Today, the city of Jerusalem is considered sacred by Jews, Muslims and by Christians who like to trace the location of significant events described in the New and the Old Testament. David, the writer of the Psalms spoke with great affection about Zion, which was his pseudonym for Jerusalem.
[11] Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds! [Psalm 9:11 ESV]
Notice that he regarded Zion as the dwelling place of God and the place where heaven and earth met. In another Psalm, he described Zion, or Jerusalem, as the city of our God.
[1] Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, [2] beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
[Psalm 48:1-2 ESV]
David had a great ambition to build a temple in the city of Jerusalem after he became king of the whole nation of Israel but God did not grant him this desire because he had spent his life in warfare and bloodshed. However, David's son, Solomon built a magnificent temple there. So in the Jewish mind, worship was associated with a place and Jerusalem was that place. In John's Gospel we have a conversation between Jesus and an unnamed Samaritan woman. She became uncomfortable when Jesus was asking questions about her personal life and so she tried the tactic of distraction and avoidance. She tried to change the subject into theology and tried to delve into the differences between Jews and their neighbours, the Samaritans in their ideas of worship. The Samaritans had their own religious site, Mount Gerizim. (Read John 4: 16-26) rather than Jerusalem which was the Jewish worship centre.
In this conversation, Jesus made a profound statement regarding true worship.
[23] But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. [John 4:23 ESV]
Notice that Jesus is making a prophecy about the end of the Jewish religion which associated worship with a location - a city or a temple or, in the case of the Samaritans, with a mountain. Worshipping the Father is not about the building, although many people have felt closer to God in particular sacred places. Worship is a spiritual exercise. Jesus talks about a future day when there will be true worshippers. He is pointing ultimately to the eternal state when there will be perfect, worship in the New Jerusalem. He does say that there is a new era being introduced as he speaks when he says, 'and is now here.' Jesus death and resurrection would bring in the new covenant of which every believer, in every country, in every generation, is part. Since Jesus spoke these words at Sychar's well until now, many Christians have engaged in true worship of the Father and the Son led by the Holy Spirit. But we look forward to the day when the experience of worship will be beyond our wildest imagination.
And so, Jerusalem, including its temple, situated on Mount Zion, came to represent the people of God. However, the city was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC but, as God had promised, Jerusalem was restored and the temple was rebuilt by Herod. But the temple in Jerusalem was again destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. The temple was at the heart of Jewish worship and in Jewish minds the temple was the focal point of their religious life. But there is no temple in the new Jerusalem. Worship will not be restricted to a particular building - however impressive and sacred.
But the new Jerusalem is not just for the Jews. The message of Revelation is that God is preparing a city for every tribe and nation and all those who are part of the universal church will enjoy eternal blessings in the New Jerusalem. There is a verse which conveys the scope of the work of Jesus Christ in redemption through his death on the cross.
[9] And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
[10] and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” [Revelation 5:9-11 ESV]
It is very interesting to contrast this city with the city which we read about in the book of Genesis. Unlike the first city made by man, the new Jerusalem is from God. The first city was created as evidence of man's creativity and inventiveness (Genesis 11:4) These men were proud of their ability to build impressive buildings. They used fire in a furnace to make bricks which were joined together with bitumen (not a pretty sight, I imagine). They were building themselves a city 'to make a name for themselves' in defiance of God. The holy city is God's provision for mankind and is the product of the sacrifice of the Lamb on calvary. The next blog will expand a little on the bride of Christ
[2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [Revelation 21:2-3 ESV]
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