12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”
Matthew 21:12-13
I have always loved this scene in the Bible. Jesus flipping tables and chasing out the bad guys who were taking advantage of others in the temple. I probably like it because I equate it to my own time flipping tables, but we all know my version was sin and Jesus’s version was holy. He wasn’t one dimensional then, and He isn’t one dimensional now. He is so very gentle and so very powerful. He is love, justice, truth, peace, healer, and glorious in battle.
Here He is in the temple in Jerusalem, which was built to house His Spirit and they have made it an ugly, muddled thing. As people sought forgiveness and the presence of God, they were swindled by sellers and preyed upon by the religious leaders. After He cleared out all the merchandise, He quoted two scriptures spoken by God through the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. The words in Jeremiah tell us what had gone wrong. It had become “A den of robbers,” and the words in Isaiah point us back to what it should be. “A house of prayer.”
It finally struck me as funny the other night. Jesus just mentions prayer. He could have said many things to the people in the temple that day. There could have been a 3-step plan for how to heal the temple and He could have spoken of sacrifice, worship, teaching, or serving, but instead, He simply quotes God through Isaiah 56:7. “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”
I have gone to church for many reasons over the years and prioritized many things while there. The style of music, the way the pastor preaches, the children’s programs, and the distance from my house. How often have I been more interested in talking to my friends than meeting with the Most High?
How often have we worried more about the color to paint the walls than ministering to God in His house? Sure, His presence goes with us but there is something special about coming together with a people who bear His name in a building that is made for His own special use.
After Jesus cleared out the robbers He went on to heal people that day and in Mark’s account (Mark 11) we see He may have taught for a while, but the only words of teaching that remain for us now in 2024 is that God’s house is to be called a house of prayer. That’s it. That’s what we know. God’s house will be a house of prayer. I guess we should get on board.
Have new Band of Opals posts sent directly to your email.