John 2: Messiah Invited, Merchants Expelled
When Jesus enters into the lives of people, two seemingly opposite things can happen – enhancing pleasure or rebuking error. In either case, it’s a matter of alignment to the will of God for our ultimate good.
A Blessed Wedding
The wedding at Cana was blessed with the divine presence of the heavenly Bridegroom of the elect. The beginning of His signs was sweet – not only sweet relief from worry of lack, or sweet delight for palate and heart, but an unprecedented sweet surprise for everyone. Inviting the most important Guest brought about this unexpected blessing.
The first wedding in Eden was meant to populate the earth with godly offspring (Mal 2:15). The last wedding will be of cosmic proportions, with the bride descending from heaven, a city transcending the splendour of Eden. It will be a divine-human union, celebrated in the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Meanwhile, life outside of Eden, though not totally devoid of joy, falls short of God’s intended bliss for humanity. But being chased out of the physical Garden of Joy does not preclude us from inviting the source of joy into our imperfect lives to make good our insufficiency:
Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (Jn 16:24)
Moreover, scripture prompts us to expect surprises 😊:
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us… (Eph 3:20)
The True Temple
The temple in Jerusalem was a physical space for a spiritual Edenic connection to God (see Ps 36:7-9; 1 Kgs 6:18, 29, 32, 35; 7:18-20). Witnessing the merchants around the holy precinct disturb its central focus, Jesus acted on His intense zeal for God’s house and drove them away with their merchandise.
To the Jews who questioned Jesus’ authority to put the house of God in order, He made it clear that the present cleansing was but a mild precursor to the final purging of corruption from the temple – by physical destruction! The permanent restoration would be in the spirit, with the resurrected Christ Himself as the permanent temple, the site of full reconciliation of God and men (Rev 21:2-3; 22)
Family & Church Life
Marriage is the foundation of the family, and very Christian wedding is a portrayal of the loving union of Christ and His bride. For this reason, Christian family life should reflect the household of God, as envisioned in Psalm 127 and 128.
With godly families centred on Christ, the church they constitute will exalt Christ as Head, growing into a holy temple for a habitation of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:21-22).
