Walking in the Light: A Devotional Guide to Easter
MB Biblical Seminary

March 3, 2009
John 2:13-22

As we draw nearer to Easter, we prepare for the reality of God bringing life from death. It is important to remember that the hard work of clearing the way must precede the celebration.

Jesus enters Jerusalem during Passover and clears the Temple. Many in the crowds recognize the significance of Jesus’ action and teaching. The Jewish leaders, however, cannot read the signs. John has just told the story of Jesus’ first sign (turning water into wine), and here are the Jewish leaders asking for a sign. What gives you the right to judge the activities of the Temple? Who do you think you are? Jesus responds, “Destroy this Temple, and I will raise it up” (2:19). God is doing a new thing. Jesus is the Temple rebuilt.

When Jesus clears the Temple, he says, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” Jesus echoes Zechariah’s prophesy of the Day when everyone on earth will worship God in his Temple (14:21). He recalls as well the prophecy that those on the margins find inclusion as God’s kingdom comes (Isaiah 56). When those who are stepped on are lifted up and those who are vulnerable are cared for by the community, God’s kingdom comes (Jeremiah 7).

When all can freely come and worship, when justice prevails, that day will be the Day when God’s kingdom comes. With the resurrection, God validated Jesus’ life of serving the outcast and challenging the powers that forgot them. Like the disciples who understood the sign after the resurrection, we bring our anticipation of Easter into this story. May we not find ourselves in the shoes of the Jewish leaders who demanded a sign even though a sign was right in front of them. Let us stand
alongside those who follow Jesus in his ministry.

Michelle Ferguson, MA
Registrar

To read the complete devotional guide, visit: http://www.mbseminary.edu/events/2009-5