52 21.12

INTRODUCTION

SLIDE 1 As we begin this evening I want to give some background about the temple in Jerusalem. If you like history this you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, you might want to take a nap.

You will remember that from Mount Sinai, after the Israelites had left Egypt, God not only gave Moses his laws and commands, he also gave directions for the tabernacle – the place where the Israelites would come to worship God. It was made of tents so that it could easily be moved.

After David became king and moved the capital to Jerusalem and after he’d had a palace built for himself, he desired that a more permanent place be built for God. If he had a nice house why shouldn’t God? However, God said that David wasn’t the man to build the temple – his son Solomon would. David understood something that is often lost, the temple wasn’t for the enjoyment of the people but for the glory of God. David said: SLIDE 2

. . . this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. (1 Chronicles 29:1b)

It was to be the place where God was glorified, not people. And after Solomon had the temple built it was dedicated to God and we read how the Spirit of God came down and filled the temple. This was the place where God’s people came and worshiped him.

The temple was there until God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed by the Babylonians. God’s people refused to give up their idols and obey his commands so he allowed them to be taken back into captivity. When they were finally able to return to Jerusalem one of the first building projects was the temple. It wasn’t anywhere near as nice as the one Solomon built, but it was again where the people could come, offer sacrifices, and worship God.

SLIDE 3 Several years before Jesus was born King Herod began a building project at the temple. The temple and the temple grounds were remodeled. This is a guess at what the temple looked like during the life of Jesus. The temple proper – the part in the center – probably took up fifteen acres while the temple mount could have covered another fifteen plus acres.

SLIDE 4 I want you to imagine the temple mount like a bullseye. The closer to the center the closer you got to God. SLIDE 5 In the center then would be the Holy of Holies. This is where the ark of the covenant was kept. Only the high priest was allowed to enter this most holy place and even then, he was only allowed to enter once a year. SLIDE 6 Next is the Holy Place. The high priest went through the Holy Place to get to the Holy of Holies. Once a day three priest entered the Holy Place. One placed fresh bread on the Table of Show Bread (symbolizing the gratitude of the people for God’s daily provision), another added incense to the Altar of Incense (symbolizing the prayers of the people), and the third added oil to the Candlestick (symbolizing the light of God). These two places were within the tabernacle or temple proper.

SLIDE 7 Next came the Court of Priests. This is where the sacrifices were offered. Any priest could enter this area. SLIDE 8 Next comes the Court of Men or Court of the Israelites. That too is self-explanatory. Only Jewish men were allowed to enter this court yard. In Acts 21 Paul is accused of bringing a Gentile into the Court of Men. SLIDE 9 After that came the Court of Women. Again, this didn’t refer to all women, but Jewish women. SLIDE 10 Then last, farthest from the Holy of Holies, came the Court of Gentiles. Again, the further you went into the temple grounds the closer you were coming to the presence of God with the Gentiles being kept the farthest back.

On the temple mount it looked like this:

SLIDE 11 You entered the temple mount through the Court of Gentiles. There was a low wall that separated this court from the area in the middle reserved for Jews. On this wall were signs warning the Gentiles not to come any closer or else they would be killed.

SLIDE 12 Then the Court of Women.

SLIDE 13 Next in the Court of Men.

SLIDE 14 And then there was the Court of Priests.

When we read about the money changers and those selling sheep and doves at the temple that took place along the edge of the Court of Gentiles. SLIDE 15

If you were a Gentile coming to worship God, this place that was to be a place worship, a place to draw near to God, looked like a circus. With all that was going on at the temple mount it would have been impossible for them to worship God. If the money changing and selling of doves was really necessary, there had to have been a better place to do it. In our passage from Matthew 21 Jesus is going to call attention to this.

SERMON

As I mentioned earlier, we are in Matthew 21. The chapter begins with Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey in a parade. People are lining the road laying palm branches before him and shouting:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9b)

From Mark’s gospel we learn that Jesus goes to the temple, looks around, and then leaves for Bethany where he spends the night. Bethany is only a couple of miles east of Jerusalem and where Mary and Martha lived with their brother Lazarus.

The next day Jesus returns to Jerusalem and to the temple. That’s where we pick up the story.

Video

SLIDE 1 This is a crazy scene, especially when we know that it’s taking place on the temple mount. The Jews, however, don’t seem to take much notice. Perhaps because it’s all taking place in the court of the Gentiles who the Jews don’t consider to be very holy anyway. Therefore, this place wasn’t holy. It doesn’t matter that these people believe in God and worship God, they are not Jews. This was THE place for them to worship God, but it became a place where they were taken advantage of.

Jesus had seen all of this the day before. Perhaps he thought about it and prayed about it that night. But this morning Jesus does something about it. He does three things when he arrives at the temple:

He drove out all who were buying and selling,

He overturned the tables of the money changers,

He overturned the tables of those selling doves

These are all things that were essential to worship. What was bad was the place it was happening. The temple was not the place. Jesus is angry with those who are taking advantage of others and drives them out. It should have been a welcoming place but it was not.

How does Jesus describe it? Jesus says they’ve turned it into a den of robbers.

Historians don’t know when, but sometime before Jesus was born, the religious leaders had stopped taking Roman coins at the temple. If nothing else, they didn’t like the coins because of the images Rome put on them. Instead, the Jewish leaders minted their own coins. In order to give an offering at the temple you had to exchange your money for the temple coins. Every Jewish man coming to Jerusalem for the Passover feast had to pay a temple tax equivalent to two days of a laborer’s wage. But they could use just any coin, they had to use the coin approved of by the religious leaders. So they had to exchange their money for the temple money. And the money was exchanged for a profit.

A temple visit usually involved a sacrifice as well. If a man brought his own animal, the temple authorities would inspect it for perfection. To make sure an animal passed inspection, many people bought their animal sacrifices at booths set up in the temple. These animals were pre-approved. If you brought your own there was a good chance that it would be rejected and you’d have to sell it to them – at a discounted price since it was defective – and buy one of theirs at a higher price. These animal sellers often charged outrageous prices, thus making a high profit for themselves. You could easily imagine the animals they rejected were taken around back and then sold to someone else on down the line for a profit. It was all a scam. Jesus says it’s noting more than a place for thieves.

Instead, Jesus says, it should be a place for prayer. In Isaiah 56 the Lord says: SLIDE 2

6And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, SLIDE 3 all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant – SLIDE 4 7these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. SLIDE 5 Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 56:6-7)

The temple was to be a place of prayer not only for the Jews, but for all people who called upon the Lord. This is the passage Jesus is referring to. Jesus is reminding them that God had said there would be a time when he would call all people to himself to pray to him and to worship him. But they had turned that place of prayer into a hangout for robbers and thieves. And in fact they were the robbers and thieves. The temple was not just to be a place where the sacrifices were made, it was to be a place where the foreigners – the Gentile unbelievers – could come and know the God who created the universe. And should that not be a description for the church as well?

SLIDE 6 Should this not only be a place where God is worshiped, but where the unbeliever can come to discover the God who made and loves them? Primarily we gather to worship God. We also gather for discipleship – to learn what it means to follow Jesus. But should this not also be a place where the lost are encouraged to come and learn about God? Because if we are worshiping God in spirit and truth and eagerly seeking how to follow Jesus more closely won’t that be an example for unbelievers?

However, how many Christians do you know that when you see the way they live you think if that’s what it means to be a Christian you’d rather be a pagan? Paul wrote the Corinthians: SLIDE 7

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

If God is in the business of changing lives should our lives be changed? Because if we are living just like everyone in the world around us what testimony do we have to power of God in us? How sad it is if the world looks at us and asks, “If God changes lives then why are you so unhappy? Why is your marriage falling apart? Why can I not tell you apart from my pagan friends?” Our lives should be marked with love and joy.

The Gentiles came to the temple to meet with God, but they were pushed aside or just ignored.

This was not the first time Jesus had cleared out the temple. John’s gospel starts with Jesus doing this. So at the beginning of his public ministry Jesus had driven the commercialism out of the temple area. Now, three years have passed, and profiteering had again sprung up in the outer court. Sacrificial animals and birds were again being bought and sold at exorbitant rates. So as his ministry draws to a close, Jesus again drives out those who were profiteering from sacred activities.

When Jesus talks about the temple being a house of prayer it was to be a place where God was accurately portrayed. It was to be a place where people were welcomed to come into his presence. And while prayer wasn’t the only thing that went on there it was certainly to be one of the central activities.

It should be one of our central activities as well. SLIDE 8

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? (1 Corinthians 6:19a)

I heard someone ask this question: Do you think it’s possible for a person to pray too much? Do you think it’s possible for a church to pray too much? I don’t think so. We read in 1 Thessalonians: SLIDE 9

16Rejoice always, 17pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Pray continually. I don’t think we can pray too much, but how many of us pray too little? Samuel said that he would not sin by not praying for the people. Samuel said he would pray for the people and said it would be a sin if he did not.

SLIDE 10 In Luke 18:1 Jesus said that we should always pray and not give up. When we pray we are essentially saying, “I can’t, but God can.”

If you are praying I want to encourage you to pray more. And if you aren’t praying I want to encourage you to start. We should be a people of prayer even as the temple was to be a house of prayer.

Notice what happens when Jesus fishes turning over the tables and chastising the leaders for allowing it to take place. Immediately we read how some people came to Jesus. And who were the ones who came to him? It was the blind and the lame. You might think they’d shrink back from Jesus after watching what just happened, but they don’t. They come to Jesus for healing.

The blind and the lame were considered to have been cursed by God. Most people didn’t want anything to do with them. But Jesus doesn’t drive them out of the temple. He drives out the moneychangers and those selling doves, but not those who can’t see or those who can’t walk. They come to Jesus. Jesus welcomes them and they are healed.

Do you know how many stories we have of Jesus healing people at the temple? Just this one. This is the only story of Jesus healing anyone at the temple. He heals a few people in Jerusalem, but this this the only story of healing at the temple. That’s kind of sad isn’t it? The temple should be a place a prayer. It should be a place where the sick find healing. And it should be a place where God is praised.

Immediately after the healing we read about the children giving praise to Jesus:

Hosanna to the Son of David.

But how do the religious leaders respond?

But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were [full of joy]. (Matthew 21:15)

Is that what it says? No! It says the religious leaders were indignant. They were upset. How do do you get mad when blind are given their sight? How can you be upset that the lame are now able to walk? How can you be angry about children praising Jesus? These men want it all to stop. They ask Jesus to stop the children. But Jesus refers them to Psalm 8:2.

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2)

The children, in the court of the gentiles, seeing what Jesus has done, begin to give him praise. But the religious leaders are so frustrated by it all that they just can’t see straight. They don’t like that Jesus is questioning their authority by casting out the moneychangers. And they don’t that the children are referring to Jesus as the Messiah.

Jesus responds by saying, “Have you never read?” This was an indictment. Of course they’d read. They prided themselves on knowing the Old Testament scriptures. And Jesus questions their knowledge of God’s word. By referencing Psalm 8 Jesus is saying these children are the ones honoring God and that those who oppose the children are making themselves to be enemies of God. Jesus is calling the chief priests and the teachers of the law – the people who called themselves the religious leaders – Jesus is calling them enemies of God.

It’s not enough for them to read the scriptures. It’s not enough to study and discuss them. They must be understood and lived out. It is appropriate to praise Jesus, but these leaders were condemning the children for doing so.

Jesus is declaring himself to be the Lord of the temple. He therefore has the authority to call out and get rid of the things that don’t belong there.

What do you think was the attitude of Jesus as he cleared the temple that day? Do you think he was happy? No. Do you think he was angry? Very likely. This is a point that we easily overlook today, this fact that God hates sin. While God is faithful and just and forgives the sins of those who repent, God hates sin.

I heard a sermon where the preacher asks this strange question, he wondered if dogs know how bad they sometimes smell to people. If you’ve ever smelled a dirty wet dog you know just how bad dogs can smell. Perhaps you’ve smelled their bad breath as well. I remember my aunts buying doggy breath mints for my grandmother’s dog. His breath was pretty bad. Do you think dogs know that or care? Probably not.

The reason the preacher asked that question was this, do we realize how much our sin stinks before our holy God?

God hates the wicked and the one who loves violence (Psalm 11:5)

God hates evildoers (Psalm 5:5)

The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Should we not desire for Jesus to come and clean out the sin in our own lives even as he cleaned out the temple that day? The problem is we tend to justify our sin. “I’m not perfect, but I smell a lot better than my co-worker.” We can’t worry about others, we need to worry about ourselves. Are my actions right? Are my attitudes pleasing to God? Am I holy as the Lord is holy? As Peter wrote:

15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

It was April 25, 2003 – fifteen years ago. The Portland Trail Blazers, railing the had just finished warming up for a playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks. Now the center of attention was on a thirteen-year-old girl named Natalie Gilbert. The crowd Portland’s coliseum was asked to stand as Natalie sang the national anthem. The eighth grader had sung the the national anthem a hundred times for public events before that evening, but now she was about to perform it on national TV.

As the arena grew quiet, she raised the microphone clutched in her right hand, began to sing the familiar words of The Star-Spangled Banner – and froze. At thirteen she was already an award-winning singer, but her mind just went blank! She had just sung all the words perfectly in a backstage rehearsal. But now the words were all running together in her mind now and she was hopelessly stuck in a nightmare moment. Some in the audience began to laugh and jeer.

Suddenly, Maurice Cheeks, the Trailblazer’s coach, was standing by her, his left arm sheltering her, and whispering the lost words into her ear. As Natalie softly tried to find her way through the anthem, he used his right hand to invite the watching fans to join in. And so a little girl, an off-key coach, and 20,000 people finished the song together.

Isn’t that what God does for us? When we are lost and can’t find out way he comes to us. He offers his help. When we stumble he gives his forgiveness. But we must remember, that it’s all about him. It’s not about us. It’s not about what we want or what we like. It’s about giving the glory and honor to God that he deserves. The religious leaders had made it all about themselves. May we never do that.