Jesus Cleanses the Temple: And has the Authority to Do It

Scripture Reading

Opening Prayer

Introduction

Who cleans your house?

Story - Short term rental

Review

Now in Judea (map)

Jesus’ “early Judean ministry”

Coming off of the triumphal entry

Expectation - “Attack Rome”

Reality - “attack the Jewish establishment”

Begin Exposition

Matthew 21:12 ESV

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

Explain temple procedure

Explain importance of location

Temple illustration

Matthew 21:13 ESV

He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Quotes Isaiah 56:7 followed by Jeremiah 7:11

Isaiah points to

The temple belongs to Jesus

The temple is to be a place of holy worship

“for all peoples” (Mark but not Matthew, Isaiah both)

Jer. points to a time where the temple is viewed with superstitious reverence

“Robbers - literally means “Nationalist Rebels”

This verse points to what the temple has become as opposed to what it is supposed to be.

The temple is supposed to be a place of worship for all peoples to come to God yet it had become a “nationalist stronghold”

By the time of Matthew writing this, the temple had been destroyed.

Jesus is now the fulfillment of the Isaiah 56 reference and he uses His temples (believers) to bring the worship of God to all nations

I. The purpose of the temple is to facilitate worship of God

Application: As the temple, our mission involves facilitating the worship of God rather than nationalist causes

Exposition 2

The next portion of this narrative is the last healing miracle in the Gospel of Matthew.

read...

Matthew 21:14 ESV

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

Now, something of significance to note:

Those who were “damaged” or “unclean” such as these here were not allowed into the temple

They were not allowed to give sacrifices and they were only allowed into the court of the Gentiles.

They were only allowed there if they did not take”unclean” aids with them (Pillows, bandages, etc.)

Some Jews ewven tried to say that no crippled or disabled Jews would be part of the “congregation/Messianic battle/messianic banquet”

In contrast to these religious leaders, Jesus healed those who came to him in this condition.

II. Jesus is the pure one who makes people pure enough to Worship God.

Application

Exposition 3

This final part of our passage contains something easy to miss.

Matthew 21:15 ESV

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,

Why were they indignant?

Not only because he attacked their system but because he accepted praise that belonged to God

Matthew 21:16 ESV

and they said to him, “Do you hear what these 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’?”

Psalm 8:2

Not messianic

Applied only to God

Matthew 21:17 ESV

And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

III. Jesus is God the Son and the only one able to save.