Jesus the Temple

For me, as a Messianic, Perrin's thesis was challenging but also compelling. Perrin starts with Paul's statements about Jesus and His body being the Temple and suggests that these statements did not arise in a vacuum–the ideas they convey are traceable back to Jesus Himself. In short, Perrin argues that Jesus (on the heels of John the Baptizer) led a counter-Temple movement (comparable to the sect at Qumran) where He simultaneously judged the current priestly order for corruption and greed and made Himself out to be the new eschatological Temple. He goes on to show how this vision had political and social implications and how it fit into the larger discussions of purity and economic justice.

This is a scholarly work diving into details of historiography that may not interest all readers (Perrin situates his argument in the wider discussions about the historical Jesus). It took me several chapters before I was able to get a good grasp on what exactly Perrin was saying about Jesus' relationship to the then current Temple (which may have been more of a side-matter for Perrin). There are a few places where Perrin seems to be perhaps too quick to see Temple allusions in the text, but for the most part I found his argument pretty solid. I will have to spend some time digesting the implications of His conclusions as a Messianic believer. If Jesus' claims to be the Temple are in fact ontological and eschatological claims meant to be seen as continuing the Temple thread through history (and not just a heavenly parallel), what does that mean for how I interpret Temple law in the Torah? And does this have wider implications for the rest of Torah? These are my personal questions that will take time to sort out. Meanwhile, on to another eschatological Temple book – G. K. Beale's “Temple and the Church's Mission”.

Overall, four stars for the compelling argument made and the unique challenge it poses for me in my faith.