Temple & Jesus: Rest and Glory

So we're reading from verse 35, so Acts chapter 7,

Acts 7 · chapter mention

starting partway through Stephen's speech,

which is his response to being accused of blaspheming Moses

and the temple.

This Moses, whom they rejected, saying,

Who made you a ruler and a judge?

This man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel

who appeared to him in the bush.

This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt

and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for 40 years.

This is the Moses who said to the Israelites,

God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.

This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness

with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai and with our fathers.

He received living oracles to give to us.

Our fathers refused to obey him but thrust him aside and in their hearts

they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron,

Make for us gods who will go before us.

As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt,

we do not know what has become of him.

And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol

and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven

as it is written in the book of the prophets.

Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices during the 40 years

in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your God, Rephan,

the images that you made to worship,

and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.

Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness

just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it

according to the pattern that he had seen.

Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua

when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers.

So it was until the days of David who found favour in the sight of God

and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands,

as the prophet says.

Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of my rest?

Did not my hand make all these things?

You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,

you always resist the Holy Spirit.

As your fathers did, so do you.

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who announced beforehand

the coming of the Righteous One,

whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

you who received the law as delivered by angels

and did not keep it.

Now when they heard these things,

they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him.

But he, full of the Holy Spirit,

gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God

and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And he said,

Behold, I see the heavens opened

and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

But they cried out with a loud voice

and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

And the witnesses laid down their garments

at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And as they were stoning Stephen,

he called out,

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And falling to his knees,

he cried out with a loud voice,

Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

And when he had said this,

he fell asleep.

Why don't we pray as we come to God's word?

Lord,

we always need your help to understand your word.

And Lord, I need your help to speak it truthfully and clearly.

So I pray for your help.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, our focus in Stephen's speech today

is about the temple.

Now, temple.

You might be thinking,

what on earth do I care about the temple

when I'm not sure

when my marriage feels like it's on the rocks,

when I feel like my family is falling apart,

work is just overwhelming and deeply unfulfilling,

and I feel like my mental health is failing me,

I feel like my body is failing me,

I fear for the health of my family.

What has an ancient Jewish building

got anything to do with what I'm struggling with today?

I'll forgive you if you're thinking that.

Em and I have been watching Grand Designs transformations.

I don't know if only a few people will be into this kind of show,

but these homeowners spend incredible amounts of money

going well over budget every time

and devoting more than a year of their life.

And like husbands and wives,

one of them was asked at the end,

it's like, well, we still like each other.

Like the stress they're under is enormous

that they're going through.

And what are they doing it for?

They're doing it for the beauty,

the permanence of a family home to dwell in

or something to retire in.

That perfect place to rest,

to thrive as a family.

Now that show, it is rated G or PG.

I don't know why it jumps up to PG sometimes,

but there's no swear words.

There's no violence in it,

unless you call knocking down a wall violence.

But there's nothing inappropriate.

But I reckon it's got to be one of the most dangerous shows.

It's feeding one of the biggest idols in our society.

I can just feel it.

Like I'm starting to look at my house differently.

We could put a fireplace.

It is dangerous.

It is fueling this desire for the perfect dwelling.

And then I came across this week that some new tech people know that Apple are releasing Vision Pro.

Reading the room here.

Okay, I got a few nods.

Okay, this illustration will benefit one or two of you.

So Silicon Valley is promising the capability to create your own rest and glory.

Like Vision Pro, you put on these goggles, you can create the perfect work environment.

You're not limited by your desk and a screen.

You can stretch it however big you want.

You can put it there.

You can put it wherever you want.

You can create your perfect place.

You can immerse yourself in movies and memories and you can go wherever you want.

You can...

The sound, it surrounds...

Technology is telling us we can create our own world.

I think there are two examples in our society with our own hands,

with our own capabilities, we want to create the blessings of the kingdom of God,

just without a king.

With our own hands, we can create Eden, just cast God out.

Even unbelievers, though, critique our attempts at creating rest or anything beautiful that lasts.

Some of you will know Woody Allen, filmmaker, actor, comedian.

Just think about his accomplishments in his field.

He's won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTAs, two Golden Globes and a Grammy and heaps of other nominations.

Pretty good.

And he said in an interview,

the fundamental thing behind all motivation and all activity

is the constant struggle against annihilation and against death.

It's absolutely stupefying in its terror.

It renders anyone's accomplishments meaningless.

I think he's right.

If, if there's no temple.

You're probably thinking, what's that got to do with temple?

We are...

He's right in the sense that we are.

Aren't we living in a broken world?

It's not just this constant struggle against a world that's under curse.

It's just this constant struggle.

We're all longing for rest and glory because we were made for it.

And this is where temple comes in.

We were made for it.

The opening pages of scripture,

God says the purpose of his creation on the seventh day,

the goal was rest.

God wants to rest with his people.

And we saw last year when we went through it,

Genesis 2 is this picture of rest and glory.

God living with us.

Safety.

Abundance.

Joyful obedience to God.

Harmony relationally.

Harmony with the world.

Everything in perfect order.

Eden.

Paradise.

The best thing about it is God is there.

That is what the temple pictures.

The temple says,

God is determined to redeem the rest and glory we were made for.

You'll read about Solomon's temple in 2 Chronicles.

Gold is everywhere.

It is everywhere.

It's the altar was gold.

The lampstands were gold.

The snuffers,

the snuff out the candles were gold.

Like you've got stainless steel tongs.

He had gold.

It's just everywhere.

Why?

Because it's picturing Eden.

Because Eden was just the place of abundance.

And gold is in,

is overflowing in that place.

It's picturing this Eden.

The curtain to the most holy place.

Purple and crimson,

royal colours,

embroidered with angelic cherubim.

The ark of the Lord brought in behind the curtain to the most holy place.

Why?

Because the king of heaven is present.

That's Eden.

He's here.

The palm trees engraved on the walls of the temple.

Picturing that garden,

remembering what was lost.

The fact that the temple is in the middle of Israel

and Israel encamped around it.

God is dwelling with his people.

He's redeeming paradise.

But it's not an easy way back.

And that's where the temple also pictures it.

But God is providing a way back.

The temple pictures the atonement we need,

the forgiveness,

the mediator we need

to bring us back to God.

We've been excluded from Eden

because we've all believed the lie that Adam and Eve believed

that we don't need to depend on him.

We can control our lives by our own wisdom.

We can create paradise without him.

The temple shows he's made a way back.

A sacrifice that will cleanse us of all that.

A high priest who will go into the holy place

and bring us in, represent us for him, for us.

When Solomon dedicates the temple,

the theme running through his Solomon speech

is that when they look to this place

that you, God, will hear and forgive.

The temple is a place of forgiveness.

Look to the temple and you will find forgiveness.

When Solomon finishes his prayer,

fire came down from heaven

and consumed the burnt offering

and the sacrifices.

And the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

And the priest could not enter the house of the Lord

because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house.

It's rest.

God is here.

He's accepted the sacrifice to bring us back.

Living in the presence of God,

restoring Eden,

restoring paradise.

This is the temple that Stephen is charged

with being against,

being blaspheming,

of saying that Jesus will destroy this place.

It is a serious accusation.

So as we come to Acts 7,

picture where Stephen is standing.

He is in the promised land.

He's in the holy place.

He's in Jerusalem,

the place where God has put his name,

where you can meet him.

They're either meeting in the temple

or very close to the temple.

And he's standing before the high priest,

the one God has chosen

to represent him to the people

and bring the people to him.

Stephen is standing on holy ground.

So is he blaspheming God's holy place?

Well, as we go through his speech,

and I'm just going to

very quick helicopter fly over here.

Is he blaspheming the holy place?

He believes that the God of glory

appeared to Abraham

in Mesopotamia.

The glory that filled the temple,

he believes.

The glory of God appeared to Abraham.

He believes the promise to Abraham

that he and his descendants

will be brought into this promised place.

And we're told in verse 7,

and the purpose of that,

they'll come out of Egypt

and worship me in this place.

He believes that.

He believes that God

is the God of Isaac and Jacob.

Jacob, whom God appeared to,

if you remember that dream

that Jacob had,

where God met him

in the dream of the angels

ascending and descending

and in Bethel.

And he wakes up and he says,

surely the Lord is in this place

and I did not know it.

This is none other

than the house of God.

He believes in the God of Jacob.

He believes in the God of Moses,

that he appeared to Moses

at the burning bush.

Take off your sandals

from your feet

for the place where you are standing

is holy ground.

He believes God appeared to Moses.

Holy ground.

He believes,

verse 44 onwards,

that Moses set up the tabernacle

just as God commanded.

It was God's command

to set up the tabernacle.

He believes that God gave

the land to worship him in

through Joshua.

He recalls the history

in language of the covenant

with David,

verses 46 and 47.

David found favour

in the sight of God

and asked to find

a dwelling place for him.

So David had created peace

in the land.

He subdued all the enemies.

There's safety now.

And he looks at his house

of cedar

and looks at the tent.

The tabernacle was just a tent.

This isn't right.

God needs a permanent place

with his people.

He says,

God,

can I build you

a permanent house?

And God goes,

no,

I'm going to build you

a permanent house.

Your son,

he shall build a house

for my name

and I will establish

the throne

of his kingdom

forever.

The forever king

will create my house.

Stephen is no blasphemer

of the holy place.

He's no blasphemer

of the holy place.

I'm not fully sure

what this means

but even the council

they looked at Stephen

and they could see

that his face

was like the face

of an angel.

Whatever that looked like,

I'm not sure

what that looked like,

but everyone in that room

could even see

in Stephen

that God was showing up

right now

as Stephen speaks.

God was here

in this moment.

He's not blaspheming

the holy place.

God has set a place

for us to meet him.

That is the good news

of scripture.

I want to meet you.

a couple of years ago

Emma and I

or a number of years ago

now,

but Emma and I

had

the privilege

of going to London

and we went

to Westminster Abbey.

Beautiful cathedral.

the architecture

is just amazing.

It's designed

to feel like

you're connecting

with the transcendent,

really.

And we went

to Evening Song

where the choir

was singing

and in Latin

I didn't understand

a word

but wow,

wow,

it is beautiful.

It just felt like

it felt transcendent.

I think that's probably

something of the feeling

that Jews would have had

for the temple.

When you're in this place

you're connected with God.

From his very first words

Stephen exposes

their willful restriction

of where God's glory

is found.

The God of glory

appeared to our father Abraham

when he was in Mesopotamia.

You're saying

the glory of God

is found here.

Do you remember

our history?

He is not restricted

to this place.

He met Abraham

in Mesopotamia

near Babylon

of all places.

Was it the ground

of the burning bush?

Was it the dirt

that Moses was on

that made it holy?

Was it the dirt?

Of course it wasn't.

He was to take off

his sandals

to remind him

he is of the dirt

and he's in the presence

of the divine.

What made the ground holy

was God turned up there.

Wherever God turns up

that

is holy ground.

God's glory

was with Israel

in a tent

in the wilderness

all that time.

You're restricting it

to this place

but

God was with our people

all that time

in the wilderness.

Verse 48

the most high

does not dwell

in houses

made by hands.

When Solomon

dedicated his temple

he says in

2 Chronicles 6.18

Will God indeed

dwell with man

on the earth?

Behold

heaven

and the highest heaven

cannot contain you

how much less

this house

that I have built.

Even Solomon

knew that

God is not

restricted to here.

and he quotes

Isaiah 66

heaven is my throne

and the earth

is my footstool.

What kind of house

will you build for me

says the Lord

or what is the place

of my rest?

Did not my hand

make all these things?

I love Lockie's

picture of the Lego

like

a father

with his feet up

on a footstool

and

his son

creating this

little Lego house.

All our

beautiful cathedrals

they're like

Lego.

What are you

going to build

for God?

He made it all.

Not even heaven

the highest heaven

can contain God.

Stephen is saying

you're the one

against the prophets

by saying

that God

is restricted

to this place.

He is not

restricted

to this place.

He's never

been restricted

to the temple

or the land.

He met

Ezekiel.

Remember

Ezekiel's vision.

Those in exile

that God

turned up

he is not

restricted.

You're the one

not listening

to the prophets.

Now

that is

such an

obvious truth.

Why

didn't

these experts

in God's word

why didn't

they believe it?

Surely

surely

they understood

this.

I think

we

Stephen

very cleverly

I suppose

inspired

by the Holy

Spirit

of course

he

plays on

the words

of

the works

of their

hands.

They seem

to be

rejoicing

in the work

of their

hands.

All their

temple worship

appears religious

but

he's

subtly

charging them

with idolatry.

So back

in verse

41

their

fathers

were out

in

Egypt

they

were

out

of

Egypt

they

were

saved

but

their

hearts

were

still

there

because

verse

41

they

made

a

calf

in

those

days

and

offered

a

sacrifice

to

the

idol

while

Moses

was up

the

mountain

and

were

rejoicing

in the

works

of

their

hands.

They

exchange

the

glory

of

the

immortal

God

who's

above

the

ravages

of

death

and

decay

and

they

prefer

a

calf

something

mortal

something

they can

control

They

exchange

the

glory

of

the

invisible

God

beyond

any

limitations

and

they

prefer

something

they

can

see

worship

the

stars

and

he

quotes

the

prophet

Amos

there

was a

lot

of

offerings

going

on

but

God

says

through

Amos

was it

really

for

me

was it

God

can't

be

mocked

he

knows

that

from

day

one

their

fathers

were

worshipping

created

things

why

did

God

send

Israel

into

Babylon

why

did

God

destroy

Solomon's

temple

because

Solomon

led

the

people

into

idolatry

king

after

king

there

was a

few

kings

who

tried

to

reform

but

it

was

never

enough

it

was

just

trajectory

into

idolatry

the

exile

proves

that

Israel

repeatedly

turned

back

to

rejoice

in

the

work

of

their

own

him

lots

of

worship

going

on

but

if

it's

not

listening

to

God's

word

then

it's

idolatry

he

quotes

Isaiah

66

at the

end

and the

context

there

if you

keep

reading

Isaiah

66

is that

God

is making

all

things

new

their

idolatry

shows

that he's

going to

have to

do

something

new

something

special

and it

goes on

to say

he who

slaughters

an ox

is like

one who

kills

a man

he who

sacrifices

a lamb

like one

who breaks

a dog's

neck

he who

presents

a grain

offering

like one

who offers

pig's

blood

these

have chosen

their own

ways

and their

soul

delights

their

abominations

but this

is the

one to whom

I will

look

he who

is humble

and contrite

in spirit

and trembles

at my

word

God is

saying

through Isaiah

I'm going

to make

all things

new

and in

that day

to keep

clinging

to the

old

is

idolatry

do you

listen to

my word

do you

and so

Stephen

charges

even the

high priest

before him

your worship

of this

temple

that your

own hands

have made

with all

the offerings

that your

own hands

are bringing

all the

garments

that your

own hands

are putting

on

it's

it's

abomination

in God's

sight because

he's done

something new

you're not

listening to

the prophets

who predicted

these days

you're not

looking to

the true

son of

David

it's not

Solomon

who gave

us the

temple

remember the

end of

Solomon's

life

it's the

true son

of David

who would

lead his

people in

worship

in spirit

and truth

and he

uses a

phrase

that must

have just

got to

the heart

of these

people

you are

uncircumcised

in heart

and ears

you are

not God's

people because

your heart

and ears

you're not

listening to

God's

prophets

you're

rejecting

what God's

hands have

made

take off

your sandals

and remember

you are

of the

dust

well Peter

had already

pointed this

counsel to

what God's

hands have

made

if you want

to just

listen or

you can

flick back

to chapter

4 verse

11

this Jesus

is the

stone that

was rejected

by you

the builders

which has

become the

cornerstone

the

capstone

the

capstone

wasn't

what I've

read about

it isn't

about

it wasn't

weight

bearing

it was

picking the

perfect

stone

perfectly

shaped

and putting

it in

the

perfect

position

so that

the rest

of the

building

could take

its

pattern

from it

and be

built

from that

point

on

but

this

picture

is

they

looked at

this

stone

Jesus

and

it

just

isn't

the

shape

they

were

expecting

or

wanting

it's

jagged

edge

it's

not

the

Messiah

we're

looking

for

and so

they

throw

it

away

but

even

the

prophets

this

is

quoting

Psalm

118

said

this

would

happen

those

whom

they

rejected

God

has

made

the

capstone

his

whole

house

is

built

on

this

rejected

one

his

resurrection

proves it

as we

look at

Stephen

and how

he

responds

we see

what the

Lord's

hand

has made

in Stephen

because of

Jesus

we see

the rest

and glory

that Stephen

has

he's

losing

everything

visible

everything

external

his own

brothers

and fathers

are gnashing

their teeth

at him

he's

losing

the land

he's

out of

the city

he's

excluded

from the

temple

and he's

about to

lose

his own

body

he's

losing

everything

and in

that moment

of death

and annihilation

he could

access

heaven

itself

he could

look

and see

the glory

of God

and Jesus

standing at

the right

hand

of God

he believed

he was in

the holy

of holies

he believed

he had a high

priest who was

standing at

God's right

hand

not in a

man-made

temple

but in

heaven

itself

he believed

that the

one who

was rejected

his sacrifice

is all

he needs

he prays

towards

Jesus

Lord Jesus

receive my

spirit

Jesus is the

one who

receives prayer

now not the

temple

he's praying

towards Jesus

knowing that

the father

hears him

the glory

that appeared

to Abraham

he sees it

I can see

the glory

of God

when Solomon's

temple was

filled with

glory

no one

could go

in

not even

the priest

Stephen

has a glory

of God

filling him

by the

Holy Spirit

and yet

he's losing

everything

external

that is

incredible

rest

and peace

and safety

even in the

face of

loss

that's what

God's hand

has made

Jesus

you can

lose all

the externals

and still have

rest and glory

with the

promise of

so much

more to

come

wow

that's what

God's hands

have made

so did

Jesus say

he would

destroy

this temple

he did

speak about

this temple

but

the main

thing he said

was in

John chapter

John 2 · chapter mention

2

destroy

this temple

and in

three days

I'll raise

it up

but he was

speaking about

the temple

of his body

John tells

us

he was the

one who

would be

destroyed

so that

we can

come in

Solomon's

temple was

built on

the mountain

where

Abraham

almost

sacrifice

his

only son

Isaac

as

Abraham

reached

for the

knife

the angel

told him

to stop

then he

sees the

ram

bought

in the bush

and that

place

and that

place

that's

where the

temple

was built

I like how

Tim Keller

puts it

let me quote

him

the knife

of God's

justice

that did

not come

down on

Isaac

and later

came down

on animal

after animal

after animal

finally came

down on

God's

son

that's

the

sacrifice

we need

many

priests

were told

did turn

to Jesus

but

this

council

they couldn't

let go

of what

their own

hands

have made

their whole

identity

and purpose

would have

to come

crashing

down

they blocked

their ears

they drowned

out God's

word

with their

own voices

they were

unwilling to

go into

eternal life

empty handed

I think we

see in their

example that

we can only

share

in the

peace

and the

rest

and the

hope

the glory

of God

if we

first

confess

that

we

like

them

prefer

what

our

own

hands

have

made

aren't

I

great

because

of

blah blah

blah blah

whatever

you fill

that in

we've got

to confess

that

our hearts

are prone

to that

God

why would

we cling

to what

we know

will one

day be

destroyed

God

offers us

a place

in his

house

and we

see in

Stephen

a new

passion

that

drives

him

this

peace

this rest

and the

hope of

glory

he doesn't

just keep

it to

himself

it creates

something

new in

him

Jesus

creates

a kingdom

of

priests

I'm

sure if

you think

of yourself

as a

priest

you're a

believer

but that's

how the

New Testament

describes

us

what does

a priest

do

they go

into the

holy place

not for

their own

sake but

on behalf

of others

they bring

people in

to God

we see

that in

Stephen

even while

he's losing

all the

externals

he's so

sure that

he's got

rest and

peace

and glory

and he

knows he's

going to

get much

more

very very

soon

matter of

minutes

for him

what does

that do

in him

it creates

a priestly

spirit

he prays

on their

behalf

Lord do

not hold

this sin

against

them

he wants

them

forgiven

he wants

them in

he doesn't

hold this

peace to

himself

he says

behold

look

look at

Jesus

he got

arrested in

the first

place because

he just

kept

annoying

people

by trying

wanting them

to come

into the

rest and

glory he's

found

he goes

into the

holy place

on behalf

of even

those who

condemn him

that's the

kind of

people that

Jesus

creates

that's what

rest and

glory creates

priestly kind

of spirit

in the context

of Isaiah 66

that he quotes

God says

the sacrifices

he wants

once he

creates

everything

new

he says

they shall

bring all

your brothers

from all the

nations as an

offering to the

Lord just as

the Israelites

bring their

grain offering

in a clean

vessel for the

house of the

Lord

they're the

sacrifices

so I think

Woody Allen

was wrong

brothers and

sisters who

trust in

Jesus even

in loss and

perhaps especially

in loss you

can point

people to the

rest and glory

you've found

and in doing

that

God uses

us as

instruments

to create

a building

a living

temple that

will never

be destroyed

will you pray

with me

let's pray

Lord I

pray that

all the

blessings you've

given us

because of what

you have done

in Jesus

I pray that

you might

press those

blessings into

whatever each of

us are struggling

with right now

so that we

won't look to

what the world

promises to

comfort whatever

sorrows we're

struggling with

but so that we

would be filled

with peace and

hope and joy

that we

might

even see

what we're

going through

as a way

to point

people to

you and

life in

you

pray this in

Jesus name

amen

so

you