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The image of
Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple is indeed quite striking,
and on the surface, it could well be misunderstood. Let us have a deeper look.
The temple of
Jesus’ time is the second temple, built by Herod the Great. The first temple
built by Solomon in 957 BC. was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. In
Matt. 24:2, Jesus predicts the destruction of this temple, which was carried
out by the Romans in 70 AD. In Jo. 2:19, Jesus, referring to his body as the new temple, predicts it too will be destroyed but then be raised up indestructible and remain unto the
end of time. This temple is his Body the Church of which we are the present
members. But this temple, of which we are component parts is also not without its
problems requiring cleansing and purification. It is here that the Church wants
us to focus our reflection this Third Sunday of Lent. The main problem Jesus
has with the temple in today's gospel is the corruption of money and greed that has infiltrated the temple and is hindering people,
especially the poor, from freely and devoutly worshiping God. With us who are parts of the new temple it is the corruption of serious sin that has infiltrated the temple of our hearts preventing true and holy worship to rise up to God. With each serious sin that enters us there is a demon attached, standing in our way, exacting a price we cannot pay for freedom to worship and pray with pure hearts. Here the example of Jesus in today's gospel makes sense. We must drive out all obstructing sins with us. The merciful hand of Jesus to which we call out to with true repentance will give us the zeal we need to deal with all that is preventing us from faithful and holy worship. Truly the Father loves us unconditionally. That is why he sent his Son to teach us how to deal with the Enemy that is trying to destroy us.
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You Tube has an excellent video that takes you on a tour of the temple as it looked and functioned at the time of Jesus.
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