The passage in question is John 2:14-22.
Let me preface my statements by saying that no where (If I'm wrong, please
show me where) has Jesus commanded his disciples (i.e., believers in Him) to
do violence. This passage in John does not support such a claim, either.
First, there is no evidence the passage that Jesus caused physical harm to
any person (or animal, for that matter).
Yes, Jesus was angry, but anger is a natural human response to things we
find to be wrong. Anger is not a sin. Anger can lead us to sin, but anger is
just another emotion.
Did he take physically aggressive action? Yes. Can that be termed violence?
Possibly. But to draw from it a conclusion that Jesus was a violent man is
not supported by the text.
As for the righteous indignation Jesus displayed. As we know from the OT (or
Torah), God has often displayed his wrath at those who reject him or reject
his commands. There are lots of theological reasons I could go into for
this, but I'm not in a mood to cover that ground at the moment. The point I
want to make is that we shouldn't be surprised that Jesus would display
anger in this situation.
The context of the text is one of a spiritual message.
The Temple was the holiest sites of Judaism. It was God's house. For a
Christian, it also symbolizes the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ and
the spirit of Christ within us. The lesson Jesus was teaching was to keep
our Temple pure. The fact that he chased out marketers and money changers
says nothing about Jesus' views on money (as some might suggest), but it
says a lot about things being in their proper place and not polluting our
Temple with things that do not belong.
This point is underscored by this exchange:
"Then the Jews demanded of him, 'What miraculous sign can you show us
to
prove you have the authority to do all this?'"
"Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in
three days.'
"The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,
and
you are going to raise it in three days?' But the temple he had spoken of
was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what
he had said."
(The translation I am using is the New International Version.)
H.
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Arnold - ASP [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Monday, April 15, 2002 11:23 AM
To: CF-Community
Subject: RE: Religious Jews (was: Circumcision article link)
> Jesus cast "out" the money lenders - not "down." In other
> words, be booted them out of the temple.
Same thing really - he used violence to get them out, he didn't speak to
them and they left, he CAST THEM OUT - in other words, he physically
removed them
Whether they were defiling the temple or not, using violence is NOT
turning the other cheek
And it wasn't as if they were physically defiling it - they were using
it as a place of business... Does this mean that the House Of God is
only there for his worship? If so, why have it? He's everywhere, right?
So you don't have to go to the church/temple to worship, you can do that
from anywhere... The only reason for the House is to have ceremonies, so
why have it open all of the time? Doesn't it prove that it's not
required by teaching that God is Omnipotent and Omnipresent?
As Violence Begets Violence, wouldn't him throwing the lenders out mean
that they would reciprocate and attack Jesus? Then what? He could turn
the other cheek, but he started the violence... What should he do? If he
followed his own teachings, then he should never have cast them out
Or was he just taking another page from His Father? In which case, it's
a good thing that the Temple wasn't razed to the ground!
Philip Arnold
Technical Director
Certified ColdFusion Developer
ASP Multimedia Limited
T: +44 (0)20 8680 1133
F: +44 (0)20 8686 7911
An ISO9001 registered company.
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