Real Hope: The TempleSample

Living Among You

Zacharias was serving his priestly service in the temple when the birth of his son, John the Baptist, was foretold by an angel of the Lord (Luke 1:13). Zacharias, according to the custom, had been chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense (Luke 1:9). It makes it sound a lot like jury duty—something you did only when you had to and couldn’t get out of it. The temple should have been a place of worship, of prayer—a place to come close to God, rather than somewhere to fulfil your obligations.

Zacharias is described as a righteous man who walked in the ways of the Lord. Despite his righteousness, Zacharias was filled with fear when the angel of the Lord appeared. The scene reminds me of Isaiah, who felt unworthy, and undone, finding himself before the Lord in the temple. Isaiah quakes in fear because of his burden of sin.

The temple was more than the building where the priests went through the motions and called it their duty. When Jesus died on the cross, the sanctuary curtain was torn, from the top to the bottom. In Christ, each believer becomes the temple.

God had been separated from His people for too long. He doesn’t have to wait until we draw the short straw and front up to the temple to fulfil our obligations. We can look to Him to delight in us with gladness, knowing that He rejoices over us with joyful songs.

We are the temple, and He dwells in each of us.

Written by CHRIS PARFOOT