Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
3rd SUNDAY OF LENT (Cycle B)
Readings:
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19:8-11
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
John 2:13-25
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The "Scrutiny Rites" are initiation rites that usually begin on the Third Sunday of Lent and continue on the Fourth and Fifth Sundays. It is a beautiful ancient practice of the Catholic Church that can be traced back to St. Cyprian (AD 258) and the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. The Rites are believed to be inspired by St. Paul's First Letter to Timothy, where he wrote: "Do not lay hands too readily on anyone and do not share in another's sins (1 Tim 5:22 NABRE). The RCIA candidates receive the scrutiny rites as they stand with the support of their godparents or sponsors. The ritual includes a minor exorcism where the Church prays that the elect will be free from Satan's power and for protection as the candidates continue their journey to the fullness and beauty of the Catholic Faith. The instruction of Catechumens during the next three Sundays uses the readings for Cycle A. The readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent Cycle A are Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, and John 4:5-42. See the lesson on the readings for Cycle A at Lenten Season Lent Week 3 cycle A.
The Theme of the Readings: Obedience to the Law and
Worship are the Signs of Covenant Love and Commitment
In the First Reading, the Ten Commandments were the
foundation of the Law of the Sinai Covenant. They focused on love expressed with
a two-part division, the first concerning love for God, followed by a series of
laws dealing with expressing love for humanity. The articles of the Law were God's
gift of love and protection for His covenant people. The Law, conceived in love,
served as a tutor and a guide, teaching the children of Israel about sin and
sacrifice, setting them apart from the rest of humanity as a holy people on the
path to salvation.
God gave His people what we sing in today's psalm: "Lord, you have the words of everlasting life." The people expressed their love for God and His covenant union with them in obedience to the Law and by participating in the liturgy of the Jerusalem Temple's twice-daily worship service. The people offered the daily communal sacrifice of the unblemished Tamid lambs for their atonement and sanctification. Together with the morning and afternoon Tamid sacrifice, they also brought to God's altar their sin sacrifices, communion sacrifices, whole burnt gift offerings, and the feast days' festival offerings that bound them in their love relationship with the Almighty God. See the book, "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice."
In the Second Reading, St. Paul complained that the Jews demanded spectacular signs or miracles while the Greeks wanted wisdom or reason that made everything understandable. Paul reminds us that Christ crucified and resurrected is a sign of God and wisdom for humanity. Jesus is the Living Word of God who makes God's gift of everlasting life in His eternal Kingdom possible.
In the First Reading, we recall the basic outline of divine Law in the Ten Commandments, and in the Gospel Reading, Jesus gave a sign of His divine authority. He cleansed the Jerusalem Temple of the people's profane practice of buying and selling within the Temple precincts. His purification of His Father's house prepares the way for the inauguration of a new liturgy of worship "in spirit and in truth" (Jn 4:23) and a New Covenant (Lk 22:20). The New Covenant would open the gates of Heaven (CCC 536, 1026) gave the gifts of eternal salvation and the Holy Spirit that the Old Covenant was incapable of providing.
After His Ascension, God the Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit to the New Covenant community on the Jewish pilgrim feast of Weeks (Dt 16:10; Acts 2:1-36). Greek-speaking Jews called it Pentecost, meaning "fiftieth" because it fell fifty days as the ancients counted after the pilgrim feast of Unleavened Bread (Tob 2:1; Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit came to establish the New Covenant Law of love for God and love of neighbor that fulfilled the old Law. Jesus's Body, offered in sacrifice on the altar of the Cross and resurrected after three days, is the New Covenant Sanctuary. From His Body, rivers of living water flowed in the Spirit of grace that made every baptized Christian a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16) and formed the New Covenant people of Jesus Christ into the dwelling place of God (Eph 2:22).
Are you someone who needs "signs" to bolster your faith? St. John Chrysostom, writing in the late 4th century, commented: "Many people are like that. They carry the name of faithful, but they are fickle and inconstant..." (Homilies on St. John, 23, 1). Faith is a matter of obedience and trust. It takes courage to have faith, but even more, it takes love. You will never be disappointed if you obediently place your love and faith in Jesus. St. Paul had this advice for believers: But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ (2 Thess 3:3-5 NABRE).
The First Reading Exodus 20:1-17 ~ The Ten Commandments
1 In those days, God delivered all these commandments: 2 "I,
the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of
slavery. 3 You shall not have other gods besides me. 4 You shall not carve
idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth
below or in the waters beneath the earth; 5 you shall not bow down before them
or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting
punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation; 6 but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth
generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You
shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not
leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain."
8 "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. 9 Six days you
may labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the
LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or
daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who
lives with you. 11 In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea
and all that is in them; but on the seventh day, he rested. That is why the LORD
has blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 Honor your father and your
mother that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is
giving you. 13 You shall not kill. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You
shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, 17 You
shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that
belongs to him."
The English title for this series of laws is the "Ten Commandments." However, the word "commandment" (mitzvah, plural = mitzvot) is not in this passage. The title "Ten Commandments" is the English translation of the Hebrew phrase 'aseret ha-devarium (see Ex 34:28, Dt 4:13 and 10:4), which means "The Ten Words." It is what the Septuagint version of the Old Testament translated into Greek as deka logoi = Decalogue (also see Hos 4:2; Jer 7:9; Ezek 18:5-9; JPS Commentary: Exodus, page 107).
Don't miss the significance of the opening line: 1 In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
2 "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
that place of slavery.
It is the preamble identifying God the
Divine King and the historical prologue summarizing His relationship to His
vassal people and God's deeds on their behalf. Deuteronomy 5:6 repeats this
statement of identity and historical summary. In this historical review, Yahweh
bases His claim to the people's allegiance on His role as Israel's liberator
from Egyptian slavery.
The Decalogue/Ten Commandments sum up and proclaim God the Divine King's Law, which He commands His vassal people to follow. The laws are an amalgamation of religious, civil (secular), and social justice obligations. The numbering of the commandments is different according to various traditions. However, the laws are divided into two categories: those concerning humankind's relationship with God and those concerning relationships with others. Roman Catholics have traditionally followed the division and numbering established by St. Augustine in which the first three laws (verses 3-11) pertain to one's relationship with God and the last seven to one's relationship with humanity (verses 12-17; see the traditional list in the Catechism 2051 and 2052).
Taken as a whole, the entire body of the Ten Commandments illustrates that social behavior cannot be separated from religious conscience and obligations to God since the one is deeply rooted in the other. Living the whole Law of the "ten words" was a path to life for the Old Covenant people of God: Keep them and put them into practice: such is Yahweh's command to you. Stray neither to right nor to left. Follow the whole way that Yahweh has marked for you, and you will survive to prosper and live long in the country which you are going to possess (Dt 5:32-33 NJB). However, in the New Covenant, Jesus Christ revealed the full meaning of the "ten words" (CCC 2056). The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians. The Second Vatican Council confirmed this teaching: The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord ... the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel in every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments (Lumen Gentium 24). Also, see the list of the same Ten Commandments repeated in Deuteronomy 5:1-22.
Responsorial Psalm 19:8-11 ~ God's Laws are the Words of
Life
The response is: "Lord, you have the words of everlasting
life."
8 The Law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
Response:
9 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the
heart; the command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
Response:
10 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the
ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.
Response:
11 They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest
gold, sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb.
Response:
Psalm 19 is another psalm attributed to King David. The psalm describes the Law of God using seven synonyms: perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, true, and just. The Law is a gift intended to bring happiness to one's life and proclaim the glory of God. The qualities of the Law bestow benefits to those who are obedient to its precepts and commandments.
The Hebrew text (and the NJB translation) repeats God's Divine Name, YHWH = Yahweh, represented in English by LORD, seven times (verses 7 twice, 8 twice, 9 twice, and 14). In verse 9, "fear of Yahweh (the LORD)" is part of the Law that commands men and women to honor, respect, and fear offending God. Living the Law in obedience is a greater reward than anything the material world can offer because the Lord God will reward faith and obedience to the Law. He is the author of the Law and has "the words of everlasting life."
The Second Reading 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23, but
we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power
of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human
wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
In this passage, Paul wrote about the two kinds of Christians that made up the New Covenant Church in the 1st century AD: Jews and Gentiles. The first group comprised Jewish Christians who wanted the supernatural in their worship services. They were the sort who kept asking, "What does the liturgy of worship do for me?" and not, "What do I need to give in the liturgy of worship?" The second group, composed of Greek culture Gentile Christians, were the rationalists who wanted analysis and insight that gave wisdom. However, in only focusing on the rational, they failed to grasp the value of the wonder of the mystery of faith that cannot be analyzed and defined.
It is human to want proof, whether for a message's truth to be guaranteed by miracles or by a logical argument based on philosophical axioms. This desire is not in itself reprehensible, but it is unacceptable if it becomes a condition in which the mind refuses to submit to faith and belief. The Cross of Jesus Christ is a paradox; the weakness of Christ made strong in His glorious Resurrection. St. Paul counseled that both groups needed to respond with faith and understand that the "sign" and the "wisdom" were found in Christ crucified. There can be no Resurrection without the crucifixion. Together, these two events form the glorious manifestation ("sign") of God's wisdom and power for the salvation of humanity.
The Gospel of John 2:13-25
13 Since the Passover of the Jews
was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 He found in the temple area
[hiero*] those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers
seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the Temple
area [hieron*], with the sheep and oxen, and spilled [poured out] the coins of
the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves
he said, "Take these out of here and stop making my Father's house a
marketplace" [make not the house of my Father a house of trade]. 17 His
disciples recalled the words of Scripture, "Zeal for your house will consume
me." 18 At this, the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us
for doing this?" 19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and
in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews said, "This temple [naos] has
been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three
days?" 21 But he was speaking about the temple [naon] of his body. 22 Therefore,
when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said
this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. 23 While
he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his
name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 But Jesus would not trust himself
to them because he knew them all, 25 and did not need anyone to testify about
human nature. He himself understood it well.
* The Greek words hiero and hieron indicate
that this area was the "outer court" of the Temple complex where these abuses occurred.
However, the terms naos and naon refer to the Temple's inner Sanctuary
of the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. [...] Greek translation, Interlinear Bible,
vol. IV, page 252-53.
Today's Gospel reading from John 2:13-35 is the first of the three Passover Feasts mentioned in John's Gospel (see Jn 2:13; 6:4; 12:1). The day of the Passover sacrifice preceded the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were two of the seven annual Sacred Feasts decreed by God at Mt. Sinai (Lev 23:5-44). Passover was the feast that began the liturgical year, celebrated annually on the 14th of Nisan [Abib /Aviv/Nisan], which corresponds to our March/April time frame (Ex 12:1; 13:4). Sundown of the day after the Passover sacrifice began the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread as the ancients counted (Nisan 15-21). However, as was the custom in the 1st century AD, St. John's Gospel refers to the entire eight days as "Passover," and the Synoptic Gospels use the terms Passover and Unleavened Bread for the combined feasts (Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12; Lk 22:1).
13 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up
to Jerusalem.
At its highest point, Jerusalem is approximately 2,600 feet
above sea level and is built across three mountain ridges. God's Holy Temple
was built on a mountain called Moriah. The place name only appears twice in the
Bible: where Abraham, in a test of faith, was to travel three days from
Beersheba to the land of Moriah to offer his son Isaac to God as a sacrifice
(Gen 22:1-2), and where Solomon built Yahweh's Temple (2 Chron 3:1). The Jerusalem
Temple was the only place where God's ordained priests could offer
sacrifice to the God of Israel. The people offered sacrifices in atonement for
their sins as God's united covenant people and as individuals to restore their communion/fellowship
with God (Dt 12:8-12).
14 He found in the Temple area [herion] those who sold
oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there.
These animals were sold as "clean" animals, acceptable for sacrifice
(Lev 11:1-30). The doves and pigeons were the sacrifices of the poor (Lev 5:7).
The Law of the Covenant required a Temple tax of a half-shekel once a year.
Coins that bore the Roman Emperors' portraits or other pagan images were not
accepted for paying the tax (Ex 20:4) or donating to the Temple treasury for
the poor. Money-changers, for a profit, exchanged these coins for legal Tyrian
coinage, which bore no images.
15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of
the temple area [herion], with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the
money-changers and overturned their tables ...
The Temple police strictly enforced that no weapons or
sticks were allowed in the Temple precincts. Jesus may have taken the rushes
used as bedding for the animals to fashion His whip. The area for the animal market
and money changing tables was an outer court (herion in Greek) and
probably the largest courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles. This court was for
instructing the Gentile peoples concerning the One True God and a place where
they could pray. Non-covenant Gentiles could not have access to any other parts
of the Temple precinct. Since they had not yet submitted to the necessary rites
concerned with conversion, becoming members of the Covenant family, Gentiles
could not offer sacrifice at the Temple altar or attend Temple services. However,
they could bring acceptable sacrifices to the chief priests to offer God on
their behalf. The Gentiles' outer courtyard was the only place they could come
close to God in His Sanctuary.
16 and to those who sold doves, he said, "Take these out
of here and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."
Perhaps because the doves were the sacrifices for the poor,
Jesus was less harsh with the dove sellers. Jesus is both fully God and man.
He experienced all the human desires and conditions that we experience.
However, unlike us, He was not tempted to sin, nor did He sin. His anger was
righteous. He was angry at the profane activities that polluted the sanctity of
His Father's house. The money changers and merchants were robbing Israel
through their inflated exchange rates, and the priests had a cut of the profits.
He was also angry because turning the Court of the Gentiles into a market
denied them the opportunity to worship, robbed them of being instructed in the
true faith, and denied them the opportunity to pray in peace without the stink and
clamor of the animals and the haggling of the money-changers (CCC# 583-84).
John 2:15b should read: pouring out the coins of the money-changers and overturning their tables (Interlinear Bible Greek-English, Vol. IV, page 253). The words "pouring out" are significant in Scripture as liturgical language. These words appear in the Hebrew Old Testament, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, and in the New Testament in connection with the "pouring out" of the blood of the sacrifice on the altar and the "pouring out" of God's wrath. In this case, it was the "pouring out" of God's wrath. This action was a prophetic sign performed by Jesus as the promised Supreme Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:14-20. Such a sign performed by a Prophet is called in Hebrew an ot and indicates a future fulfillment. In this case, Jesus's action signifies the Temple's destruction, which took place in AD 70 when God poured out His judgment on the Old Covenant people for rejecting the Messiah and, therefore, rejecting God's New Covenant of salvation.
John 2:16 should read: Make not the house of my Father a
house of trade.
There is a wordplay on the double use of the word "house," where
Jesus also makes a powerful statement about His identity. He is the Messiah and
identified Himself as God's Son because He called God His "Father." Notice that
when John the Baptist identified Jesus as "the Son of God" in John 1:24, he was
not identifying Jesus as "a son of God" like David or the other Davidic kings
but as God's only-begotten [monogenes] Son (Jn 1:18; also see God's affirmation
in Mt 3:17; Mk 1:11;
Lk 3:22). Jesus was affirming this claim. The early Church
Father, Origen, in his Homilies on St. John, wrote: "And from
thenceforth Jesus, the Anointed of God, always begins by reforming abuses and
purifying from sin; both when he visits his Church, and when he visits the
Christian soul ..." (Homily on St. John, 1).
17 His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, "Zeal
for your house will consume me."
The words of Scripture the disciples recalled are in Psalm 69:9 (10).
The verse expresses the suffering of the righteous who called out to
God to save them from the wounds they suffered through the insults that sinners
heaped upon God. The Psalm ends with a promise that God would save Zion. Zion
always refers to the covenant people of the redeemed Israel, the Church. The
disciples connect this passage to Jesus's righteous anger in response to the
misuse of His Father's house and the promise of Psalm 69 that in His mission,
He would redeem God's people.
18 At this, the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign
can you show us for doing this?" 19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy
this Temple [naon], and in three days I will raise it up."
Notice that the Greek words naon/naos
indicate the Sanctuary of the Temple area, which included the Holy Place and
the "inner sanctum" called the Holy of Holies. Jesus's response, however, was a
prophetic statement of His death and resurrection. The risen Christ's Body is
one of the great symbols of Christianity (see Rev 21:22 and 1 Cor 12:12ff).
Christ's resurrected Body is the focus of worship "in spirit and truth"
(Jn 4:21ff). It is the shrine of the Presence of God
(Jn 1:14) and the spiritual
temple from which the living waters of salvation flow
(Jn 7:37-39; 19:34;
Rev Chapter 22).
In this passage, Jesus declared His Body, Himself personally, and His Body, the Church, to be the true Temple! The physical resurrection of Christ's Body is the foundation for His New Covenant people being constituted as the Temple because, in receiving Christ in the Sacrament of Eucharist, our bodies become His living Temple. Christ lives in us; therefore, we are the Body because we have received the Body of Christ (1 Cor 3:10-11, 16-17; Eph 1:20; 2:5-6).
Jesus also challenged the Temple authorities to destroy His body. The irony is that they tried to "destroy" the temple of His Body when they contrived to have the Romans condemn Jesus to crucifixion. However, there was a double fulfillment in Jesus's prophecy in verse 19. Jesus's Body arose from the grave in divine glory (CCC# 586 & 994), but after its physical destruction by the Romans in AD 70, the Jerusalem Temple was never rebuilt. The Arab shrine, the Dome of the Rock, stands on the site today.
20 The Jews said, "This
temple [naos] has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise
it up in three days?" 21 But he was speaking about the temple [naon] of his
body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered
that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word
Jesus had spoken.
The comment in verse 20 can help us date this event. The
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus confirmed that Herod the Great spent 46 years
rebuilding the Temple, which was begun by the Jews who returned from the Babylonian
exile in the 6th century BC. He records that Herod started
reconstructing the Temple in 19 BC (Antiquities of the Jews, 15.11.3).
That would date the event of Jesus's first Temple cleansing in the first year
of His ministry to the spring of AD 28. This date agrees with Luke's statement
that John the Baptist and Jesus began their ministry in the 15th
year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius = 28 AD as the ancients'
counted. The ancients did not count with the concept of a zero-place value;
therefore, they counted years, months, weeks, days, and hours like objects.
This is why Scripture records Jesus was in the tomb for three days from Friday
to Sunday.
The Jerusalem Temple had been an "empty house" ever since the Temple's rebuilding after the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile in the late 6th century BC. God did not take possession of the rebuilt Temple as He had filled and indwelled the desert Tabernacle (Ex 40:34-45) and Solomon's Temple (1 Kng 8:10-11). The Holy of Holies was an empty room because no Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place of God among His people, graced its sacred space. The prophet Jeremiah removed the Holy Ark from the Temple, and it was lost to history just before the Temple's destruction in 587/6 BC (2 Mac 2:1-8; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.4.4 & The Jewish War, 1.7.6 & 6.4.7).
When God was at rest on His Glory Throne, He judged His Creation-Temple in the Garden of Eden. When He found wickedness contaminating it, He cleansed it, banishing the offenders, Adam and Eve (Gen 3:24). In this event in John's Gospel, Jesus, the Son of God, came to the Temple on the Sabbath. He assessed the Temple, judged it as contaminated, and cleansed it by banishing the offenders.
In Jesus's first Temple cleansing, God returned to claim His holy house. For the first time in centuries, God's presence was in His Temple, fulfilling the prophecy in Malachi: And suddenly there will come to the Temple the LORD [Yahweh] whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts [Yahweh Sabaoth]. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and purifying, and he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that 5they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD [Yahweh] (Mal 3:1-3 NABRE). He came to purify His people for a new liturgy of worship and a new temple that would be His Body united with the Body of believers that became His New Covenant Church.
22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his
disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the
Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
St. John continually reminds us that much of the true meaning
of what he and the other disciples witnessed remained unrevealed to them until
after Jesus's resurrection. We should remember that it is on the New Covenant
Sabbath, Sunday, the Lord's Day, that we come to appear before God's throne of
judgment in the Liturgy of Worship to examine the fitness of our spiritual
condition. If we are free of sin, we can enter His rest in the Holy Eucharist, which
becomes our foretaste of Heaven (Heb chapters 3-4).
There is an eschatological warning in this event of Jesus's Temple cleansing, the first of three such cleansings:
The word "eschatological" means "last things." It can refer to God's judgment as visited on peoples of the earth down through Salvation History (i.e., the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, on Jerusalem and the Old Covenant for the rejection of Christ in AD 70). It can also refer to God's judgment at the end of creation as we know it. It is good to remember that Jesus banished the offenders from His Father's house in a dramatic manifestation of His righteous wrath and fierce judgment. In the same way, on the final "Day of Judgment," Christ will return to judge the world as His Temple, and His judgment will be fierce ... but now he has given this promise: "I am going to shake the earth once more and not only the earth but heaven as well." The words "once more" indicate the removal of what is shaken, since these are created things, so that what is not shaken remains. We have been given possession of an unshakeable kingdom. Let us, therefore, be grateful and use our gratitude to worship God in the way that pleases him, in reverence and fear. For our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:26-29 NJB).
23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 But
Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 25 and did not
need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.
We miss the force of this statement in the modern
translation of John 2:23-3:1. The more literal reading is: 2:24 But himself
Jesus did not trust himself to them, because of his knowing all, 25 and that no
need he had that any should testify concerning man, for he knew what was
in man. 3:1 But there was a man out of the Pharisees ... (Interlinear
Bible Greek-English Vol IV, pages 253-54). In the modern translation, we
miss the significant three-part repetition of the word "man." In Scripture, any
repetition of threes or mention of three indicates the theological importance
of the next event. Since Jesus is fully man but also God, He can read the intentions
of the hearts of people. Here, He detects deficient faith in those who have
been amazed at His signs but fail to grasp His mission's significance. This perception
will relate to the Pharisee Nicodemus in the following passage. At his first
meeting with Jesus, Nicodemus, whose name means "people crusher" (demos
= people, nico = crusher or conqueror), represents such inadequate
belief. Later, however, he came to accept Jesus as his Redeemer-Messiah. See
CCC #473.
And how would you categorize yourself? Are you one who needs "signs" to bolster your faith? St. John Chrysostom, writing in the late 4th century, commented: "Many people are like that. They carry the name of faithful, but they are fickle and inconstant..." (Homilies on St. John, 23, 1). Faith is a matter of obedience and trust. It takes courage to have faith, but even more, it takes love. You will never be disappointed if you obediently place your love and faith in Jesus Christ. St. Paul had this advice for believers: But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ (2 Thess 3:3-5 NABRE).
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Exodus 20:1-17 (CCC 2056*);
20:2-5 (CCC 2083);
20:2 (CCC 2061);
20:7 (CCC 2141);
20:8-10 (CCC 2167);
20:11 (CCC 2169);
20:12 (CCC 2196, 2200, 2214*);
20:13 (CCC 2257);
20:14 (CCC 2330);
20:15 (CCC 2400);
20:17 (CCC 456, 1456*, 2513, 2533)
1 Corinthians 1:24-25 (CCC 272)
John 2:13-15 (CCC 583-84*); 2:16-17 (CCC 584); 2:18-22 (CCC 586*); 2:18 (CCC 575*); 2:19-22 (CCC 994*); 2:21 (CCC 586*); 2:25 (CCC 473*)
Jesus and the Law (CCC 459*, 577*, 578*, 579*, 580*, 581*, 582*)
The Temple prefigures Christ; He is the Temple (CCC 583*, 584*, 585*, 586*, 593)
The New Law completes the Old (CCC 1967*, 1968*)
Christ's power revealed in the Cross (CCC 272*, 550*, 853)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; 5revised 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.