“And as he taught them, he said, ‘Is it not written: “My house will be
called a house of prayer for all nations”?
But you have made it “a den
of robbers.”’” (Mark 11:17 NIV)
Jesus drove the first-century money changers /out of the temple, because although they were in the temple, they didn’t have the spirit
of the temple. The odd thing about this event is that if any of the
merchants would have been interviewed that day, each would have
vigorously defended the right to be there.
“We provide an essential
service to the worshipers,” they would have said. “How else are people
going to get the required animal to sacrifice? If you live any distance
away, you can’t be herding your sheep and cows /though the streets of
Jerusalem.
We’ve got to help the program along…”
But, of course, they
had added a gouging surcharge to the price.
The money changers would have said the same.
“Everybody has to pay the
temple tax, and people can’t be walking in here with Greek or Roman or
Macedonian money.
They’ve got to use the special coins /minted here in
Jerusalem. We help people /with their currency problems.” But once
again,
they were tacking on big-time profits. The money changers may
have played a legitimate role in assisting people to worship,
but they
were out of sync with the whole purpose of the Lord’s house.
* tack on; to add something extra, especially something that does not seem to belong to the rest
“The atmosphere of my Father’s house,” Jesus seemed to say, “is to be
prayer. The aroma around my Father must be that of people /opening their
hearts in worship and supplication. This is not just a place to make a
buck. This is a house for calling on the Lord.”
I do not mean to imply that the Jerusalem temple, built by Herod the
Great, is the direct counterpart of our church buildings today. God no
longer centers his presence in one particular building. In fact, the
New Testament teaches that we are now his dwelling place; he lives in
his people. How much more important, then, is Jesus’ message about the
primacy of prayer?
[The feature //that is supposed to distinguish Christian churches,
Christian people, and Christian gatherings] is the aroma of prayer. It
doesn’t matter what your tradition or my tradition is. The house is not
ours anyway; it is the Father’s.
Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, “My house shall be called a house of preaching”?
Does it ever say, “My house shall be called a house of music”?
Of course not.
The Bible does say, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
nations.” Preaching, music, the reading of the Word— these things are
fine; I believe in and practice all of them. But they must never
override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. The honest
truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives /during ten
minutes of real prayer than in ten in my sermons.
-Pastor Cymbala (excerpted and adapted from Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire)
Read Mark 11:15-18.