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The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
The Sanhedrin condemns Jesus for claiming that He was able to destroy the temple and rebuild it. To them, that was equivalent to claiming God’s power, and had to be blasphemy. Surely Jesus didn’t have that kind of power – never mind that He had spent several years very publicly giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and raising the dead.
But there’s a deeper trial going on. The God of Israel comes to Israel, and Israel puts Him on trial. They condemn God incarnate on the basis of true testimony – His claim to be able to destroy and rebuild the temple. Jesus really claims such power, and He really has it. But the Sanhedrin doesn’t want such a God, a God who commits the blasphemy of destroying and rebuilding temples.
They want a god of guarantees, whose entire reason for being is to ensure that their temple will stand and keep standing, no matter what. Like all pagans, they want a god who ensures the persistence of the past, not a God who breaks down to make a new future. For them, a God who destroys and raises up is a blasphemous God.
That’s what Sanhedrins of every age long for: A god who sanctions their tradition. They will always send a God who kicks over their little monuments to the cross.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Friday, November 20, 2009 at 2:46 pm
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