"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"

Gospel Reading: John 2:13-25
What can keep us from God's presence? Jesus’ dramatic cleansing of the temple was seen by his disciples as a prophetic sign of God’s action. The temple was understood as the dwelling place of God among his people. When God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, he brought them through the sea, and finally to Mount Sinai where he made a covenant with them and gave them a new way of life embodied in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). God gave Moses instruction for worship and for making the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, which was later replaced by the temple in Jerusalem. The New Testament tells us that these “serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary” – God’s Temple in heaven (Hebrews 8:5). Jesus’ cleansing of the temple is also a prophetic sign of what he wants to do with each of us. He ever seeks to cleanse us of sin so that we may be living temples of his Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Do you recognize God's indwelling presence with you and do you thirst for holiness in your personal life so that you may reflect his goodness and character within you?