March 18, 2010
A Clean temple
Matthew 21:12-17
Lisa Byrd
Central Truth
God desires a temple worthy of His habitation—pure, holy, and clean.
Key Verse | Matthew 21:13
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." (Matthew 21:13)
Matthew 21:12-17
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 And Jesus entered the temple 1 21:12 Some manuscripts add of God 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. 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.”
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 did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 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’?”
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Dive Deeper | Matthew 21:12-17
God required certain sacrifices in order to come before Him in worship. The religious leaders of the Jews added to these requirements and made worship by the pilgrims difficult, expensive, and a chore. Jesus' righteous anger burned watching the merchants and money changers interacting with those who had traveled to worship in the temple. Jesus' compassion for the would-be worshipers and His absolute disgust at what the religious leaders had allowed caused Him to drive out of the temple the merchants and money changers along with their animals and money. Then, Jesus' compassion flowed as He welcomed, loved, and healed the blind and the lame—those "unacceptable" for worship in their present state. He heard the praise of the children who recognized true good, praising the Son of David.
The temple of God today is us, singularly (1 Corinthians 6:19) and collectively (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit makes His dwelling place in us, and this temple is to be holy and undefiled. I read this passage and think of how I would have "sided" with Jesus in His indignation toward the religious leaders. Then, I think again and realize how often I allow my sin nature to rule in me in defiance of His call to be holy.
So, how do I really measure up to be the dwelling place of God, the clean temple He requires? I have the Bible and am a participant in the covenant of grace—more information than the Jews had at that time. When I look inward, I see that Jesus must drive out my unholiness. This visual saddens me—me grieving Him. Yet, pride and inattention to the commandments to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind and to love my neighbor as myself make a mess of my personal temple and defile the greater temple of the collective body of believers. My wish is that we all would desire an ongoing temple cleansing so that more people are able to see Jesus in us and desire to know the One True God instead of seeing a "robbers’ den."
Discussion Questions
1. Will you ask Jesus to help you surrender to the cleansing of His dwelling place in you?
2. Will you ask Jesus to reveal WHAT needs to be cleaned out so that His compassion and healing can give you great cause to praise Him?
3. Will you believe Jesus really is ABLE to cleanse and purify you of ALL that is displeasing to God? (see Hebrews 9:11-14; 1 John 1:7-9)
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The temple was a place to worship God. What were the children in this passage doing?
2. How do you show Jesus praise?