Greater Than The Temple
This January, we’ve been studying “The Resting Place” through the lens of ancient Israel, and as we transition to the New Testament, there’s a giant shift in the concept of Sabbath Rest…
From REST being about a practice in a place …
to REST being about a person.
We’ve been studying how God designed our lives to be a place where God’s presence rests.
Check out last Sunday’s Sermon, “Hearing From Heaven” from our series The Resting Place.
When the Pharisees hound Jesus for not obeying the temple’s Sabbath Rest laws, Jesus makes a profound statement about the temple and true rest:
“Jesus said to [the Pharisees], ‘I tell you, something greater than the temple is here….For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’’” (Matthew 12:6, 8).
Something greater than the temple is here. For us, this sounds mild—like Jesus is saying He’s greater than a place of worship. “Of course He is,” we think, “He’s Jesus!”
But for the Israelites, the Temple wasn’t just a worship center, but the center of their connection to God.
They understood that, in the Old Testament, the Temple was a place where God rested and influenced their lives and culture, blessing and guiding them.
The Temple was everything to them, the source of God’s moral system, the roots of their tradition and culture, and their path to redemption after sin and sickness. And, in Israel’s story, the Temple was where heaven rested on earth… where God’s power and wisdom broke through, where one could be restored. Rest for them flowed from God’s resting place (see Psalm 132).
When Jesus says that He is greater than the temple, that He is Lord of the Sabbath, He’s bursting their boxes and undermining their models of rest.
He’s revealing that, if we want true rest, it’s no longer through a set of moral acts, or spiritual regimens, or any other qualifiers—as they are like trappings of the temple. They look good but they’re powerless to bring life (see Hebrews 9:11-14).
But in Jesus, all the same functionality of the temple—the wisdom, justice, revelation, power, and glory of God—are clearly and more powerfully revealed and available through Him!
He isn’t just a substitute for the old temple, He is fulfilling all God intended in the temple and reconciling us to our original role and identity with God (see Exodus 19:6 & Revelation 5:10).
This New Testament rest isn’t through a place, the temple, or any special practices, it’s only through a person, Jesus.
It’s no longer locational, it’s relational.
It’s not through our own sacrifice and striving, but only based on His.
It isn’t a formula, it’s simple faith.
It isn’t somewhere to go, or something to do. It’s someone to be with.
This rest begins with receiving…
From the Lord of rest.
Take a deep breath.
He’s here.
Be with Him.
And see you Sunday, as we study Jesus’ offer of “The Yoke of Rest.”
Pastor Dave