The King’s Cleansing (Matthew 21:12-22)

The King’s Cleansing

Matthew 21:12-22

Sunday, November 9, 2025 — Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

Introduction

If you have ever been to a Bazaar or busy Flea or Farmer’s Market, I want you to consider some of the things you noticed as you went through. The people, the number of those set up as vendors, the commotion, the traffic. For there is a similarity to it all. Busyness, noise. 

I experienced this a number of years ago when I was visiting Istanbul, Turkey. Part of one my days there was going through one of the local Bazaars to get a grasp of culture there. And this particular Bazaar was cramped with merchants lined up, with people filling the way between. It was crowded and noisy. 

A similar situation was had several years ago shortly after Darcy and I got married. We went to the Farmer’s Market in Wheaton, IL. And again, it was busy and noisy from all the commotion. 

In both of these it was a means of doing commerce, but it felt in the moment a bit overwhelming. And while it is to be expected in these settings, it is far from appropriate in the temple of the Living God! That’s what our passage this morning puts before us. How the noise and busyness of commerce have no place in God’s Holy Temple! 

Please then take out your Bible and turn with me to Matthew 21:12-22. If you do not have a Bible, there is a Red Bible there in your seats and you can find our passage on page #982. 

As you are getting to our passage, let me give us a running start. The Gospel According to Matthew is about God’s Kingdom. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the coming Messiah King. He came proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, even warning the religious leaders that they must bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt 3:8). 

Then as this Messiah King came onto the scene in Jesus, he too began preaching that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Calling people to repent. And like John, he has been teaching throughout the need to have right visible fruit. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus taught that you will recognize one as a sheep or a wolf based on their fruits. That is a believer from an unbeliever. That those who do not bear good fruit are no better than fruitless trees that are to be cut down.

Then in Matthew 12:22-37, Jesus again teaches on the importance of fruit, and how a tree is known by its fruit. This time emphasizing the fruit of ones words. 

Then there is the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. You have the seed that is cast out everywhere, but the seed that finds the good soil endures and bears fruit. All other seed proves to have failed. 

Fruit matters. And that is what we are going to see in both sections of our passage this morning. For while they seem to be a bit disconnected, they actually are going about the same point. Let’s now then hear the word of the LORD from Matthew 21:12-22…

Main Idea: Jesus opposes fruitless and dead religion; he is after fruitful and genuine faith. 

The cleansing of the Temple (Matthew 21:12-17)

The cursing of the Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22)

1. The Cleansing of the Temple (Matthew 21:12-17

V.12… Now, with Matthew’s placement of this verse right after Jesus’ triumphant entry, we are left thinking these are consecutive actions. And that now that Jesus has entered Jerusalem, he immediately begins taking action. But that is not the case. Mark’s parallel account helps us here from Mark 11:12-26. It connects the dots in showing that this entering the temple and overturning the tables happens the following day. 

This clarification helps us track through this last week of Jesus’ life better. And it also helps us see that intention that Jesus returns to Jerusalem on this Monday to cleanse the temple with the aim of establishing his authority as the Messiah King and rebuking the current religious establishment. It’s not a knee jerk reaction, it is a careful, calculated act of pronouncing judgment. 

At the heart of the temple was the Holy of Holies. The temple in the Old Covenant was the place where God was to dwell in the midst of his people. Outside the Holy of Holies was the Holy Place, then the Court of the Priests, then the Court of Israel for their men. Then their was the Court of Women for Israelite women. Then on the outside in the most outer court was the Court of the Gentiles. 

It is in this most outer court that these tables of money changers and sellers were set-up. It was in this outer court where that they have transformed into more of a bazaar rather than a temple. 

Now, make no mistake, the moneychangers and sellers were there to provide a service, a crucial service to the many coming into Jerusalem for the Passover feast. For those who travel would not have desired or been able to carry their animals for sacrifice into Jerusalem. And without having these, they would not have been able to sacrifice while at the temple. So these sellers served them by offering animals to be purchased for sacrifice there in the city. 

Likewise, as with any travel into different territories, currency changes. And there would be the need for moneychangers. Particularly import is the fact that only one currency was acceptable as offerings in the temple, the Tyrian coins. 

And so these both were vital services to visitors to Jerusalem. And yet, here Jesus comes and cleanses the temple just as was prophesied of him long ago! 

Listen to these words that come from the prophet Malachi in Malachi 3:1–2

Malachi 3:1–2 ESV

1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

The Lord is visiting his temple to prepare the way for the kingdom, and he comes to refine. He starts here with refining the temple in overturning these tables and seats and casting those who do not belong. For these acts haver robbed the Lord of his glory. V.13…

The cleansing of the temple comes because the house of the Lord was meant to be a house of prayer, but not a den of robbers. The use of den of robbers is not as much concerned with whether or not those providing service in the temple were extortionists. It is used because it is robbing the temple of its very purpose, the worship of God! 

Commerce was necessary, but it had not place in the temple. For the Lord has before said his house was to be a house of prayer. This coming from Isaiah 56. The context of this quote reads: 

Isaiah 56:3–6 ESV

3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5 I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—

And then in what Jesus is quoting from:

Isaiah 56:7 ESV

7 these 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 peoples.”

God’s promise through his prophets was to set up a place in his house for foreigners who would be joined unto the LORD by faith. Foreigners being non-Jews, Gentiles. And he had promised that they would not be cut off and that they would be brought into his house, a house of prayer. 

And yet, with the Bazaar atmosphere brought into the outer court, prayer, praise, worship, and hearing of God's word was impossible to be the focus. Jesus’ actions here in turning over the tables and casting all out was not to do with his despise of commerce, but out anything interfering with the very purpose of the temple. 

This is why we here at Land O’ Lakes Bible Church want to ensure that we are a people not simply gathering and doing what we feel is right, but examining the Scriptures and seeking to gather in ways that are obedient to our King and the ways he has instructed us to gather together. 

This is why we often here say that we are a people that gather to Sing the Word, to Read the Word, to Pray the Word, to Preach the Word, and to see the Word. We want to be a people who are shaped by God’s word in all that we do! Praying that we never lose sight of God’s purpose in our gathering, to glorify God by building one another up in him in Christ likeness! 

For it is in these ways that the word confronts us with our sin, and calls us to ongoing repentance and a conforming to the ways of our King so that we may delight in him and enjoy him! 

If we forsake these ways, we begin to take a slippery slope to determining our own ways in which God should be worshiped, and these are never good ways.

This is the very things that Jesus’ anger burns against. But make no mistake, Jesus’ anger has not come to burn against those wrestling in a struggle with sin. Or to burn against those who have been injured by the effects of sin and limping along the way. These are the very ones Jesus continues to bear patience with as we continue to trust in him. 

In fact, we see this various dealings that Jesus has with different ones in the next few verses. V.14-16a…

This is the only act of healing by Jesus recorded during Holy Week. An yet in the midst of condemning the practices of the religious leaders in the temple, Jesus shows mercy on those who come to him and are needy before him. 

Then as these things are being done, children who see and hear begin to imitate those from the day before in giving shouts of Hosanna to the Son of David! They are moved to open their mouths and give praise to Jesus in seeing these things! 

But as these things happen, the chief priests and scribes who are seeing them become indignant, they become angry at what is happening and they question Jesus about it. With Jesus replying there in V.16b…

Jesus here quotes from Psalm 8:2, in why it is these children are calling out in such praise. Yet, as Jesus points to Psalm 8:2, it is a Psalm about YHWH, and Jesus is applying this to himself. Further solidifying who he is to the peoples. That he is both the servant of God and yet also fully God who is worthy of such praise by these little ones. 

Application for Children…

V.17…

That is point #1, the cleansing of the Temple. 

2. The Cursing of the Fig Tree (Matthew 21:18-22)

V.18-19… Fig trees were common in Israel. However, they were not known to bloom this early. In fact, in Mark’s Parallel of this over in Mark 11:12-14 emphasizes that it was not the season for figs. The Passover would have roughly been about March on our calendar, with Fig season coming in May. 

But it was known that as a Fig Trees leaves began to grow, so did small tiny figs with it. They would have still been fairly unripe, but with leaves were to come figs was the norm of these trees. 

However, that is not what Jesus found. He saw a fig tree full ov leaves, with no figs at all. Not even the tiny, unripe ones. And so Jesus curses the fig tree from ever having fig trees at once.

A cursing fit for a fruitless tree. Jesus’ action here did not come though because he was hangry towards the tree. 

Just think of some of the old Snickers commercials with the punchline, “You’re not you when you are hungry. Get a Snickers”. 

Friends, that is not Jesus here with the cursing of this fig tree. There is more to it. This cursing of the fig tree is the playing out of a live parable about the reality of what had just taken place at the temple. 

For there the people like the fig tree had all the external appearances of being ready for fruit. As the fig tree had its fullness of leaves, the people in Jerusalem had their sacrifices and were rushing to the temple in the name of worship. However, like the fruitless fig tree, there was no fruit there. The works of God’s Messiah King were met with objection and anger. 

Jerusalem had outran the nations in having the coverage of leaves, but failed to produce any fruit and would now begin to be rejected because of their fruitless ways. Fruitless from repentance. Fruitless from humbling themselves before a Holy God. Fruitless from seeing their need not for the law, but a Redeemer from the law’s demands. 

Jesus opposes dead, fruitless religion. All such will be counted accursed, just like this fig tree, just like those under the old temple model. And he will continue to oppose such dead religion.

Dead religion is that which goes through the motions of Christianity, without being transformed by the very gospel they have proclaimed has rescued them. It bears no fruit from its supposed faith. A faith which is truly no faith at all. 

Too often there are those who think that to be religious is to live life throughout the week however pleases them, giving little thought to Jesus in their day to day, then showing up on Sunday to get their fill of Jesus, before repeating the same pattern. This is not a life of faith, but dead religion. 

Likewise there are many who even profess to love Jesus, yet they are never drawing nearer to Jesus for him to begin to change them. This is not the life of faith. For those who love Jesus and draw near to Jesus should begin to have the aroma of Jesus. 

The gospel does not just save us, it is saving us and transforming us! This is the point that Jesus continues to draw out in his encounter with his disciples after the withering of the fig tree. V.20…

Once more the disciples show their youthfulness in the faith with their question of asking how. Instead they should have asked why Jesus did this work to fully understand the matter. And yet, the Lord takes their question and turns it to something useful for them regarding this work. V.21-22… 

Jesus here teaches the disciples and us the power by which he did this and the power necessary to move from dead religion to true religion in Christ, faith. Dead religion will not be moved or changed from more regulations. It will not be changed by guilting. It will not change by burdening. The only hope to change dead religion is faith. 

For it is this mountain of dead religion that Jesus is referring to when he says this mountain. A mountain that Jesus tells his disciples that they can move by the prayer of faith. 

Faith in Christ and Christ alone is all that can move us from the deadness of religion to true and right religion! For it is by faith that we trust God to do what he has promised both in and through us. 

For it is by faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross that we are first saved from our sins! Faith trusting that though we were guilty, we have been purified by the shedding of his blood! If you are a Christian, this is the faith that you have already proclaimed to have!

If you are not yet a Christian, it is our prayer that you would soon see your need of such faith in Jesus alone for salvation from your sins! Your religious deeds and activity will not save you. For it may give the appearance of life with its leaves, but will be lacking any true fruit that is of the Lord. Turn from such dead religion by coming to place your faith in Christ alone! Come today and be saved! 

But faith is not a once for all matter. It is to be ongoing! For it is this very faith that continues to be at work in us as we continue to trust in Christ! And it is by this very faith that this fruit will be born from. 

Listen to this point from the Second London Baptist Confession [1] that describes this well:

These good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits, and evidences of a true, and lively faith; and by them Believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the Gospel, stop the mouths of adversaries and glorify God whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus therunto, that having their fruit unto holiness, they may have the end eternal life.

Fruit is the overflow then of faith. True faith produces this very fruit that Jesus is emphasizing! It is is not produced by anything in and of ourselves. No man can do the good works that God has called us to apart from such faith in his Forever King.

From beginning to end then, faith overthrows dead religion! Beloved, let us then seek to anchor our hopes, our assurance, our salvation in our present and ongoing faith in Jesus! Faith that is true and lives! Faith that is dependent and trusting in God and his means of redemption!

Let’s pray! 

Endnotes

[1] Second London Baptist Confession. Article XVI. Section 3.