Scripture Study for
Third Sunday of Lent
Exodus 20:1–17 or 20:1–3, 7–8, 12–17 / John 6:68c / 1 Corinthians 1:22–25 / John 2:13–25
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Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
The Ten Commandments are considered the foundation of Israelite law. They include the basic conditions for covenant membership. They begin with a self proclamation by the God who has already acted on behalf of the people. The stipulations are absolute and applicable in any situation; sanctions for violation of them are severe. These commandments were really meant to be observed by all. Basically, they provided a sketch of the God with whom the people were in covenant, and they outlined how these covenanted people were to revere their God and live with each other.
In the short reading from First Corinthians, Paul accomplishes several things. He argues that neither the signs and wonders cherished by the Jews nor the philosophy acclaimed by the Greeks is an adequate standard for evaluation. He insists that the crucified Christ is the standard against which everything is judged. The customary wisdom of these two cultures would reject a crucified Christ. However, God’s ways frequently reverse human standards. Paul insists that the ridiculed and despised Christ is actually the wisdom of God. What the Jews and the Greeks rejected as foolishness was indeed authentic wisdom, and what they cherished as wisdom was really misguided folly.
Jesus’ actions in the temple are acted-out prophecy and his words are prophetic proclamation. He accuses the merchants of making the temple a market place. But a part of it was a marketplace. The explanation of his behavior is found both in an allusion to a passage from the prophet Zechariah (14:21), who said that at the endtime there would be no need for merchants in the house of the Lord, and in a psalm text that states that zeal for God’s house makes the psalmist vulnerable to the scorn and abuse of others (Psalm 69:9). By driving the merchants out of the temple precincts, Jesus announces the approach of the time of fulfillment. By identifying God as his Father, Jesus affirms his right to make such a claim and to act in accord with it.