'NO BOLOGNA"
Notes
Transcript
What is the Temple that is mentioned all throughout Scripture about?
This word is generally used in Scripture of the sacred house erected on the summit of Mount Moriah for the worship of God. It is called “the temple” (1 Kings 6:17); “the temple [R.V., ‘house’] of the Lord” (2 Kings 11:10); “thy holy temple” (Ps. 79:1); “the house of the Lord” (2 Chr. 23:5, 12); “the house of the God of Jacob” (Isa. 2:3); “the house of my glory” (60:7); an “house of prayer” (56:7; Matt. 21:13); “an house of sacrifice” (2 Chr. 7:12); “the house of their sanctuary” (2 Chr. 36:17); “the mountain of the Lord’s house” (Isa. 2:2); “our holy and our beautiful house” (64:11); “the holy mount” (27:13); “the palace for the Lord God” (1 Chr. 29:1); “the tabernacle of witness” (2 Chr. 24:6); “Zion” (Ps. 74:2; 84:7). Christ calls it “my Father’s house” (John 2:16). Easton, M. G. (1893). In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (p. 657). Harper & Brothers.
The Jerusalem temple was comprised of magnificent buildings (Mt. 24:1) built with “massive stones” (Mk. 13:1). It was the center of Jewish religious life, but it was also politicized since it was under the jurisdiction of the high priest and the Sanhedrin, who were political appointees of Rome. Jesus was concerned about unscrupulous economic activity going on in the temple during the Passover Feast and claimed the Jewish leaders were turning it into a “den of thieves,” whereas God intended it to be a “house of prayer” (Mt. 21:13; cf. Jn. 2:14–15). Jesus performed miracles there, and children shouted praises to him there (Mt. 21:14–15). Jesus also taught in its courts (Mt. 26:55; Jn. 7:14; 8:20), as the apostles did after him (Acts 2:46; 5:24–25, 42). It was also the scene of confrontations between Paul and his opponents (Acts 21:26–30). Mounce, W. D. (2006). In Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (p. 713). Zondervan.
The Biblical Practice. The biblical practice of Passover included two key elements: killing the lamb and eating the lamb.
1.Killing the Lamb. The lamb for the paschal meal was to be set aside on the tenth day of the first month, Aviv (Hebrew) or Nissan (Aramaic). From the tenth day to the fourteenth day, the lamb was to be tested to make sure it was without spot and without blemish. If it proved acceptable, the lamb for the Passover meal was killed by each Jewish family on the first night of Passover, the evening of the fourteenth. Another key point concerning the paschal lamb was that not a bone of the lamb was to be broken (Exod. 12:46). On the following morning, the first day of the Passover, a special, sacrificial lamb would be killed on the altar by the priesthood.
2.Eating the Lamb. The second main element was the paschal meal (Exod. 12:8), which was eaten on the first night of passover. The paschal meal included the eating of the lamb with two other items: unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
The Jewish Observance. The Jewish observance of the Passover or paschal meal includes two key elements: unleavened bread and wine.
1.The Unleavened Bread. By rabbinic law, the bread qualified for the Passover must be unleavened. Because leaven is often a symbol of sin in the Bible, God would not permit even the symbol of sin to be in the Jewish home. In modern Israel, a ceremony is held symbolically ridding the country of all leaven.
2.The Wine. Each person will drink four cups of wine during the paschal meal, and each cup has its own name. The first cup at the beginning of the ceremony is called “the cup of blessing” or “the cup of thanksgiving.” The second cup, called “the cup of plagues,” symbolizes the ten plagues that fell on Egypt. The third cup, “the cup of redemption,” symbolizes the physical redemption of the firstborn of Israel from the tenth plague by the shedding of the blood of the paschal lamb. The fourth cup is “the cup of praise,” with which the Jewish people sing Psalms 113–18 and with which the ceremony officially ends. Fruchtenbaum, A. (2018). Pesach (Passover). In H. W. House (Ed.), The Evangelical Dictionary of World Religions (pp. 383–384). Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group.
Gospel Accounts -
Matthew 21:12-17 - Three observations
Mark 11:15-18 - Three observations
Luke 19:45-47 - Three observations
John 2:13-16 - Three observations
Proposition - This morning we are going to see three things - 1) the misuse of the temple, 2) the confrontation about the temple, and 3) the purpose of the temple.
Interrogative question - What does your life say about the church?
1. The Misuse of the Temple - vs. 12
1. The Misuse of the Temple - vs. 12
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.
What day of the week is it?
What is Jesus anticipating?
Is Jesus response sin?
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 21
21:12–17 The Temple Actions: Jesus’ Pronouncement on the Temple Establishment. John’s Gospel records a similar cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 2:13–17). Interpreters have proposed two explanations: (1) there was only one cleansing, but John narrated the action at the beginning for thematic/theological purposes, while the Synoptic Gospels narrate the actual historical chronology; (2) there were indeed two similar but distinctly different temple cleansings. The differences of detail seem to indicate the latter, for while the initial action is similar, Jesus’ statement (Matt. 21:13) and the challenge from the Jewish leaders (vv. 15–16) are entirely different from what John records. In addition, John places the event so early in his Gospel that it would be difficult to think he wanted readers to take it as anything but an event that happened early in Jesus’ ministry. Thus Jesus cleansed the temple at the beginning as a warning, and at the end of his ministry as a statement of judgment on the leadership of Israel.
Exodus 30:11–16 (NASB95)
11 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.
13 “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the Lord. 14 “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the Lord.
15 “The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. 16 “You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.
Why was throwing them out such a big issues?
A direct challenge of the Jewish leadership, especially those who controlled the temple. It made the leaders nervous at two levels:
1) it raised questions about their authority and
2) if the temple became a place of civil instability, the Romans might move in.
2. The Confrontation about the Temple - vs. 13
2. The Confrontation about the Temple - vs. 13
Matthew 21:13 (NASB95)
13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”
What’s the point that Jesus is trying to make?
Why does He call it a house of prayer?
What’s the purpose of calling it a robbers den?
7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
11 “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.
3. The Purpose of the Temple - vs. 14-17
3. The Purpose of the Temple - vs. 14-17
Matthew 21:14–17 (NASB95)
14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant
16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
Why did the blind and lame come to Him?
Why do you think the religious leaders acted out?
Why does he quote the OT?
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
SO WHAT??
What do you think about Church?
What does your life say about church?
