Jesus Passion Week – Monday
Matthew 21:12-16
On
Monday of His passion week Jesus entered the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was very important to the Jewish
believer. It was the center of their
worship. They would travel to the Temple
at least three times a year to worship, offer sacrifices, and to celebrate the
different feasts that God had given to them in the Law of Moses.
This
event is recorded in three of the four Gospels.
We learn that He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats
of those who sold doves. The outer court
of the Temple had become a place of merchandising. The merchants were profiting off of God’s
people at the expense of worship.
Notice
Jesus words, “It
is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it
a ‘den of thieves.’” The reference to “den of thieves,” has to do
with those who would hide themselves in caves and steal from innocent people as
they passed through the mountainous areas around Jerusalem.
What happens when Jesus enters the
Temple? He restores prayer to its
rightful place. In this week that remembers
His sacrificial death and His victorious resurrection why not ask God to
restore your personal temple. The
Apostle Paul teaches that our bodies are now the “temple of God.”
Let me challenge you to invite Christ
to cleanse your temple today. What will He find? What will He turn over? Then ask Him to restore your prayer
life. He longs to communicate with us in
prayer. He longs to fellowship and
commune with His children.
What happened when Jesus cleansed
the Temple? Prayer was restored to its
rightful place and became a priority in God’s house. The blind and the lame were healed, and the
children began to cry out in praise to God.
The same will happen in our
lives. When Christ visits us
individually and corporately prayer will become a priority, we will experience
His healing power, and our children and those around us will cry out in praise
to God.
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