BY GREG CRUM
PASTOR, CALVARY TEMPLE
“But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.” Ezekiel 46:9
Here in the book of Ezekiel, God reminded the Israelites of some regulations involved in worshipping Him at the temple that stood in Jerusalem. It’s interesting to note that the people were commanded to leave the temple enclosure a different way, the opposite way, in fact, than the way they came in.
It’s even more interesting and spiritually significant when you remember that this Temple of God was more than just a building—it was a representation of the one who was to come—it represented Jesus himself! It was a symbol of the Messiah, confirmed by Jesus when he stated to the religious leaders of his day that if they tore that Temple down, in three days he would raise it again.
So, what’s the significance? What’s the spiritual lesson for Christians living in this hour? It’s this: Just as in days gone by, so it is today, all true interactions with Jesus will change us. We’ll not leave the same way we came.
Friends, as time winds down and we get closer to the second coming of the Lord, we need more than ever to be changed, bettered, and renewed through our interactions with Christ. Just as in the days of the Old Covenant, but more so today, our worship at the Temple should change us. We need this transformational interaction, and thankfully Jesus is more than happy to supply this need. Jesus longs for encounters with humanity. He came to seek and to save the lost. He’s not hiding from the individual or from the crowd. Jesus offers to take all comers. He always did, and He still does today. Remember when two of John’s disciples desired to know where he lived? What was his response? Was it, “Sorry, not today, boys, I’m tired.”? Nope! It was “Come and see.” And then the Bible states, “They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day.”
What’s more, it wasn’t just the overtly God-fearing that he sought interaction with. In Luke 19 we read of him calling out Zacchaeus and telling this “chief among the publicans” to “make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.” (Luke 19:5) Again, Jesus takes all comers. In Matthew 11:28 we read, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” There’s a “come” and an “all” there and what does that speak of but inclusion?
So, all are welcome to come and sit at the table with Jesus, and we desperately need this life-changing time with him. But as you read the Gospels you notice something curious about the type of clientele that usually took Jesus up on his offer of fellowship. It wasn’t the religiously well-bred or the socially affluent; rather it was the “low-lifers” and the “down and outers.” In Matthew 21:31 Jesus told the religious of his day, “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” The more things change the more they stay the same, huh? Think about what happened in Jesus’ day. The salty fisherman and the demon-possessed prostitute saw something in Jesus that drew them to him, and they decided to hang out with him for a while. What happened? Time and time again, those interactions with Jesus changed these people, and they became sons and daughters of God and kings and queens of the age to come. They came face to face with The Temple, and worshipped Him, and didn’t leave the same way they came!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.