The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-03-03
JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.


THE BROKERS EXPELLED.-when JE-
sUs entered the royal city acknowledged as
king, he went not to the kings palace. but to
the temple of religious instruction and wor-
ship. His kingdom was spiritual and must
be administered through spiritual instruction
and influence. Hence when at Jerusalem he
was found daily in the Temple teaching
luke xix. 40 Here was to be the throne of
his power and influence. The Temple was
place of worship and the symbol of COM
munion with COP. To be spiritually service.
able the place of worship must be main
tanned sacred to its spiritual uses. 1t must
be place of self surrender and not of self
aggrandizement. In JESUS time the spirit
of greed had been permitted to enter the sa-
cred enclosure, and the house of prayer had
been made place of merchandise. The
Temple tax by which the religious services
were maintained was payable in Jewish coin
Places for the exchange of currency, and
markets for the sale of animals and other
things employed in sacrifices, were needed
to accommodate the strangers who came to
worship and to the festivals of their religion.
from foreign districts. These had been adj
mitted to the outer court of the Temple. Ex-
tortion was practiced in the business. JESUS
was righteously indignant at the proclamation
of the holy place. He is represented as ex-
polling the hucksters from the sacred enclos-
ure, and forbidding any secular use to be
made of it. By what authority he did this
we are not informed. He may have accom-
plished it by the matohless power of his dig
nifed moral assertion. Wrong doors are
roism and the sincere and courageous asser-
tion of virtue and right. A similar incident
is recorded of JESUS in connection with his
attendance upon the first Passover after he
began his public ministry (John ii. 15). From
Marks Gospel the expulsion of the traders
from the Temple appears to have occurred
on the day following the triumphal entrance
of the city Mark xi. 11-15). May not some
of the modern uses of the house of worship
merit the condemnation of JESUS?
TEACHING AND HEALING.-Though the
holy Temple might not properly be used for
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, it was not profana-
ton of its sacred uses to perform deeds of
courts, whittier the distressed and afflicted
people assembled for consolation and en-
enlargement. The blind and lame came to
him in the Temple and he healed them, con-
tinuing his teaching daily, according to Luke,
as he returned to the city from Bethany,
where he lodged. Every church and institu-
ton for religious instruction and worship
may properly and profitably minister to the
necessities of the afflicted and distressed.
Churches that do not employ their energies
in merciful, charitable and benevolent works
besides proclaiming the Gospel even to the
poor and needy, are not doing fully the work
of CHRIST.
THE CHILDREN's s0NGs.-Children were
employed in the service of the Temple. The
children of the streets may have caught the
contagion of the enthusiasm of those who
followed JESUS to do him royal honor, and
followed him into the Temple repeating the
song shouted from the procession as it proud
ly paraded the streets. The noisy demon
stration of the boys in the Temple greatly
displeased the Jewish rulers and teachers,
who by Interrogation expires sed their surprise
tuub oLoOb POIlAAbtOo tuCn dbtoutlOuo dhA dp-
plause. They we're probably displeased at
all they saw and heard, but the apparent Of
Tense of the children made plausible occa-
sion to manifest their sore displeasure.
JESUS replied to their petulent implied accu-
sations by really accusing them of gross ig-
norance of the meaning of Scripture, which
declared that perfect praise proceeds from
the mouth of even young children. The
reference of JEsCs is to Psalm viii. 2, which
contrasts the simple recognition of GoD and
His goodness by very young children, with
the malignant ratings of the impious and
wicked. Children may have clearer percep-
tions of, or more readily accept religious
truths and duties, than older persons who
are wickedly inclined or strongly prejudiced.
Children may properly be encouraged to
engage in public services and worship.
Children may become Christians as soon as
they may intelligently acknowledge the au-
thority of CHBIsT's teachings. They may be
profitably taught some of the principal truths
of Christianity in early childhood.