DAY_7 The Sabbath

so on the Seventh day he rested”

Genesis 2:2-3, John 2:13-19

For six days in Genesis, we read a lovely song of God constructing the perfect dwelling place for his presence to be enjoyed by his creation. Now on the seventh day, God rests; which is to say “God was present with” what he had made. The fact that God took time to simply be with what he had set into motion, is echoed by the Word becoming flesh and dwelling with us in John 1.

However, in John 2:12-25, we see an account that seems at first to deviate from the pattern. Jesus enters the Temple courts in Jerusalem and angrily drives out the money changers. The Temple was made to be a type of Eden on earth. Images of sacred creatures, angels, and nature covered the holiest parts of the building. It was intended to be a place for humanity to come and dwell with YHWH. But when Jesus arrived, the Temple wasn’t a suitable dwelling place as it was overrun with greed, separation, and selfishness. 

When Jesus begins driving out the money changers from the Temple courts with a whip of cords, he is creating a space where he can rest or “be present with” the people. He is clearing out a place where it isn’t cluttered with stuff; the stuff we create and the religious baggage we can bring. “Destroy this Temple and I will rebuild it in three days”. This flies in the face of the religious leaders of the day.They think that Jesus is discrediting the Temple as a whole. But Jesus is addressing his future death and resurrection. This would point to Jesus as the true and better dwelling place. Or as John would put it, he is the Word that “tabernacles among us.