Wisdom For Our Church From Christ's Cleansing Of The Temple Series

Wisdom for Our Church from Christ's Cleansing of the Temple

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 21:10-16

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared December 20, 2022)

INTRODUCTION:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 21:10. Last time we studied the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. Rather than ride on a warrior's horse, Jesus rode toward the city on a donkey's colt. This was well known evidence that He came to bring peace to God's people. And the Jews thought their promised Messiah King would come as a glorious hero who would destroy their Roman conquerors.

*But the Jews got the timing wrong on those Old Testament prophecies. It was less than a week before the cross, and the people lining the streets of that crowded city did not understand our urgent need for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. They did not understand that Jesus came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So, they cried out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" But later that week, many of those same people cried out, "Crucify Him! -- Crucify Him!"

*They did not know that Jesus is the eternal, only begotten Son of God, who humbled Himself to become a man and die on the cross for us. So, vs. 10-11 tell us that, "When He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?'' So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.'' Mark 11:11 also tells us that on that first Palm Sunday, "Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve."

*The next day Jesus went into the temple and cleansed it of those who had turned it into a "den of thieves." That's our focus in today's Scripture, and it's important, because the Lord's cleansing of the temple has some vital lessons for our church. Please think about this as we read Matthew 21:12-16.

BACKGROUND:

*Jesus cleansed the temple twice. The first time was at the beginning of His ministry. John 2:13-16 gives a good report of the first cleansing:

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 moneychangers 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!''

*Now we are at the end of the Lord's 3-year ministry, and Matthew 21:12-13 says:

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 moneychangers 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.'''

*Before we explore what this temple cleansing means for our church today, we need to look at some important background information.

[1] FIRST: PLEASE NOTICE THE SCENE.

*This Scripture took place in Herod's temple in Jerusalem, and it was a sight to behold. Work began before Jesus was born, and had been going on for 46 years when Jesus first cleansed the temple. Ten thousand skilled workmen were employed for the task.

*The actual temple building itself could have fit inside of a baseball infield. That was pretty surprising to me. But the large structures all around the temple, like the storerooms, porticos and courts built by King Herod filled an area that could hold 25 football fields! This temple was built of white marble and covered with heavy plates of gold in front. Rising high above its marble-covered courts, the temple looked like a snow-covered mountain.

*We call it Herod's temple, because it was built under the command of Herod the Great. And just as Jesus prophesied, this temple was totally destroyed by Roman troops under Titus during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (1)

[2] THAT'S THE SCENE. BUT ALSO NOTICE THE SIN.

*We see the sin in vs. 12-13 where:

12. . . 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 moneychangers 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.'''