Do you have a favorite “church” memory? Maybe you remember your confirmation vows, a baptism, or a special Christmas service. You might think of a brass quartet at Easter, an amazing choir anthem, or a funeral sermon. You might have a place you like to sit that makes you feel right at home or a hymn that brings tears to your eyes.

Jesus’ connection to the temple in Jerusalem was much deeper than tender moments or fond memories. Do you remember some of the events that happened there?

This is the temple where an angel brought news to Zechariah about John the Baptist, the forerunner who would prepare the way of the Lord.

Mary and Joseph consecrated Jesus at this temple to fulfill Old Testament laws. Do you think they told Jesus the stories about Simeon and Anna? Did they teach him Simeon’s song of praise or Anna’s proclamation about God’s Messiah? Jesus would have been delighted to hear and learn it all!

Jesus talked to the teachers at this temple, answering deep questions when he was twelve years old. Have you ever wondered if any rabbis remembered the young boy who amazed them? Sadly, they were less eager to hear Jesus’ wisdom and truth when his public ministry began.

Jesus loved to attend worship at the temple and obeyed every God-given law about Jewish festivals, sacrifices, and ceremonies. He sang King David’s psalms and treasured readings from Israel’s ancient prophetic scrolls. With Scripture, prayers, and songs of praise, Jesus felt right at home. The sinless Son of God worshiped in the temple just beyond the ominous veil to the Holy of Holies.

Yet the memory from this temple encounter was very different.

This memory was filled with selfish, greedy men who made Jesus angry. The holy place of God was filled with cheating merchants who swindled worshipers as they purchased animals for sacrificial offerings. Knowing God’s holy purpose for the temple, Jesus would not condone the stench of the profit-driven marketplace. He drove the merchants out.

This wasn’t the last memory Jesus would have at the temple.

Jesus would return to teach in the temple courts days before his crucifixion. People would gather to hear him one last time. Then, the temple would be destroyed. Not the physical temple where Jesus worshiped—but Jesus, the God who came to dwell with his people. Jesus was destroyed. His prophecy resonated, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” And, praise God, he did.

The temple was built to proclaim the truth of God’s faithful mercy to sinners and represent God’s earthly presence among his people. Though God established the Jewish temple for his people, Jesus is the greatest temple—the true temple that fulfilled God’s plan of salvation and opened heaven’s gates to all believers. In Jesus, God came to dwell with his people. Jesus lived in perfect righteousness, died to pay for sin, and was raised to life in victory over death.

Marvel at the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, but praise God for Jesus. He is the greatest temple.