Jesus Cleanses His Church

Assurance

Romans 7:24–8:1 NKJV

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Scripture

Jeremiah 7:1–15 NKJV

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord!’ ” 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’ 5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord. 12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.

Prayer

Father of lights; immutable, eternal, infinite God,

And the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

You are our God and we are your people. Every word that you have spoken you have fulfilled, and our eyes have seen your salvation.

Unbelieving Baalim saw this salvation from afar, and cried out against his will that a star would arise out of Jacob – and that star has come to give light in our darkness, to guide our paths in the way of peace.

You led our fathers through the wilderness. You delivered them from all of their enemies, and you put your love upon them, even as you have placed your love upon us today.

And today we rejoice with the whole world. We acknowledge that some are like Baalim, who do not believe the promise that they confess with their mouths. But you have always preserved a remnant, as we see this day.

Throughout the world, the light is shining in the darkness.

And Father, as we bless that light this morning and proclaim that light, give us boldness. Put words in the mouths of your servants that they might proclaim to the whole world the gospel of peace, the goodness that the light has come into the world.

And open the hearts of your people. Call them from every kindred and tribe and tongue to bring their gifts, to bow before the savior, to cast away their crowns and glorify you – the savior of the nations.

Deliver us from the schemes and cunning of the evil one. Plant our feet firmly, that whatever darts he throws at us, we might make firm stand against him – against the world and the flesh and the devil.

Deliver us from discouragement. From pride. From despair. Deliver us from arrogance and false doctrine, and cause us to place our trust in you alone for every good thing.

Gather your people together today and teach us all to glorify you alone.

We confess that we belong to you, both in body and in soul – these bodies are also redeemed from the curse, and though we look for the day when we will be raised from the dead in incorruptible bodies, we pray Father, that you would heal our diseases here on this earth. Grant us to be steadfast in our trials. Give doctors wisdom; give peace and rest to our bodies. Deliver us from anxiety, worry, and turmoil, both in body and in soul, for we belong to you.

Give us health and patience. Strengthen us for whatever you call us to. Thank you for healing Roger and providing for all of his needs.

And whatever you have for us, we know that it is good, for you love us. Teach us to look to your Son that we might see that love for us, even when it appears dark, even when enemies surround us, even when our bodies fail, even when all of providence seems to conspire against us –

Confirm us in that faith, and cause us to see your love and goodness in the gift of your Son. We see your goodwill towards each one of us – that the world is not cast into hell. That men and women are still being called into your glorious kingdom

And for this we praise you and give you thanksgiving. Teach us then to be patient in our adversity, and thankful in our prosperity.

Provide for our needs today and cause us to trust in your tomorrow. And throughout our community, Father, bless the faithful preaching of your servants.

Bless the reading and the preaching of your word here this morning. Guide my lips and give us open hearts. And together

Psalm 19:14 KJV 1900

14 Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Text

Luke 19:45–48 NKJV

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.

Sermon

All of Israel had welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem as the Christ, the promised anointed one.

But Malachi wrote that when Christ comes to his temple, who will stand? He is like a refiner’s fire, and he will purify the sons of Levi.

All Israel was expecting Messiah. But they were expecting Messiah to cleanse the sinners.

But Jesus starts in the temple. He cleanses his church.

The history of the exchange

It would have been a burden to have to bring lambs to the temple, especially if you had to walk a long distance with your family.

The law of God allowed for families to purchase animals in Jerusalem when they arrived, and offer those as sacrifices.

But this turned into a huge business.

The provinces of Rome, including Galilee and Judea, used Roman money, with Caesar’s inscription. The Sadducees were the ruling class. They welcomed Rome because Rome kept them in power. They were the priests and the majority of the Sanhedrin.

And they saw an opportunity to keep their power over the people.

Roman money, with Caesar’s description, would be obviously unclean, and would need to be exchanged for Temple money - for a fee, of course.

And when licenses and permissions and franchises prospered, the ruling class gained more and more power at the expense of the worshipers.

And all of this commotion - the booths that sold the animals, and the moneychangers, the overseers, the accountants, the hawkers - all of them - were set up in the court of the gentiles. This was a place where God allowed all the nations of the world to gather and pray to the Lord - in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.

Isaiah 56:6–8 NKJV

6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

Not only would the outcasts be gathered, but God will also gather the foreigners. All the nations, so much that his temple would be called the house of prayer for all nations.

The rulers of Israel showed what contempt they had for the gentiles by setting up their booths in the court of the gentiles, right outside the temple proper.

The purpose of the temple

But the purpose of the temple was that it was a place where God revealed himself. He placed his name there. He met with his people.

It all pointed to Immanuel, God with Us. The glory of the Lord had before settled in the Holy of Holies and God dwelt in the middle of his people.

God’s favor and protection and love were shown daily in the temple.

And the nation of Israel despised it. They showed so little regard for God’s presence that they turned the glorious opportunity of meeting with the Lord into a business.

What mattered to them was NOT that God was in their midst, that the world was being redeemed and the kingdom of God was coming - what mattered was holding on to power and control, the building of the bank accounts - and thus they fed themselves rather than feeding the sheep.

Ezekiel 34:1–6 NKJV

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

The den of robbers

It was similar to the days of Jeremiah. They proclaimed God’s favor when it suited them - they said, “The temple, the temple, the temple” as if God’s presence in the temple guaranteed that they would be safe -

And at the same time they committed adultery, abused and oppressed, lied and stole, and used the power that God had given them for good to enrich themselves while the sheep went hungry.

They were not tended. They were not cared for. They were not welcomed and fed and gathered together, but ruled with force and cruelty, driven away, and trampled underfoot.

Matthew 9:36 NKJV

36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Instead of becoming a place of safety for the sheep, instead of it being the house of God where God met with his people in peace, the leaders turned it into a den of thieves.

Jesus is quoting Jeremiah here.

But look at the language. A den is a hiding place, a place of safety and refuge, a place to be protected and hidden.

And it was a den of thieves. Highwaymen and robbers were protected, safe and hidden from prosecution by the very people who were charged by God to protect the sheep!

Would a traveler be safe inside a den of highwaymen?

Would sheep be safe in a den of wolves?

And were the people of God safe in the temple of God?

I can think of no worse affront to God than to use his church, his temple, his words, to protect the abuser, the robber, the murderer, the rapist, the adulterer, while the people of God are trampled underfoot!

Will God allow that corruption to go unpunished?

Jesus cleanses his temple.

There were several prophecies concerning Christ that we see fulfilled in just a few verses:

First, a king of the seed of David.

The angel said to Mary

Luke 1:32–33 NKJV

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

As the king, reigning over the house of Jacob forever, he has the right and duty to cleanse his people, drive out evil-doers and protect the sheep.

Psalm 72:4 NKJV

4 He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.

He has not done it in its fullness, but he does still cleanse his church. He still tears down the wicked shepherds and even though his people are often in caves and wandering in fields and woods, he still gathers, defends and preserves his people.

Second, the priest

Psalm 110:4 NKJV

4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

As the high priest, he is also charged with intercession, the purity of the temple.

Malachi said that he would purify the sons of Levi, that they would offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.

He cleanses his temple - but in a few days he will take his body - the temple of the living God - and offer it as a sacrifice for sin.

And he will rise again on the third day - a perfect, acceptable offering for sin.

And he, as our high priest, is still making intercession, is still hearing our prayers, even when the rulers and the ones with power are doing everything they can to protect the wolves and destroy the sheep.

Our high priest and king will not allow them to take us from the hand of God.

He will come in judgment and destroy the oppressors and make intercession for his people.

And notice, when he drives out the oppressors, he sits down and teaches in the temple.

The prophet

He is the true shepherd, the one promised, the faithful one.

The prophet promised by Moses, who reveals to us the will of God concerning our redemption.

Deuteronomy 18:15–19 NKJV

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ 17 “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.

And he is doing that. He is speaking in the name of God in the temple of God after having cleansed the church of God -

And they are doing just what the prophets said they would do.

They are plotting his destruction.

The Promise

When Jesus came to earth, he came to seek and save his people - his church. He poured out his spirit on the day of Pentecost and the church became the house of God - the temple of the living God, united by faith to Christ its head.

God meets with his people by his word and spirit. And just like in Jesus day, it is always under attack. There are still wolves that devour and destroy, the den of robbers is always a possibility.

But Jesus always cleanses his church. He loves his bride and he sanctifies her and makes her beautiful.

And there are always those who seek to destroy her. They beat and molest the sheep.

The use the people of God to satisfy a need in themselves - whether lust for sex, for money, for power, for reputation, for control - and the sheep are sacrifices for the lusts of the leadership.

But Jesus is coming in judgment.

He prefigures that judgment with the whip of cords, which he uses to drive out the animals.

He turns over the money changers tables, he throws them all out.

And then they find a way to set up again - because the kingdom has not yet fully come.

Revelation 22:15 NKJV

15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

These are the days when the goodness and forbearance of God should lead to repentance.

But we still see wickedness and oppression in the church of God.

We see the weak destroyed and driven away by those who seek to enrich themselves.

They like the greetings in the marketplace. They love the big conferences and the mutual book deals and endorsements - and so when abuse and assault happen, they circle the wagons and protect the sexually immoral, the moneychangers, the thieves, the murderers and the liars - while the sheep are driven away and left to die.

But Jesus still cleanses his church.

I would like to close with this:

If Jesus, before his exaltation, has such great care for the house of God that he would drive out the powerful moneychangers to clear the court of the Gentiles,

How much more, now that he is exalted at the right hand of God, will he now, even today, cleanse his church, protect his sheep and gather together the outcasts?

Sometimes, the sheep need to flee - but their shepherd never forsakes them.

Sometimes, they gather in caves and fields to escape the wolves. It has happened before and it will happen again.

Even in Jesus’ day, the temple that he cleansed would soon be destroyed. Jesus has many ways of cleansing his church.

But his sheep are always safe.

His church is the pearl of great price that he came to gather for himself. A special treasure, his bride, his crown jewel.

He will cleanse and purify the sons of Levi. He will drive out wolves and gather the sheep together wherever they are.

For he is our prophet, our priest and our king who has conquered.

Revelation 22:14 NKJV

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Revelation 3:5 NKJV

5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.