Luke 21:5-19
Today’s Gospel reading takes place during Jesus’ final week on earth. In just one more chapter Judas will betray Him. Jesus and His disciples are inside the temple. Some of them begin pointing out how magnificent the temple is—the stones, the decorations, the gifts dedicated to God. And yes, according to many scholars the temple truly was impressive.
The temple covered nearly one-sixth of the old city of Jerusalem, about 1,500 feet long and 1,200 feet wide. This building was not only the center of Jewish worship, but it was also the pride of the nation.
The disciples looked at this massive building and were amazed… while Jesus looking at the same building says: “Not one stone will be left on another.” This declaration was enough to shock any Jew. How could the heart and soul of Israel’s worship be destroyed? To understand Jesus’ prophesy, we need to go to the Old Testament Book of 1 Kings chapter 8, there we find the dedication of the temple. When Solomon dedicated the first temple almost 1,000 years earlier, he did so with a prayer that reveals the heart of God to whom this temple was built to, and the purpose of the building. We can read it in verses 22-53. According to Solomon the temple was built to be a place where God’s name dwells (v. 29) A place where justice is done (vv. 31–32) A place where sinners find forgiveness (v. 34) A place where foreigners are welcomed (vv. 41–43) A place of repentance and humble prayer (vv. 46–49)
In his prayer, Solomon also acknowledges: “Heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this temple I have built.” (v. 27) The building was never meant to contain God. It was meant to point people to God.
Now, let us fast-forward to where we were: Jesus’ time. The disciples admired the stones. But Jesus sees no the stones, but something deeper, the heart of the temple. What Jesus saw was not what Solomon prayed for. “My Father’s house…Jesus said -in Matthew 21-, you have made it a den of thieves.”
Although the temple appeared holy externally due to the sacrifices and rituals conducted within, internally, it was spiritual empty. Instead of justice, Jesus saw corruption. Instead of forgiveness, he saw judgment. Instead of welcoming foreigners, they pushed them aside. Scholars tell us that the Court of the Gentiles, the only place where foreigners could pray, was the space they used to exchange money and sell cattle and doves. They were selling animals and exchanging money in the one place God intended for all the nations. No wonder why Jesus was upset and flipped the tables.
What Jesus saw led him to conclude that the purpose of this magnificent building had been lost. The building with all its splendor remained, but God’s presence had departed. Instead of place of worship the Temple itself was an idol.
Jesus instructed his disciples: “Watch out that you are not deceived.” (Luke 21:8), warning them because their admiration for the building led them to overlook its true purpose. They focused on its appearance while disregarding its deeper significance. And Jesus knew: A temple without God’s presence is just a building. So, he warns them: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (v. 19)
Jesus’ prophesy was fulfilled, 37 years later. In 70 A.D., the physical temple was destroyed by the General Titus’ army. Because God knew what he was planning to do, he already begun building a new temple. A temple made not of stones. 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” This means my sisters and brothers, that we are the new temple. We are the new dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The presence of God no longer lives in buildings; He lives in us.
The temple built by Solomon had a purpose: to be the place where God’s Name dwelled among His people—a visible sign of His presence and covenant faithfulness. A place where God’s mercy is encountered; a place where others could learn about his love.
As the new temple of the Holy Spirit, we also have a purpose: 1 Peter 2:9 and 10 tells us our purpose. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Our purpose, yours and mine is to share with others what God has done in us; the difference he has made in our lives; our purpose is to speak out for Him. Thru us, His instruments, people will, people must hear about who God is, about what He can and wants to do in their lives and in this world. Through us, not this building, people must learn about God’s transforming love; God’s acceptance of all. We, his new temple must reveal who God is.
I heard the story of a little girl who was drawing something. Her mom asked her, “What are you drawing? She said, I am drawing a picture of God. No one know how God looks, her mom replied, I know that mom, the little one says, they must wait till I finish.
In his dedication prayer Solomon prayed for a temple where God’s presence and love would be real; where his justice and mercy could have seen and felt. A thousand year later Jesus saw a temple where God’s presence was gone. 1 Corinthians remind us that we are the new place where that presence lives. When Jesus looks at us, you and me, does he see God’s presence in us? When Jesus sees us, does he see his people fulfilling his purpose. The apostle Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:9 that purpose: “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
When Jesus sees us, can he recognize us as his nation, can he hear us proclaiming his praises, does he see us walking in his light? When others see us, do they see God’s love in us; do they see in us his justice and mercy? Remember a temple without God’s presence is just a building, the same way a church without God’s presence is just a group of people together.
Let remember, my sisters and brothers, just as the temple was the place where God’s Name dwelled and people encountered His presence, mercy, and glory, the same way, we the believers of Jesus are now the new Spirit’s dwelling place, the new temple called to embody and proclaim God’s praises in the world. The physical temple was built to be the center of Israel’s worship, prayer, and witness. However, the living temple—the church—was created to extend that purpose by carrying God’s presence into every place, offering spiritual sacrifices, living out God’s holiness, and showing the world what God looks and is like.
Brothers and sisters this world need to hear the voice of God; we must allow Him to speak thru us; that is the reason, the purpose he allowed Solomon to build the temple; that is the reason, the purpose He called us for. Let’s not wait anymore for God to speak thru us; let’s not wait anymore to fulfill our purpose as God’s Holy Spirit temple.
Let us do as the little girl drawing God for the world to know how he looks like; let us draw God with our actions; let show how God looks like by the way we live and serve.
God bless you all.
