Title Make it a House of Prayer
Contents
“He said to them, ‘It is written, My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made a den of robbers’” (Luke 19:46).
1. Introduction: The events of Jesus' cleansing of the temple and his entering into Jerusalem are combined. Although these two events took place at different times, they have the same meaning, so I would like to meditate on the meaning and lessons these two events give to the church.
2. Body
1) The reason for the weeping of Jesus
- As he was walking towards the city of Jerusalem, Jesus suddenly wept. Here, ‘to cry’ is the Greek word ‘klaivw’, which means ‘to cry out loudly’.
However, the Bible records that the reason Jesus wept was because he saw the city. The word 'saw' here is the Greek word 'eijdw', which means seeing with intuitive insight, not just seeing with physical eyes.
- We can guess from the monologue of Jesus why he wept at the city. “He said to them, You should have known today the things concerning peace, but now you have hidden it from your eyes.”
These words of Jesus were speaking with the historical event that would occur 40 years later in mind. The city of Jerusalem was later cut off by the Romans, all supply routes were cut off, and the city fell into an unprecedented state of starvation.
Jerusalem was a symbol of divine rule, and to the Israelites, Jerusalem was the land of God. The Hebrews called the absence of war “peace”, but from a biblical point of view, “peace” refers to the state of reconciliation with people resulting from a reconciled relationship with God.
It refers to total and holistic peace, both internal and external. In the Old Testament, ‘Jerusalem’ is presumed to mean ‘Ir-Shalom’, that is, the city of peace.
2) God's judgment was overshadowed by Jerusalem and Israel
- But the destruction of Jerusalem was hidden from the people of Israel. God gives His people many privileges that no one else has.
And when these means of grace are used well, the spiritual eyes of both the church and individuals are opened, so that we can understand to some extent what God thinks of us and what will happen in the future through God's Word.
Jerusalem was the city of peace, the city God chose, and the city that showed God's will the most. There was a sanctuary for those who could not come before God in their sins, there were priests, and there were prophets who taught the law of God.
So, even though all the cities of the world were asleep, Jerusalem had to be awake with all its privileges, and it had to be a being that could awaken many cities that did not know God.
3) Church, a gathering of people who preach the peace of God
- So are we. We also did not know who God was, and we did not know that God's wrath was still on us, but someone gave us the love of Jesus on the cross, and it was about peace with God.
Because someone gave it to us, we were able to come back to God, realizing that peace with the invisible God is more precious than the absence of war in this world.
- This is the purpose for which God established the church. God made the church exist in this world as a being to convey and inform those who do not know the peace with God. All the spiritual wisdom and all the shepherding that can overcome sin and live are the means God has given us so that we can communicate and show people peace with God.
4) the filth that covered their eyes
- We discover the reason why God's judgment was hidden from their eyes in Jesus' actions. When Jesus arrived there, he overturned the tables of the dove sellers and money changers. And Jesus said, “My house is the house of prayer for all people.”
Its original text reads, “Because my house is called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Therefore, this means that it is not a house where all people come to pray, but a house where the people chosen for all people in this world pray. Therefore, if the people of Israel had become people who prayed for all peoples of this world, they could have escaped God's judgment.
God's judgment is not retaliation, but purification. Therefore, if the church is corrupted to the extent that God needs to purify it, and God's people become corrupted, God must do the work of purification. This fact is shown to us through the Bible.
- Originally, the sacrifice was to bring an animal that he had raised and offer it as a sacrifice, but since it was difficult to bring a sacrifice from a distant place, he came to the temple and bought the sacrifice as if he were buying something. I exchanged it for money and made an annual report.
It is not clear whether there were any benefits between these institutions, but Jesus showed the human greed that existed between them by saying that he had “made a den of robbers.”
- It was because of their greed that they could not keep the peace with God, spread the peace, and pray for all peoples on this earth. The biggest factor that hinders prayer is the uncleanness within you. It darkens the Christian's spirituality and leads to loss of purity.
3. Conclusion: Following the life of Jesus who lived with tears
- Jesus shed blood for humans who could not restore the peace of God on their own. However, we must remember that God the Father received Jesus' tears before receiving His blood. Serving without prayer, ambitious plans without prayer, make us far from the peace of God.
The reason we cannot pray is because of our sins and an impure heart. The voyage of prayer becomes possible when we first cut off and throw away the sins and filth in us. God uses people who pray to accomplish His great work.
This church should be a house of prayer for all people. God is glorified through such a church. With this purity, become the saints who pray for all peoples on this earth. *