gazophylacion hieron

Gazophylacion hieron. The AD 30 spat recorded in bold above is from the first-century biography of Jesus Christ written by a man named John, a close follower of Jesus.

 The spat is interesting as it stands in English. But one sentence seems to be very unimportant if not useless. It’s this, “These words he spoke in [or by] the treasury [Greek gazophylacion], as he taught in the temple [Greek hieron]”. Why do we need to know that?

In the States Treasury in Cyril Le Marquand House there are strongrooms containing money. They are dark rooms, below ground and double-keyed for extra security. That’s what you do with treasure – bury it where it can’t be seen – or taken away. Inside, for the most part, is valueless printed paper.

But what about gazophylacion hieron? When the above incident occurred, the hieron in Jerusalem was not only a religious place. It was the Jewish national political centre. In the area where Jesus taught that day, there were 13 treasury donation boxes for public tithes and gifts. Those boxes were placed at night in the gazophylacion where all treasure was stored. The Greek word “gaza” means “treasure” or “riches”. The remainder of the word is from the noun “-phylace”. It means “prison”, “guard”, night-watch”.

So Jesus was teaching near the Fort Knox of his day, a dark, guarded place being the very heart, the most valuable part, the most-treasured store, of the temple.....

The spat recorded so faithfully by John takes on new meaning. Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” My riches are not in a dark vault but in the light  - the light of the world – the light of life.

The opposition: “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Our riches are true riches – they’ve been audited (Fort Knox?) and are secure – yours are just words.

Jesus: “.. it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” No one can do what I do without the Father.

Jesus: “You know neither me nor my Father.” You, the most senior authorities over my Father’s only true church building, don’t know my Father. You know where your closely guarded money is hidden in my Father’s house. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” But you don’t know me – the light of the world. The unhidden, unguarded light. In the temple – now.