Temple visits - by Christo Jovner

 

Temple visits

We read about Joseph and Mary that brought Jesus to the temple to present Jesus to God according to their Jewish laws (Luk 2:22) Whilst at the temple, we read of a devout and just man by the name of Simeon - who received a promise from the Holy Spirit that, before he would die, he will see Jesus. “So he came by the Spirit into the temple.” (Luk 2:27) and took Jesus in his arms and say: “For my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luk 2:30). Also, whilst at the temple, there was a prophetess named Anna, who “served God with fastings and prayers night and day. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.” (Luk 2:37-38). 

Where did all this happened? At the temple - the place where God’s presence dwelled under the old covenant, but the same place where the temple curtain torn in two from top to bottom, when Jesus died, indicating that Jesus opened the way to the presence of God! 

The Bible also say that the believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) and that the body of believers - the church - is the temple of God (Eph 2:21). 

All these refer to the temple of God in different ways. And although the building or the place where we worship is not important, as Jesus rightly indicated to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, what is important, is the gathering together of believers. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this: “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.” Heb 10:25

For us today, as New Testament believers, as individual temples of the Holy Spirit, as carriers of His presence, may this be an ever increasing revelation that shapes our daily lives. But also, I want to encourage you to join gatherings where the body of believers worship together. Because just as in the days of Jesus, God might just orchestrate divine appointments with devout and just men and women… God might just use a fellow believer to bring you an encouraging, uplifting prophetic word… and it might just be what you need going into your week…