Bulletin:
Let Jesus Cleanse the Way You Treat People. (12-17)
· The exploitive ones are upset and driven out
· The unwanted ones are welcomed and healed.
· The unimportant ones are inspired and heard.
· The self-important ones are irritated and silenced.
Let Jesus Show You the Importance of Fruit. (18-22)
Gospel glory = the fruit that God seeks from His redeeming work
· “Gospel glory” is what He’s looking for.
· “Gospel glory” what we should be praying for.
Manuscript:
A woman was at the grocery store late one evening
She was preparing to entertain guests the next day.
She stopped at the meat counter and asked the attendant for a large chuck roast.
He had just been cleaning out the meat enclosure fo the the day and only had one chuck roast left..
So he walked back to the cooler, brought it out and sat it on the scale – “this one’s 3 lbs”
The woman responded - "I'm not sure that will be enough. Don't you have a bigger one?"
The man was frustrated that he was still selling meat when he was supposed to be packing up.
So, he said, “Actually, I do have one more.”
He went back into the cooler and came walking out with the same roast.
He sat it on the scale and also pressed his finger on the scale as well – “This one’s 4 lbs!”
In a quandary, the woman replies, "I'm just not sure. I tell you what— wrap them both up for me!"
The butcher was messing with the situation and playing loose with the turth to suit his own purposes.
And he got caught.
This morning we learn learn from Matthew 21:12-22, as -
Title: King Jesus Resets the Scales of Justice
We talk about the “scales of justice” in the sense that they’re supposed to be fair.
But too often in this world, those who in the place of influence make use of it for their own benefit alone.
This morning, we see Jesus step onto the scene of His temple, where His people are to be bearing fruit.
A way that they are supposed to be bearing fruit for God’s Kingdom is in being a light to the nations.
They are to provide an avenue for Gentiles to come to the temple and offer prayer to God Most High.
But, their sinful hearts have placed making a buck as more important than God’s gospel glory.
And the God-Man has shown up to let them know what He thinks of it.
The first major idea I want to challenge you with this morning is to.
1. Let Jesus Cleanse the Way You Treat People.
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. 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’?”
I teach with applicational points.
But don’t let me make you that this passage is ONLY teaching us about how we should treat others
These verses are about Jesus, His authority over God’s house - what His people use for their purposes.
The points I’m making have to do with how we can apply these truths as a corporate body of Christ
Quote The New Testament Commentary – “His demonstration… speaks not only of the corruption of the current Jewish approach to the worship of God, but also of his own Messianic authority. It is as deliberate and unmistakable a challenge as the donkey-ride into the city, and its location in the focal point of Israel’s religion makes it impossible to ignore.”
In our verses, we see -
1a. The exploitive ones are upset and driven out
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. 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.”
According to other gospels, Jesus returned to Bethany after the Triumphal Entry.
[handout - schedule of the Passion Week]
It’s helpful to know that this wasn’t a spontaneous outburst of anger.
This is actually the second time that Jesus takes this action – [gospel of John]
Jesus surveyed the situation before leaving and returned to bust up their party.
Matthew seems intent on laying out the actions of King Jesus in His Capital City.
Quote – Meyer – “Planned for prime time and maximum exposure, it was a “demonstration” calculated to interrupt business as usual and bring the imminence of God’s reign abruptly, forcefully, to the attention of all … It was at once a demonstration, a prophetic critique, a fulfilment event, and a sign of the future’.”
Matthew writes this with the assumption that we know what’s going on in the temple court
The sacrifices that would take place in the temple required a lot of animals.
Travelers would need to purchase their offerings.
Those purchases needed to be made in the temple currency - Ty-rian currency required for temple dues
Money-changers were needed to make this possible.
I’m not going to weigh in on whether the people were over-charging or taking advantage.
The fact is Jesus is exercising his authority as God over the situation in the temple.
I don’t feel it necessary to justify Jesus’ actions.
The fact is that, having the authority over something, means it’s yours to decide…
Jesus isn’t intent on putting an end to these practices in the temple.
He seems to be intent on setting the record straight on who He is.
Matthew also assumes that we know what part of the temple this is happening in – Court of the Gentiles
The temple was meant to be a light to the nations and a place for them to meet God
Mark mentions that Jesus called it a “house of prayer for all the nations.”
Jesus expresses His disapproval of how His holy place is being used, quoting Isaiah 56:7 when describing the purpose of the temple with regard to the Gentiles – a place to seek God
* Isaiah 56:6–7 6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— 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.”
Jesus quotes Jer 7:11, referring to the crass condition of the hearts of the people involved – den of robbers
Quote – Bible Expositional Commentary – “The court of the Gentiles was used for mercenary business, not missionary business.”
In our verses, we also see -
1b. The unwanted ones are welcomed and healed.
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
Jesus exercises His right & drives-out who He chose to drive out from His temple – plain and simple.
And what happens next is we see and hear from those that the people in charge deemed unwanted
The blind and lame were not allowed in the temple courts.
Yet we read that they flowed in when Jesus the situation as He saw fit.
This is the only recorded healing by Jesus in the temple.
So, let’s appreciate this situation.
The blind and lame couldn’t venture even that close to the temple.
Jesus shows up and drives away those that interfered with the pure worship, disrupting the system.
Soon He’s dealing with those who didn’t have any hope of worshiping at the temple – without His healing
He’s the Savior King who doesn’t exchange money for what’s acceptable.
He changes lives by making people right.
He doesn’t sell people an atoning sacrifice.
He’ll become the atoning sacrifice.
Along with how the unwanted are treated by Jesus, we observe -
1c. The unimportant ones are inspired and heard
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,
The religious leaders see the wonderful things that Jesus did.
This is how Matthew describes it – “worthy of amazement, wonderful, remarkable, admirable”
Don’t get confused thinking the priests and scribes thought it was admirable.
It was wonderful, but they were missing the wonder of it all.
If the blind and lame were unwanted, the children were unimportant.
But we see that they continue the chant/worship of Jesus as Israel’s Messiah King
I’m not sure if the adults were like we are today – on to the next news event (15 min ago)
But we’re told that the children kept the torch lit for King Jesus – acknowledging Him as the Savior-King
Lastly, as this re-shuffling of who’s mose important is taking place, we see -
1d. The self-important ones are irritated and silenced.
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’?”
We can easily miss that the combination of the chief priests and the scribes is unusual
This are members of the Sadducees and the Pharisees grouped together.
One group cares about the rules, the other cares about their economic enterprise.
As usual, the representatives of the Sadducees and Pharisees voice their disapproval.
This is like democrat and a republican groups united
It’s like the ACLU and the NRA joining together to take issue with someone.
These groups would expect that the Messiah would come and recruit them first.
Maybe they expect Jesus to brush off the children’s statements as well-meaning but untrue
Instead, Jesus doubles-down and tells these men who think they’re the authority that they need to listen to the little ones
They need to get with the program and bow their knee to Him as well.
Let Jesus Cleanse the Way YOU Treat People.
Illus – [enter you home to find strangers have turned it into a thrift store]
?- What if you were to get home this afternoon and find out that someone was using your home as a store?
?- What if you’ve collected clothing for less fortunate people and you have it stored in your garage?
But you arrive home to find that someone is selling it to people as “vintage clothing.”
?- What would be more applicable is if you decided to dedicate part of your home to housing unwed mothers?
And you find out that someone is renting it out as an AirBnB
Jesus reminded the Jewish leaders of a major purpose of the temple – to be a light to the nations,
We need to recognize that God has us in relationships to be a light.
We must live in our relationships as if their not our relationships
Their God’s relationships to use as He sees fit.
Your church family is not yours to do with as you please.
We are God’s temple together
* Ephesians 2:12–22 remember that you [Gentiles] were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope
and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
We’re to make use of our church lives to glorify God – walking in obedience and encouraging others to.
It can be very tempting to see a guest walking through the door and think, “how do we get them to stay?”
The question that we always want to be asking is, “How can we best love this person?”
“How does God want to be glorified in this person’s life?”
In the same way, your body is not yours to do with as you please.
Your body is God’s temple.
* 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
We’re to live in these bodies for God’s glory – not using them as we see fit for our own purposes.
People are God’s creation.
Relationships with people are given to us to honor God with not to use for our own purposes.
Pivot –
Matthew takes his narrative from Jesus brining down the gavel on the temple to the fig tree.
And in doing so, Matthew is telling us what it is that’s wrong with the Jewish nation – no fruit
From v. 18-22, I hope that you’ll -
2. Let Jesus Show You the Importance of Fruit.
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”
21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
The fruit that God was looking for from the Court of the Gentiles was “Gospel glory”
God intended that His people would be a light to the nations
Isaiah reminded Israel of their purpose
* Isaiah 42:6 6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
Peter tells us that the church is to be used for the same purpose
* 1 Peter 2:9 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Gospel glory = the fruit that God seeks from His redeeming work
Jesus shows us the importance of fruit in that -
2a. Gospel glory is what He’s looking for.
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”
It’s hard to know if the fig tree is abnormal for not having fruit on it.
Some writers speak to the idea that there should’ve been premature figs with the leaves
Mark tells us that it wasn’t the season for figs.
Either way, we know that Jesus is illustrating a principle.
And, as the creator of the fig tree, He’s using it for His purpose
The parable is representative of the Jewish nation.
They were intended to bear fruit.
The fruit that was expected was to receive their Messiah and be a light to the Gentiles
Their Messiah shows up and is ignored – His welcome is dismissed as an annoyance/blasphemy.
The Messiah judges the use of the temple as lacking and corrupt.
And, like the fig tree, the disapproval of the Messiah means the nation is judged unfruitful.
From the teaching moment that Jesus creates with this living parable, we see -
2b. Gospel glory is what we should be praying for.
21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
We need to avoid the temptation to take what Jesus says here as a formula.
We wouldn’t take what Jesus says about infants and decide that we should consider them theologians.
In the same way, we should NOT take what Jesus says about prayer and treat it like a recipe for getting God to do what we want.
We’ve seen these statements before regarding faith.
In Matthew, faith is a relationship of practical trust on the part of the person praying.
And that trust needs to be in the amazing power of God to do what He pleases
The issue with the fig tree is a matter of bearing fruit which the Jewish nation had failed at
Rather than maintaining a house of prayer where prayers of faith were offered.
It had become a place where men scraped and clawed to make a living off those who came to worship.
How might Jesus’ disciples be different?
By walking by faith, offering prayers of faith, watching God bear fruit that seemed impossible.
When we lived in WI, we had apple trees in our backyard… I mowed apples every year.
Fruit trees aren’t for looking pretty – usually pretty gnarly
They’re not for providing shade – branches low to the ground
They’re for producing fruit.
There’s some things that need to be done to help them produce better fruit.
Deal with worm laying insects.
Prune off all branches that go straight up.
Pick off some of the immature fruits, spacing them about 8″ apart on the branches.
?- Who gets to define what should be expected from a tree? – the owner, planter, keeper
* John 15:1–5 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Conclusion - Let King Jesus Reset the Scales of Justice
