The scene in the gospels where Jesus clears the Temple has to be one of the more compelling narratives in history. After all, here is one man among thousands. He disrupts the whole operation with his holy zeal. Tables are flipped over, money is spilled, people are chased, and toes are stepped on.
Hardly the limp-wristed, weak, effeminate Jesus of the storybooks and murals, this Jesus has viper veins in his biceps, sweat on his brow, holiness in his mouth, and toughness emanating from him. Samson has nothing on him.
Mark notes in chapter 11 of his gospel (v17) “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations…”, this was the intention. The religious leaders of the day had perverted it with their shady, selfish, God-eclipsing business practices.
In chewing on this passage a bit, and as a secondary application, I can’t help but be convicted about prayer myself.
Jesus is indicting the religious leaders and what they had become, what they had used the Temple for. Among the allegations was a failure to prioritize or facilitate prayer in the Temple. The specific culprit was their own pride expressed in terms of selfishness through business.
As Christians we are to be Temples of God:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.(1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)
This is obviously not in the absolute same sense as the physical Temple. However, it is similar in the sense that God, The Holy Spirit dwells within beleivers. Furthermore, we as Christians are to meet with, enjoy, and promote the this glorious God among the nations.
Two areas of conviction hit me between the eyes:
1) Not enough praying. My own selfishness expressed in terms of a busy life can eclipse the glory of God through a lack of prayer. If this earthly Temple was in Jesus’ cross-hairs for failing to prioritize God-centered praying and worship then how much more me? After being ransomed by Christ through the gospel, prayer must and shall be a priority. It has to be! Just as the earthly Temple was thought to be a house of prayer so too, and even more, should my own body be a house of prayer. Failure to get this puts me, well, not in a good place.
2) Not enough mission. My own selfishness prevents this too. To put it mildly, the religious system of the day was off mission. Their selfishness was expressed through a zealous nationalism that looked pretty racist. I fear that I can fall into an evangelical separatism that looks a lot like 1st Century Jewish elitism. When I am not broken by my sin and bedazzled by the gospel then I am not finding myself compelled to talk to people about Jesus. I forget how to identify with sinners. I become an ingrown religious scab of selfishness. As a Temple of the living God I am to reflect God’s excellencies to the people around me not just insulate myself with people that look just like me.
I am thankful that God continues to give grace. He continues to work in and through and by the Holy Spirit to convict and conform. Even here he brings encouragement as he leads me to the perfect worshiper, the Lord Jesus, who loved God and neighbor perfectly for rebels like us who did not. This is instructive and motivating.