Jesus’ first significant acts in Jerusalem are to curse a fig tree and

clear the Temple courts. The two are related. Jesus’ intention is not to

call the temple sacrificial system to reform, but something more dramatic:

to prophesy its destruction. It is no longer fit for purpose. God’s

presence will no longer reside in a building, but in the temple of Jesus’

followers’ hearts. And the atoning temple sacrifice will be once and for

all replaced by Jesus’ bodily sacrifice on the cross.

In light of this, all attempts to save ourselves or our world at the

altar's culture offers are futile. But when we receive the gift of God's

presence at the core of our very beings, achieved for us by Jesus at the

cross, we are enabled and empowered to live out the lives that offer real

salvation to us and our communities. This is how Jesus saves the world.

By Ed Flint