My house will be called a house of prayer.

 

Tuesday, November 7, 2023


Psalm 19

2 Kings 13:1-13

Matthew 21:14-22


My house will be called a house of prayer.


The Temple: the centre of worship. The house where the Ark of Covenant is held; where sacrifices are made daily: if God is anywhere, God is in the Temple.


Jesus is outraged at what is happening. He quotes two prophecies, words that He had already spoken through His Holy Spirit years ago. The outrage is because the situation is no less than that which concerns God’s loving care over His people.


When Jesus says that “my house will be called a house of prayer”, He is talking about what will happen after the final judgement. He quotes Isaiah 56:7, a passage speaking about the new creation. When the final remnants of evil are finally swept away, only good will remain. The Temple was designed by God to be a shadow of God’s perfection, and yet Jesus sees “a den of robbers”.


That second line comes from Jeremiah 7:11. In that passage, God speaks about what will happen to those who abuse His love. God is understandably outraged; after all that God had done for them, and has also done for us today, how dare anyone turn their backs on Him?


Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple is because His mind is concerned with eternal things. Jesus hates evil and loves good, and hates and loves eternally, because He is God. If a place such as the Temple is to be a place where He is worshipped, then He wants honest and true love.


What is most wonderful to us as we read these words today is that Jesus defines honest and true love as prayer. In Jesus’ house, prayer is the ultimate action of love. If anything defines the perfect union between God and humanity, it is prayer. If anything defines the perfection of the new creation, it is prayer. All the other stuff will happen when it needs to. But everything must be done with prayer. If nothing else, pray!

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