father, was supposed to be the place where God could be encountered. The Temple in Jerusalem was a magnificent building, much like a grand medieval cathedral. Herod the Great had begun rebuilding the Temple put up after the end of the Exile. This replacement for Solomon’s Temple was small and uninspiring. It would never do in an age when grand temples were being built across the Roman Empire. Herod built palaces and fortresses, but he also needed a Temple that could be a showplace to not only impress his subjects, who resented him for being an outsider appointed by the Romans, but also the tourists who passed through the city. The Temple Jesus ...
Sermons of a Disciples Preacher Ministering in Troy, Michigan