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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.'''
*The Lord's cleansing of the temple did not take place in the small temple building itself, but in the outer court called the court of the gentiles.
John Phillips explained that the temple "area was divided into four courts.
Coming in from the east and moving toward the sanctuary itself, a visitor would successively pass through the court of the gentiles, the court of the women, the court of Israel, and the court of the priests."
*People of all other races and nations had to stop in the court of the gentiles.
Only Jews could go farther.
Signs were posted in Latin and Greek warning Gentiles not to go any farther under penalty of death.
And with their usual contempt for the gentiles, that's where the chief priests chose to set up tables for the money changers and dove merchants.
The Lord’s heart was greatly disturbed that "the place of prayer for all nations" had been turned into a "den of thieves."
(2)
*Again, vs. 12-13 tell us that:
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.'''
*In vs. 13 Jesus quoted from two Old Testament Scriptures.
First, from Isaiah 56:7, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
That was God's will for His temple, but quoting Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus said those corrupt religious leaders had made it into a "den of thieves."
*But how were the people being cheated?
One way was through the temple tax.
The huge temple facility was very expensive to maintain.
Plus there was a staff that included police officers who protected the temple grounds, and carried out judgments of the Temple Court of Law.
So based on Exodus 30:13, every male Jew over 20 years of age had to pay an annual temple tax of one half-shekel.
The value of the tax was equivalent to two day's pay for a working man.
And the temple authorities had power to seize a man's belongings if he failed to pay.
*The collection was highly organized every year, and carried out in the month of Adar that overlaps our March.
They announced in all the towns and villages that it was time to pay the tax.
On the 15th of the month, booths were set up in each town and village, and the tax was paid at the booths.
If the tax wasn't paid by the 25th, it could only be paid directly at the temple in Jerusalem.
And that's where the vast majority of Jews from other lands paid it, since they went to Jerusalem for Passover.
The problem was that the tax had to be paid in silver shekels, so almost all of the visiting Jews had to exchange their money.
There was a fee for the exchange, and that very profitable business led to a lot of fraud.
*The dove selling business was far worse.
William Barclay explained, "It was easy enough to buy animals for sacrifice outside the temple.
But they all had to be inspected by temple officials to make sure they were without blemish, and most of those doves were rejected.
So, that money was wasted, and the doves bought in the temple stalls cost almost 20 times more!
It was a terrible way to cheat God's people, and the temple authorities approved of it all.
(3)
*The leaders' abuse of God's temple and people was an ugly, repulsive thing to God, so in vs. 12 Jesus took drastic action.
He "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."
Then in vs. 13, Jesus made a drastic accusation: 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.'''
[3] THAT'S THE SIN.
BUT CHURCH, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW THE SUPERIORITY OF GOD'S TEMPLE TODAY.
*Herod's temple gives us a wonderful comparison between the Old Testament and the New.
Under the Old Testament, God was almost unapproachable.
His glory rested on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies in the temple.
But the temple area was divided by walls.
*The first wall held back people of other races and nations: the Gentiles.
They could only to the go the outer court of the gentiles The second wall held back the women and children.
The third wall held back Jewish men.
Only priests could go farther.
Last was the veil in front of the Holy of Holies.
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