John Ker
John Ker (1819–1886) was a Scottish preacher and minister whose thoughtful sermons and writings enriched the United Presbyterian Church during the 19th century. Born on April 7, 1819, in the farmhouse of Bield, Tweedsmuir, Peeblesshire, to parents who later moved to Fillyside and Abbeyhill near Edinburgh, he was deeply influenced as a child by the preaching of John Brown of Haddington. Educated at Edinburgh High School and the University of Edinburgh, where he excelled in philosophy classes under Sir William Hamilton, Ker entered the divinity hall of the United Secession Church in 1838. Ordained in 1851, he became pastor of East Campbell Street Church in Glasgow, serving there until 1876, when he was appointed professor of practical training at the United Presbyterian Theological Hall, a role he held until his death. He never married, focusing instead on his ministerial and scholarly pursuits. Ker’s preaching ministry was characterized by intellectual depth and pastoral sensitivity, earning him respect among peers and congregants despite chronic health issues that limited his physical stamina. His sermons, often reflective and steeped in Scripture, were complemented by his contributions to the United Presbyterian Magazine, including articles later published as The Psalms in History and Biography (1886). After his death on October 4, 1886, posthumous works like Lectures on the History of Preaching (1888) and a volume of his letters (1890) revealed his broad interests in theology, Scottish identity, and pastoral care. Ker died in Glasgow, leaving a legacy as a preacher and educator whose quiet dedication and erudition strengthened the United Presbyterian tradition, though his influence remained largely within ecclesiastical circles rather than achieving broader public renown.
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John Ker preaches on the significance of Jesus purifying the temple, emphasizing the sacredness of Old Testament worship even as it was about to be fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice. The cleansing of the temple serves as a warning against the dangerous combination of greed and religion, a recurring issue throughout history. The presence of money-changers in the temple symbolizes the ongoing struggle against materialism infiltrating spiritual spaces, highlighting the need for constant vigilance and purity in worship.
The Value of the Temple
"My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Matt. 21:13). One is struck in reading the account of the purifying of the temple by Christ (Matt. 21:12), that He should have bestowed so much thought on what was so soon to become obsolete by His own word, "It is finished!" We do not read elsewhere of the indignation of our Lord rising to such a height, and taking the form of outward compulsion. It is the seal of Christ set on the sacredness of the Old Testament worship, all the more needed that He is about to remove it; but still more it is a vivid warning beforehand against the union between covetousness and religion, or rather the form of religion. That evil reached a visible height when the sale of indulgences and the building of St. Peter's went hand in hand. But it has appeared so often, and in all sections of the Church, that the entrance of the money-changers into the temple may be called the normal danger of Christianity. Drunkenness and sensuality, which had their shrines in the old pagan Pantheon, have still a place in the hearts of many professed worshippers in the house of God, but it is Mammon who still sets up his tables in the open court.
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John Ker (1819–1886) was a Scottish preacher and minister whose thoughtful sermons and writings enriched the United Presbyterian Church during the 19th century. Born on April 7, 1819, in the farmhouse of Bield, Tweedsmuir, Peeblesshire, to parents who later moved to Fillyside and Abbeyhill near Edinburgh, he was deeply influenced as a child by the preaching of John Brown of Haddington. Educated at Edinburgh High School and the University of Edinburgh, where he excelled in philosophy classes under Sir William Hamilton, Ker entered the divinity hall of the United Secession Church in 1838. Ordained in 1851, he became pastor of East Campbell Street Church in Glasgow, serving there until 1876, when he was appointed professor of practical training at the United Presbyterian Theological Hall, a role he held until his death. He never married, focusing instead on his ministerial and scholarly pursuits. Ker’s preaching ministry was characterized by intellectual depth and pastoral sensitivity, earning him respect among peers and congregants despite chronic health issues that limited his physical stamina. His sermons, often reflective and steeped in Scripture, were complemented by his contributions to the United Presbyterian Magazine, including articles later published as The Psalms in History and Biography (1886). After his death on October 4, 1886, posthumous works like Lectures on the History of Preaching (1888) and a volume of his letters (1890) revealed his broad interests in theology, Scottish identity, and pastoral care. Ker died in Glasgow, leaving a legacy as a preacher and educator whose quiet dedication and erudition strengthened the United Presbyterian tradition, though his influence remained largely within ecclesiastical circles rather than achieving broader public renown.