Matthew 21:12-17 Jesus Cleanses the Temple
”Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and 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 babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”
Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.”
Well! As if the disciples are not already thoroughly embarrassed and wondering what will happen next, Jesus is about to REALLY embarrass them. You see, people can’t just offer any old money in the temple but must offer temple money and perfect animals. Over the years, many men have established businesses right in the temple to “help” the worshipers. Of course, these guys are raking in money by employing crooked exchange rates and selling animals at a high profit. In addition, some of those animals might not even be as perfect as they are represented; nevertheless, the priests have allowed these foul practices to flourish on temple property. The result is that rather than there being a holy hush, the temple sounds like any marketplace with goats and sheep baa-ing, cattle lowing, and doves cooing. But today is the last day this situation will exist, for Jesus the Messiah has come to town.
Before anybody realizes what’s happening, Jesus strides into the temple and begins tossing aside money changing tables and driving out animals. “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Jesus cries. Emboldened by Jesus’ presence, the lame and the blind come to him in the temple, something they are normally not allowed to do, and Jesus heals them. The priests and scribes are scandalized! The nerve of this fellow! How dare he disrupt the normal activities of the temple? How dare he allow these imperfect people to enter, even if he is healing them?
To make matters even worse, children have entered the temple and are crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” CHILDREN? Now the priests are truly offended. What are these wretched kids doing here anyway? Where are their parents and why aren’t those parents controlling them?
Indignantly, the priests confront Jesus. “Do You hear what these are saying?”
Jesus replies, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?” The religious authorities are speechless and the disciples are humiliated but also gloating. After years of watching the abuses in the temple, today the disciples suddenly realize what God has intended to happen all along.
Sometimes being a disciple means defending Jesus even when he drags us into embarrassing situations. Face it, nobody likes to appear stupid. In all the years that the disciples have visited the temple in Jerusalem, they have secretly grieved over the mess that has developed; however, never in their wildest dreams have they imagined that Jesus might confront the religious authorities and come out on top. While the disciples are pleased that Jesus has taken such bold steps, they may also fear that they will never be allowed to enter the temple again. Those priests are nothing if not vindictive and they are carefully taking names of everyone present.
Discipleship means abandoning our own reputations to preserve the reputation of Jesus. Some disciples have found themselves in prisons witnessing to the very people who have murdered family members and maintaining active correspondence with those people. One lady doctor who fled Cuba later found herself mailing medicines to the very man who persecuted her family and tried to keep her from leaving for America. That’s the problem with becoming a disciple: we must take orders from Jesus rather than following our desires.
In the 1950’s a small-town preacher from a coal mining town in Pennsylvania found himself in one of the most dangerous parts of New York City witnessing to gang members. The story is told in the book The Cross and the Switchblade. David Wilkerson not only led gang members to Christ, but one of his first converts, Nicky Cruz, became a world-famous evangelist in his own right. Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge, one of the most effective programs for those seeking to escape drug and alcohol addictions. Wilkerson was well aware of how foolish he appeared when he arrived in New York and how likely it was that he would be slaughtered; yet, he persevered and God worked miracles.
Perhaps today God is calling you to do something embarrassing. God wants you to get out of your comfort zone. Do it! For if you don’t you will never know how many miracles you might miss.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to surrender our comfort zones to You, realizing that You are the One from whom we must take orders. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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