To the question, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou
doest these things? Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up." These words were a prophecy: Jesus "spake of
the temple of his body," and thus declared that His own body would be
killed, but that after three days He would rise to life again.
The Jews, thinking only of the building before their eyes now,
exclaimed in astonishment, "Forty and six years was this temple in
building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?" It had taken Herod
forty-six years to repair and beautify the second temple, and the Jews
might well doubt its being done in three days: they thought of nothing
further, and were probably quite satisfied that Jesus had now said
what could not possibly be. But the disciples felt sure that these
words of their Lord had some hidden meaning, though they did not
understand what: they therefore remembered them; and after their
accomplishment their faith was strengthened; for we read, "When
therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he
had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the word
which Jesus had said."
All Scripture, as we know, was written for our instruction, and
therefore we must always think what we can learn from it: now the
clearing of the temple court by Jesus teaches us two great lessons:
first, that we must never use the House of God for any purpose but
that for which it is intended. Now, to us, our Churches are the house
of God; and if we do not use them as we ought, we sin as did the Jews.
Of course, we cannot make them a house of merchandise as the Jews did;
but if we are thinking of our business, or our pleasure, or anything
else, instead of attending to what is going on, we are not using the
house of God in a proper manner. Our Churches are set apart for the
worship of God as much as the Temple was; and if we do not worship God
when we go for that purpose, we displease our heavenly Father.
Everything belonging to God must be treated with reverence, and
honoured by being used according to His Will. In this way, therefore,
we must reverence and honour His day, His house, and His word. You
will thus see that being careless and inattentive at Church is a great
sin. God sees your heart, and knows all your thoughts, so that if you
are thinking of something else, though you may be sitting still and
thus _appear_ good to man, He will be displeased.
In all the prayers you must join heartily: when the Lessons are read,
you will generally be able to understand them. When the Clergyman
begins to preach his Sermon, try to understand what he says: if you
really cannot understand his sermon, then think about some person
mentioned in Scripture, as Adam, Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon,
Samuel, and many others, and consider what they did to please or
displease God; or say over your hymns and texts to yourself: this will
prevent your thoughts from wandering off to your business, or
pleasures, or any such things. In the house of God, you must _think_
of _nothing but_ God, and how to please Him.
Now let us talk of the other lesson, which we are to learn from what
Jesus did.
Jesus spake of His body as a temple; and St. Paul tells us, that all
who love and follow Christ are so joined together in Him, that they
are like stones joined together to build up a holy temple, for an
habitation of God through the Spirit. As Christians baptized in the
Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we have all become stones or
parts of that holy temple the Church of Christ; members or parts of
His body: for the Scripture calls the Church of Christ His body. Now
as long as we are obedient and faithful members of Christ's body, the
Church, the Holy Spirit will bless and help us: but if we give way to
our own sinful feelings, we bring bad passions into this holy temple,
the Church of Christ, and "defile," or make it unclean, as the Jews
defiled the temple built by hands by bringing oxen and sheep into its
courts. St Paul warns us of the consequence of such sin: "If any man
defile the temple of God, him will God destroy."
But further, the same Apostle St. Paul teaches each one of us to look
upon our own body as a temple, for the abode of the Holy Spirit. Now,
as a temple is devoted to the service of God, so we must employ our
bodies in serving Him, and doing His will. The temple must not be
defiled; so we must try hard to keep all naughty tempers out of our
hearts. Disobedience, passion, quarrelsomeness, idleness--in short,
all the faults you can have--are evil things which defile the temple,
and render it unfit for the abode of the Holy Spirit. If you try to
resist evil, the Holy Spirit will help you to do so; but if you give
way to bad passions, and allow the Devil to govern you, you will
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, and at last _force_ Him to leave you to
follow your own ways. To be left to follow your own evil ways is the
most dreadful thing that can happen to you. Pray to God, and try to
have Him always for your friend.
We have said that during our Saviour's ministry on earth, few of the
higher class of Jews became His disciples; but there was one
remarkable exception, in the case of a man named Nicodemus, whose
conversation with our blessed Lord is particularly instructive. We
read in the Gospel of St. John, "There was a man of the Pharisees,
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night,
and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from
God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be
with him." Nicodemus was a man of sense, and the miracles of Jesus had
convinced him; for he felt certain that no one but the Son of God, the
Messiah, could do such things. He was willing to acknowledge this; but
afraid of the ridicule or reproaches of his friends, he came to Jesus
by night, that no man might know of his visit. Christ, who is very
merciful, did not refuse to listen to Nicodemus, but began to show him
that there must be some proof of faith in a holy life. So when
Nicodemus declared his belief that Jesus came from God, "Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus, not
understanding the real meaning of these words, "saith unto him, How
can a man be born when he is old?" meaning that it was impossible for
a man who had been born many years before, again to become a baby.
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit." Jesus meant that, as to the body or flesh, no
man could of course be born again; but that by the help of the Holy
Spirit, the man's nature might be changed so that he would become
holy, trying in all things to please God: such a change in the
character, temper, and disposition might be compared to a new birth;
and without such a complete change, no one could enter into the
kingdom of God. Such teaching might well cause Nicodemus great
surprise; and Jesus said unto him, "Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." In
these words our Saviour warns Nicodemus, that a man's conduct only can
show whether he has been born of the Spirit: just as we cannot see the
wind, but we know that it blows, because we hear the noise it makes,
and see its effects in the way the trees and other things are blown
about.
Nicodemus, in astonishment at all he heard, now said, "How can these
things be?" and then Jesus told him how necessary it was to have faith
when hearing of heavenly things, since it is impossible for man to
understand how the great works of God are done. At this time Jesus
uttered that remarkable prophecy, comparing His crucifixion to the
setting up of the Brazen Serpent in the wilderness; saying, "And as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of
man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have eternal life." When the children of Israel were dying from
the effects of the bites of the fiery flying serpents, those who so
believed the words of Moses, as to look up at the brazen serpent, were
saved at once from the death of the body. When all the children of men
were dying from the effects of sin (the bite of that old serpent the
Devil), all who would in faith look up to the cross of Christ, and
believe in Him, would be saved from the far more dreadful death (or
eternal misery) of the soul. And then our Saviour went on to speak of
the great love of God, as shown by His giving His Son to die for man.
"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of
Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was
baptizing in AEnon, near to Salim, because there was much water there":
here many of the people came to John, and were baptized. Some of those
who came to him, seem to have been rather distressed or surprised that
Jesus was drawing men away from him; and they said, "Rabbi, he that
was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the
same baptizeth, and all men come to him."
John immediately reminded his hearers, that he had always told them
that he had only come as the messenger of Christ to prepare His way,
and that now that Christ was come, his ministry was ended, and he had
only to rejoice in the success of his Heavenly Master. He himself was
but a man, "of the earth, earthy"; but of Him whose messenger he was,
he said, "He that cometh from above, is above all." Moreover, John
said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Jesus had just begun
His work, which would go on and increase; John's work was finished,
and he himself would not long remain on earth.
And so it was; for very shortly afterwards, John the Baptist was shut
up in prison by Herod Antipas, the governor of Galilee.