Cleansing the Temple

Before we open the scriptures together, I encourage you—still your heart before the Lord. Come quietly before Him, humbly to the Word of God. We know that in Him is life and Jesus is the Word of God. As we read the scriptures together, ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate certain words or parts of the passage, revealing Jesus to you. It says in John 15:26 that the Spirit of Truth will testify of Jesus. Believe Him! Wait on Him to demonstrate knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of Christ to you, as we open the scriptures together. Pause and be still in His presence. Present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and enjoy Him. 

Pause & praise

Read: John 2:13-17 says, “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

This Jesus, whom we serve, has fire and tears in His eyes. (Revelation 19:12-15, Luke 22:44) He’s full of zeal and of suffering. He longs for a pure, Holy bride, without spot or blemish. It’s the great reward for Jesus’ suffering. The reward of His seed, His life laid down, is to bring the body of Christ to life. You walking with Jesus pleases the Father. It’s what Jesus paid for—your life, all of you, for Him. 

Here in chapter two, we see the zeal of Jesus. He’s purifying the temple of anything unrighteous and unholy. Friend, He’s doing the same today. Ephesians 2:19-22 says, “Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” 

Jesus’s body (the temple) was torn down at Calvary and rebuilt in His resurrected body. His body is now one with the church (the body of Christ). His dwelling place needs to be Holy; He cannot inhabit areas that are not. His blood cleanses us, so the Spirit of God may dwell richly in us. We are saved but being saved. Justified by Jesus’ life, but undergoing sanctification by His Spirit, there’s work to do in His temple. You are His temple. Your body is His dwelling place. 

There’s no place for compromise in the temple, no mixture. He is a PERFECT God. He calls us to be holy as He is holy. How do we do this? By the sanctification and rejuvenation of the Holy Spirit in us. As we read the Word, commune with God, fellowship with believers, and live under the loving and powerful conviction of the Holy Spirit, we become more like Jesus. This is LIFE: Knowing Him and becoming more like Him. 

Sanctification is not always easy. But, oh so worth it. It will cost you comfort, time, and all of your life handed over. But, once you realize that He is the only way, truth, and life, you will know confidently that He is worth giving everything to. It’s by His mercy that you’re alive today. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping…it’s all by His mercy that we’re alive in His Holy presence. 

In John 6:68, Jesus asks the disciples if they also want to go away. Many left Jesus’ teachings for they believed He was too harsh. Peter responds, “Lord, where would we go? You have the Words of eternal life.” This is true today. Where would we go that’s better than Jesus’s presence? He is life, and He is all and all. There’s no life apart from Him. Here’s the Good News continued: No height nor depth can separate you from the love of God. Yield to His cleansing and receive a deeper measure of Jesus when you do! 

As a servant of Jesus, you’ve been sent out into the sports industry to know Him, to be made more like Him, and to glorify His name. He is purifying and refinding His ambassadors, that there would be no darkness in you, but the light of Christ would shine brightly. Surrender your life and circumstances to the Lord Jesus, and allow Him to do this cleansing work in you. Give Him all of your heart, mind, and soul, and trust Him to do a very good work. 

Your life will look different than those in the sports industry, and that’s OK! We are a peculiar people, a royal priesthood that is not swayed by the lusts or cares of this world. We are wholly given to the Prince of Life, Jesus, who is our life. May you be a person who cries, “It is not I who lives, but Christ who lives in me,” in the sports industry and beyond. You are called to be His hands and His feet, not your hands and your feet. HIS! Allow Him to work His ways and likeness in you and realize this is radical freedom! To live free of self-will and enjoy the security, safety, and wonderful pleasures of surrendering all to Jesus. 

John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” You are the Father’s house. Your body, your life is His. (Repeating this to add emphasis.) When you give your life to Christ, by His body and blood, He makes atonement for you. His life reconciles you to the Father and allows you to enter eternal life, free from the wrath of God forever. WHAT A GIFT. But it doesn’t stop there. Your life becomes His. There’s no turning back. 

James 4:5 says, “Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us.” This is Jesus, yearning jealousy for you. Zeal for His house still consumes Him. When fire entered the temple Solomon built, it consumed ALL of the temple. (2 Chronicles 7:1) What parts of your life have you not surrendered to Jesus? Today, take time to search your heart. Repent and ask the Holy Spirit to consume and fill those spaces. Oh, and when you do, rejoice, because there is nothing more satisfying, more free, more joyful than experiencing the living God taking complete residence in you! 

Additional Thoughts on John 2:13-17: 

The whip of cords He used to cleanse would one day strike His back, the punishment for our sin cast upon Him. 

The sheep and oxen were driven out of the temple, just as His body was driven out of the city limits to Calvary.

The worthless money poured out, just as His priceless blood was spilled for our forgiveness.  

His body was torn apart, that the temple of God may be restored. 

The tables overturned, that we may dine with Him at the table prepared in the presence of our enemies, the last supper table now a place of restoration for sinners called saints, the table at the marriage supper of the Lamb made available through the death, burial, resurrection and second coming of Jesus Christ. 

Oh, how He foreshadows the cleansing that must soon take place –  bearing both judgment and redemption in His body, the punishment on His shoulders, zeal for His house has indeed consumed Him…and it still does. 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I give you full permission to take residence in all areas of my life. I surrender all to you. Please show me there’s nothing better than living in full givenness to you. Lead me in the path of life. There is fullness of joy in your presence, and I receive all of you now in Jesus’ name, amen.

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