Cleansing the Temple with a Whip of Cords

By Bernardino Mei 1655

Jesus made a whip from cords and drove all of them –

merchants, sheep and cattle - out of the Temple. (Jn. 2:15)

Cleansing the Temple with a Whip of Cords

                               

March 11, 2012, 3rd Sunday of Lent
Exodus 20:1-17     I Corinthians 1:22-25     John 2:13-25

Second reading

Brothers and sisters: Jews want miracles for proof, and Gentiles look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a message that’s offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles. But to those whom God has called (both Jews and Gentiles) Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you, Lord.

Then it was time for the Jewish Feast of Passover, and Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area He saw merchants selling cattle, sheep and doves for sacrifices, and moneychangers[1] behind their counters. So He made a whip from cords and drove all of them – merchants, sheep and cattle - out of the Temple. He sent the coins of the moneychangers flying, and overturned their tables. Then He said to the pigeon sellers, “Take all this out of here, and stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for your house consumes me like a fire.”[2]

At this the Jews responded, "What miracle can you perform to show us that you have the right to do this?" Jesus answered: “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple and you are going to 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. While He was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. But Jesus didn’t trust them, for He knew mankind to the core. No one needed to tell Him how changeable human nature is!

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

Daylight Saving Time

Today, March11, 2012 we go from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time. Today we set our clocks ahead 1 hour. So we will be getting up in the dark again. But it also gives us more daylight at the end of the day, to do the things we like to do (a ball game etc.), or to do the tasks we have to do (cutting the lawn etc.).

The note of conflict struck early

John places the cleansing of the Temple at the very beginning of Jesus’ public life -- already in the 2^nd chapter. (Jn. 2: 13-22)  In Matthew’s gospel the cleansing of the Temple occurs very much later in 21^st chapter. (Mt. 21:12-17)  The synoptic[3] gospels are more chronological, while John’s gospel is more theological. In John’s gospel the note of conflict is struck early. Already in his 2^nd chapter the Jewish authorities are fighting with Jesus and challenging Him to prove by working a miracle that He has the authority to cleanse the Temple.

Jesus tells them what His proof will be: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it!”(Jn. 2:19)

My gosh, it took l0,000 men to build the magnificent Temple, 1000 priests as masons to construct its sacred sections, and 46 years to complete it, and Jesus tells the Jewish authorities that He could rebuild it in three days! John immediately explains, “But the Temple Jesus was speaking of was His body.”(Jn. 2:21) The authorities would destroy that body on Good Friday, and God would rebuild it three days later on Easter Sunday.

A profane marketplace and not a sacred Temple

The cleansing of the Temple is related in all four gospels. (Mt. 21:12-17; Mk. 11:15-18; Lk. 19:45-48; Jn. 2:13-22)  Jesus goes to the Temple for the Feast of Passover. In the Temple courtyard He hears the mooing of the cattle, the bleating of sheep, the cooing of pigeons and the clanging of coins, instead of the chanting of psalms and prayers. Instead of seeing and hearing priests and people at pious prayer in the Temple, He sees and hears all kinds of merchants haranguing their wares and tilting their scales. There in the courtyard Jesus smells the foul odor of livestock and sweaty herders, and the excrement of sheep and cattle, instead of the pleasant scent rising from the altar of incense. The sights, sounds and smells which Jesus encountered were those of a profane marketplace and not of a sacred Temple.

A good sound whip of cords

Though the synoptic gospels do not mention the whip of cords which Jesus used in cleansing the Temple, they still use very vitriolic language as they relate the event. To the wheelers and dealers in the Temple they have Jesus saying,”It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[4] but you have turned it into a `den of thieves.’[5]” (Mt. 21:13) John alone mentions the whip of cords. With all the transacting in livestock going on in the Temple area, there was plenty of rope or twine lying around for Jesus to knot into a good sound whip of cords, just as there was plenty of masonry stones in the Temple area for the Pharisees to cast at the woman caught in adultery. (Jn. 8:7)

Jesus’ one and only act of violence

Some translations of this passage have Jesus using the whip only on the animals to get them out of the Temple area: “Jesus made a whip from cords and drove the sheep and cattle out of the Temple.” (Jn. 2:15) Other translations have Jesus using the whip of cords not only on the sheep and cattle but also on the merchants themselves: “Jesus made a whip from cords and drove all of them – merchants, sheep and cattle - out of the Temple.” (Jn. 2:15)

Some commentators prefer the translation that has Jesus using the whip not on the merchants (human beings) but only on the animals to get them out of the Temple area. They believe that’s more consistent with the non-violent Jesus portrayed in Matthew 5:21-24. On the other hand, other commentators prefer the translation that has Jesus violently using the whip of cords not only on the sheep and cattle but on the merchants as well. For them “the cleansing of the Temple” is a delicate euphemism to describe Jesus’ one and only act of violence recorded in all four Gospels. 

Not about bingo but about the cleansing of the Temple

The Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American writes for the Third Sunday of Lent:

"When I was growing up, this Gospel reading (John 2:13-22) often brought bingo to mind. Oh, it wasn't the game itself -- it was the notion of playing bingo to raise money for the church. Looking back, I think it was more about Catholics than about bingo. We protestants had picked up an anti-Catholic bias in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Parents worried that their sons or daughters might marry Roman Catholics. And when John Kennedy ran for president, some worried that the pope would soon be running America. We were suspicious of Roman Catholics even though there wasn't a Catholic church in my small Iowa town. "

Bingo was further proof that Catholics were up to no good because they played bingo in church and Lutherans didn't. We were always waiting  for Jesus to come and overturn their bingo tables, sending the cards flying all over the church basement and spilling the little numbers out of the cage that spun them around. "Stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!" Jesus would shout as he tipped over the cash boxes. We were quite sure that Jesus would not have been upset with our oyster stew suppers or strawberry festivals to raise money for the missions."

Animal sacrifices - a man-made perversion

That day Jesus cleansed the Temple which had been turned into a marketplace with cattle mooing and sheep bleating, and with merchants wheeling and dealing. But more profoundly, some scholars say, Jesus cleansed the Temple which had been utterly defiled by animal sacrifices - a man-made perversion! Jesus cleansed the Temple of a God who needed the blood of animals to make Him happy!

Isaiah & Micah and animal sacrifices

The Bible presents an ongoing conflict between those forces that demanded animal sacrifices in the name of God, and those forces that opposed it as a man-made perversion. The prophet Isaiah has the Lord God saying, “Do you think I want all these sacrifices you keep offering me? I have had more than enough of the sheep you burn as sacrifices and of the fat of your fine animals. I take no pleasure in the blood of calves, lambs and goats. Who asked you to bring me all this when you come to worship Me?” (Is.1:11-12)

And the prophet Micah asks, “What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship Him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as an offering to Him? Will the Lord be pleased if I bring Him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil?” The prophet answers his own question: “No! What the Lord wants of us is this: to act justly, with loving kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah 6: 8)  In spite of the many biblical denunciations of animal sacrifice[6] religious leaders continued to maintain the ancient fiction that it was God who demanded His animal creatures be killed and butchered as an act of worship.

Protecting the man-made perversion

By Jesus’ time, it had been hundreds of years since Isaiah’s and Micah’s condemnation of animal sacrifices had been heard in Jerusalem. The authorities weren’t going to let that condemnation resurface in Jesus; they were determined to protect the man-made perversion that animal sacrifice (a lucrative business) had been ordained by God, and that He demanded its continuance. That belief had turned the House of God into a giant slaughterhouse, awash in the blood of its victims. And Jesus took up a whip of cords to cleanse the Temple of it. A few days after trying to cleanse the Temple of the cult of animal sacrifice, He was crucified.

Bishop Gumbleton cleansing the Temple

The former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Thomas John Gumbleton (b. 1930), has a long history of social justice. He is the founding president of Pax Christi USA (a peace movement). He is also former president of Bread for the World (an interfaith organization that fights world hunger).

He is also a `temple-cleanser.’ In a letter to America magazine (Nov. 20, 1993,) he wrote, "I can vouch for the fact that very many bishops share the same conviction [that not every contraceptive act is intrinsically evil]. However, sadly enough, fewer and fewer are willing to say this publicly.”And though Pope John Paul II spoke definitively against the ordination of women, Gumbleton said, “Priestesses will inevitably come. Already, female parochial administrators are proving their competency and laying the groundwork for the ordination of women.”

Bishop Gumbleton’s unspeakable prediction that the Temple would be cleansed of its machismo (its `boy-club’ atmosphere) and that “priestesses will inevitably come“ displeased Rome, and he paid for it: when he (still in good health) petitioned Rome for permission to stay on as bishop beyond his 75^th year (the canonical age for retirement but often waived for a good reason) his petition was refused with e-mail speed. Gumbleton, like Jesus, tried to cleanse the Temple, and like Jesus he paid for it.

Archbishop Hunthausen cleaning the Temple

Raymond Hunthausen (b.1921-),  former Archbishop of Seattle, is also a `temple-cleanser.’ When he became Archbishop he moved out of the episcopal mansion into an ordinary house in town. He was a great advocate for the poor and ignored. He courageously spoke out about controversial issues in the Church like artificial contraception and homosexuality. He publicly defended the rights of gays and lesbians in an open letter on July 1, 1977. He also permitted a homosexual group called Dignity to hold its own Mass in his cathedral, and to his critics he replied: “They're Catholics too and need a place to pray.” The Archbishop was cleansing the Temple of its homophobia. That displeased Rome, and Hunthausen paid for it:  Rome stripped him of some of his episcopal authority, because “his lack of clarity about homosexuality had confused the faithful.” The Archbishop, like Jesus, tried to cleanse the Temple, and like Jesus he paid for it.

Conclusion

Lent is for cleansing

Lent is for cleansing the Temple of its machismo, homophobia and all its others phobias. Lent is especially for cleansing the Temple of an angry God who needs to be placated with the blood of calves, goats and lambs. It is difficult to love a God who needs to be placated with blood. It’s much easier to love Isaiah’s God who “takes no pleasure in the blood of calves, lambs and goats” (Is. 1:12), and Micah’s God who wants only this of us: “to act justly, with loving kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God.” (Micah 6: 8) 

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[1] For a fee the Temple moneychangers exchanged foreign coins into coins acceptable   within the Temple.

[2] Psalm 69:9

[3] Matthew, Mark and Luke are called “synoptic” because their gospels look very much alike. John’s gospel, however, is very much different.

[4] Isaiah 56:7: “I will make them joyful in my house of prayer.”

[5] Jeremiah 7:11 “Has this house which bears my name become a den of thieves?”

[6] The theme opposing animal sacrifices in the name of God  runs through Jeremiah 7:3-7,11,21-25; Hosea 8:11-13; Amos 5:21-25 and psalm 40:7.