Day 18 – The Temple

Study Luke 2:21-24

“Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord” Luke 2:22

As per the law, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to be circumcised on the eighth day (as discussed in Day 12). The Ark of the Covenant – signifying the presence of God – had been absent from the temple since 586 BC when it was destroyed by the Babylonians. Herod’s temple had no Ark of the Covenant until this beautiful moment when Mary carried baby Jesus into the temple in her arms.

As a gentile, Luke cleverly incorporates the temple in the narrative of his Gospel as symbolic meaning of a few things: the corruption of the temple being purified by Jesus’ entrance as a small baby; His pilgrimage to it; clearing it; and finally tearing the curtain for all humanity to enter the presence of God – through Him.

To me, it also points to our bodies as the Temple in which the Holy Spirit resides. When we accept Jesus, and He (like the baby) enters the Temple. Through all the temple acts we learn worship, praise, prayer, and fasting as He teaches us discernment, wisdom, and truth to build our temple on Him as the cornerstone.

Luke understood the significance of the temple to the Jews as their religious epicentre, but also how Jesus came to break the false religiosity of the teachings to the ground, establishing the Holiness of the temple once more as the dwelling place of God – but this time, within His children. Luke concentrates on the path of Jesus’ life around the temple – the place of His Father – from His presentation to after His death. The announcement of Israel’s redemption already started when Gabriel appeared to Zachariah in the Holy of Holies – confirming that even in the centre of something corrupted by human law, God still holds authority and brings righteousness.

Pray with me: Father, thank You for showing us that through Jesus You have reestablished Your temple within us. Teach us, Lord, to keep this temple Holy as we continue to build our faith and relationship with You on the Cornerstone that was laid. Amen. ©

Love, Pastor Iriza