"Yahweh Has Come To His Temple”

In Jesus Holy Name October 1, 2023

Text: Matthew 21:14-15 Redeemer

“Yahweh Has Come to His Temple”

Good Morning: Our message today based on the gospel lesson in Matthew 21 will make little sense unless we understand the context of the Jewish mind, based on their understanding of their First Testament scriptures; through which they had a certain expectation of the coming Messiah and what that Messiah was supposed to do and be.

In the Jewish theological mind they expected the Messiah to heal the blind, cure the leper, and cast out demons. These three signs were necessary to prove that the Messiah had arrived. Matthew is writing His gospel, telling proving that the teachings of Jesus are based on the Old Testament. Then Matthew verifies the miracles Jesus performed, healing the blind & those with leprosy, including the raising of the dead. Every time Jesus cast out demons the Pharisees said he did it by the power of Satan not the power of God.(Jesus A Theography Leonard Sweet p. 168)

Matthew writes the “story” of Jesus to prove that Yahweh, the Creator of the Universe has made His appearance in flesh and blood. In the past His presence was known by the “cloud” and “fire” in the Old Testament tabernacle. The Pharisees rejected Jesus because He forgave sins, a prerogative that belonged to Yahweh alone at the temple, which of course they controlled.

Each Sunday we have been reading through the Gospel of Matthew. We have arrived at chapter 21, The Palm Sunday parade is over. Jesus, who has claimed and demonstrated by His miracles that He is the Yahweh of the Old Testament, now enters “His” temple. When Solomon built the temple in I Kings (8 & 9) God told Solomon that the “earthly temple which he built, in Jerusalem, would now be His dwelling place on earth.

We must read: (Read the background from I Kings 8:10-11, 27 followed by the Lord’s answer in I Kings 9:3) “His name would be there forever”… as it had been in the tabernacle in the wilderness with Moses.

In this the 21 century we miss the offense and opposition Jesus is causing the

Pharisees, when He entered the temple and drove out the money changers,

overturning their tables. He has just been hailed “King” by the crowds in the city streets of Jerusalem. He healed two blind men “at the temple” entrance. Because of their blindness they were not allowed by Jewish law to enter the temple to worship God. Jesus heals them and the people are amazed and praise God, but the Pharisees are not happy.

They are not happy because Jesus heals two blind men, He has cured the leper and cast out demons and raised the dead. They know what that means. They are angry that Jesus challenged their financial thievery and corruption. In our national news this week a Senator from New Jersey is extremely upset over the government’s recent indictment. Even though he had money in his coat pockets and gold bars in his closet.

Like the New Jersy Senator, imagine the Pharisees making their defense at the microphone of the local Jerusalem newspaper., but their pockets are full of gold coins. They are upset with Jesus. He called them out on their corruption of God’s house of worship. They are very angry over the words of Jesus when He said: “My house, (My Temple) will be called a house of prayer but you are making it a den of robbers.”

On the “second day” of “Holy Week” when Jesus enters the temple, we can now understand why the Pharisees ask Jesus “By what authority are you doing these things?” “Who gave you this authority?” In other words, “You are removing our money laundering scheme, our fleecing of God’s people, who have come to the temple to worship? You can’t drive us out like that, you are not the owner of this temple, we are! Ah! But He is the “I Am”. This is their public rejection of Jesus as their King. They are rejecting Him as their Messiah.

This is why the Apostle Paul would write about Jesus:

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider

equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:6-11