Matthew 21 (The passion translation)
Jesus in the Temple
12 Upon entering Jerusalem Jesus went directly into the temple area and drove
away all the merchants who were buying and selling their goods. He overturned
the tables of the money changers and the stands of those selling doves. 13 And he
said to them, “My dwelling place will be known as a house of prayer, but you have
made it into a hangout for thieves!”
Yes, what a fantastic passage of scripture as we celebrate the Christmas season.
Truthfully, all passages of scripture are Christmas passages. Though we tend to
forget about concept of “Emmanuel God with us” once December and the
holidays have passed. The reason God came to earth in the form of a man named
Jesus of Nazareth (who was fully God and fully man), was simply because he
desired to be intimate with his creation. It’s the same reason Jesus caused such a
ruckus in the temple in Matthew 21. He entered the temple and saw that it was
not functioning as a house for God and man to commune, and very simply drove
out anything that was counter productive to that point. He was not filled with
uncontrollable rage, he did not lose his temper to the point of violence. No that’s
not Gods character. He was making a point. That the temple, which was
established as place for God’s people to assemble around the father’s presence,
had been overrun and infiltrated by merchants with an opposing agenda. The
point is that God wants to come into every place of our lives that is not saturated
by him, flip it upside down and drive out whatever has gotten in the way, so that
we are restored to what we were created for. Love is always Gods agenda. Prayer
is a response to love and his presence. Jesus was quoting Isaiah 56, and also
declaring the cry of the Father’s heart. “I want to be intimate with my people!” I
believe that this is what is happening this Christmas season. God desires his
people and is using the trials of this last year to reprioritize in our homes and
churches what actually matters. His presence! When we gather, we are not simply
gathering to fill a time slot in our week with religious activities. We gather to pray
and engage with our creator. This is a glorious revelation. Don’t sacrifice it by
making prayer another box on your spiritual check list. Its how we as believers
interact with our Heavenly Father, he gave up everything to be with us, and is
fighting for us right now. Its our job to let him in, so he can rearrange, flip and
drive out whatever is necessary, so he becomes Emmanuel in our lives. Join me in
this season of intimate prayer.
Love and Merry Christmas,
Pastor John