"Clean the House"
25/01/13 16:27
January 25, 2013
“Clean the House”
Blessings Folk!
Today’s reading…
Read very carefully…
Matthew 21:12-13
Mark 11:15-17
Luke 19:45-46
John 2:14-22
pastedGraphic
Do you have any questions?
Did you see anything curious?
…
...
Did you notice the chapter numbers?
There is divergence in theological circles in understanding these events.
Some believe that these four accounts all point to the same event - one cleansing.
Others believe that there are two separate cleansings of the Temple - one at the beginning of Jesus ministry, another at the end.
I believe there were two cleansings.
A clear, concise, simple reading of the Word supports this.
The argument for one cleansing is weak and requires twisting of the Word.
The account in John 2 is at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
As often occurred, the Jewish leaders wanted a sign.
If Jesus claimed the authority to cleanse the Temple in this way, then He would have to prove it to them by a sign.
Jesus gave them a sign - “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”
Jesus was speaking of His Body.
How do I know?
Because the next verse tells us.
The disciples remembered this after He was raised from the dead.
They believed the Scripture.
They believed what the Lord had spoken.
The synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke - tell of the second cleansing which takes place in the last week of Jesus corporeal existence.
Here we see…
What does this have to do with us - New Covenant Believers?
We are the House.
We are the vessels of the Presence of God.
Therefore…
Sadly, much of what the modern organizational church does has far more in common with the moneychangers than with a House of Prayer.
Let us change that.
“Clean the House”
Blessings Folk!
Today’s reading…
Read very carefully…
Matthew 21:12-13
Mark 11:15-17
Luke 19:45-46
John 2:14-22
pastedGraphic
Do you have any questions?
Did you see anything curious?
…
...
Did you notice the chapter numbers?
There is divergence in theological circles in understanding these events.
Some believe that these four accounts all point to the same event - one cleansing.
Others believe that there are two separate cleansings of the Temple - one at the beginning of Jesus ministry, another at the end.
I believe there were two cleansings.
A clear, concise, simple reading of the Word supports this.
The argument for one cleansing is weak and requires twisting of the Word.
The account in John 2 is at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
- He had zeal for the house of the Lord
- Jesus despised the abuse of the moneychangers.
- Jesus claimed that the Temple was “My Father’s house”!
As often occurred, the Jewish leaders wanted a sign.
If Jesus claimed the authority to cleanse the Temple in this way, then He would have to prove it to them by a sign.
Jesus gave them a sign - “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.”
Jesus was speaking of His Body.
How do I know?
Because the next verse tells us.
The disciples remembered this after He was raised from the dead.
They believed the Scripture.
They believed what the Lord had spoken.
The synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke - tell of the second cleansing which takes place in the last week of Jesus corporeal existence.
Here we see…
- Jesus states that “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are turning it into a den of robbers”.
- “My House”. Before it was “My Father’s House”.
- Mark tells us “a house of prayer for all nations”...that was profound for the Jews to hear. All nations would include Gentiles.
What does this have to do with us - New Covenant Believers?
We are the House.
We are the vessels of the Presence of God.
Therefore…
- We should be pure.
- We should not be consumed with the processes of the Moneychangers.
- We should not corrupt that which God is doing.
- We should be vessels of prayer, not a den of robbers.
Sadly, much of what the modern organizational church does has far more in common with the moneychangers than with a House of Prayer.
Let us change that.