{"id":1028,"date":"2017-03-20T00:56:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T00:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2017\/03\/20\/indictment-of-the-temple-based-on-deuteronomy\/"},"modified":"2020-02-15T19:06:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T19:06:58","slug":"indictment-of-the-temple-based-on-deuteronomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2017\/03\/20\/indictment-of-the-temple-based-on-deuteronomy\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIndictment of the Temple\u201dbased on Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18; and Mark 11:15-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home Missioner Kevin M. Nelson and Rev. Sara E. BaronFirst United Methodist Church of Schenectady603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>For
\nus, the primary question is, \u201cWhy did Jesus overturn the tables in
\nthe Temple?\u201d \u00a0We were both raised with one explanation, and have
\ncome to believe another one entirely!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A
\nman named Rabbi Hillel was said to live an extraordinarily long life,
\nborn around 110 BCE, about a century before Jesus\u2019 birth, and lived
\ninto Jesus\u2019 early years, around 10-20 CE. <\/sup>His primary rival
\nin thought was Shammai. \u00a0Once, they say, a Gentile approached Hillel
\nand Shammai and challenged them to explain the Torah to him while he
\nstood on one foot. Shammai dismissed the man. Hillel accepted the
\nquestion but gently chastised the man by responding, \u201cWhat is
\nhateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole of the
\nTorah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n <\/sup>If this brings to
\nmind anything Jesus said, I don\u2019t think it is a coincidence. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nGospel of Mark records an episode that rings similar to that
\nexperienced by Shammai and Hillel. This happens during the testing of
\nJesus\u2019 teachings and authority in the days that followed the Temple
\nepisode that my mother-in-law, Joan, read a few minutes ago. In it,
\nJesus was asked which commandment is the greatest. Jesus answered
\nthat the Shema ( this
\nmorning\u2019s Deuteronomy passage\u2014love God with all your heart, soul,
\nmind and strength) is the
\ngreatest, and loving our neighbor as ourselves
\n(this morning\u2019s Leviticus passage read by my mother, Elizabeth)
\nis the second greatest.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

These
\ncommands are at the heart of how Jesus understood God\u2019s nature; one
\nof love, justice and compassion, and they are central to the
\nindividual and collective ways in which we are to live out our lives.
\nThey are also going to be central to why Jesus was at the Temple on
\nthe last Monday of his life. In order to explain this, let us provide
\nsome more context.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jesus
\nlived from around 4 BCE to around 30 CE. \u00a0He was raised in Galilee,
\nan area that had been re-colonized by faithful Jews and was an
\nimpoverished backwater of the Roman Empire. \u00a0In particular, he grew
\nup in Nazareth, a tiny village that was 4 miles from the CITY of
\nSepphoris. \u00a0Sepphoris had been part of a revolt against the Roman
\nEmpire in 4 BCE, in response to the death of Herod who had brutally
\noppressed everyone under his reign. \u00a0In response, the Empire had sent
\nin legions of troops to reconquer the city, leveling much of it, and
\nselling those who had led the revolt into slavery.2<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Did
\nyou hear that? \u00a0Approximately the year Jesus was born, the city under
\nwhose shadow he was raised, was leveled by the Empire. \u00a0It is even
\nlikely that his father’s work was in rebuilding the city. \u00a0The
\nrevolt, and its aftermath, would have infiltrated his consciousness
\nin ways similar to kids born in 2001 in New York City.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nRoman Empire was an empire in all of the traditional ways that
\nempires are empires. \u00a0It existed to extract wealth from the people it
\nconquered in order to give the wealth to powerful elites. \u00a0In his
\nbook, \u201cJesus:
\nUncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious
\nRevolutionary,\u201d <\/i>which
\nwas chosen by the Intersectional Justice Committee for the January
\nbook discussion, Marcus
\nBorg refers to the Roman Empire as a preindustrial agricultural
\ndomination system. \u00a0Domination systems emerged about 5000 years ago
\nwhen humans figured out how to produce metal and domesticate animals
\n(at roughly the same time). \u00a0Domesticating animals enabled larger
\nscale agriculture and thus agricultural surplus and larger scale
\nsocieties. Surplus also meant enabling the existence of wealth,
\nwhich, when combined with larger societies, led to motivation for
\ndomination, at a larger scale.3<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Preindustrial
\nagricultural domination looked something like devising systems
\nthrough which taxation enabled wealth to flow upward, thus causing
\npeople to live on the edge of subsistence and not just poverty, but
\nindentured servitude and slavery. In other words, virtually everyone<\/i>
\nwho wasn\u2019t part of the elite, was a peasant. Agriculture, and thus
\nland, was a family\u2019s primary source of productivity. A bad year for
\ncrops could lead to debt, and in a subsistence world, it was all but
\nimpossible to produce enough to pay off debt
\nonce a family fell into debt. As little as one
\nbad year for crops could lead to debt, potentially loss of your land
\nand indentured servitude in which you were working the same land but
\nnow someone else owned it and gained the productivity from the
\nland and your labor.
\nAs
\nlittle as two or three
\nbad years could lead to loss of land and slavery.4<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nthe system Jesus lived under, wealth was thus derived from farming
\nand the wealth flowed up to the ruler and his aristocrats. \u00a0In fact,
\nbetween ½ and 2\/3 of all<\/i>
\nproduction ended up in the hands of the elite 1-2% of the society,
\nmaking them VERY wealthy. \u00a0They used some of this wealth to maintain
\narmies in order to keep the wealth, and the role of religion was to
\nlegitimate the concentration of wealth by claiming the ruler as
\nruling by Divine will.5<\/sup><\/a><\/sup>
\n Some of this should sound familiar from either history class or the
\nnewspaper. \ud83d\ude09\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nthis system, the poor, who comprised at least 90% of the population,
\nworked very hard and died very young. \u00a0Those who survived childhood
\nlived to an average age of 30. \u00a0The production they engaged in
\nbenefited the elites who tended to live to an average age of 70. \u00a0
\nNow, the Roman Empire wasn’t unique at all. \u00a0This was exactly the
\nsame domination system that the proto-Israelites had encountered in
\nEgypt and from which they had experienced God leading them into
\nfreedom. This was also the same domination system that their own
\nkings had often attempted to implement, although their kings were
\nkept a bit in check by the prophets CONSTANTLY calling them out. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This
\nsystem was well known, but it stood in marked contrast with the world
\nas envisioned by God, shared by Moses, articulated by the prophets,
\nand sought by the people. \u00a0The vision laid out in the Torah starts by
\ngiving each family access to their own land to farm. \u00a0It is designed
\ncarefully, intended to prevent any system where a group of people
\ncould economically dominate any other people, and THUS intended to
\nprevent a situation where a peasant class could exist and be
\ndominated. \u00a0The vision of God in the Torah involved each family
\nhaving access to land AND being able to reap its benefits. \u00a0The
\nvision of God in the Torah requires making food accessible even to
\nwidows, orphans, and foreigners \u2013 the only ones who wouldn’t have
\naccess to land. \u00a0The vision of God in the Torah requires sharing 10%
\nof food production in order to BOTH feed the priests AND feed the
\nhungry. \u00a0The vision of God in the Torah aims to keep society level so
\nthat no one dominates and no one is dominated. \u00a0That is the faith of
\nthe Jews.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That
\nis the faith that the Temple was built to support. \u00a0The Temple stood
\nas a symbol of that faith, as a way to remember that faith, and as a
\nway to enact that faith. \u00a0The Temple stood near but APART from the
\nKing’s palace, with an intention to keep powers separate and
\naccountable. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nRoman Empire preferred to keep local leadership in place when it took
\nover new areas. \u00a0However, it made the leadership accountable to the
\nEmpire and required that the leadership do the work of gathering up
\nthe wealth of the people to \u201cpay its taxes.\u201d \u00a0Furthermore, it
\nreplaced \u201clocal\u201d leadership as it deemed necessary to maintain
\nstability and keep the money flowing upward. \u00a0To be clear, this means
\nRome appointed the high priest, and the appointment lasted only so
\nlong as Rome was pleased with him. From 6 CE to 66 CE, Rome appointed
\n18 high priests.6<\/sup><\/a><\/sup>
\nThe Roman Empire wasn’t stupid. \u00a0It knew that the real power in
\nIsrael by the time of Jesus was in the Temple \u2013 there hadn’t been a
\nmonarch in centuries. \u00a0The power that the Temple derived from its
\nfunction and symbolism as the centerpiece of living out God’s vision
\nfor a JUST society was thus co-opted for the sake of the domination
\nsystem and its insatiable hunger for greater wealth.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thus,
\nthe Temple that stood as an emblem and reinforcement of God\u2019s
\njustice and compassion was co-opted by the preindustrial,
\nagricultural domination system of the Roman Empire.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nTemple, meant to function as an equalizer, a seat of prayer, and the
\nhome of the priests who taught about God’s vision was \u2013 by the time
\nof Jesus \u2013 being used to extract wealth from the peasants for
\nbenefit of the already wealthy. \u00a0Jesus, after his upbringing as a
\npeasant near the aftermath of a revolt, had a particularly high
\nawareness of this system and its brokenness. \u00a0He was interested in
\nbreaking the PERCIEVED power of the Temple which would decrease (or
\nbreak) its usefulness to those in the domination system who would
\nabuse it. And that brings us to today\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

Many
\nChristians, when they think of the seminal moment in Jesus\u2019 life
\nand career, probably think of the Resurrection. In contrast, I
\nunderstand this<\/i>
\nstory, the story of the indictment of the Temple, to be the seminal
\nmoment of Jesus\u2019 career.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nthe version we read in Mark, Jesus and his followers enter the Temple
\nand begin what I would recognize as a disruptive act. They knock over
\nthe tables and throw out the vendors
\nand the money changers. For most of our lives, we have probably heard
\nthis story in a way similar to a summary provided by biblical scholar
\nN.T. Wright in his book, Mark
\nfor Everyone<\/i>.
\n\u201cMany people have thought that Jesus was simply protesting against
\ncommercialization. On this view, he only intended to clean up the
\nTemple\u2014to stop all this non-religious activity, and leave it as a
\nplace for pure prayer and worship.\u201d7<\/sup><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nBorg’s book he reminds us that the courtyard of the Temple was 40
\nacres! \u00a0This simple fact gives us reason to question the narrative
\nwe’ve been taught. \u00a0To create a notable disruption within a space
\nthat large would require intentionality, a plan, and many people!
\nThus, this can’t have been a temper-tantrum response to commercial
\nactivity. \u00a0That opens up the question even wider: why did Jesus PLAN
\na disruption at the Temple? \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But
\nfirst, was this REALLY a disruption? Through Sara\u2019s subversive
\nwomen of the Bible sermon series, we\u2019ve been talking about
\nsubversive actions for months, and this is classic subversive
\nactivism 101\u2014staging a disruption. Mark affirms this by sandwiching
\nthis episode in between the two halves of the fig tree story, using
\nthe fig tree as a symbol<\/i>
\nfor the Temple. In that story, the morning before the Temple
\nepisode, as Jesus and his followers are on their way to the Temple,
\nJesus notes that a fig tree has not produced any fruit and curses it,
\nnever mind that figs were out of season.
\nThe NRSV version of the Bible titles the concluding section, \u201cThe
\nLesson From the Withered Fig Tree.\u201d \u00a0In it, when
\nthey pass by that fig tree
\nthe
\nmorning after the Temple disruption,
\nthe tree is already dead.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

N.T.
\nWright explains, \u201cBut Mark makes it clear, by the placing of the
\nTemple incident within the two halves of the fig tree story, that he
\nsees Jesus\u2019 actions as, again, a dramatic acted parable of
\njudgment. This was Jesus\u2019 way of announcing God\u2019s condemnation of
\nthe Temple
\nitself and all that it had become in the national life of Israel.\u201d
\nJesus judges the tree and it dies. \u00a0Jesus judges the Temple to kill
\nits power, in particular its power to dominate.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So,
\nwhy did Jesus plan a disruption at the Temple? It was so Jesus could
\nindict the Temple, knowing that between this action and his Palm
\nSunday entrance the day before, it would likely result in his death.
\nIndeed,
\nit is within the Temple passage that
\nthe author of
\nMark notes for the first time that the chief priests and scribes
\ndecided to kill Jesus and began plotting to this effect. The author
\nof Mark illustrated Jesus\u2019 plan through the fig tree, but a
\ncontemporaneous audience would also have recognized it through Jesus\u2019
\nown reported words. \u201cIs it not written, \u2018My house shall be called
\na house of prayer for all the nations\u2019? But you have made it a den
\nof robbers.\u201d Marcus Borg helps us to better understand these
\nreferences, explaining them as a combination of Isaiah 56:7 (the
\nTemple as a house of prayer for all nations) and Jeremiah 7:11. The
\nlatter is part of what is called Jeremiah\u2019s \u201ctemple sermon,\u201d in
\nwhich, according to Borg, Jeremiah \u201cwarned that it would be
\ndestroyed unless those who worshipped there began to practice
\njustice.\u201d \u00a0Earlier, the text reads<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

,
\n\u201cIf you truly amend your ways and doings, if you truly act justly
\none with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan and the
\nwidow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go
\nafter gods to your own hurt, then I [God] will dwell with you in this
\nplace.\u201d (Jeremiah 7:5-7)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Borg
\ngoes on,\n<\/p>\n

Then,
\nstill speaking in the name of God, Jeremiah said, \u2018Has this house
\n[the temple], which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in
\nyour sight?\u2019 The phrase in Hebrew suggests not just thievery, but
\nrobbing with violence. In what sense had the temple become \u2018a den
\nof robbers,\u2019 a cave of violent ones? In Jeremiah, the meaning is
\napparent: it was a \u2018den of robbers\u2019 precisely because it had
\nbecome the center of an oppressive system that did not practice
\njustice, but exploited the most vulnerable in society. It was an
\nindictment of the powerful and wealthy elites of his day, centered in
\nthe monarchy and temple. Their everyday injustice made them robbers,
\nand they thought of the temple as their safe house and place of
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thus,
\nwhen Jesus called the temple \u2018a den of robbers,\u2019 he was not
\nreferring to the activity of the money changers and sellers of
\nsacrificial animals. Rather, he indicted the temple authorities as
\nrobbers who collaborated with the robbers at the top of the imperial
\ndomination system. They had made the temple into a den of robbing and
\nviolence. Jesus\u2019 action was not a cleansing of the temple, but an
\nindictment of the temple. The teaching explains the act. Indeed, it
\nwas the reason for the act.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This
\nwas why Jesus planned a disruption of the temple. \u00a0This is why it was
\nworth it to him to accept the consequences of having publically
\nindicted the Temple and its authority. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We
\ndon’t live in a preindustrial, agricultural domination system
\nanymore. \u00a0Obviously. \u00a0Now we live in a post-industrial,
\nnon-agricultural, domination system. \u00a0The rules are both different
\nand the same. \u00a0The work of the many is still used to enrich the few,
\nalthough we have new ways of blaming the many for not being wealthy
\nthemselves. \u00a0Our domination system is dependent on racism, sexism,
\ntransphobia, heteronormativity, xenophobia, and all kinds of other
\nways of dehumanizing God’s beloved people.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nsystem falls apart when we look at each other, no matter the
\ndifferences, and see another human being, a beloved person of God,
\nworthwhile and worth listening to. \u00a0However, it is not just that we
\nare called to do this individually. \u00a0Like Jesus, we need to pay
\nattention to how our institutions (including faith traditions) are
\nbeing systematically used as part of the domination system. Then,
\nlike Jesus, we need to disrupt the system. \u00a0It turns out this Temple
\ncleansing is NOT, as many of us thought, the one counter-example to
\nan otherwise calm and loving Jesus. \u00a0This story is the epitome of
\nJesus loving God’s people, it is Jesus loving God’s people enough to
\nupset the system to give them a chance, even when it would inevitably
\nlead to his own death.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Today,
\nwe are similarly called to disrupt. It may or may not involve
\ndramatic
\nacts<\/i>
\nof disruption. However, when we see actions of thievery, of
\nstate-sanctioned robbery, of oppressive political systems
\nthat do not practice justice and
\ninstead
\ncreate legal structures for the exploitation of the most vulnerable
\nin society\u2014we are called to indict the powers that do such things
\nand to seek ways to disrupt these actions. Look for the ways in which
\nyou can step outside of your normal behaviors in order to dramatize,
\nshed light on, injustice
\nand indict the powers behind it. Look for the ways in which you can
\nstep outside of your normal behaviors and activities in order to
\nadvocate for the vulnerable, the marginalized and exploited. Look for
\nthe ways in which you can work collectively and organize in order to
\naddress the systems that marginalize and exploit the vulnerable.
\nImagine these actions and others like them. Sit with whatever
\ndiscomfort these thoughts may bring. Pray over how you are called to
\nrespond. Then, join with others to do. As Jesus did. Amen.<\/p>\n

1<\/a>
\n\thttps:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hillel_the_Elder<\/a>
\n\taccessed
\n\tMarch 14, 2017.<\/p>\n

\n\t2<\/a>Marcus
\n\tBorg, \u201cJesus:
\n\tUncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious
\n\tRevolutionary\u201d (USA:
\n\tHarperOne, 2006) page 89-93.<\/p>\n

3<\/a>
\n\t\tBorg, 79-80.<\/p>\n

4<\/a>Borg,
\n\t79-80.<\/p>\n

5<\/a>Borg
\n\t81-82.<\/p>\n

6<\/a>
\n\tBorg, 90.<\/p>\n

\n\t7<\/a>N.T.
\n\tWright, Mark
\n\tfor Everyone,
\n\t(Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), p. 151.<\/p>\n

Home Missioner Kevin M. Nelson and Rev. Sara E. Baron<\/p>\n

First United Methodist Church of Schenectady<\/p>\n

603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305<\/p>\n

http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home Missioner Kevin M. Nelson and Rev. Sara E. BaronFirst United Methodist Church of Schenectady603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/For … Continue reading \u201cIndictment of the Temple\u201dbased on Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18; and Mark 11:15-19<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,39,33,722,725,721,718,723,724,144,56,717,719,720],"class_list":["post-1028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-day-after-the-wedding","tag-hi-mom","tag-home-missioners-preach","tag-indicting-the-temple","tag-married-people-preach","tag-not-what-we-grew-up-with","tag-revsaraebaron","tag-schenectady","tag-smashthepatriarchy","tag-subversive-jesus","tag-temple-is-as-temple-does"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1237,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions\/1237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}