Presentation of Christ in the Temple - Sermon 25

• Haggai 2:1-9
• John 2:18-22

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thought of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ
AMEN

Introduction

" I was glad when they said to me, let’s go to the House of the Lord"

the first verse of our Psalm this evening - expressing the joy and delight of pre-exile pilgrims - when meeting God - in the Temple at Jerusalem - at one of the Jewish Festivals -

Do you feel like that pilgrim this evening? - full of joy and excitment at coming into God’s house? - Does it make your day to come to church and pray?

Today we are - celebrating one of - our church festivals - “ the presentation of Christ in the Temple ” - when Jesus was presented to God - to fulfil the ancient ceremony of redemption according to the law of Moses -

Our two readings - are about temples - no we are not going to look at Temple architecture - but at the behaviour of the people - in those readings - to see if it helps us to decide how we should present ourselves - to God

Point 1

Our OT reading is from the time of “Haggai the prophet” - " Haggai" - in Hebrew means "sacred festival" - He produced just 4 oracles - in 4 months – and his book dates from the reign of Darius in 520 BC

In 538BC King Cyrus of Persia who conquered Babylon - allowed the exiles to return to Jerusalem - but in the space of nearly 20 years - all their dreams of a new beginning - had been shattered -

a succession of droughts - and pest infestations - led to failed harvests - the people were suffering real poverty and rampant inflation - What had happened?

Haggia reminded them of something they had forgotten -

they were no longer exiles from Jerusalem - but they were now exiles from God - they had stopped worshipping Him -

the ills befalling the community - were because of their failure to rebuild the temple - while they lived in comfort - God’s house lay in ruins - Haggai told them they must rebuild it once -

The people responded - but a month later discouragement set in - because of the contrast between the apparent - Glory of the former temple built by Solomon and the poverty of this one –

but Haggai - urged them to be strong and build

“I am with you says the Lord of Hosts" - and my Spirit remains among you" -

a future day more glorious than that of the completion of the Temple would come - and God's glory will fill the Temple –
“the Splendour of this latter house will surpass the Splendour of the former - and in this place I shall grant prosperity and peace “–

Haggai reminded them that God's reputation was at stake - the Temple was the symbol of God's presence in their community - and of Israel’s priorities as a nation.

The temple was completed in just 4 years

The book of Haggai is one of the shortest books in the Bible - yet it marks one of the few times in history - when God spoke - and His people - quickly and unquestionably obeyed

The third temple - built by Herod was a restoration of this second temple - with some splendid additions - in Haggai's words - " mine is the silver and mine is the gold " - but the promised glory was still to be revealed –

Point 2

John puts our NT reading early in Jesus’ ministry - in the context of the cleansing of the Temple - Jesus is placed in the midst of a Passover festival - where thousands of Jews made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem - to celebrate their deliverance from Egypt - and their birth as a nation - by law every adult male within 15 miles had to come - at great personal cost - to offer a sacrifice in the great temple –

- and in the middle of the festival was a rigged business operation - controlled by the high priests - the people had to pay a yearly tax - in Jewish coins - obtained from the money changers - and buy a sheep, Ox or pigeon for sacrifice - from the temple herds -

-and all this selling and moneychanging - was taking place in the outer court of the temple - where the Gentiles worshipped - not surprisingly the temple coffers were full -and overflowing

But Jesus drove the market sellers out of the Temple and upset the tables of the moneychangers - fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi (3:2-3)

It was certain that such an act would produce an immediate reaction from those who saw it

from the Disciples - came the words of Psalm 69 v 9 - “Zeal for your house has consumed me "

from the Jews there was a demand for a sign -

what Jesus had done was something new - and unusual - something a prophet sent by God might do - but they still wanted Him to perform a miracle to confirm it

His response - is given in verse 19 -

" Destroy this temple" Jesus replied "and in three days I will raise it up again " –

Here as with many of the sayings portrayed in John's Gospel - we find a double meaning –

The Jews thought Jesus was referring to the literal temple - the building -

"its taken 46 years to build this temple - are you going to raise it up again in three days? –

but Jesus didn't mean that at all - although it was destroyed in the Roman invasion of 70 AD –

- He was referring to Himself - after His death - when He - the risen Christ will replace the Temple as the place where man finds God –

the cleansing of the Temple was a dramatic way of showing that the lavish Temple - its rituals - and the sacrifices were all irrelevant - and do nothing to lead people to God - only God Himself can do that

And this He did - by giving His only Son to die on the cross - so that our sins can be forgiven - and we can be reconciled back to Him - and receive the gift of everlasting life -

After the resurrection God can be approached anywhere in the world - through Jesus - He is the "new house of God" - the "house" in which the Glory of God will break forth as prophesied by Haggai - a house - far greater in glory than that built by Solomon –

The disciples did not understand what Jesus had told them - but they kept His teaching with them

- in verse 21

"After His resurrection the disciples recalled what He had said - and they believed the scripture - and the word He had spoken"

Jesus spoke of His resurrection to them - many times - but it was not until He actually rose from the dead - that everything became clear –

Point 3

So what do our readings tell us ?

That we must put God first - in everything we do - in the words of one of our favorite hymns "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, " - Only when we put God at the centre of our lives will we be blessed with His grace -

With Jesus' coming - there is no earthly building where God lives - that we are to hang on to - we can approach God through Jesus - where ever we are - at home - in the shops - at work - We don't have to travel great distances to be with Him - like the pilgrims -

and where we go - God goes - shinning out from us like a candle - "I will be with you said the Lord of Hosts" - and with the help of Holy Spirit - He is changing the lives of those we touch –

sometimes like Haggai - a single voice can stir people into action - but if we don’t see immediate results - we shouldn’t be discouraged - nothing is wasted - Jesus is the real authority of Scripture - and when He comes into peoples lives - they will begin to have a genuine love for the word of God -

Conclusion

Jesus' first call to us is to Himself - as Martin Luther said - "I do not know the way I take - but I know my guide" - Jesus is the way - the truth - and the life - through Him we have a direct pathway to God - and the promise of salvation - through Jesus we have the Glory of God breaking out into our lives –

The opportunity to meet God in His house is one of the greatest privileges open to us - the Psalmist knew that - and through Jesus we have been given that opportunity every second of our lives -

There is only one way to meet God -
in the words of our collect - “with a pure and clean heart - by His Son Jesus Christ our Lord” -
and through Jesus we are given something far greater than a meeting place - we are given a whole new way of life - that lasts for eternity - and the promise of meeting Him in the Holy City - in the greatest Festival of all

Prayer to finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN