* Cf. also the activity of Jeremiah in this respect.
t But cf. Westcott, in toe.
\ See Box in Etiajc. Bibl. iv. cols. 49.';.3, 49.')4.
§ Queen Helen of Adiahene fixed a fjolden candelabrum in the front of the temple, which reflected the first rays of the sun, and thus indicated thetime of reciting the S/iema' (Voma, 'i7b, (luoted in Jewish Encyc. xi. 266).
liibition of swearing by the temple or the altar ; Mk 7", where Christ speaks against an abuse which was clearly of frequent occurrence ; * the word korban (see CoRBAN) Mas a technical term used in making vows, and meant that a gift was made to God ; tlie abuse arose when a man would say to another (who as a relative or the like had a claim upon him) : ' My property is korhan to thee,' for by this means lie could prevent his relative from deriving any benefit from his possessions. Korban means lit. ' ottering ' ; it was used also of tlie sacred treasury in which gifts for tlie temple were kept ; it is used in this sense in Mt 27^1 In Mt 232 Christ speaks of ' Moses' seat,' i.e. the Rab- binic college, the official deliberations of which took place in the temple. Not all of these refer- ences were spoken in the temple itself, but it cannot be doubted that Christ had the temple, or something connected with it, in His mind M'lien He spoke. Lastly, there are other passages which record sayings or actions of Christ in whicli a connexion of some kind with the temple is to be discerned, e.g. Jn 15^ ' I am the true vine ' ; golden vines, with immense bunches of grapes, were carved on the door leading into the Holy Place {HekhCd) ; % it is jiermissible to assume that Christ based His teaching here, as so often elsewhere, § on Avhat was familiar to His hearers. Again, at the wash- ing of the disciples' feet, Jn 13""- recalls to mind the priestly ablutions at the brazen laver near the great altar in the Priests' Court,|| preparatory to their undertaking the duties of tlie priestly ofhce ; it must be remembered that Christ, in the episode referred to, was about to perform an act apper- taining to His high-priestly office, and the disciples were being consecrated in a special manner to their future work.
One has but to bear in mind the part that the temple and its Avorship played among the Jews, not only of Palestine but also of the Diaspora, to realize that tlie references indicated above are not fanciful.
iv. Christ's attitude towards the temple WORSHIP. — The Gospels present to us two elements in Christ's attitude towards the temple and its system of worshiii wliicli appear, at first sight, to be contradictory ; but they can, nevertiieless, be satisfactorily accounted for.
On tiie one hand, Christ evinces a great love and reverence for the temple ; His frequent apjiearance there cannot have been only for the purpose of teacliing the jieople, for, while it is true that the Gosj)eis never directly record an instance of His ottering sacrifice, there can be no reasonable doubt that He fulfilled the duties incumbent upon every true Israelite ; this the following considerations will bear out :
The keynote of Christ's subsequent observance of the Law (cf. Mt 5'^) was already sounded at His presentation in the temjile (Lk 2^^'^--^) ; from boyiiood He was tauglit to observe tiie Passover (Lk 2-"- •*-), and it is inconceivable that He should, later on, liave omitted wliat was a sacred duty in the eyes of eveiy Jew, viz. taking His share in the family sacrifice in tlie temple at the Passover feast. IT
• See Ec 5^-\
t Cf . Jos. BJ u. ix. i, where it is spoken of as the ' sacred treasure.'
t Cf. Westcott, ad loc. Jos. (BJ v. v. 4, cf. Ant. xiv. iii. 1) and Tacitus {Ann. v. 5) refer to this ; the vine was the symbol of the Jewish nation, and is found as such on Maccabaean coins.
§ e.g. in Mt 4i9 2219 etc.
II See above, ii. 3.
5[ Although the Passover was celebrated in the home in our Lord's time as well as at the present day amonf; Jews, .\et the Paschal lamb might be killed only in the temple, the central sanctuary. At the Passover even laymen were permitted to kill the sacrificial animals, on account of the immense number that were offered. But, in any case, every Jew had to take i>art in the offering, by means of the consecrating act of laying the hand upon the victim on the altar.
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TEMPLE
Moreover, all Jews took a direct share in the ordinary services and worship of the temple ; a crowd of worshippers was always present at the daily morning and evening sacrifice which was offered up on behalf of the congregation ; they waited either in meditation or in prayer while the high priest entered into the Holy Place to present the incense-offering, and when he came forth they received, with bowed head, the priestly benedic- tion ; they listened to the chant of the Levites, and at the conclusion of each section, when the priests sounded their silver trumpets, the whole multi- tude prostrated themselves.* That Christ, further- more, observed the Jewish feasts has already been shown, and His own words as to the celebration of the Passover (Lk 22''^-) clearly show His attitude towards the sacrificial system generally. Then, again, several occasions are recorded of His dis- tinctly enjoining the fulfilment of the law of sacriEce : Mt 8* (cf. Mk V\ Lk b^*) 5^- ^* 23^, Lk 171^ (cf. Jn 5*« 1^); and His reference to the shewbread in Mk 2^^, Lk 6'* is also to the point. Indeed one has but to recall His instinctive desire to be 'in his Father's house' (Lk 2*9), His zeal for the ' house of prayer ' (Lk W^- *^), His sense of the lioly character of the sanctuary (Mt 23"), His in- sistence on the need of paying the temple tax (Mt 17^'*'-). to realize how fully He acquiesced in the contemporary conceptions regarding the temple and its worship.