Untitled Sermon (6)

Introduction

This past Friday marked six hundred seven years that it happened. It was on that date that Jan Hus was martyred because of his unwillingness to compromise the Word of God, even facing his own death. Hus was a Bohemian pastor in what is now the Czech Republic. His accusers made it clear at his “trial” that he would not merely die, but they had planned he would die without hope. The prosecutors against Hus said, “We take from you the cup of redemption.” Hus boldly replied, “I trust in the Lord God Almighty…that He will not take away from me the cup of His redemption, but I firmly hope to drink from it today in His kingdom.”

People like that just cannot be left alone. This is the estimation of religionists that do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. What happened to Hus has been the cost of many Christians ever since the cross. This is what happened to Jesus. It is the battle between Christian conviction and worldly convenience.

The gospel of Matthew gives more attention to what has been going on in Jerusalem in the final days of Jesus than any other gospel writer. That is why Matthew has been called a passion narrative with an extended introduction. Thus, we are standing in the very center of the details of the events dealing with our own redemption.

Matthew understands that these events are the culmination of the Law and the Prophets. This is the fulfillment of God’s promises. Jesus is in Jerusalem. This is important because Jerusalem is the geographic center where all these events are to take place. When we were last in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus had just ended His final woes against the Pharisees.

Now the harshness of Jesus’ words will be mellowed as Jesus reveals His broken heart over the wickedness of the holy city of Jerusalem. There are two _________ to recognize from the passage today.

I. IT CREATES GREAT ANGUISH (23:37-39)

In verses 37-39 we observe that Jesus prefers repentance over judgment. We observe the lament in the first sentence: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.” Jerusalem is repeated twice with a strong sense of mourning and sorrow. The repetition intensifies the emotion of what is being said. Jesus is grieved over what has become of Jerusalem.

Jesus is brokenhearted because Jesus understands two realities concerning Jerusalem. First, even though the inhabitants of the city had welcomed Him two days ago with open arms and hearts with a sense of messianic fervor, He knows this fervor is going to turn to fury as some of those cheering will be jeering for His death. Second, Jesus is brokenhearted because of what He knows is going to happen (38).

There is judgment that is coming and it is coming soon. It will be within a generation of Jesus speaking these words. Jesus will become desolate and the temple will be destroyed. All that Jesus foretold will take place (39).

Notice that little word until. Here it expresses a note of certainty. Jesus promises that what He said will happen. They are not going to see Him again. He will not debate with them again. Here, at the end of Matthew twenty-three, we have the conclusion of Jesus’ public ministry of teaching. Since Jesus came into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, He has had one extended teaching opportunity after another. That public ministry is now over. Jesus leaves the temple and with it so goes the usefulness of the temple. Jesus will now communicate exclusively in private among His disciples.

II. IT COLLAPSES GREAT ARROGANCE

Jesus’ encounter with the crowds concerning the Pharisees was made inside the temple complex. Now, as Jesus is coming out of the temple, He will engage His disciples privately. As they leave the temple, the disciples are overwhelmed by the beauty and size of the temple. They remark to Jesus about what they see. This was the temple had rebuilt and that was still under reconstruction in Jesus’ day. This was the temple that was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. This is the physical desolation Jesus was referring to. When Jesus leaves the temple for the last time, the Spirit of God within the temple has already left forever. This is the spiritual desolation which is far worse. Jerusalem is indeed left completely desolate.

The most permanent edifice that the disciples have ever seen is the temple. Their eyes are drawn to the building as its magnificence and sheer size dominates the temple mound. The temple is central to the city of Jerusalem and all of Israel. There was where God met with His people. However, in the context of these verses, it becomes clear that it is Jesus, not the physical temple, where God the Father meets with man. Jesus Himself is the temple of God. In a few short years, the buildings of that magnificent structure will be gone.

Three days from when Jesus spoke these words, He would be crucified. From the cross Jesus cries out, “Tetalestai!” “It is finished!” One of the signs of Christ’s atoning power from the cross is that the great veil of the temple was torn into. The Holy of holies is now open. It is no longer closed and hidden. The blood of Christ has now been shed and there is no longer any need for any more sprinkling of the blood of a sacrificial lamb. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, has accomplished and completed everything for our atonement. There is no more reason for a priest to go into the Holy of holies because Jesus is our great High Priest. The transaction that Christ made in the atonement was absolutely sufficient for all time and for all sinners who would come to Him by faith. Thus, the temple is now theologically meaningless.

However, the temple was theologically meaningless before it was destroyed. God’s purposes were not destroyed then the temple was destroyed. The reason that is true is because Jesus is the living and eternal temple. [read verse 2]

Jesus is saying to His disciples, “You are in awe of all the buildings of the temple complex. However, you are missing the point.” The Jewish heart would be filled with pride as they observed the magnificence of the temple. They dreamed of being in close proximity to the temple mound because it was viewed as being a great blessing. Thus, the Jewish theology of the temple was a theology of exclusivity. God met with His people on the area of the temple mount and with no one else. God met with the Jews and no one else.

Now, Jesus comes along and tells the disciples they are missing the entire point. Jesus is not repudiating the theology of the temple. To the contrary, He is fulfilling it. The point Jesus makes is that the buildings are not the most important aspect of a right relationship with God. This is tough for the disciples to hear. If the temple is destroyed, you destroy the religious foundation of the entire system.

To speak as Jesus is speaking here would be viewed as an act of desolation, desecration, heresy and criminality. It was the greatest blasphemy to speak against the temple. Jesus says, “I am here with you and you are looking at buildings. You believe this temple is still of ultimate importance. It is not because the time of this temple is past.” [read Matt. 12:5-6; John 2:18-21]

Jesus has made interesting statements about the temple like these throughout His ministry. Now, as the disciples are pointing to the buildings of the temple complex, “Have you not been listening? Do you not understand? Do you not see these things? A greater than the temple is here.” Again, Jesus is not talking about the temple buildings. He is talking about Himself. Jesus asks His disciples as they are gazing intently at the temple buildings, “Can you not see what is going on here? Do you not understand the One that is greater than the temple is here? Do you not understand that the temple is already part of that which is passing, rather than that which is coming?

Where will God meet with humanity? Every single time God met with His people in the Holy of holies, it was always pointing to something greater. It was pointing to Christ. Every sacrifice that was made in the Old Testament was pointing to Christ. In Him is the perfect redemption. In Him is the perfect reconciliation. In Him is the perfect temple. Christ is the everlasting temple. He is the everlasting priest. He is our perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. We need to make sure we understand or we will fail to see what the disciples failed to see. You destroy this temple and three days from now I will raise it up again. It is not the temple made with hands. It is the living and eternal temple-Jesus Christ. [read Hebrews 9:11-14]