Luke 19: 41 – 48
Say It Again Preacher
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” 45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” 47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
We see that the other Gospel writers also brought up these events so let’s see what they wrote shall we?
Mark 11: 15 -19, “15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
Matthew 21:12-22 12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” 14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” 17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
John 2:13-22 13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” 18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.”
Now, we know that Matthew and John were with our Holy Master, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when all of this took place. Would you agree? Now what about Mark? If you have been studying God’s Word with us that you know that I often point out how Mark got all of his information from Peter. So, we have three eyewitnesses.
Do you see something familiar with the beginning verses of today’s study? It sounds a little like Matthew chapter 24, which is one of the most, sought out chapters in the bible. First let us look at today’s opening verses and then compare them to Matthew 24.
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Now let’s all take a look at the Gospel of Matthew chapter 24, “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
When Luke penned his Gospel things in the world were heating up. The Roman Empire were fed up with all the problems being constantly stirred up by the Jews so they sent their army to deal with this rebel nation. This is why during the time of our Lord Jesus when Matthew was in our Lord’s very presence and heard these words where our Lord spoke of the near future disasters as described in chapter 24.
Now what we read in chapter 12 of the Gospel of Luke takes on some new understanding. Our Lord has warned all the people now reading both Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospel that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. If the people wanted to save their families lives then they needed to flee soon. Put yourselves in their position. Will the destruction come in their lifetimes or is it speaking about some distant period in human history. The people were concerned about all that they had invested in with their property, positions, and possessions. So, our Lord is teaching them about how to think properly look again at what He says about all the worldly pursuits. – “22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
What is more important than life?
I like to watch the history channel and it amazes me how evil humans have been to each other. I am especially dumbfounded over the rise of the Nazi’s. How could an entire nation follow such a demonic person who came out of no where and imposed such brutal dealings with other human beings. If you were a Jew during this time would you really be concerned with earthly items. No, you want to get somewhere safe. You do not want anything to weigh you down.
This is what our Holy Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High – was preaching to the people. He was saying to them, ‘Trust Me. I AM telling you ahead of time of what evil is going to happen. Listen and follow My directions and you and your family will be safe. Seek Me, My Kingdom, and My Righteousness, and I will take care of all your needs.’
This is why I believe that He goes on to encourage the people to ‘Trust’ Him. To me this is our biggest problem and that is turning over everything to His Rule and Authority.
Our Holy Jehovah Jireh – The Lord our Provider – is telling these people and to us to not hold onto things that will weigh us down. For we also are not suppose to take up root and settle in. For we are passing through unto a city whose Maker is our God.
Many scholars say that these passages apply to a future time. What they say is that there will be a man of evil who comes on the scene in the near future who is called the ‘antichrist’. He is going to make a peace treaty with Israel { which the bible never says } then in the midst of 3 and ½ years into this agreement, he is going to violate it by walking into a rebuilt Temple [which the bible also doesn’t say. The bible does speak of a new Temple listed in the book of Ezekiel chapter 40 through 48 which is built by our Lord Jesus Christ.] Anyway, they say that this ‘antichrist’ will walk into this rebuilt Temple and declare himself to be God and that all the world will see it.’ These scholars say that the Jews will have camera’s installed or that the antichrist will lead cameramen into the rebuilt temple to do this. Again this is not in the bible. No, I believe the prophecy that Daniel is referring to which our Lord also warns the people in Luke chapter 12 is the future destruction and Abomination which will occur when the Roman army comes up against Jerusalem and destroys the Temple in 70AD.
45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” 47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
This is how I believe the action went down. Our Lord Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the Temple. He drove our the money changers and all those who brought disgrace to Him by making God’s house a carnival. Just picture yourself as a Gentile being able to go to the Temple. You had to stay in the court of the Gentiles because if you ventured any further you risked being killed for only Jews could go on further in the Temple grounds. Here is where some of these merchants set up shop. Imagine trying to pray while you heard next to you all the haggling of business transactions.
After He cleansed the Temple of these evil people, our Lord Jesus ministered to the people. The religious people came up to Him and after learning what He did to the people they gave permission to do business in the Temple, they kept their distances and shouted out comments such as when they saw how the children mobbed and loved the Lord.
Later that day He and his disciples went up the hill adjacent to the East Gate and lodged in the town Bethany. Most likely it was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Now, if He stayed there they most likely fed Him and His followers.
Many times our Lord would repeat the same instructions. Remember how often our Lord would remind the disciples that in Jerusalem He would be arrested and put to death? What you see here in the Gospel of Luke is evidence to this fact of our Precious Holy Lord’s teaching the same message which He goes into more detail as Matthew lists in chapter 24.
Lastly, what about John. His version seems different. The answer is that John’s version is different. You see our Lord cleansed the Temple twice. One early in His ministry to get the religious leaders attention to do what is right. Apparently, they had allowed the money changers and the merchants back in the Temple to do business. So, our Lord came in and cleaned house again.
In the light of what He had observed the previous afternoon our Lord Jesus now entered the Temple and began to drive out those who were trading there by the sheer force of His personality and stern eyes and words. This time He did not need a scourge, for He did not drive the animals out. This action was not because He disapproved of the sacrificial system as a whole, which was God ordained, but because of His concern for the holiness of God’s house and because of the un-holy practices being carried on. As the Sanhedrin rightly recognized this was a claim to unique authority from God.
This was the second time that Jesus had purged the Temple. As mentioned John tells us of the first time, early in His ministry, when His prime concern had been the treating of God’s house like a marketplace and a stable. Then His main opponents were the traders, and His aim had been to drive out the cattle as well. He had wanted to clear the house for prayer. It had not been a direct attack on the leadership. That may well have been treated as the spontaneous action of a young hothead, a demonstration, which some even approved of to some extent. Now waiting for Him when He came to Jerusalem again the next time they would have been on their guard. However, as year succeeded to year He had not done it again and they had no doubt felt able to relax. Thus they were simply unprepared for it when it happened again.
We see here now His accusations reached much deeper than in that first clearing of the Temple. Here He called it not just a marketplace ‘But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ He was now, by implication, involving the Chief Priests themselves in it.
Those who came to the Temple would need to have suitable sacrifices that could pass the test of being unblemished. Thus sacrificial animals and birds were sold in the Temple by traders commissioned by the chief priests with a certificate guaranteeing that they were satisfactory, together with such things as wine, oil and salt, . And this was done in the Court of the Gentiles under the sanction of the authorities with little regard for what it meant for worshippers. It was not a far cry from this to making the test very stiff for sacrificial beasts brought in from outside by individuals so as to ensure that they often failed the test, so that the prospective worshippers had then to buy certificated beasts or birds at ultra high prices, with suitable commissions paid to the authorities. And this undoubtedly happened regularly. No doubt the ‘rejected’ beasts were included in the price as part exchange and some no doubt were later sold on again as certificated beasts.
In addition, The Temple tax had to be paid in the Tyrian two drachma piece which was the nearest available equivalent to the Hebrew half shekel. (This was the equivalent of well over a day’s wage). This was because it had no image of man or beast on it. Thus moneychangers sat at tables and accepted other currencies in exchange for it, charging a comparatively large fee for the exchange and a further fee if change had to be given, while the chief priests again claimed their commissions. The noise of typical Middle Eastern negotiation and haggling would have been deafening, and the whole process was designed to extract as much money as possible from the unfortunate pilgrims, many of whom were poor, and to line the pockets of the chief priests and their cronies. When our Merciful God, Lord Jesus overturned their tables and their beloved money went rolling round the floor, it would have been to the delight of the crowds.
The result of all these practices was that those who came into the court of the Gentiles of the house of God, instead of being filled with awe and a realization of the presence of God, found themselves in a busy, hectic marketplace, with buyers and sellers arguing and disputing loudly and furiously, prospective sacrificial animals and birds adding their own particular protests, and moneychangers calling out their rates. But such potential worshippers were only Gentiles and so it did not matter.
We also find out that The Temple courts were also being used as a thoroughfare to provide short cuts for those moving about that part of the city. Our Great Holy Son of God, our Lord Jesus, no doubt with the help of His disciples, prevented such movements. This emphasizes that His main concern in both cases was for the purity of the Temple. It was for worship, not for convenience.
In John His action had merely been to clear the Temple, telling them not to turn the Temple into a shop, but here He not only did that but also ‘taught’ and drew the attention of people to the full situation. The quotation is a combination of two Scriptures, made up of Isaiah chapter 56 verse 7 ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’ and Jeremiah chapter 7 verse 11, ‘is this house, which is called by my name, become a brigands’ cave in your eyes?’ ‘For all the nations’ was particularly relevant because it took place in the Court of the Gentiles. That was where the God-fearers, non-circumcised Gentile believers, could come to pray.
We read here that our Lord’ words involved the very highest authorities in dishonesty. They were being accused of swindling the people. He really got them angry. No wonder we read about how they at that point wanted to kill Him.
The chief priests, who ran the Temple and controlled its ministries, were inevitably angry because He had hit at their pockets and at their reputation. And the problem was that they knew that everyone believed it was true. Our Lord Jesus’ teaching was getting too uncomfortable and as a result some of the people were beginning to question their authority. There was only one answer, and that was to destroy Him. Yet at the same time ‘They feared Him.’ Why? - Because He was undermining their authority and revealing the inadequacy of much of their teaching.
During the day He was preaching in the Temple. One can imagine the feelings of the authorities every time He arrived as they waited anxiously for what He would do next.
As we go I want to leave one thought for you to think about and it is this, ‘if all those evil people were anxiously waiting daily to see what our Lord Jesus Christ would do, what does it say about our attitudes toward our Master?
