Jn 2: Good News about struggles.
“How is that good news?”
John 2:13-25
“How does following Jesus without a promise of escaping the problems of this world help me as I face _____ (insert current struggle)”
My friend was angry with me. She is the picture of what American Christianity is supposed to be. She has three kids. She works part-time in a Christian pre-school. She and her husband teach classes for young people at their church. Her whole family volunteers with homeless people. And they give generously to missions. She says that she depends on Jesus every day to balance all that she is doing.
“What more does God want from me? Haven’t I given enough to deserve for my family to be spared?”
When I tried to tell her Jesus never promised us freedom from the trials of this life, she said, “How is that good news?”
That is a tough question! How could it be good news to realize following Jesus doesn’t mean your life won’t be hard?
It’s a tough question, but the answer is AMAZING!
The apostle John had a lot to say about this question. I believe the whole book of John is his answer. John’s reflections on the life of Jesus after seeing traumas we can’t even comprehend, shouts: “this isn’t just good news it’s incredibly-amazing-best-news-ever- NEWS!!!!”
Consider John 2:13-25, (read it here) while considering this story from John’s perspective.
The Splendor of the Ancient Temple in Jerusalem
Imagine being an ancient Jew going to the temple in Jerusalem. It was an awe-inspiring masterpiece of construction. Modern scholars still can’t fully comprehend how an ancient culture built such a huge precise structure which defies even our modern technology. Herod stock-piled materials for over 8 years in order to complete the building. It was said to have so much gold on it that people couldn’t look at it in the bright sunlight. Even the mount it was built on is a marvel. This temple was such a wonder that people are still filled with awe as they visit the site and imagine what it must have been. (For more on the 2nd Jewish temple, check out these resources from the Jewish Virtual Library- the source for most of my information.)
The temple in Jerusalem is arguably the pinnacle of splendor that human beings can produce. Imagine how it must have seemed to an ancient Jew.
In John’s reflections, he recounts the story of Jesus going into Jerusalem during the Passover. This is a familiar story. Jesus went into the temple, with a whip and drove out the people who were selling animals for sacrifice and exchanging coins from different regions to a “temple coin” people could use for offerings in the temple. These merchants were getting rich from Jews trying to follow the old covenant rules for worshiping God. Jesus was not happy.
The religious leaders were obviously, not happy with Jesus driving out their money makers. So, they confronted Jesus. They asked him for a sign to prove he had authority to do this.
Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19)
No one present understood what Jesus was saying at the time he said it. No one could imagine the temple being destroyed. The leaders dismissed Jesus’ comment immediately. “It took 46 years to build this temple. You can’t rebuild it in three days.”
John and his fellow disciples remembered the conversation after Jesus’ resurrection. They understood things differently as they looked back. Though Jesus told them often of his plan, they couldn’t comprehend it. They couldn’t imagine anything better than the temple they had been standing in that day. They couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful than a Messiah reigning from that temple and overthrowing Rome.
The Splendor We Are Called To
After the resurrection, the disciples understood the message of Jesus. John realized the temple Jesus had referred to was himself. Jesus would be destroyed. The fleshly temple which housed the fullness of God would be destroyed by people who were looking for a political religious leader. Jesus would be resurrected on the third day and bring something better than any of us could imagine: God WITH us. We were going to be the new temples. It feels almost irreverent to say, (and I’ve only read about the ancient temple).
The breathtaking splendor of the temple in Jerusalem, built to be the house of God. That temple was destroyed. Jesus said he was building something better. In this passage, he was directly referring to his body as the temple. After Jesus’ resurrection, we became the temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says WE are that temple. The Holy Spirit of GOD lives in us, when we follow Jesus.
All of those amazing things Jesus did: They are what our lives get to be about now. We get to spread God’s kingdom on earth. We get to go around showing people their value to God. We get to absolutely know God adores us. He is walking with us through everything we face in this world. He cares about all of it. He empowers us to rise above it. He is WITH you and me as we face whatever happens in the corona virus crisis.
So, nothing in the message of Jesus guarantees us, we won’t be hurt by our present crisis. However, when we realize our value as we struggle, we see the whole world differently. We see people. We see their immense value to God. We realize our modern society left most of us isolated and lonely even before the quarantine. We start to see struggles as the time where the love of God shines brightest. Jesus entering our messed-up, hurting world in order to make his followers temples of God. We get to carry his presence into every problem of this world, including our own. Somehow, his presence in those moments, does the most amazing work in all of creation. It unites us with him, (that’s GOD y’all!) The creator of everything. Plus, when we are brave enough to be real and show other people their value the way Jesus did, we get relationships, community, love, and acceptance. Jesus gives us all of the best things in life in the middle of the toughest struggles.
That truly is really, really, good news.
Praying for your peace and hope in whatever you face today!
You are treasured!
Cindy