Cleansing The Temple

Cleansing The Temple 

Jesus and His disciples come back into Jerusalem and as Jesus enters the temple, He sees much that shouldn’t be. As He drives out all those who were buying and selling in the temple as opposed to worshiping He quotes Isaiah 56:7, and Jeremiah 7:11. “And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robber’s den.” (Mark 11:17). Jesus displays another teaching moment today where again He poses the question “Is it not written?” as He teaches, and even still the chief priests and scribes seek to destroy Him. 

Scripture Study today:

Matthew 21: 12-22

Mark 11: 12-19

Luke 19: 45-48

John 12

Transcript

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Well, welcome back for day two and what I've subtitled Cleansing the Temple as we work through Passion Week. So as we pick up day two, be Monday, as as we go through this week, um, and and uh as we talked about briefly yesterday, the uh arrival of Jesus, the triumphal infantry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, uh all the excitement that was in the people, and you know, as you think of that group of people as Christ as coming into Jerusalem for the Passover week, and there had to be folks there, I would assume, that uh that had seen Jesus, had seen his miraculous works, had heard his teachings for their self, others that had only heard about him and about his miraculous works and about his teachings, and so the excitement from both sets of those people had to be as high as it could be. Uh, on the opposite side, as we looked at yesterday, and we'll look at each day today, the religious leaders and the Pharisees and the Sadducees that were the opposite and had uh been looking for a way to do away with Jesus all along, didn't believe in him, didn't believe in his teachings, didn't believe in his ways, and and kind of felt of him as a nuisance as we'll go through this week. Uh can look at from that angle as well. So before we jump into the text, as as I said yesterday, we'll uh we'll look uh today in Mark, but I want to give you all four of the gospel accounts of where day two would be recorded. So in Matthew 21, verses 12 through 22, Mark 11, verses 12 through 19, which is where we'll read specifically today if you've got your Bible and want to go ahead and open to there. Uh Luke 19, verses 45 through 48, and then again, John being written just a shade differently from a chronological standpoint and how it falls together versus the other three. Um John 12, you can certainly, and as we'll talk about at the end of this episode, grab some more uh detail uh maybe of of today and how it falls in there from John and what he writes in John chapter 12. So uh so we left off and just finished up there with uh Mark 11, 11 at the close of yesterday's episode with with Jesus and his disciples as they do in the evenings, going out of Jerusalem out to Bethany uh for the night. So we'll pick back up again in Mark 11 uh verse 12 as they are coming back into town, into Jerusalem from Bethany. So in Mark 11, verse 12 it says, On the next day, when they had left Bethany, he became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it, and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. So he sees a fig tree, he's hungry, he goes to it uh in leaf, it appears that it would have fruit uh maybe at that point. Uh he comes up to it to find no fruit, though it looked like and appeared that it should have fruit, and he said to it in verse fourteen, May no one ever eat fruit from you again. And his disciples were listening. Now we could take that and go with it a bit, but I want to keep going in verse fifteen for today. And and so in verse fifteen he says, Then they came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves, and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. So he shows up to the temple to see what uh you can envision and imagine simply from the text of that there was all kinds of money trading, buying and selling, things that were uh going on for profit and for gain that that weren't necessarily directed towards God, and I'm sure there were plenty of people taking advantage of that situation and and what they were selling and selling it for a higher price than that, and some that were buying it um maybe for the tradition's sake, etc. Um, but the the short version and the simplified version of of that and and the point of it is that the things that were going on in the temple weren't to praise and and honor God, but to have transactions of business, essentially, and uh and and and focused maybe to more on money, uh, which he's going to confirm here as as we keep reading. So in verse 17, he began, it says, and he began to teach and say to them, Is it not written, My house should be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a robber's den. The chief priest and the scribes heard this and began seeking how to destroy him, for they were afraid of him, for the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. So again there Jesus lays it out like it is, uh, and quotes there, you know, from Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7 that talks about uh the his house being a house of prayer, uh, and they've made it into a robber's den. Um again, uh driving out, turning tables, upset, and but not upset to a sinful, you know, we can think about being mad and us uh getting upset and coming into things. I'd say Jesus was uh was was very direct and very serious and and obviously uh not to be unlikened, but in a righteous anger, um and uh in a biblical uh as we could look at it today for us, uh a scriptural comeback again to is it not written, uh has it not been written that my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a robber's den. So he he gets things lined out, and again, you know, you would think uh in verse 18 when it says begin they began seeking how to destroy him, for they were afraid of him, for the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. Uh in Luke 19 it says in verse 47 48 it says he was teaching daily and the people were hanging on to every word that he said. You know, as I thought about that and I was studying on this of the people that were excited when Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people that were excited to hear his teaching in the temple, the people, as Luke says, hanging on every word, yet the chief priest and the scribes began seeking how to destroy him, they were afraid of him. You know, what were they afraid of? Because you would think that they would have agreed with his teachings, they were afraid of Christ. They didn't believe in him as who he said he was. It says also in John 12 that the Greeks were uh they were asking Philip to uh find Jesus. They wanted to see him, they wanted to talk to him. And if you'll go to John 12, you can see how um some further teachings uh that that he foretells again his death, um and some more there in John 12 that we won't go into today, but I encourage you to certainly read it. Um so so many people were excited to see Christ, to hear Christ, to be around Christ, to be around Jesus at this time. He's foretelling his death, um, he's cleaning out the temple and getting things in order. Um, and those religious leaders that were afraid of him, that were afraid for so many reasons of what he was there for. Obviously didn't believe he was who he said he was. Continue as as the week's gonna continue to build as we go. So um that's all uh as verse 19 closes closes out Mark uh Mark 11 for today. It says, When evening came, they would go out of the city. So again, as evening comes, they're gonna go out of the city, and then we'll pick back up uh tomorrow on day three um with lots and lots of teaching uh that Jesus um has there this week. Um so tomorrow will be uh uh be packed full. Um so again, thank you very much for joining in. And as we looked at get to look today at day two of Passion Week, I look forward to continuing on. Um again, tomorrow will be a uh a packed full day. As Christ, again during Passion Week, uh during the last week of his ministry, uh, before he goes to the cross uh and what he gets to unfold in that teaching tomorrow. Uh, hope you'll join us back for that. Uh, thanks for joining in today. We love y'all, and we will see you tomorrow.