Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
-- Matthew 24:1
This is one of those introductory statements in scripture that is so easily plowed through to get to the good stuff. But it is an interesting one considering all that is about to take place.
Ponder the sheer silliness of the situation (and then we'll get to some depth in a moment). Jesus and the group are leaving the Temple. In other words, they have spent time in the Temple area. As they go, one of them taps Jesus on the shoulder and says, "Hey, turn around. Look at how glorious the Temple is. Have you ever noticed that building? Or that one? How about the Court of the Gentiles? Pretty cool, huh? Jesus, have you ever stopped and thought how holy the Holy of Holies really is?
Jesus could have responded, "Well, yeah... we were just there. I saw it all." Or he could have taken it to a whole other level: "You are impressed with the Temple, huh? Every stone was set in place to honor me. I am the One seated on the Mercy Seat. And before this place was built, I was a fire by night and cloud by day. I was in the Tabernacle. The scary holiness of the Arc of the Covenant pointed to me. I burned in a bush, I walked in a garden. I created the earth, moon and stars with a word. I wove you together from dust."
But that is not what Jesus said. He was patient with men who didn't deserve patience. Thank God, he is gracious to we who deserve grace's opposite.
Ponder the sheer silliness of the situation (and then we'll get to some depth in a moment). Jesus and the group are leaving the Temple. In other words, they have spent time in the Temple area. As they go, one of them taps Jesus on the shoulder and says, "Hey, turn around. Look at how glorious the Temple is. Have you ever noticed that building? Or that one? How about the Court of the Gentiles? Pretty cool, huh? Jesus, have you ever stopped and thought how holy the Holy of Holies really is?
Jesus could have responded, "Well, yeah... we were just there. I saw it all." Or he could have taken it to a whole other level: "You are impressed with the Temple, huh? Every stone was set in place to honor me. I am the One seated on the Mercy Seat. And before this place was built, I was a fire by night and cloud by day. I was in the Tabernacle. The scary holiness of the Arc of the Covenant pointed to me. I burned in a bush, I walked in a garden. I created the earth, moon and stars with a word. I wove you together from dust."
But that is not what Jesus said. He was patient with men who didn't deserve patience. Thank God, he is gracious to we who deserve grace's opposite.
In
the end of the encounter Jesus says the temple itself will be destroyed and
rebuilt. It is more than a prophecy of future events. Intertwining other statements of Jesus, we understand there is an underlying metaphor foreshadowing his crucifixion, burial and
resurrection. But the disciples didn't get it. Frankly, neither would we -
especially standing in shadow of the Temple's grandeur.
As
Jesus tended to do, he points out spiritual truth in everyday occurance. The
disciples are focused on the symbol, while all the time the One to whom the
symbol points walks with them.
It
is so easy to miss Jesus when we are focused on religion. We easily lose sight
while we struggle to build impressive structures to honor God. (And by structures I mean processes, lists, behaviors,
and lives.) In the end, what we have built takes our eyes away from why we
built; from the One for whom we built. We tap Jesus on the shoulder and say,
"Wait, turn around. Did you notice what I built?... I mean, what I built
for you?"
And
Jesus says to us, "It is not what you have built (for me) that matters or
endures. Life is found and love is demonstrated in what I have given for
you."
God, help me not to be impressed with the sandcastles
I build for you.
For
now…
D
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