And He went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And He taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear Him. (Luke 19:45-48)
When Jesus came once again into the temple He drove out those who obtained dishonest gain at the exchange table and defrauded the people with less than perfect sacrificial animals for sale. Just as He had done at the beginning of His ministry, He drove out the animals and overturned the tables, clearing them of the money most of which went into the Priests coffers. The religious leaders who were all about the show but didn’t worship God in Spirit or in Truth became upset, this last more than the first, and sought to get rid of Him. The people wanted to hear Jesus and what He had to say, so the leadership could not openly remove Him or undermine His Authority.
The zealousness of Jesus Christ for the temple of God was not to promote it as holy in itself, but as the place where the people met God it was holy because it was God’s house. Though God does not dwell in a place made with hands, He had set up the worship and sacrificial system, pointing to His Son, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, and because He is worthy of all worship and the only one to be worshiped. All the exchanging and buying and selling not only distracted from the worship but was done so for personal gain by those who did the selling and exchanging of foreign monies which were not allowed in the temple offerings. They had corrupted the sacrificial system and were no longer focused on the one whom the worship was about and Jesus cleared the process once again. The religious leadership, making gain themselves from the activities, sought to remove Jesus even to His death, but the people’s desire to hear Him temporarily restrained them until they could plot in secret and remove the threat to their position and authority.
For the Christian, everything we do when we come together in fellowship and as a congregation is to be about Him for He alone is worthy of our worship and praise. The Father sent the Son to be the sin payment we cannot pay, the Son went willingly in our place that we might be saved, and the Spirit indwells and empowers us as we submit to Him who is our guide. When God’s people gather as the church of God we are to be zealous of His place and purposes in drawing us unto Himself and fitting us into His Church to do His work and not our own. Though the world may oppose us and even plot to remove us, for all who will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, we are to stand strong and act only in the Authority He has given us in His Name to reach those who have not yet put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary unto Salvation. We are to teach the nations all that Jesus has taught us from His Word, especially about repentance and faith in Christ. We are to preach and proclaim God’s Word at every opportunity that those who are not reconciled with the Father through faith in the Son and born again by the Spirit can hear and believe unto Salvation.
God has sent those of us who are His saints and know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet
The zealousness of Jesus Christ for the temple of God was not to promote it as holy in itself, but as the place where the people met God it was holy because it was God’s house. Though God does not dwell in a place made with hands, He had set up the worship and sacrificial system, pointing to His Son, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, and because He is worthy of all worship and the only one to be worshiped. All the exchanging and buying and selling not only distracted from the worship but was done so for personal gain by those who did the selling and exchanging of foreign monies which were not allowed in the temple offerings. They had corrupted the sacrificial system and were no longer focused on the one whom the worship was about and Jesus cleared the process once again. The religious leadership, making gain themselves from the activities, sought to remove Jesus even to His death, but the people’s desire to hear Him temporarily restrained them until they could plot in secret and remove the threat to their position and authority.
For the Christian, everything we do when we come together in fellowship and as a congregation is to be about Him for He alone is worthy of our worship and praise. The Father sent the Son to be the sin payment we cannot pay, the Son went willingly in our place that we might be saved, and the Spirit indwells and empowers us as we submit to Him who is our guide. When God’s people gather as the church of God we are to be zealous of His place and purposes in drawing us unto Himself and fitting us into His Church to do His work and not our own. Though the world may oppose us and even plot to remove us, for all who will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, we are to stand strong and act only in the Authority He has given us in His Name to reach those who have not yet put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary unto Salvation. We are to teach the nations all that Jesus has taught us from His Word, especially about repentance and faith in Christ. We are to preach and proclaim God’s Word at every opportunity that those who are not reconciled with the Father through faith in the Son and born again by the Spirit can hear and believe unto Salvation.
God has sent those of us who are His saints and know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet
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