Jesu Stellung zum Tempel

Jostein Ådna analyzes Jesus' temple logion and his act in the temple and concludes in favor of their authenticity and historicity. The logion expresses his messianic claim to renew the temple on Zion for the imminent Kingdom of God. The act is a conspicuous challenge to the priesthood and Jesus' last call to repentance; they cannot continue to carry out the atonement cult without acquiescing to his message. By choosing as targets the money changers and the dove sellers, Jesus gave his act an implicit symbolic meaning that would come to bear if the priesthoold and the people were to react negatively to this final call to repentance. An interruption of the dove sellers' and money changers' activities had implications for the sacrificial cult itself. In accordance with Jesus' authentic utterances about the theological meaning of his death in the ransom saying and in the words of administration at the last Passover meal, his act in the temple carried the implicit symbolic meaning that Jesus in his violent death replaced the temple tax and cult as the ultimate ransom and atonement sacrifice for Israel.