Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:11-19 (day seven)
Let’s do a crash course of post-exilic Israel; Persians conquer Babylon (remember Daniel?) and they allow a remnant of Israel to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The work is impressive, but the new temple does not live up to the expectations set by the previous temple. Something is missing. The people of Israel believe that it is the ornateness of the temple (see Ezra and Haggai). The people begin weeping and mourning over the temple, but God sends encouragement, “My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” (Haggai 2:5). It was not the architecture or grandiose of the building that made it beautiful. It was the presence of the Spirit of the Lord.
Fast forward 500+ years. Jesus stands and looks around at the same temple. Something is missing again. The Spirit had been neglected for monetary profit. The Incarnate presence of the Lord has come to turn the tables, both literally and metaphorically, and return the focus of the temple back to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord.
Reminds me of the hymn we sing “ There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And we know that it’s The Spirit of The Lord”……
Sweet Heavenly Spirit ,
Sweet Heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us,
Filling us with Your love…..”