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Saturday 19 November 2022

Jesus and the Temple of God

 A Temple is what gives a god a name. The name of the god is tied up with the glory of their temple or temples. If the temple falls, the name of the god is affected because it looks to all around like that god was not able to uphold their name by saving their temple from destruction. The building of a temple affects the impression all who see it have of the glory of the name and reputation of the god to whom the temple is built. With the Jerusalem temple, this is so too. The temple was only built once God had given peace to Jerusalem and then the peace of Jerusalem would affect the permanence of that temple. Now Jesus pointed out really that all this is true of himself too, since God's name would be tied up with Jesus' life and wellbeing and when Jesus died it would look to all around as if God had failed and yet Jesus rising from the dead would demonstrate that God is glorious and able to withstand such a temporary setback and come through and shine. It showed that God is eternal and cannot fail in the long-term. This is the glory the nations would see of the God who raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is tied inexorably with the glory of his Father who sent him and sends him and works with him forever. Jesus too has a great name, greatest under God, which even underpins Nature.