Jesus’ zeal for his Father’s house
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal [hot emotion] for your house will consume me.” (See Psalm 69:9)
- What was Jesus so passionate about?
- What did the Temple mean to him?
- Why did he call it his Father’s house?
- Jesus’ parents were devout Israelites. Why did they not understand this?
A house of prayer for all nations
And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?
But you have made it a den of robbers.”
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD [YHVH],
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD [YHVH],
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
- What emotion is attached to the promise of God in this prophetic declaration?
- What do you think Jesus desired to see happening in the Temple?
- What does God’s name have to do with it? (Hint : What is His name and what does it mean?)
We are the House of God
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands — remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
John 17:20-26 (Jesus’ prayer for us)
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.
If we are the House (Temple) of God, then we are – in Jesus’ words – “his Father’s house”. We are holy, different from the world. We are the dwelling place of God. It’s a mystery – the God of the Universe, the Holy One, has drawn near to us and made a way for us to draw near to Him and live in His presence. He has come to us so that we can come to Him and find our home in Him. Jesus wants us to be with Him in the presence of the Father. The God of the Universe – the Holy One – the great I Am – desires intimacy with us and wants to be a Father (Abba) to us. Amazing!
- In your experience, do most Christians understand this?
- Do you?
- Do you want greater intimacy with the Holy One?
For further reflection
Hebrews 3:1-19 – We are His house
Hebrews 4:1-10 – Entering into Sabbath rest by faith
Colossians 2:8-17 – It’s not about a day on a calendar
