Views of Jesus: "The Jews"

Sunday March 19, 2006
John 2:13-22

Often modern Christians forget that Jesus was not a Christian, he was a Jew. As we have seen from some of our earlier views of Jesus, he was influenced by his place and time. We don’t know a great deal about Jesus’ political leanings. Perhaps he was influenced through John the Baptist by the Essenes. Perhaps he was influenced by his friends such as Peter living in rural poverty in the shadow of the wealth of the Roman Empire.

Judaism of the first century was under the control of the temple authorities. These authorities were divided into different political parties, the two leading parties are names we know well from the Gospels: Pharisees and Sadducees. At the time of Jesus’ life the primary political role for these groups was to maintain order. While they might disagree about theological issues such as resurrection of the dead or the application of Jewish law, their primary concern was to maintain the order of the Temple.

The Temple in Jerusalem was the center of Judaism. A pilgrimage to the Temple was for many a once a lifetime event. The Temple authorities were given some cultural control and a certain amount of autonomy within the Roman Empire as long as tribute was paid. Now the Temple authorities must have been in a bit of a bind. They need to raise funds not only for themselves but also to pay taxes to Rome.

When Kendra and I were touring around England we would often go to visit one of the grand Cathedrals from the Middle Ages. These are remarkable works of architecture and to stand in one is to understand the people’s reverence for God and desire to build a place that helps you to feel small in the presence of God. While we were in England it seemed to become more and more common for the Cathedrals to begin charging a fee for tourist to visit these churches. For a few Pounds you could stand in a sanctuary that was five, six sometimes eight hundred years old. I understood the financial need yet it also seemed sad to me that the church was reduced to needing to charge tourist to visit these holy places.


From a Christian point of view we understand Jesus’ actions at the Temple. Jesus is signaling that he is going to overturn the status quo. He is right to be angry about the abuses of the system. He is right to be angry at money changers who are making a profit off of the working poor who wish to buy an animal for sacrifice. From a Christian point of view this makes perfect sense, but to “The Jews”, this only means trouble.

For insiders of the institution they must be asking “Who does this guy think he is anyway?” Especially as John has placed the text at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he doesn’t even have a following yet. He’s just some guy from Galilee with a few friends. Who does he think he is?

For the Jewish leaders Jesus outrage is cause for serious concern. Their authority is given by Rome explicitly with the understanding that they can control the people. They cannot abide any loss of control. This is a serious act of trouble, who does this guy think he is?

I believe when we consider “The Jews” in the Bible we best not hear the story as if we are better than the authorities of that time. Sometimes I am a Pharisee, concerning myself with the rules of the church. Sometimes I am a Sadducee wanting to correct what I think is the poor theology of others. Sometimes I am a Zealot who wants to overthrow the current authorities and to take control of the situation right now.

Often Christians today resemble “The Jews” of John’s Gospel. We are concerned with the maintenance of our institution. We worry about money, numbers of people and living in the midst of an empire. What would Jesus want to drive out of our churches today? Whose tables would he want to overturn?