LISTEN TO JESUS: A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND PRAYER

LISTEN TO JESUS

A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND PRAYER

Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

JOHN 2:16

John 2:13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines Passover as follows:

P'ASSOVER, noun [pass and over.] A feast of the Jews, instituted to commemorate the providential escape of the Hebrews, in Egypt, when God smiting the first-born of the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Israelites, which were marked with the blood of the paschal lamb.

Susie: At the specified time each year, the Jews would take an unblemished lamb to the temple to be sacrificed. If they did not own a lamb, one could be purchased with temple coins. Jesus. . . 

Susan: . . . who would ultimately be the final, perfect Passover Lamb . . .

Susie: . . . traveled to Jerusalem to participate in this ceremony. 

Susan: Jesus’s death on the cross as the final and complete sacrifice would end the need for the sacrificial system.

John 2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

Susan: Jesus found merchants in the temple instead of true worshippers. Jesus could see the signs in their eyes because He sees into people’s hearts.

Susie: Not only were they profiting from the sale of animals to be sacrificed, but the exchange rate offered to replace Roman coins with temple coins was exorbitantly high, lining their pockets with a tidy profit. 

Susan: They were building their own affluence by robbing the people who desired to worship sacrificially. This egregious behavior troubled and angered Jesus to His very core.  

John 2:15-17 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Susan: We do not often think of Jesus as angry . . . 

Susie: . . . but He was so upset that He actually made a whip and used it to drive out the animals, threw tables over spilling the money, and rebuked the merchants. 

Susan: It seems that the fact that He was making a whip in the temple would have given the merchants a clue as to what He was about to do.  He was not only angry, but He was hurt. The outlandish, outrageous behavior offended Him. In His humanness it may have made Him physically ill. 

Susie: As God, Jesus was insulted by their blatant disregard for what should have been a holy atmosphere . . .

Susan: . . . and an affront to the purpose for which His house was built. 

Susie: The other three gospels record a time near the end of His ministry that Jesus cleansed the temple and reminded the merchants His Father’s house was designed to be a house of prayer. Apparently, this was a constant problem. It was an indicator that the hearts of many Jews were far from worshipping the Lord.

Susan: As a Holy God, Jesus must have been irate that the Temple continued to be desecrated in this way.

Psalm 69:9…for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

Susie: The temple was designed to focus all attention on God, a place of prayer and communion with Him. These merchants and money changers were using it for their own personal gain. Rather than serving the worshipers by providing healthy animals, they were robbing their fellow Jews by unfairly raising the prices. 

Susan: They were disobeying God by committing usury. They were more devoted to creating creature comforts for themselves than their obedience to God. Communion with the Lord should be our focus in worship, and really for every believer, every day. 

Susie: Nothing should be done that detracts from devoting ourselves to prayer, worship, and fellowship in the house of God.

Ways we can apply this to our lives:

·     The sanctuary (worship center) should be a place of prayer

·     We should focus our hearts and minds on the Lord and worship Him there

·     Our interactions with other believers should be fair and honoring to our Father

·     We should prepare our hearts for worship even before we arrive at church for corporate worship for our own benefit and the encouragement of others