Historical Continuity (part 1)

Then He began to teach them and 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!” – Mark 11:17  (NET)

Mark reports that when Jesus spoke these words that “The chief priests and the experts in the law heard it and they considered how they could assassinate Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed by His teaching” (11:18).  Why did they want to assassinate Him?  Primarily because the words that Jesus was employing were those previously used by the prophet Jeremiah.  All who heard Jesus, including the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the crowds, knew that Jesus, who had gained quite the reputation as a prophet, teacher and healer, was leveling words of judgment and accusation against those who were responsible for the operations of the Temple.  The Temple was the place from whence they derived their livelihood and their power. 

At the same time, one should not forget that Jesus also speaks in the hearing of crowds which, though amazed at His teaching, also stand in purview of His judging words, as they effectively hear Jeremiah speaking and saying “Listen, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord.  Hear what the Lord has to say.  The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right.  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land” (7:2b-3). 

So Jesus is not merely quoting Scripture.  By taking up the words of Jeremiah, He not only calls to mind that which Jeremiah accused the people and the priestly establishment of doing in his own time, but He also reminds the Temple authorities that the Babylonians destroyed that very Temple to which Jeremiah made reference---thus breaking the authority of the priests associated with that Temple.  If Jeremiah’s words came true, how much more should they concern themselves with what is being implied by the words of Jesus, who has proven Himself to be greater than Jeremiah. 

When it comes to the words of Jeremiah, it is known to be the case that a fair amount of the people, especially the leaders and the wealthy, were carried off into exile in Babylon.  As it relates to Jesus, it is known that within the lifetime of many of those who heard His words, the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, slaughtering many in leadership and driving a large number of people from their ancient land of promise. 

Though this is necessary background, this study is not designed to focus on what is to be gleaned from the accusations and the comparison.  Rather, it is designed to highlight a degree of historical continuity and congruence within Scripture.  Jesus cannot be limited to bringing new teaching and new ways of thinking.  His words and ministry had to be rooted within the history and covenant by which Israel was defined in order for it to have any conceivable impact and permanence. 

Jesus, as said, quotes from Jeremiah.  When He does He not only calls attention to the specific phrases, but also to the words of Jeremiah that led up to, surround, and follow that which was quoted.  In conjunction with that which was mentioned by Jesus, Jeremiah also says “Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, ‘We are safe!  The Temple of the Lord is here!  The Temple of the Lord is here!  The Temple of the Lord is here!’  You must change the way you have been living and do what is right.  You must treat one another fairly.  Stop oppressing foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands.  Stop killing innocent people in this land.  Stop paying allegiance to other gods.  That will only bring about your ruin” (7:4-6).  Presumably, Jesus was desirous of communicating such things as well. 

Collapse Of The Temple (part 2)

Before one gets further into the record of the Gospels so as to examine Jesus’ dealings with the Temple authorities (remembering that this is an analysis occurring against the backdrop of the collapse of the Philistine temple at the hands of Samson), it is quite useful to peer into the book of the prophet Jeremiah, doing so in order to catch a glimpse of the types of things that Jesus would have been saying in and about the Temple, and how His words would have been received. 

In the twenty-sixth chapter, the Lord God of Israel is said to have spoken to Jeremiah, delivering instructions to him as to what to say to the people of Jerusalem and Judah on the Lord’s behalf.  The Creator God says, “Tell them that the Lord says, ‘You must obey Me!  You must live according to the way I have instructed you in My laws.  You must pay attention to the exhortations of My servants the prophets.  I have sent them to you over and over again.  But you have not paid any attention to them’.” (26:4-5) 

Similar things are to be heard from Jesus.  He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  Jesus is found to be lamenting and saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you!” (Matthew 23:37a)  In addition to that, one can read the “Parable of the Tenants”  in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which reflects the theme of the rejection of the Creator God’s prophets.  As is reported, this parable produced anger on the part of the temple authorities (chief priests and elders), as they realized, apparently quite astutely, that it was spoken about them. 

Returning to Jeremiah, one continues to hear the covenant God speaking and says “If you do not obey Me, then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh.  And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth” (26:6).  As Jesus consistently points to Himself, His ways, and His kingdom as the locus of a needful obedience, and as one considers the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple that came about at the hands of the Romans, one would do well to hear His voice in these words out of Jeremiah. 

What is said to have been the experience of Jeremiah as a result of the words of the Creator God that he is reported to have delivered to the people of Judah?  It is said that “The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple.  Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people.  All at once some of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, ‘You deserve to die!’” (26:7-8) 

It is possible to see that this was not at all unlike that which was experienced by Jesus when He spoke against the Temple and its ruling authorities.  Furthermore, the reader of the Gospel hears what Jesus would eventually endure in the sneering questioning of His authority to act and speak in a way that was perceived to be against the Temple, as Jeremiah hears “How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things!  How dare you claim His authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabitable ruin!” (26:9)