Life Along the Way

Behold a Mystery

On the cross in excruciating pain and suffering, Jesus forgave those who were crucifying Him, asking the Father to forgive them, for they didn’t know what they were doing.

It is a different Jesus in the temple, however. He went so far in His zeal that He made a whip, drove out the sacrificial animals, poured out the money changers’ coins, and overthrew their tables. He declared His Father’s house was a house of prayer, not one of merchandizing (Mark 11:15-17). He did this with energy, great passion, and heart intent.

Lest we think this demonstration was without restraint and done on impulse, we need to remember that Jesus had visited this same temple the day before, certainly saw all that was going on there, yet did nothing. It was the following day that He returned and moved with passion to cleanse His Father’s house (Mark 11:11, 15). Jesus never acted on impulse but was always in the Spirit and following the Father’s directive.

The disciples remembered that it was written of him that the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (John 2: 17). Jesus had tremendous respect, deep honor, and a holy regard for His Father’s house, which at that time was represented by the temple in Jerusalem. The temple stood as the place of contact between God and His people. It was to be treated with reverence and awe.

In Ephesians 5:22-33 Paul goes into great detail about the marriage relationship between a man and a woman. After doing so, he makes one of the greatest proclamations in scripture in verse 32. Paul says, “This is a great mystery but I (in speaking about marriage between a man and a woman) speak concerning Christ and the Church.”

In that one sentence, Paul, under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gathered all that Jesus came to do, was, and is to come, and cemented it into one holy comparison: it is like the marriage between a man and his wife. Therein lies the great mystery…. a mystery of comparison that is to be respected, honored, celebrated, and feared.

No wonder Satan hurls such an attack at marriage. It is not just God-ordained marriage between man and woman that he is after. He is after the mystery… the great mystery that Paul spoke of when he compared marriage between a man and a woman to that of Christ and His church. Satan knows what that represents, and He hates it. He reaches out to influence man to defile the holiest, most sacred union that the Lord gave Himself to establish: His union with His bride, the church.

Oh, we need to be careful with this great mystery. We need to hold it in highest regard. Jesus demonstrated His passion in temple cleansing. How do you think He feels about this?