Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
Reminds me of the "Give unto Caesar.... "(Mat 20:21) quote. Jesus get's angry at this very obvious failute to keep sacred what is God's. To me, it emphasises the importance of living a life where one gives due attention to liberating what is divine within us. We can never kill our own divinity. We hide it under layers of worldly protection designed and constructed by our egos.
ReplyDeleteYour insightful response to John 2:13-22 effectively connects Jesus' cleansing of the temple with the concept of liberating the divine within ourselves. The passage highlights the importance of honoring and cherishing the sacredness of our inner divinity, which can often become obscured by worldly concerns and egoistic tendencies.
ReplyDeleteThe "Give unto Caesar..." quote from Matthew 20:21 resonates with the idea of recognizing and honoring the respective domains of the divine and the mundane. While we have responsibilities to the earthly realm, we must not neglect our connection to the divine, the source of our true essence.
Jesus' anger in the temple incident reflects his deep reverence for the sacred space and the transformative power of connecting with the divine. The marketplace distractions symbolized the distractions that can divert our attention from our spiritual growth and connection with God.
Your observation about "killing our own divinity" underscores the resilience of the divine spark within us. Despite the layers of ego and worldly concerns that may enshroud it, our divinity remains inherent and unyielding.
The notion of "hiding under layers of worldly protection" highlights the role of ego in obscuring our connection to the divine. Our ego's desire for control, self-preservation, and gratification can create barriers that hinder our spiritual growth and realization.
In essence, your response to John 2:13-22 effectively emphasizes the importance of recognizing and nurturing the divine within ourselves, overcoming the distractions and barriers that can obscure our connection to our true essence. It is a call to liberate ourselves from the constraints of ego and embrace the transformative power of our divinity.