Living Stones – Saturday, October 28, 2017
Church business
John 2:16
“Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
The events that are our focus today, John 2:13-18, seem to come right after Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana in Galilee. Quickly after that we see Him on the move, not lingering to enjoy the adulation of them who saw a miracle, not hanging around as news of Him spread, instead, He was steadfast about His purpose and about staying on the spiritual calendar. The Passover was at hand.
Jesus arrives at the temple for Passover and is appalled by what is taking place. So appalled He is that He gets violent to change it. Many have problems contemplating this action since it seems out of character for the “gentle Jesus” we have often been taught about. Too many times our ideas about Christ come from the processed versions that fit the sensibilities of some persons rather than conform with the truth.
“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.” Jesus’ action seems to have left everyone stunned. The people did not fight back, and the Jewish temple leaders started to, as they usually do, ask for a sign.
They did not engage in a discussion about the obvious question before them – what is the proper use of the place of worship, rather they wanted to find out if Jesus could prove His authority to enforce change on what had obviously become corrupt practices in the temple.
The arguments from the religious leaders and the merchants and other business expose the fact that they now had a completely different perspective on the temple and of worship than Jesus did. The circumstances, coupled with misrepresentations of the scripture, had produced a set of commercial operations under the guise of supporting worship and temple life.
We no longer have temple worship even though sometimes people try to make the buildings in which we have our church meetings seem like it is to be a temple in that Old Testament sense. Also, we very often today have church organisations that are more commercial than they are spiritual. In many places it now seems that there is little difference between business being done in church and the business of church.
Just as the commercial operations in the temple, when Jesus entered it, was an exploitation of the poor and a convenience for the rich so too many church activities seem to exploit the poor who are desperate for God’s intervention in their lives, and lead them down a path of thinking that God’s blessing can be induced by parting with the little cash you have left. This line is often crossed in how we “raise an offering” to how we offer church merchandise.
The point that Jesus’ actions leave with us today is that we need to have the right attitude to spiritual things and towards God’s people in our churches. We are to be zealous for the House of God (His People), passionate about serving in the Kingdom, and committed to upholding the truth of scripture.
Any action that is for commercial gain, whether this is for the gain of individuals or the organization, should be great cause for concern. Whenever money takes precedence over teaching, prayer, ministry to the sick, the needy or otherwise we should stand up and examine what it is that we are really doing.
This is not to say that we are not expected to give in support of the work of the Kingdom, far from it. We are admonished to give as the lord blesses and prospers us. Our giving is important to support the work of ministry, keep our buildings, pay of full-time ministers, workers, and the like. But that is not the same as exploitation and manipulation.
Those of us who are ministers must always keep the need of God’s people foremost in our minds and be careful to never cross the line from the business of church to church as business. And those of us who are members of churches must be watchful of the directions into which we are being led.
Do not let us be misguided by the new traditions and based on the philosophies of the times, let us instead remain faithful to the scriptures and open to revelation from God himself through the Holy Spirit as we conduct our activities in the Kingdom of God.
Think on these things:
- Have you even felt pressured to part with money in church meetings?
- Do you think that if you don’t have to give you are not qualified for blessing?
- Do you support you church and honour God with your giving?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today for our leaders, that they would remain faithful to God and His word and not be drawn away and enticed by the temptations that present themselves.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex