Lent Day 32

Matthew 21:12-13

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. “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.’

Yesterday was the beginning of Holy Week.  This week is often referred to as Passion week, because of the passion Jesus willingly went to the cross with, in order to pay for the sins of His people. Passion Week is described in Matthew chapters 21-27; Mark chapters 11-15; Luke chapters 19-23; and John chapters 12-19. 

This week is full of actions from Jesus that show His love for us.  Everything He does this week, even though some actions are out of anger, He does in order to direct us to Him, to show us His love, His way and how He stands different from the world.  The people at the time were looking for a king to come and govern them in the moment, but He was showing them He was a King for all eternity. 

On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus went to the temple courts.  He did not go to the palace or courts where an earthly king would go to rule, but rather to the temple, the center of Godly matters, the place where He is worshipped, the place where He rules.   He sees the courts were crowded with money changers and merchants.  This court was the court of the Gentiles and originally intended for those non-Jews who wanted to worship God. It was as close as they could get to the Temple.  But it was so crowded with the merchants and money changers, the Gentiles that had come from all over the world had no room to worship.  The merchants sold sacrificial animals at a high price, the money exchangers exchanged all currency to a special temple coin and often exchanged at a higher exchange rate.  So not only had they taken up space meant for worship, they had turned it into a center of commercialism.  This of course angered Jesus.  He does not take kindly to those that interfere with those that wish to worship Him.  They had misrepresented His temple, made it into something it was not and because the temple was a place of His representation, a Holy place, He stepped in and cleared the court.  Because His house is to be called a house of prayer, not a den of robbers.   His actions were actions of protection for His house, it’s reputation and for those that came to worship there.  His actions mark for us the importance of protecting His temple, keeping it Holy and preserving it for what it is intended to be.

This makes me think of our bodies being a temple for the Holy spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

The Spirit of the Lord lives in us as Christians making our bodies a temple, just as the church is also a temple where God’s Spirit dwells.   We have the responsibility to take care of our bodies and live as God intends for us to live.   For us not to live by His standards does not represent His temple in the way that it deserves.   It is easy to read this verse and think we need to take care of our bodies physically, but I believe this to have more of a spiritual meaning. Take care of our relationship with Christ, take time to find and know the Holy Spirit.  Take time to know His voice, His direction, His comfort, His guidance. Take time to allow Him to work in our lives, change our hearts and minds to live more like we were created to live.  The Holy spirit is such a gift to us from God, something to be cherished and loved.  When you cherish and love something you take care of it and want to share it with the world. 

By clearing the temple Jesus not only shows us the importance of the Temple, He show us it is right and good to keep it pure and holy.  We have to keep an eye on our church and protect it from anything that may represent God in any way He is not.  That begins with protecting the temple of ourselves.  As each of us individually grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit and clears our own selves of ways within us that are not of God, the temple of our church will become united in a Godly representation.   

What are we doing to represent God in our daily lives?  How are we protecting our temple of the Holy Spirit?  He gives so much to us and only asks that we give that to others by being a representation of all that He teaches us. 

Peace and Love,

LeAnn