And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him. Luke 19:47
In 587 BC, the Babylonian armies under Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, and along with it, Solomon’s temple. In the process, they seized the holy vessels that were within the temple for use in the worship and service of God. We know that many of those holy vessels were in Babylon for many years; many of them were used by Belshazzar in his insane night of defiance against God. But there is no record of the Babylonians capturing the Ark of the Covenant, although many people believe they did. The Ark was the most important element in the entire temple, surpassing the significance of the temple itself as symbolizing the presence of God. We don’t know whether devout Jews hid the Ark to prevent it from being part of the Babylonian plunder. Among the many theories are stories that the Ark has been hidden in one of various places. The apocryphal book 2 Maccabees claims it was buried in a cave on Mount Nebo. Among its many other reported locations are various churches in Europe and England, in a cave in the Dumghe mountains in Zimbabwe, Africa, and in an ancient church in Ethiopia. But since 587 BC, it has been missing from the temple, almost six centuries before the last temple was destroyed by the Romans. Because it was the symbol of God’s presence and power, the temple – God’s dwelling place – was but a shell of what it should have been all those years. Until the Lord Jesus arrived.
When the Lord Jesus first arrived in the temple, at the time of His dedication at eight days of age, two devout saints, Anna and Simeon, recognized Him. Later, at age 12 years, He described His discussions in the temple with the Jewish doctors of the Law as being about His father’s business (Luke 2:49). Shortly before the events of our text today, He cleansed the temple of those who were making it a business centre. And our text describes his teaching ministry in the temple. Although the Ark was missing, the presence of God was there in the Person of Jesus Christ. While He was there, it was God’s dwelling place, and He had every right to teach there, despite the opposition of the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people. And He has every right today to teach in God’s dwelling place.
Matthew 18:20 identifies for us God’s dwelling place today. In the company of those who have been gathered to His Name, the Lord Jesus resides and teaches. As at the time of our text, there are opponents of His presence and His teaching. But they cannot ban His presence nor silence His teaching. His Word is open among us and the Holy Spirit guides our consideration of it. He teaches us about Himself, about the place that He is preparing for us, about our roles as those He has instructed to occupy until He come.
The Lord Jesus is teaching His people today. Are we learning? – Jim MacIntosh