And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Matthew 27:46

A CHANGE OF TONE

As I read this verse, I saw what I perceived to be a problem. For me, it was a very distinct problem. Jesus calls God, God. What happened to Father? If you don’t understand the meaning of this, this could seem like a minor detail. But this detail is major, in my opinion. Let me explain. As I read through the Gospels, regularly I see Jesus calling God His Father. This is one of the many things He was persecuted for doing.

What is it about this context that caused the Lord to change His verbiage? Jesus was about to be cut off. He, in that moment is about to die. Not die and go to heaven. He in that moment was about to be cut off from the Father…separated from His Source, the One who originated Him. This is ultimate DEATH!

You see, Jesus was abandoned and becoming Fatherless! He was totally alone! He was being cut off from His relationship with the Father…for us. He was paying the penalty of Adam’s transgression that you and I inherited. He was stepping into the suffering that ultimately we would have suffered without His redemption.

You must understand, throughout His life, His Father was always there to help Him. However, in order to redeem man, He had to taste death ALONE. No help, No God. ALONE. The connection He’d always known…was being severed as the sin of mankind was being placed upon Him to carry. As the relationship was being cut off, what He called the Father was changing to reflect this new absence of connection. So just as Jesus called God Father to show the connection they had before, He must now, not only sacrifice His life, but His relationship with God. He is being utterly cut off.

Not that this will be a permanent state, but it will be a state of torment, nonetheless. The Author of Life is about to die! His relationship with the Father is about to die!

BUT WAIT…

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Luke 23:46

Before Jesus died…He was compelled to use the term that represented His connection with the Father one final time before He was cut off. This is a very powerful statement He is making before He gives up the ghost. He has to call God Father one last time before He pays the full price for our redemption.

What is the statement Jesus is making? He’s saying to the Father, I am trusting you to rescue me from what I’m about to face. I am facing death alone. My spirit is in your care! My only way out of death is by your power!

Focus Passage

And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. Mark 11:17

SUMMARIZATION

As discussed in the previous lesson, the people had turned God’s house into something other than what God had intended. God’s house was a house of prayer, but upon seeing they could make money, the people converted the House of Prayer into a den of thieves. If you want to see my analysis of that conversion, please read the previous blog. For now, let’s take a look at a few aspects of God’s house based upon this passage.

A HOUSE OF PRAYER

It’s important for us to gain a good understanding of what God sees His house as being in order for us to adopt the same vision and line ourselves up with that vision. Here Jesus calls God’s house “the house of prayer.” Well, what is prayer? Prayer is basically fellowship or communion with God. When man talks to God, we call that prayer.

So Jesus is saying that this is the purpose of God’s house. Prayer then is the focus of the house. If you cannot get anything else, you can find prayer at God’s house.

OF ALL NATIONS

Preferences and prejudices should die outside the door of God’s house. For God’s house is a house of prayer for all nations. This may be viewed from a couple of different angles. You could say that in God’s house, all nations can be, and will be covered in prayer. You could also say that God’s house, which is the House of Prayer, welcomes all nations to visit. I believe both perspectives to be true.

It makes sense that God welcomes all and that all are to be prayed for since Christ died for all…and that we have all come from one blood. So prayer is not solely to be about the nation in which I was born or I live. I am to express the love of God in me through prayer for all nations and by accepting all nations.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

If God’s house is not functioning in the purpose for which it was created, then as a consequence, it cannot produce what God intended either. There are benefits to be found only in prayer…only in communion with God. So if we fail at being a house of prayer, then we have also failed at every result that would have come from us praying.

IN CONCLUSION

This lesson, was not really about the temple in Jesus’ day, although the lessons were extracted from it. The lesson is truly about us being known for prayer. After all, we are God’s house today. Therefore, we need to be certain that we don’t fall for the temptation to be known for something other than our connection to God. We must protect who God created us to be and never allow anything to convert us to something different.

We need to pray without prejudice. We need to love without prejudice. We need to embrace the truth that we are God’s house and what separates us from all others is our connection to God that benefits and brings manifested blessings into the lives of people everywhere. We must allow anything that has turned us into something other than what God intended to be overturned and cast out.

Once those things take place, then people will come to us to receive healing. Their eyes will open and their legs will gain strength and they will walk.

All to the Father’s glory!

Focus Passage

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, ¹³ And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. ¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Matthew 21:12-14

Introduction

Upon seeing the mischief being done in the temple, Jesus made the above statement as a rebuke to those who were misusing God’s house. Now if God’s house was being misused, it stands to reason there is a proper use of God’s house. But the people decided to use God’s house as a money-making operation.

What is the proper use of God’s house, according to Jesus? The correct answer would be prayer, especially considering it’s a house of prayer. So then, in this series we will be looking at what prayer is, what prayer is not, as well as what constitutes effective prayer.

But for now, let’s look at Jesus’ verbiage here. He says they have made God’s house a den of thieves. A den is simply where people congregate. The word that stood out to me as I looked into this passage is the word “thieves.” What is a thief? A thief is someone who steals something from someone. Basically, it is one who transfers property (usually to self) without consent from the one who owns it or is the steward of it.

In the text, the people were buying and selling. So on the surface, the business transactions look legitimate. I see the seller and the consumer, but where is the thief in the scenario? In order to have theft, you need to be able to identify what the stolen goods were and there must be a victim. So it seems those 2 burdens are not met. However, upon closer observation, both burdens are proven in the text.

The Accusation and Explanation

The evidence of theft is actually found in the unchallenged accusation the Lord made. They took God’s house and turned it into a den of thieves. This makes God the victim. The people had taken something from God (His house) and repurposed it to be used for their own greed. What goods were taken? Once the money changers repurposed God’s house, people were not able to receive from it what they went there for. Thus, cheating them of what they should have received at the House of Prayer. You see, once God’s house was repurposed, God’s people could not receive what they should have received.

Imagine you own a chicken restaurant, but the restaurant was turned into a clothing store. Now you can get clothes, but you cannot get chicken. This is what happened to the House of Prayer. It was confiscated and converted into a money-making venue. As a consequence, when someone needed the benefits of prayer, they could not find them at the temple…because of the conversion that had taken place.

Notice what happened once Jesus dealt with the money changers and those who were buying and selling in the temple. The blind and lame came to Him and He healed them. How long, I wonder, had they waited in the temple for their healing? How many people left the temple because their needs were not met when they went.

This is one of the reasons why I hold no bad feelings towards people who don’t go to church, in particular those who once went but do not go now. I’m not saying this to mean they shouldn’t, but that I understand. God’s house is a House of Prayer, it is a place where healing should take place, but many, like in this passage have turned it into something else. If you went to a hospital because you were sick and found out they converted it into a dance studio, you probably wouldn’t go back there unless you wanted to dance. I think you get my point.

To be clear, I’m not making an argument against church attendance, but I am making the argument that the Father’s House is a House of Prayer and it is to be a place where people go and find healing. And I’m making the argument that if people are not receiving healing when they come, there is a serious problem…a problem that is not to be ignored but dealt with boldly.

Conclusion

So you see in our focus passage when God’s house is used for its intended purpose, people are healed. But once it’s converted to some other purpose, God is robbed and the people are left out. Why weren’t the lame and blind healed prior? They were not healed because the people who should have been praying in the House of Prayer were too busy making money to care about the problems of others.