The Shadow of Judgement

Daniel 9:20-27                            Hebrews 12:22-24                    John 2:13-22

The Shadow of Judgement

In 1882, Norwegian playwright, Hendrik Ibsen wrote a play titled “An Enemy of the People”. It is the story of a man who discovers that certain poisons were seeping into the hot water springs which provided the town with much needed funds from tourists who believed that the warm waters had healing powers. At first the town council agreed that something had to be done, until they heard of the cost involved and the time it would take to rectify the situation. They realised that if they acted according to this man’s recommendations, their lucrative income would be jeopardized, and so they craftily twisted the truth so that the whole town concluded that the man who discovered this all was actually an enemy of the people.

In 1982, one hundred years after Ibsen published his play, author Robin Cook wrote a book titled “Fever”. The book was based on Ibsen’s play, only in Cook’s novel it was a father of a very sick girl that traced her leukaemia and a neighbour boy's fatal aplastic anaemia to benzene dumped into the river flowing past their house by a local rubber and plastic recycling plant. The result of making this discovery public was the same as that of the man in Ibsen’s story. In both stories, the carrier of the deadly poisons was the same…water.

Everyone needs water to live. No one can live without water and consequently, when water is contaminated, all of life is threatened and all of life will be negatively affected. In Ibsen’s play, the waters tourists believed to have healing powers was killing them. How very tragic then for those who knew better to not only idly sit by and do nothing, but to actively suppress and twist the truth, all the while knowing full well that those who trusted in the waters were slowly being contaminated to the point of death. Indeed, how wicked. 

Now, one can draw a parallel with this story and the Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” Now while there were springs in and around Jerusalem, there were no rivers, so what was the Psalmist talking about? Well, the next line in the Psalm makes his meaning clear. “The holy place where the Most High dwells.” In other words, this river flowed out from the Temple.

As I said last week, this imagery comes from the Garden of Eden, described as situated on a high mountain with life giving rivers flowing out from its centre. The Temple was supposed to be a physical image of a spiritual reality…a picture of this mountain with life giving water streaming from it. Wherever this water flowed, life flourished. 

But as we saw last week, the Temple in Jesus’ day was a far cry from what the prophets had predicted. Instead of life-giving water, it was spewing out the sewage of Satan, killing all who came to drink. In John 8:44 Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that they were of their father, the devil, a liar, a thief, and a murderer. In Matthew 23:13-15 Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widow’s houses, and for a pretence make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel over land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Who were these scribes and Pharisees? Well, they were the leaders of the people…the teachers of the Scriptures…the “clergy” and seminary professors of the day, if you will. If they were corrupt, then everyone they taught would be corrupt too…if the source of the waters was poisoned, those who drank from the stream would die.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones, and all uncleanness. Even so, you also appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Do you catch the irony here? Those who were meant to uphold the law…those who were meant to teach the law, were, in fact, themselves lawless. 

This is why the cleansing of the Temple, and the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, as well as the message of Psalm 69 are all linked together here. It was Jesus’ zeal for the truth that drove the unbelieving Jews to murder. That is why John placed a quotation from Psalm 69 in the middle of the story about the first cleansing of the Temple.

Now, as I said last week, any First Century hearer or reader of a quotation from the Old Testament would immediately recall the whole context of the passage or book in which the quotation is found. They would not just hear one verse used in isolation, but rather they would hear the whole teaching of which the verse was but one part. For this reason, I want us to take a closer look at Psalm 69 to see why John used it here in the context of the Temple cleansing.

Just as an aside, no other Old Testament passage, save Psalm 22, is more frequently quoted than this Psalm and I believe that as we go through it, all too quickly, unfortunately, you will recognise a number of phrases used in the New Testament.

The Psalm begins with an image of sludge-filled, flooding waters threatening to kill all in its path. Does that sound familiar? Listen.

1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.

2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.

3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.

4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

Now, in John 15, Jesus quoted from verse 4 in his explanation of why the unbelieving Jews hated him and rejected him. “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did,” he said, “they would have no sin; but now they have both seen and also hated both me and my Father. But (and here comes the quotation) this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (John 15:22-25)

By rejecting Jesus, the leaders rejected their God…their final act of apostacy being the damning statement at the trial before Pilate: “We have no king but Caesar! Crucify him!” By quoting from Psalm 69, John showed us that the leaders had no excuse…they hated and rejected Jesus without a cause.

The next section obviously applied to King David as Jesus had not sin, but the point is not so much that he sinned, but rather that he was innocent.

5 You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.

6 May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.

7 For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.

Now, while it is true that Jesus had no sin of his own, he did bear upon himself our sin…our reproach…on his sinless self. As Isaiah said, “Surely, he too up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Our guilt…our disgrace…our shame…was laid on him even though he was innocent.

But now comes the quotation found in our Gospel passage. 

8 I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons;

9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

10 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;

11 when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me.

12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.

Yes, Jesus own brothers did not believe in him until after the resurrection…but I believe this verse speaks to more than just his immediate kin. John tells us in his prologue that Jesus came to his own, and his own did not receive him. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, but the world did not recognise him. Think on this. The leaders, the scribes, the Pharisees, the priests, the Levites, the Sadducees…these were people who claimed to know God. But when God stood right in front of them, they rejected him. 

Why? Because he had zeal for God’s house. That’s why they hated him. He had a zeal for God and that means everything pertaining to God. Their zeal began and ended with themselves. They robbed the poor and needy…they accepted idolatrous coins into the Temple treasury because of the high silver content…they allowed the Romans to appoint their High Priest and their king…they compromised the truth for the sake of expediency…they rendered God’s Word null and void with their traditions. Tradition and so-called reason trumped the truth! Like the shepherds spoken of in Ezekiel 34, the leaders had neglected to feed the sheep…instead they preyed on them, stripping the widows even of their last mite, rejecting the doctrine of God by teaching and upholding and implementing the doctrines of men.

Everything that follows in the rest of the Psalm points back to this verse. It was the zeal of the Psalmist that brought on the persecution. The same is true with Jesus. He exposed their religious inventions by teaching the truth of Scriptures. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly pointed out that what the leaders had taught the people contradicted the Word. You have heard that it was said…you have heard what they have taught you…but this, Jesus said, quoting from the Scriptures, this is the truth. It was this zeal for truth that angered the leaders of the people and so they plotted to kill him.

Zeal for the truth will always bring on persecution. Jesus said that if the world hated him, they will hate us. (John 15:20) Paul warned that all who seek to live godly lives would be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12) Peter tells us not to be surprised when we suffer persecution for teaching God’s Word. (1 Peter 4:11-12) Zeal for God…zeal for the Word…zeal for the truth is not acceptable to those who wish to push their own agenda. 

And so, the Psalmist prays:

 13 But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favour; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.

14 Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.

15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.

16 Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me.

17 Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

18 Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes.

19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you.

20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.

21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

Of course, this was originally the prayer of David, but we see echoes of it in the passion of Jesus too. Jesus prayed that if it was possible that the bitter cup of judgement would pass from him…but because he submitted to the will of God, he was fully vindicated. When Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22 from the cross, he was still teaching his disciples…urging them to remember the context of that Psalm that taught that God did not hide his face from him…it may often seem as if he has, but he never leaves or forsakes his children…he will always justify us. Perception must bow to faith and trust. I’m sure that you have already noticed the reference to gall and vinegar…an expression of insult for David, but an awful reality for Jesus. This Psalm was frequently cited in the New Testament as a prediction of the sufferings of Jesus.

But it is what the Psalmist says next that is of interest to us as we grapple to understand the impending judgement alluded to in the first and second cleansings of the Temple. 

22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap.

23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.

Paul quotes these verses in Romans 11:7-10 as he spoke about the falling away of the unbelieving Jews. “What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written: ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.’ And David says: ‘May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.’” 

It is hard to say exactly what Paul had in mind with regard to the “table” that became a snare, a trap, and a stumbling block for them, but by comparing this statement to others where the Apostle used the same words with regard to the Jews stumbling over Jesus, we can safely assume that this had something to do with table fellowship in the kingdom…in other words, who would sit around God’s table. Indeed, Jesus frequently referred to the kingdom in terms of a banquet. For example, in Matthew 8:11, he said: “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

But the rejection of the truth always ends in judgement. It is therefore no surprise to read the further prayers of the Psalmist.

24 Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them.

25 May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

26 For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation.

28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

OUCH! We tend to shy away from such prayers today. It just doesn’t sound very loving, does it? But, let me ask, dearest beloved brethren…is it ever loving to allow evil to flourish unchecked and unchallenged? 

Philosopher John Stuart Mill once said: “Let not anyone pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name…” 

You see, when we refuse to confront and deal with evil, we allow evil to triumph. Just like the town council in Ibsen’s play or like the authorities in Cook’s novel, those who say or do nothing are as guilty as those who poisoned the water. 

Yes, our speaking out may not win us favour with the world, but if we have chosen to follow in the footsteps of the one who gave up his life to save us, we need to remember that obedience to the truth is better than empty religiosity. Confronting evil, especially when it threatens to ensnare and enslave and mislead, glorifies God as it praises and exults the one who is true. As the Psalmist said:

29 I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me.

30 I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

31 This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

32 The poor will see and be glad-- you who seek God, may your hearts live!

33 The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.

And so, the Psalm ends on a triumphant note:

34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them,

35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;

36 the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.

Zeal for God and for truth may make us enemies of the people, but we will be vindicated. If we deal with the poisoned waters…if we do whatever it takes to purge the Church of all erroneous and false teachings…we will continue to be the conduit for the life giving water that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 

We must remember that we are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that we…like the Tabernacle and the Temple…we would be inhabited by the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The dwelling of God is with the Church. Remember what John said in Revelation 21:3:

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

This is an echo of what he said in John 1:14:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

And as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:16, quoting from Lev 26:12:

“For we are the Temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’”

But if the Church, like the Temple in Jesus day, is defiled…if we who claim the name of Jesus are projecting an image other than that of our holy God…will we not be judged too? The Church…the New Jerusalem…is portrayed by John as Eden restored…there is a river of life flowing out from it with the Tree of life bearing fruit and leaves for the healing of the nations. The curse has been reversed. 

But if our water is poisoned…or if we neglect to deal with the pollution in our midst…if we have forsaken our first love…if we tolerate the false teaching that misleads…if we are dead or lukewarm…will our Lord not spit us out of his mouth and withdraw from us? Our God is holy, dearest beloved brethren. 

The shadow of judgement that was cast over the Temple surely serves as a warning for us today as well. What flows out from us? Life? Healing? Truth? Reconciliation? Or has our water been poisoned. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts so that he may remove all that is not from him. 

Shall we pray?

Search me, O God…search me and know my heart…test me…see my anxious thoughts. Examine me and expose any and every offensive way in me…and lead me in the way everlasting.

Amen.

© Johannes W H van der Bijl