House

"See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say unto you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say unto you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Mt. 23:38-39, 24:1-2). Jesus had just pronounced a scathing judgment against the religious leaders of Jerusalem, the scribes and the Pharisees, in Mt. 23. He called them "Fools and blind!" (v. 17). He spoke of their religious violence, by that I mean the lack of mercy, the religious burdens they placed upon the people, their standing in the spiritual position of Moses (Mt. 23:2), but without the understanding, and the relationship with God of Moses, along with their complete hypocrisy. He brought against them His indictment concerning their rejection of the prophets. He told them that they clean the outside, but the inside (of themselves) is full of lawlessness. They neglect justice, mercy and faith, and "shut up the kingdom of heaven aginst men". It cannot be stated too strongly, the thorough condemnation spoken by Jesus that day against these religious leaders. As we know, the greatest act of religious violence was still to come: the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. Jesus connected all of these things and more, with the desolation of the house, including His prophecy of the future total dismantling of the temple. The temple was the most sacred and important part of Jewish worship and atonement, and a crucial part of their national identity. As Jesus described its coming ruin, it lined up exactly with what the law of Moses required regarding a house plagued by leprosy that cannot be remedied. The Sabbath reading this week is titled in part, M'tzora, which means "Infected one". One reading portion is from Lev. 14:33-45. It begins, "And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying: "When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous (root- tsawrah: to strike down, scourge, one stricken (by God), one smitten) plague (negah/nawgah: stripes, stricken, wound, a spot, lay a hand upon, punish, destroy, violently, be stricken, beaten, smite, to violate, to injure, to touch heavily) in a house in the land of your possession...the priest shall command that they empty the house...that all that is within the house may not be made unclean; and afterward, the priest shall go in to examine the house." (Lev. 14:33-36). The leprosy being dealt with here was not on a person, but on the actual building. "And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be deep in the wall, then the priest shall go out of the house...and shut up the house for seven days." (v.37-38). After seven days, the priest was to come back and see if the plague had spread. If so, the infected stones, including the mortar, would have to be removed, and taken to the unclean place outside the city. All the rest of the stones of the house were to be scraped, and the dust from the scraping taken outside the city as well. Then they replaced the removed infected stones, mortar and plaster with new. If the plague of leprosy came back to the house after these attempts at remediation, then it is declared a "fretting" (ma'ar: painful malignant leprosy, pricking, be in pain, bitter, sour, a thorn which causes pain) leprosy, and the house is unclean (v. 39-44). "And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place." (v. 45). There are word meanings here that bring to mind Jesus in His suffering. The religious leaders identified Jesus as a type of leprous plague, according to the meanings of the words used in Leviticus, when He was actually their remediation. They did not see that it was their own house that was the "infected one" instead. We see that same language used to describe the suffering of Jesus in Isa. 53:4: "Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." But really, the LORD was laying upon Jesus the iniquity, or the leprous infection, of us all (see Isa. 53:6). Jesus was taken outside the city to be crucified, like the leprous stones of the infected house (see Jn. 19:17-19, Heb. 13:12-14). On the cross, He was offered bitter and sour to drink (Mt. 27:34, Ps. 69:21). The religious leaders would not accept the sabbath rest (seven days mentioned in Lev. 14) Jesus represented for their leprous house. They would not allow the leprous stones of their house to be replaced. They would not accept the scraping of the stones of their own house, so their house was dismantled until there was not one stone left upon another. He was their remedy, but they did not want their house remedied. That is the nature of spiritul leprosy. Once it takes hold, without remediation, it will persist and worsen until the whole house is unclean and requires demolition. Yet, Jesus became the remedy for us all, because the Father wished it. Over the centuries, the rabbis have written that they believe that the second temple was destroyed because of the presence of a type of spiritual leprosy among the people of God, which they call "evil speak" (LaShon Hara), and also because of hatred among or between the brethren. In Rev. 2 and 3, Jesus sends His Word to the seven churches, and warns six of them to deal with a kind of spiritual leprosy in their midst also. He warned them to take the remedy, or pay the penalty. May we in the Church today keep these things in mind, and be open and willing to accept the chastising (scraping) of the Lord, our Priest, when applied, in order to heal our spiritual house, the temples of the Holy Spirit, and the remedy of repentance, and the Sabbath rest personified in Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. Our Father is looking to cleanse the house. If you would like to be cleansed by the Son of God you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I believe that You died for my sins and uncleanness, that You became a curse, a plague, to free me from the curse. I believe that You rose again from the dead so I can have eternal life. Cleanse me, renew me, and make me a holy house fit for Your Holy Spirit. I give You thanks for Your sacrifice for me, and help me to live in Your righteousness. Give me ears to hear, and a heart to receive Your corrections and remedial work in me. I ask and receive these blessings, with thanks, in Your holy name, AMEN."

House

There is an event recorded in all four gospels, which most indicate occurred during the week that Jesus was crucified. During that week of Passover, Jesus cleansed the temple in Jerusalem. He tore the place up. He even used a whip of cords to drive out the religious exploiters, and their animals, as well. In short, He went on a rampage during the most crowded and busiest time of the year for temple activity. People from all over the world would have come to the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover. It is thought that this cleansing took place in the outer most court of the temple grounds, the court of the Gentiles, which is logical, but scripture does not specify this.
Jesus never minced words when dealing with the religious and their total and deliberate misunderstanding of the kingdom of God. They also taught this same misunderstanding to others:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."
                                                                                                              Mt. 23:15
However, His actions on this day rose to a whole different level. I have often wondered why Jesus became so violent about the situation, and I thought I must be missing something deeper in these accounts. I can start my search by looking at an amalgamation of this event from the four gospels:
"Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables (meaning banquet, feast, place for consecrated loaves) of the money changers and the seats (meaning exalted seat of rank for teachers and judges) of those who sold oxen and sheep and doves. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen. And He would not allow anyone to carry (move) wares (vessels) through the temple. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise." And He said to them, "It is Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (see also Isa. 56:7), but you have made it a den of thieves (see also Jer. 7:9-11)."  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him but were unable to do anything, because all the people were astonished at His teaching, were very attentive to hear Him."
                                                Mt. 21:12-14, Mk. 11:15-18, Lk. 19:45-48, Jn. 2:13-16*
His actions fulfilled several prophetic scriptures (Ps. 69:9, Jer. 7:9-11, Isa. 56:7).  In the one gospel account in Matthew, children began to sing and declare that Jesus was the one who comes in the name of the LORD, which also angered the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus' identity of Messiah was revealed through His action. He also took the occasion to declare that if they destroy this temple, in three days He would raise it up again. After He was raised from the dead, Christ's disciples remembered Him saying this and concluded that He was referring to His own resurrection (Jn. 2:18-19, 22). These are all important points. To me there is yet even more to the story.
If we go back and look at the beginning of the temple, we can learn more. The house of God originated in a covenant promise made to King David:
"When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows (stripes, to smite, to strike) of the sons of men."   2 Sam. 7:12-14
The purpose of building the temple was to house the name of God. Both the Hebrew word for house, and the second letter of the Hebrew aleph-beth which also means "house", not only mean a physical building, but a "name". It is a place to be "within", and to abide. It incorporates all of the generations of a family that came before, and all of the generations that will come in the future. We know that David's son, Solomon, actually built the physical temple, which fulfills this prophecy in part, but the Son of David who really builds the house for His Father's name, is King forever. This would refer to the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus. Though Jesus did not commit iniquity, as mentioned here, He was made to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), and He was indeed stricken, and striped by the whip as a result. So we can understand that Jesus established a temple for His Father's name. To me, His statement "Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up", not only referred to the raising of His physical body, but He was also declaring that His resurrection would establish a spiritual temple for His Father's name. We are that living temple. When He was raised, we were raised with Him (Col. 2:12). As we know, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are that temple that was established and raised up by Jesus after three days. Even as the Spirit and the glory of God filled the natural temple so that the priests could not enter or stand to minister, we, as the temple of God's name, also have been filled with that same Holy Spirit and glory (Jn. 17:5, 22, 24, 1 Cor. 3:16).
This temple that the son/Son of David would build for the Name of God, would be a very special place: both the natural temple, and the spiritual temple, which we are. Part of the prayer of Solomon upon the dedication of the newly built temple was the following:
"Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. Now, therefore, arise, O LORD God to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in goodness."   2 Chron. 6:40-41, 1 Ki. 8:29
The prayers that would be said toward and in the temple of the Name of God, would be miraculous prayers. These prayers and supplications would result in forgiveness and restoration, teaching and rain (including spiritual rain) in times of drought, deliverance from famine, pestilence, plague, sickness, victory against the enemy, forgiveness of the sin that has led to captivity, and favor and mercy from captors, repentance that restores the soul and body (1 Ki. 8:30, 33, 34,35-36, 37, 44,46-47). Even the prayers and supplications of foreigners and strangers who are not Israel can be heard by God in this temple (v. 41-43). The Hebrew root word for "temple" means to prevail, overcome, endure, have power/ability, to gain or accomplish, to attain.
One gospel account of the cleansing of the temple said that immediately afterwards, Jesus did miraculous healings in the temple. Jesus cleansed the natural temple, and the spiritual temple, which is us. He violently drove out those things and beings that defiled the holy temple to His Father's Name. He drove out the sitting (immovable, a place occupied, a fixed abode) money changers (to cut into small pieces, to sheer a sheep), those who bartered and sold oxen (to feed, Christian teachers promoting the spiritual welfare of the members of the church, to seek, to enquire, to consider, to reflect, to make search), sheep (flocks, multitudes, to walk forward, ago, prior before, extreme age: eternal things), and doves (gentle, effervescent wine: Holy Spirit). He drove out the defilers that sought to be seated in, to possess, and to buy and sell, to trade the precious things of God, and the precious people of God. He also drove out those who had been dedicated to God, but had allowed themselves to be bartered, bought, sold, and traded by men, and by the wrathful (root-given up to the love of money: see Rev. 12:17)) powers of  the world.
No wonder Jesus became so violent in His zeal for His Father's house. We are His Father's living house, the house of the Father's Name: Yeshua, God of salvation, and the Name of His Son, Jesus, Who has been given a Name that is higher than any name. We are the house that the Son of David built out of His death and resurrection. We are the house of the Holy Spirit and the glory of God, the house of miraculous, life-changing prayers
of supernatural deliverance in the Names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
"...Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."   Eph. 2:20-22
 We need to understand the importance of this. The world needs the cleansed, living, praying temple of God now more than ever.

Our Father has built a house for His Name, hakal HaShem.

*The account of the cleansing of the temple in Jn. 2 does not specify that it occurred during the week of crucifixion.

"PRAY!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC4kbteMLCg&sns=em