by Edwin Crozier

Text: Luke 19

Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted as if He were King. The people treated Him as if He were going to come in and take over, ruling them. But He didn’t lead the procession to Herod’s Palace–which had been seized by Rome to be the governor’s residence–to overthrow Pilate. He didn’t lead them to the Hasmonean Palace to overthrow Herod. He didn’t lead them to the Antonia Fortress to attack the Roman soldiers occupying Jerusalem. Instead, He went to the temple and started driving out those who sold.

Wow!

This was certainly not what the Jews hailing Jesus as the King who comes in the name of the Lord expected their Messiah to do. He was supposed to take on the forces of Rome that occupied Jerusalem. Instead, He took on the forces of sin that occupied the Jewish temple.
As He cleansed the temple, He pieced together a statement from Isaiah 56:7 and one from Jeremiah 7:11. He declared, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers” (Luke 19:46 ESV).

Think about that. What is a den of robbers? The robbers’ den isn't the place they go to rob. Yes, the moneychangers and those who bought and sold may well have been “thieving” in the temple. But when Jesus called it a “den of robbers,” He didn’t mean it was the place where the robbers went to commit their crimes. Rather, it was the place the robbers went to hide out and find protection for their crimes.

Back in Jeremiah 7:4, God had said the people were sinning and then trusting in the deceptive words, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD” (ESV). In other words, the temple was a den of robbers because the sinners were using the temple as a safety net for their sin. They were turning a blind eye to the sin because somehow they thought being in the temple made it all okay. They somehow thought doing it in service of the temple made it okay.

Of course, that temple has been destroyed. We do not apply these events to a particular structure today. However, we know Christ’s church is the temple of God’s New Covenant (see Ephesians 2:19-22 and Hebrews 12:22-24). Christ’s church has been established to be a house of prayer for all the nations (see Isaiah 56:3-8). Christ’s church is the place where outcasts and foreigners gather so they can draw near to God. It is a place of prayer. I Kings 8:22-53 describes such prayer at Solomon’s dedication of the Old Covenant temple.

But Christ’s church is not to be a den of robbers. And this is where we need to open our eyes and recognize the danger. Like the Old Covenant temple, Christ’s church is the place where all people can gather to find forgiveness, mercy, and grace. We can bring our sins and find the sacrifice that washes them away. We will find the group of people that are told what we wrote about two days ago–that they are to forgive the one who repents seven times in a day. And this presents a significant danger. If we are not careful, such a place becomes the place where robbers come to hide out. And, yes, here I’m using “robber” as a metaphor for any sin.
In some cases, sinners hide out in the church with their small, “acceptable,” “respectable” sins. Gossip, dishonesty, cheating on taxes, holding grudges, etc., get overlooked in church because, well, I mean, none of us are perfect and at least we’re going to church. Or, at least we’re going to the right church. Suddenly, the church becomes a den for robbers. If the church is not the group of people with whom I am finding the transforming strength to deal with all my sins, even the little ones, I’m in danger of making it nothing more than a den of robbers.

But sometimes, even big sins find a place to hide. For example, parents abuse children or one spouse abuses another, but the abusers have learned to apologize at the appropriate time and with the right words. Then Christ’s teaching on forgiveness becomes a cloak that lets these sinful behaviors repeat indefinitely. Sometimes, well-meaning but naive Christians use this teaching as they try to do their best to serve the Lord. Sometimes it is used by those with nefarious motives and a manipulative control streak to continue their sins. Either way, the church becomes a den for robbers. It becomes the place robbers run to for protection of their sins.

Christ’s church is a house of prayer for the nations. It is not a den of robbers. We must not let it be. That means that we must forgive, but we must not forgive naively.

First, when the sin has also been a crime, we do not simply let it go or demand that victims simply let it go. As Paul said in Acts 25:11, if we’ve done something for which we deserve to die, we do not seek to escape death. If we’ve done something for which we deserve to go to prison, we do not seek to escape prison. If we’ve done something which deserves a fine, we do not seek to escape the fine. Saying, “I repent” (Luke 17:4) is more than just parroting words. If I repent, I am willing to accept the consequences. If I’m not willing to accept the consequences, I’m not repenting.

Second, recall Proverbs 28:13. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (ESV). Saying, “I repent,” is more than just parroting words. It is making a commitment to forsake the sin. And while many of us struggle with compulsive, addictive, repetitive sins, saying, “I repent,” includes saying, “And here are my plans to overcome and forsake this sin.” If I am not willing to commit to those kinds of plans, then I might be parroting the words, “I repent,” but I’m not actually saying, “I repent.” If I commit to those kinds of plans and then forsake them, I have a new sin to address, and it must be addressed properly. Further, we don't address it by merely parroting the words, “I’m sorry,” after every infraction.

We must be careful not to let the church become a den of robbers.

That being said. We must make sure we always allow it to be a house of prayer for the nations, for the foreigners, for the outcasts. And yes, that includes those who have committed egregious sins. As we strive to keep the church from being a den of robbers, we must not let the pendulum swing so far back that we make the church merely a house of prayer for the spiritually elite. It is not a house of prayer merely for those who have only ever committed “respectable” sins. It is not a house of prayer merely for those who have only committed my sins. It is not a house of prayer merely for those who have never committed sins or never committed egregious sins against me. It is a house of prayer for all who need to seek the Lord, including all sinners.

We will not forgive naively, but we do forgive. While we do not offer mercy blindly, we do offer mercy. While we do not give grace recklessly, we do give grace. While we do not affirm love without boundaries, we do affirm love. As Paul told the Corinthians in II Corinthians 2:5-11, when the sinner repents, we do turn to forgive and comfort, reaffirming our love lest the penitent become overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. We do not wait until he or she has paid enough of a penalty to assuage our anger over the betrayal. We do not wait until they have sufficiently demonstrated their brokenness over their sins to us. We treat them the way we would want to be treated in the situation.

The church is to be a house of prayer, not a den of robbers. Let us keep it from becoming a den of robbers, while making sure it remains a house of prayer for all. That takes work. No doubt we will make mistakes on both sides. But let us always strive to walk this path without falling into the ditch on either side.

May the Lord help us, strengthen us, guide us, correct us, and lead us on this path of righteousness for His name’s sake.