Matthew 21:12 – 17
PASSIONATE CHANGE
Mat 21:12 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.
Mat 21:13 He said to them, "It
is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den
of robbers."
Mat 21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the
temple, and he healed them.
Mat 21:15 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,
Mat 21:16 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'?"
Mat 21:17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to
Bethany and lodged there.
I. Jesus’ Authority
A. What is happening?
1. Jesus drives out those who bought and
sold AND money-changers.
2. Two doves might have cost 5 cents…. In
the temple as much as $4.
3. Functional: travelers could not bring
their own animals to sacrifice.
4. Purity: The court of the Gentiles…
unclean… buffer to the holy.
5. The court of the Gentiles
(and those who were physically imperfect) was full… people had difficult time
entering the Temple…
(Imagine entering the Temple:
It’s crowded, it’s loud, it smells bad, you have to watch where you step, and
it’s a swirl of everything except praise and prayer….)
B. What is Jesus doing?
1. Jesus is clearing space for people
to enter the Temple.
a. The religious leaders where
“gatekeeping” (deciding who could enter and
who could not.)
b. The religious leaders where
distracting from the worship of God.
c. The people were being taken
advantage of…
2. Jesus is claiming ownership: “My
house.” [John 2:16]
a. When Jesus was asked for a sign: “Jesus answered
them, "Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up.” [John 2:19]
b. We are the temple of God: “Do you not
know that you are God's temple
and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” [1 Corinthians 3:16]
3. Jesus is challenge the authority of the
religious leaders.
a. Religion is self-serving.
b. Jesus
is self-sacrificing.
II. Our Power
A. “House of prayer”
1. Isaiah 56:7 “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."
a.
Notice the key words: holy,
joyful, accepted, prayer (FOR ALL PEOPLES)
b. The worship of God is an invitation FOR
ALL.
And I sought for a man among them who should
build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should
not destroy it, but I found none. [Ezekiel 22:30]
2. It is a place for REPENTANCE
(“sacrifices”)
a. “Holy” means separate (clean)
b. The bringing of sacrifices was
generally in repentance, acknowledgment of
sin and the penalty.
c. PRAYER: our direct communication with
God.
“Let
us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ [Hebrews 4:16]
III. Our Pitfall
A. “Den of robbers.”
“Will you steal, murder, commit
adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that
you have not known, [10] and then come
and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are
delivered!'—only to go on doing all these abominations? [11] Has this house,
which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I
myself have seen it, declares the LORD.”
[Jeremiah 7:9 – 11]
1. A place where sin is safe.
a. A place were sinners are not disturbed…
comfortable, unjudged
b.. A place were saints are not motivated…
comfortable, lukewarm.
2. A place to cover-up and protect.
a. No need to repent, admit sin, or deal
with sin.
b. There is an unspoken “fellowship” that
creates “comfort.”
B. Prevent those in need from entering:
1. Matthew 21:14 à blind and
lame are healed!
2. Matthew 21:15 à Children
shouting praise!
3. The religious? “Indignant” (angry)
IV. An honest “moral inventory.”
A. Lack of prayer….
1. Means judgmental gatekeeping.
2. Means sin running us. (Regular need
for confession and repentance.)
3. Means a brutal but comfortable
separation from God.
4. Means an utter lack of power…
settled pointlessness.
B. God’s house: place to worship, the
church, and our life.
1. Can you imagine the change that
would happen if we committed ourselves to prayer…?
2. Can you imagine what would happen if
we actually spent time with God?
3. Imagine the freedom from sin, the
ability to say no to things that weigh us down, and the answers
we would have to prayer…
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