Jesus had a great deal to say about the Jerusalem Temple. His activity in Jerusalem, as one would expect, was centered around the Temple, though He did not treat it in the way in the way which was expected of the messiah. The messiah would have been expected to honor the Temple, but when it came to that Temple, Jesus did and said some rather interesting things. The things He said and did were not necessarily directed against the Temple itself, but rather, against the Temple authorities. To discover those things, we can look at the Gospel of Mark as fairly representative of that which see in both Matthew and Luke.
In the eleventh chapter of Mark we read that “Jesus entered the Temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the Temple courts. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple courts” (11:15-16). This disruption in business would have had an obvious impact on the sellers, as they would be losing money by being unable to carry out their trade for a period of time. This would certainly create some enemies for Jesus. Additionally, the disruption would have had an impact on the finances of the Temple authorities, as they would have had a stake in each transaction made within the Temple. Thus, more enemies for Jesus. Thirdly, Jesus might very well have been taking a chance at angering the people, and turning the populace in general against Him, as they would have been unable to buy the necessary items to make their offerings. However, the potential for anger amongst the commoners was quickly diffused, which we can see as we go on to read Jesus’ words in which He said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have turned it into a den of robbers!” (11:17b) In this, Jesus reveals to the people that the merchants in the Temple, in collusion with the Temple authorities, had conspired together to cheat the people through false dealings in their money-changing and sale of animals.
How did the people to whom this statement by Jesus was addressed respond? We read that “The chief priests and the experts in the law heard it and considered how they could assassinate Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed by His teaching” (11:18). Jesus was messing with their pocketbooks and their livelihood, and this, after making His “triumphal entry” in which He was hailed as the King of Israel and the bringer of the Kingdom of God.
A bit later in Mark, we hear Jesus speaking about the Temple yet again. This time, it is just after He has witnessed a widow putting into the Temple offering box “what she had to live on” (12:44b). We find that Jesus honored this widow, saying that she “has put more into the offering box than all the others” (12:43b). This perplexed Jesus’ disciples, as they probably thought to themselves, “If everybody gave the same amount that this widow gave, then we would not have this beautiful and glorious Temple with which to worship our God.” They said to Jesus, “Teacher, look at these tremendous stones and buildings!” (13:1b), as if to say, “We think you’re mistaken.” Jesus surveys the tremendous stones and buildings in full realization that the glory of God is not to be found in the Temple, but in Himself, and with the knowledge of the Temple’s redundancy says, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. All will be torn down” (13:2). This, of course, was fulfilled when the Roman army came and destroyed the Temple in 70AD. We can be sure that these words of Jesus were circulated, and that they were understood as yet another affront against the Temple and those who ruled over it. They had already begun to devise plans to assassinate Jesus, and things like this would only serve to cement and accelerate those plans. Ultimately, their assassination plot would take shape and be successful, as the Temple authorities would be able to turn Jesus over to the Roman governor, presenting Him as an instigator of rebellion and revolution and a self-proclaimed rival to Caesar, and have Him assassinated through a state-sanctioned execution.
So what does this have to do with Samson? How does this compare with the way in which Samson died? When Samson died, He did so through laying down His life in defeat of His enemies. Jesus did the same. When Jesus went forward to His death, so as to do battle with His enemies, His true enemies were not the Temple authorities, but the dark forces of evil that stood behind those authorities. In his final confrontation with his enemies, Samson, standing in the temple and enduring mocking, pushed hard against the pillars and collapsed the temple upon himself and on all that were inside. Jesus, in confrontation with His enemies, also pushed hard against the pillars of the Temple (the Temple authorities). In doing this, Jesus (while also enduring the mocking crowds) metaphorically brought the Temple down upon Himself, by prompting the men that were responsible for the Temple to push hard against Him (though He was the true Temple), enabling Him to lay down His life in the process. In His death, most assuredly, Jesus conquered a vast army of dark forces, and forever sealed their defeat with His glorious return to life.
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