" He said to them, 'It is written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer," but you make it a den of robbers.'"
Christ had just entered Jerusalem in a triumphant way. Riding in on a donkey he was adorned and praised by throngs of people. After this he goes to the temple, and Jesus is disgusted by what he sees. He cleanses the temple of it's impurities and quotes Isaiah 56:7, calling them out on their sin.
Jesus deals with the people defacing the temple rather violently. He does this, I think, because he truly does love them. He does not enter the temple to worship, but rather as Lord over all. He enters in to the temple with an agenda, a plan for righteousness, and he carries it out. The temple was made into a place of sin, of treachery, of sadness and sorrow. But Jesus came into that place and proclaimed it to be a house of prayer, full of joy and closeness to God.
As I walk with him I can't help but identify things in my life that keep me from being close with God, to the things brought into that temple. All the chaos, and distractions, and sin inside that temple mirrors how I treat my walk with the Lord. As a Christian I am a temple yes, but I deface it daily with selfishness and pride and I want more than to be a house of prayer. Despite it's intensity, this passage is encouraging, and I cling to the promise of sanctification! At times I see Christ thrashing about inside my heart, turning over tables and screaming out "I love you!" As he turned the tables over in the temple I believe that Jesus was sad. He was well aware of the sacrifice he was going to make, and he saw what he was doing it for. A people who could never love him back the way he loves us.
Father, your love is enough. Help me to live out this truth in my heart. Cleanse me daily and let me see how much you love me. Let your spirit be contagious and let the cleansing of my heart lead to fruit.
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