When Jesus Goes to Church

Mt 21:12-14

Matthew 21:12–14 CSB

12 Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!” 14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

1. Cleaning

Jesus had opened His ministry with a similar act (John 2:13–25). Now, three years later, the temple was defiled again by the “religious business” of the leaders. They had turned the court of the Gentiles into a place where foreign Jews could exchange money and purchase sacrifices. What had begun as a service and convenience for visitors from other lands soon turned into a lucrative business. The dealers charged exorbitant prices and no one could compete with them or oppose them. Historians tell us that Annas, the former high priest, was the manager of this enterprise, assisted by his sons.

Why was Jesus Upset?

The purpose of the court of the Gentiles in the temple was to give the “outcasts” an opportunity to enter the temple and learn from Israel about the true God. But the presence of this “religious market” turned many sensitive Gentiles away from the witness of Israel. The court of the Gentiles was used for mercenary business, not missionary business.

2. Changing Traditions

Who could have expected this sight? The Messiah, having been led in apparent triumph into the city, enters the temple, arousing expectations of pro-Jewish, nationalist action against Rome. Instead, his attack threatens the sacrificial, worship center of Judaism itself.

This temple was tragically trapped in tradition. (Jeffrey Johnson)

Jesus comes in and changes what they were comfortable with and what they counted on

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3. Clarifying Purpose

When Jesus called the temple “My house,” He was affirming that He is God.

When He called it “My house of prayer,” He was quoting Isaiah 56:7.

Isaiah 56:7 CSB

7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and let them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

The phrase “den of robbers” comes from Jeremiah 7:11 and is part of a long sermon that Jeremiah delivered in the gate of the temple, rebuking the people for the same sins that Jesus saw and judged in His day.

Jeremiah 7:11 CSB

11 Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it. This is the Lord’s declaration.

Why did Jesus call the temple “a den of thieves”? Because the place where thieves hide is called a den. The religious leaders, and some of the people, were using the temple and the Jewish religion to cover up their sins.

Prayer

The blind and the lepers start coming into church and getting healed.

Don’t you want to be apart of something like this?

4. Concern for the helpless

5.Children are Central