Passages For Spiritual Reflection

As A Matter of Faith

John 2: 23-25 Now while in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. 

  We all probably remember the story of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem shortly after the great miracle of turning the water into wine while Jesus attended the wedding in Cana.  Well Jesus was a little upset when he walked into the Temple and found that the town folks had set up shop selling live stock. “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Fathers house into a market!” Jesus exclaimed as he drove the cattle and sheep out using a whip he had fashioned from cords. Scattering the coins of the money changers all over the floor, Jesus then tipped over their tables! We really shouldn’t mess with Jesus.   

  John goes on to explain how the people who gathered asked Jesus to perform a miracle so they too could testify as to his glory, and this is when Jesus said “I will destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.” Well, the Jews did not understand that the Temple Jesus was referring to was his body rising from the dead after the Crucifixion!  

  It must have been very frustrating for Jesus, who knew all too well, what was really in the hearts of men. Some who were singing his praise would also be the ones yelling “Crucify him.”  

  Perhaps Man hasn’t changed too much in the last two thousand years. The belief and praise for God can be very superficial.

  You know that it’s fairly easy to remain loyal to God, when were in the right place or with certain people; like Church, with our pastors or other members of our Parishes, or even in certain social settings. But how loyal are we when it’s not that popular to be a follower of Christ, or when we feel we have too much at stake to openly profess or show our loyalty? We should always be aware of our actions in order to safeguard against our own shallow acts of Christianity.  

  Reading these passages again also makes me wish at times that I could, as well as Jesus, be so all knowing as to the nature of what is in the hearts and minds of those I come into contact with. If I had that ability, I might not be led astray by the superficial influence of others and not, entrust myself to them. 

  I think that a moderate dose of skepticism in human nature is a wise quality to apply to all those we associate with, which in turn may help to insure that we are not duped by the phony values of others.  

  The Story in the passages of John above is generally referred to as “The Clearing of the Temple” and maybe there is another positive aspect we can get out of this story? Sometimes we too, like Jesus, should get a little angry and cast out all the Bad things in our own lives. Sort of like, The Clearing out of our own Temples.  

© Phillip E. Sorant ******* 2010