In the Temple
Scripture: Matthew 21:1-17
Text: Matthew 21:14-16
I imagine most of you know that when a pastor begins to develop a message, most pastors - at least most that I know - they BEGIN with the text. Before they get into all kinds of commentaries and extra-biblical sources, they look at the source itself. Read it, meditate on it, let it wash over them (if you will).
And just like most other weeks, that is exactly what I did this week. I read this text that we’ve just read. It’s the story, whether in this gospel or the other three, that we call Jesus’ triumphal entry. Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem now allowing everyone to declare who he really is, (he hadn’t done that before) - then in three of the four gospels there is what we call the “Cleansing of the Temple” - John puts this story at the beginning of his gospel. But he does record it, nevertheless.
On Monday this week, I read Matthew 21:1-17. And as I read it, the three verses of our text stood out to me. Verses 14-16. As I read the passage of scripture, I realized God had given me the title of the message, “In the Temple.” Now, it’s not usually a good idea to have your title first, but that’s what happened.
“In the Temple.” Verse 14 says, “The lame and the blind came to him, “in the temple.” Verse 15 tells us the religious leaders saw the miracles and heard the children praising God, “in the temple.”
Well, I knew I was on my way! There was a great message in this text and I needed just to dig it out. Discover what it was. What I didn’t know, was how difficult that discovery would be.
I got out my study Bibles, and I got out 4 or 5 commentaries. I went on-line and looked at a couple of reputable on-line commentaries and what I discovered was, not a message, but that nobody really mentions these verses!
Not to any great extent. They may mention that verse 16 is from Psalm 8:2, or they might make a comment or two about the lame and the children being in the outer court of the temple, but there was really nothing of any great significance that I saw in my research about these three verses.
What I DID learn however, is that Matthew often condensed the stories he wrote about Jesus. We all likely know that Luke was detail oriented and if you want the complete story of one of the stories in the gospel, you’d be best to go to Luke. But Luke doesn’t mention the lame and the children, and John doesn’t either. Nor does Mark. So why did Matthew?
And then of course, I thought I must have mis-read what God was telling me, because if I couldn’t find any sources on these verses, how am I ever expected to develop a message from them?
Well I think Matthew, and GOD, had a reason for those verses being included. I think there was a reason, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Matthew wrote these words. And it really doesn’t matter that the focus in all the commentaries I came across was on the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple and not on these lame people and the children. Why?
Because it’s significant to me that if Matthew is one who is KNOWN to condense his writing of the stories of Jesus, there must be something of significance to be learned from these verses, because they were deliberately mentioned - he didn’t condense this story. He actually made it more detailed than the other writers.
Here’s what God showed me this week. Turn back in Matthew to Matthew 9:9. While you’re doing that, tell me who Matthew was.
Do you remember who Matthew was? What did he do? Yes! Matthew was the tax collector! He was despised for his occupation. He was one of the disreputable sinners that the Pharisees couldn’t abide Jesus hanging out with.
Look at Matthew 9:9 and following. Jesus called Matthew and Matthew got up and followed him. Then later, Matthew had a dinner for Jesus and he invited a bunch of his tax collector friends, and the Bible says, through Matthew!! (Matthew is writing this) “other disreputable sinners.” But Jesus’ response when the Pharisees got after Jesus for going to dinner at Matthew’s place, is wonderful. And I can’t help but think these were words that Matthew would never ever forget. He has just given his life to follow Jesus and the first thing that happens is that he is criticized by the church people - the religious ones. I’m sure Matthew felt great about inviting Jesus to dinner and he invited a bunch of his friends, - maybe he’s thinking Jesus would do for them what Jesus did for him - and then whammo! - he’s feeling good - he thinks he’s doing something really special for Jesus and for his friends, and the church people come along and insult Jesus! The guy he just left everything to follow. But listen to what Jesus said:
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor - sick people do.” And then Jesus added insult to injury! He told the church people - the ones who were supposed to know the scripture - he told, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: “I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices. For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Wow! Now keep that in mind - what Jesus said there when Matthew first followed Jesus, and go back to our text for today.
“The blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them.” And the children in the temple were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David!”
I think these are parallel passages. And I think it could only happen in Matthew’s gospel and through Matthew’s life. For the very reason that Matthew was a disreputable sinner before he met Jesus!
Prostitutes were thought better of than tax collectors!
But see, there are a few things here that are so important.
Timothy tells us that ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God and is good for learning. ALL of it. And I think this is what we learn from this little section of scripture here that is so often missed on Palm Sunday.
Let’s look at the parallels first and then we’ll do some application.
1. Matthew was a sinner. (9:9) There was sin in the temple. (21:13)
Matthew was the worst kind of sinner according to his culture. Exploiting his own people - the Jews. But I believe the very fact that Matthew was such a BAD sinner - at least in the eyes of the world, and himself, is the ONLY reason, these verses could have been written by Matthew, and the ONLY reason we have such great lessons from them today.
Now look at 21: - The merchants, and even the priests, were exploiting the people. The merchants were charging more to exchange coins than they were worth, and even the priests were telling the people that the animals they had brought with them, for sacrifice, were blemished, or unacceptable in some way, so they would have to buy from the merchants. They were exploiting the people. It was a racket - and a lot of people were in on it, right from the top on down.
2. Matthew made room for Jesus. (9:9) Jesus made room in the Temple. (21:12)
When Jesus called Matthew to follow him, Matthew left his lively-hood - his tax collection job, and followed Jesus. He LEFT BEHIND the sin, the exploitation of the people.
In the temple, when Jesus turned over the tables of the merchants, he cleansed the temple. Practically every English Bible you read today, will have a subheading over this section of scripture, that says, “Jesus cleanses the temple.”
3. Matthew invited his friends to meet Jesus. (9:10) Jesus invited the sick and lame into the temple. (21:14)
Matthew gave a dinner for Jesus and invited his friends. Because of Matthew’s connection with Jesus, Matthew now had the amazing privilege of inviting his friends to meet Jesus.
And in the temple, now that the merchants are gone, there is room for the Gentiles, the sinners, the non-Jewish people to finally pray and worship. And not only that, but the lame and children come into the temple. Now that’s very significant because sick people were not allowed into the temple, not even the outer court where the Gentiles were allowed to worship, and children were not allowed in there either, and yet here we have the sick and lame, and the children being received by Jesus, IN THE TEMPLE.
4. They insulted Jesus because of Matthew. (9:11). The insulted Jesus in the temple (21:15c,16)
In Matthew 9, the religious people ask Jesus’ disciples why he eats with notorious sinners - my Bible says, “such scum.” They insulted Jesus and they really insulted the people he was with. But the people Jesus was with KNEW they were sinners! The ones who were criticizing Jesus THOUGHT they were righteous.
And the very same thing happened “in the temple” - the religious uppity ups get after Jesus like he’s dumb. They say, “Can’t you hear these kids!!! Shut them up!!”
And what does Jesus do? In both cases,
5. Jesus rebukes the church people for not knowing the scriptures. (9:13; 21:16b)
In both cases, Jesus tells the religious people they don’t know their Bible. Jesus tells them to go away and study the scripture so they know what it really says.
So how do we apply this?
How does this apply to us today?
Here’s the deal!!
Look at the fives points.
1. Sin exploits people.
Sin will do that to you. Sin will always tell you that what you’ve brought to Jesus is no good, so you’d better buy into something else and then you’ll be okay and you’ll end up paying more for it than you should. Salvation is free, but the devil is always going to try to make you think you have to pay for it.
A newspaper notice one day said this, “Bob, all is found out. Leave town immediately.” The next day there were no Bob’s to be found ANYWHERE in that town.
Why? Because the devil made Bob think he had to pay for his salvation.
Folks, we bear the consequences of our sins, there’s no getting around that. Broken marriages, estranged children, financial struggles, hurt relationships. Those are the consequences of sin. But never, ever, ever, do we have to pay for our salvation. Never do we have to be good enough to be saved. Never, do we have to be afraid that someone might find out what we did in the past, once we give our lives to Christ.
There is therefore, now NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And if you are IN Christ Jesus and you are doing the best you can to live a godly life, any church that claims to be a God-fearing church better not condemn you either. And if they do - get out of it.
2. Clear out the crude.
When Matthew followed Jesus, he left his dirty business practices behind him. And when Jesus came into the temple, he cleared out the stuff the was in there that shouldn’t have been in there. And that’s what we have to do to. You can’t follow Jesus and not FOLLOW Jesus. There are too many people today, in churches, who call themselves Christians, who are not following Jesus. A Christian, is literally, a Christ-follower. I know I say this a lot, but folks, you CANNOT follow the ways of the world, do the things the world does, look like the world looks, and expect Christ to shine through in your life so that others see Jesus in you. It’s not going to happen! The glass is dirty. When we give our lives to Christ, he washes us clean and if we turn around and start filling our lives with the same old things Jesus just cleansed us from, we get dirty!
We have to make room in our lives for what is best, not what we can get away with. Paul said, “all things are permissible for me, but not all things are expedient.” As Christians, we’re free! We can do whatever we want! As followers of Christ, there are simply a lot of things we just don’t want to do. And if we’re filling our lives with the Bible and spiritual hymns and fellowship of the believers, as they did in the New Testament church in Acts, then His Spirit will bear witness with ours that we are walking in holiness and uprightness before the Lord.
3. Invite people to meet Jesus.
Not just any people, although that says it all. But make room for the people that others don’t make room for. Invite people to meet Jesus.
If you have two friends, and one doesn’t know the other, but you know they would be good for each other - they could help each other. Say, one’s a librarian and one’s an avid reader and is looking for a particular book. Wouldn’t you make room for them to meet? Wouldn’t you invite the two of them for coffee or a meal, so they could meet.
See that’s basically what happened in Matthew’s life and in the temple. After Matthew had been with Jesus for a while, he had a dinner party and he invited a lot of his old friends, his buddies that also exploited people. He wanted them to meet Jesus.
And in the temple, Jesus made room for the sick and lame to come to him. He made room for miracle-watching and praise.
And I think the lesson here is that we’d better not get so cleaned up in our own eyes that we have no room for the sick and the lame. We’re so sure of our own righteousness that we don’t take time for miracle-watching.
We need to make room for people - real people.
Now notice too, though, Jesus didn’t violate anything about the temple when he cleared the temple, when the sick and lame came to him and the children - it was all in the outer court. The outer court was for the Gentiles - the un-religious people. Jesus didn’t meet them in the Holy of holies. Jesus met them in the outer court. And that’s where we have to go to find the people Jesus wants us to reach. We have to leave the holy of holies and go into the outer court - out there - and overturn a few tables - to make room for the people who WANT to come to Jesus, to come.
The other thing this tells me is that we’d better keep plenty of room in God’s temple for an outer court. A place where people who are searching for God can come and find Him. Where the sick and the lame and the rowdy children can come and worship the best way they know how - because that’s the only place we’re going to see the miracles. See, WORSHIP takes place in the holy of holies - miracles happen in the outer court. And when miracles happen in the outer court, worship happens in the Sanctuary. Because the curtain is gone, the veil has been split, the sick and the lame are invited along with the children and the mature men and women of God, to worship Jesus. What a privilege we have been given to make room for people.
And when we do that?
4. Prepare for persecution.
Any time we make room for the unlovely. Any time we start turning over tables and clearing out the crude in our lives, there will be those, - and many of them will be church people - who will criticize. How do you handle the criticism that comes from being a true Christian - a Christ-follower? The same way Jesus did.
5. Know the scripture.
Both times when Jesus was criticized, Jesus told the religious people they didn’t know their Bible. The warning here is that THEY thought they DID know their Bible. But Jesus said they didn’t.
This is a sad but true statement. It’s the people who THINK they know the scripture, who will be the most likely ones to criticize you for your walk of faith. And Jesus is very clear with those kind of people. I can hear the sarcasm in his voice as he says it, “Don’t you know the scripture?” “Haven’t you ever read your Bible?”
God forbid that we get to the judgement day and cry out, “Lord! Lord!” And he says to us, “Didn’t you read my Word?” If you did, you’d have known. Depart from me. I never knew you.
Conclusion
We can all identify with Matthew. We are all sinners. Every one of us, at some time in our lives, have taken advantage of people - said or done something we shouldn’t have done. The question is, have we, like Matthew taken the time to see what is going on in the temple.
What goes on in the temple is very, very important. What goes on in the temple of our heart - our body. And what goes on in THIS temple - the facility we call “church.”
The temple of Matthew’s heart was full of love for people because he himself had been saved from the worst of sin. I think that’s why these 3 very significant verses are in Matthew’s gospel and not the others. Matthew, particularly, noticed people. And he would condense other parts of his writing, but he would never leave out the parts about people. People coming to Jesus.
Have we noticed that the sick and the lame are coming to meet Jesus, and have we made room for them in the temple? The temple of our hearts, and this physical temple.
Let’s be committed to do just that.
Prayer.
