This is Spoken Gospel.

We are dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Zerubbabel and some returning exiles have 
begun to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

But they are not alone.

Though sent with the permission and authority of Persia’s
King Cyrus, Jerusalem’s enemies in Samaria

are not ready to let go of the land
they took over in Israel’s absence.

Samaritans are famous in the Bible for blending their
pagan religious practices and the worship of Israel’s God.

And they offer to help
build Israel’s temple.

But this is not an act of charity.

It’s a way to ensure the preservation 
and dominance of their syncretistic religion 

after Israel rebuilds
its place of worship.

But Israel’s leaders refuse their help 
and maintain the purity of God’s temple.

Instead, the Samaritans try to stop the construction
project through a series of bribes and legal accusations

sent by multiple letters to Persia
over the course of several years.

To prove the severity of the threat, the narrative jumps
ahead to the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes.

Under his rule, the Samaritans’ accusations will find firm
footing and eventually halt the construction of the temple.

The Samaritan threat will 
be real and long-lasting.

But then, the narrative jumps back in time to the 
Samaritans’ first attempts to undermine Zerubbabel’s work.

For about 16 years they are able to 
force the exiles to stop building and

secure the continuation
of their false worship.

However, under the direction of two prophets, 
Zerubbabel restarts the building effort.

This triggers the Samaritans to write another 
long letter to Persia, now ruled by king Darius.

But when Darius digs into the issue he rediscovers 
Cyrus’s decree that gave Zerubbabel the right to rebuild.

In honor of his predecessor, Darius doubles 
down on Israel’s protection and provision.

With newfound freedom and
supplies, the temple is completed,

and the Samaritans' false worship is
overthrown by Israel’s obedience to God.

Israel celebrates with a feast and dedicates 
the temple by offering over 700 sacrifices.

Importantly, Israel’s leaders offer 
12 male goats as sin offerings.

They are a symbolic admission of national guilt.
Israel’s 12 tribes, like the Samaritans around them,
had not been faithful to God alone.

But their sacrifices also symbolized God’s willingness
to forgive and keep his promises to them.

With true worship restored and the temple rebuilt, 
even outsiders could now enter God’s presence.

Anyone who willingly separates
themselves from their false religions

and commits themselves to God
alone can join in the celebration.

[music]

Jesus also had an encounter with 
a Samaritan about the temple.

 Like the Samaritans from Ezra, she claimed to worship
God while practicing the blended beliefs of her ancestors.

Jesus refused to compromise the purity 
of what devotion to God alone looks like.

He said that pure devotion to God would not 
be based on a place, like Israel’s temple.  

Instead, true worship would be 
based on a person—Jesus himself.

Jesus is the final location of the unblended and
uncompromised presence of God.

Like the Samaritans’ letters that were sent 
to multiple kings to end Israel’s temple,  

Jesus’ enemies shipped Jesus from ruler
to ruler to secure a death sentence for him.

As Israel’s enemies succeeded 
in halting the temple project,  

Jesus’ enemies succeeded in destroying 
Jesus’ body, the ultimate temple of God.

But Jesus’ death was also our final sin offering—not
just for the 12 tribes of Israel, but for all people.

In Jesus our guilt is cancelled, and we
are invited to celebrate!

Like the Samaritans, we have blended our religious 
and moral preferences with true worship of God.

In addition to trusting in Jesus, we’ve added our own ideas,
behaviors, and worship, revealing the impurity of our faith.

But by his offering on the cross, Jesus forgives our divided
heart and promises to rebuild anyone who trusts

him alone into a new temple; a new
place where God dwells.

So, celebrate! In Jesus, divided and blended 
people like us are forgiven and made pure.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your
eyes to see the God who uses the plots

of his enemies to save even
those who oppose him.

And that you will see Jesus as
the final sin offering for the world.