Let's go to the temple with Jesus
Let’s Go to the Temple with Jesus
Text: Matt. 21: 1 – 17
Here in front of us, a narrative of Jesus’ “Triumphant Entry” into Jerusalem. We all have seen in the movies and videos how people welcomed Jesus. There is an excitement in the air: people are singing, waving arms and palm branches. So we call today a “Palm Sunday.” We celebrate Jesus entering into Jerusalem as He was ordained to come. Most of the commentators title this section as the “Triumphant Entry.” Many times, we are puzzled with questions that are associated with this narrative; were there two donkeys, colt and mother, or just one? Did Jesus prearrange to pay for the donkeys? Was there a one cleansing of the temple or two? Has this taken place on Sunday or Monday? Questions like these distract us from main message of the narrative.
It was Dec. 17, 1903, cold windy winter day, after many years of research and bruises and broken ribs, a history was made. A man has flown with a primitive airplane, 36.5m for 12 seconds at a speed of 10.9 km/h by Orville Wright, one of the Wright brothers.
“After Wilbur and Orville made their history-making flight at Kitty Hawk, N[orth] C[arolina]. on Dec. 17, 1903, they wrote home about it and added they’d be home in a few days. Their letter reached a Dayton newspaper which headlined the story, “Prominent Local Bicycle Merchants to be Home for Christmas.”[1]
Dayton Newspaper totally missed the history making incident.
So it is with this narrative, if we are not careful we miss very important message Matthew tries to convey. Please open your Bible to Matt. 21.
There are 2 entries in verses 1 to 17. One is Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (vss. 1 – 11) and one is to the temple (vss. 12 – 17). So now, first, let’s look at the entry into Jerusalem. The Passover is just around the corner and people are busy preparing for the sacrifices. When Jesus came near to Jerusalem, He commanded two of disciples to go and get the donkeys. Vs. 4 - This is to fulfill the prophecy of Zachariah 9: 9. Let’s look at how Matthew viewed this.
I. Humble King and people’s expectations vss. 1 – 11
Throughout the narrative there is a conflict between God’s plan and human plan. Jesus knew all along what people’s expectations were. Until this time He concealed His identity. But this time He made His identity public: He is the King of the Jews. Behind the scene, God carried His plan, overriding the people’s expectations to fulfill the great plan of salvation for the mankind. Let’s look at how God planned Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem through Matthew’s eye. Look at the verse 5. “Say to the daughter of Zion” is a quotation from Isa. 62: 11 and the rest is a direct quotation from Zachariah 9: 9.
I would suggest that you get together with other person, the one keeps the Bible open to Matt. 21 and other person opens to the Zachariah 9:9. Can you do that? Please compare what it says in Zachariah and in Matt. You would notice that Matthew omits part of Zachariah 9: 9. What are they? “Rejoice Greatly, O daughter of Zion!” and “He is just and endowed with salvation.” Why does Matthew do that? There are two reasons. One is that Jesus’ heart was filled with sorrow. He wept for Jerusalem for their hardness of their hearts not accepting God’s messengers in the past (Luke 19:41). So how could He speak to the people of Jerusalem to “Rejoice greatly?” Second, Jesus came to receive the justice of the Father by hanging on the cross. He will not come with justice and to restore Israel until His second coming (Matt. 23: 39, Rev. 19: 11 – 21). So His heart was filled with sadness, knowing Israel will reject God’s wonderful provision of grace. See, Matthew tries to convey that Jesus came as a representative of the sinners, not to receive the Crown but the Cross. Until He receives the judgment of God on the cross there is no rejoicing or salvation. As a humble King who will hang on the cross for the mankind, that the “Triumphant Entry” is only in a paradoxical sense. But, off course, people would not see that.
Vss. 8, 9 - They are in procession through the street of Jerusalem in front of Him and at back as if they are leading this Son of David to where they wanted Him to be. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, God lead them with a pillar of cloud at day and a pillar of fire at night. When the Egyptians pressed them against the Red Sea, God looked down in the pillar of fire and of cloud and confused the Egyptian. The pillar of fire and cloud are the symbol of God’s presence (Exd. 14: 24). Thus, God lead Israel with his own presence to the Promised Land. But here, people, at front and back of Jesus, lead the Son of God to what they thought Jesus should be, their earthly king who can deliver them from the hand of Romans. This is a vivid picture of people’s expectation against God’s plan. But God had a different plan; a plan to redeem His people from the power of sin. Jesus could ride on the horse and claim His Royal throne but He rode on the donkey so humble and meek, knowing people’s expectations were contrary to His Father’s.
Vs. 10- Those who were not familiar with Jesus in Jerusalem asked: Who is this?
“This is the Son of David, Promised Messiah who will save us from the power of sin. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Is that how people answered? Look at the verse 11. “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” These verses 10 and 11 are not in the other Synoptic Gospels: Mark and Luke (cf John 6: 14). Why did Matthew insert these verses? To the Jews, Nazareth is a town of insignificance, mixed with the Gentiles and was despised by the urban Jews. Do you remember when Philip met Jesus in John 1: 46, Nathanael said to Philip, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” and Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
In Matt. 2: 23 - Jesus was called “Nazarene.” So the prophet of God and Nazareth just don’t mix. But there are so many who followed Jesus from Galilee for the occasion. They heard what Jesus said and saw what he did. They were saying to the effect, “You think Nazareth is insignificant and you people look down on us, but here is Jesus the mighty prophet of God who can heal the sick, multiply the bread and cast out the demons! Yes, he is from Nazareth!” People had their own ideas of Jesus. Who is Jesus to you? Is He the Lord and Savior of your life? Or someone who can give you jolts to fulfill your own plans and dreams so that you can live a happy life.
Illustration: The other day I was watching CBC news (04 Mar. ’08) and it featured Evangelical movement in Thailand after the Tsunami: Predominantly a Buddhism country. There are so many Christian organizations out there preaching the Gospel but what saddened my heart was that some of them are offering money and promise of prosperity to lure them into the church. One person was interviewed and he said, “There is no more Tsunami. It is guaranteed, no more Tsunami, because I believe in God.”
Jer. 5: 12 says, “They have lied about the Lord and said, “Not He;
Misfortune will not come on us, And we will not see sword or famine.”
Who is Jesus to you? God is gracious to those who trust in Him and believe whatever God does is good and perfect and acceptable. Jesus is not a cheerleader who stands along side and encourages you to fulfill your personal dreams and desires. But He is the author of faith to walk beside you to give you strength, courage, and power to fulfill the will of the Father in your life.
II. Healing King and people’s response vss. 12 – 17
Vs. 12 - Then Jesus went into the Temple and cast out all 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. Those who lived far from Jerusalem had hard times bringing their animals to Jerusalem. God allowed them to sell those animals and when they arrived Jerusalem, they purchased the equivalent animals. Here at Jerusalem, merchants took advantage of worshipers and charged 10 times for the same animal and insisted to use temple currency and charged phenomenal fee for exchange of money. Such injustice is wrong in the world, let alone in the temple of God. Jesus quotes from Isa. 56: 7 and Jer. 7: 11 to rebuke them, “My house shall be called a house of prayers; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” Temple was built so that man can commune with God. When we read the dedicatory prayer of Solomon when he built the temple, in I Kings 8: 28 – 53, (it’s quite long so we won’t read it now but if you have time please read,) you would notice the word, “pray” many times. The primary purpose of the temple was to commune with the God of all creation. But Jews turned it into a charm and source of false confidence; meaning, as long as the temple is there, God will bless and protect Israel. It is the place of prayer, confession of sins and praise of God. It is the place of forgiveness and healing. It is the place of worship. Verses 14 to 16, again it is found only in Matthew. It describes the contrast between sinners and religious people.
Vs. 14 - The blind and lame came to Jesus in the temple and what does Jesus do? He healed them. It is said that blinds and lames were not allowed to enter the temple (2 Sam. 5: 8). But that what exactly happened. In spite of oppositions by the religious leaders, they came into the temple and the presence of Jesus made the demand of the regulation strangely silent. Lame and blinds are considered to be curse bearers. They were despised and something to be avoided. They were symbol of sin. Jesus came to heal sin sickness. He came to bear the sin of the world as His own. He became the curse and became utter sin. Religious leaders did not understand that. Let me expand this a little.
See Jesus came as a suffering Messiah, representing the sinners. In order to understand Jesus entry into the temple, we must understand about the temple.
Please turn your Bible to Gen. 2: 8.
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
Here we see, God planted a garden in the east. I don’t know where the point of reference is. But it was the Garden of Eden. This East is the picture of God’s blessings and bliss. Gen. 3: 24 -But when man sinned God drove them out to the east of garden and He placed an angel with flaming sword.
Gen. 4: 16 -When Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, he settled in the east of Eden. Gen. 11: 2- When people moved to settle after the flood, they journeyed east and settled in the land of Shinar and built tower of Babel (11: 4).
See “East” in Genesis is a picture of man’s rebellion against God.
[So Japan “the land of the rising sun” is the worst of sinners. Just kidding!]
Do you know which direction the temple faced? You are right! There is only one door into the temple. It faced East as if God is waiting with opened arms for the sinners to return to Him. Do you know which way Jesus came in to the temple? You are right, from East. As a sin bearer, Jesus came from East to die on the Cross. To this temple Jesus came but what was happening. This is the reason; Jesus cleansed the temple to reclaim His house to a rightful place. I would think Jesus went into the temple to offer a prayer of sinners just as the publican in Luke 18: 9-17 did. His prayer might be like this:
Father, I came just as you told me to. I am here to bear the sins of the world. My heart is broken to see people whom You love; They ignore You and live in their own strength and running away from You. It hurts to see Your heart hurts. It hurts to see hurting people who don’t know Your grace and truth. Please forgive them for they don’t know what they do. I came to do Your will, Father, and I made known to them that You sent Me. Oh, Father, it is unbearable to take all the sins of the world upon Me. But I know there is no other way to save them. Oh, My Father, My soul has become troubled. Shall I pray to remove this cup from Me? For this purpose You sent Me into the world. Father, glorify Your
name. Your will be done. Amen!
There is not much emphasis on “Sin” now a-days. Without the understanding
of sin there is no understanding of the Gospel nor the Grace.
The other day in our Sunday school, a teacher asked a question: What do you think of when you hear the word “Heaven?” There were many different answers. Of course there is no right and wrong answers. Some said a “street of gold.” The other said, “Fellowship” and another said, “Joy.” All of them are wonderful about heaven. But have you ever thought that in heaven, there is absolutely no sin? Sinless world. It is impossible for us to imagine such a world since all of our actions are some degree tainted by sin. But isn’t it wonderful to know there is a sinless world waiting for us?
There are at least 3 groups of people appear in this narrative: Those who followed Jesus from different parts of Palestine. They have heard what Jesus said, and witnessed what Jesus did but did not have clue that Jesus came to heal sin sickness. They wanted to follow Jesus so that they can get something. And there are those who may have heard about Jesus but didn’t know enough to say we know Him: Those religious people in Jerusalem. They were offended when children praised Jesus (vs. 15). They are so picky and demanding. Their concern is for themselves not for the glory of God. Then those who knew they were sinners and needed help from Jesus: Blind and lame. They are also represented by the children. Jesus once said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight” (Luke 10: 21).
Which group do you think you belong to?
Jesus came to die on the cross. He came as a representative of sinners and He demonstrated the way we should return to God. This is not the king the world seeks. This is not the Savior this world looks for. The world looks for a persuasive, politically wise and economically competent man. But the King of the sinners is completely different (John 18: 36). He is a humble King who came to die on the cross for our sins. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus says, come unto me and walk with me to the temple where you find the Father’s provision. Let’s go to the temple with Jesus. There is no other way to solve sin problem. Where are you? Are you still in the east? Who is Jesus to you? God is waiting for you. Let’s go to the Temple with Jesus.
Illustration: When you study the painting of the crucifixion by the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt, your attention is first drawn to the cross and to Jesus. Then, as you look at the crowd around the cross, you are drawn to the faces of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes drifted to the edge of the picture and catch sight of another figure--almost hidden in the shadows. This, we are told, was a self -portrait of Rembrandt, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus there!
Do you see yourself among the crowd?
Let’s pray.
Eyes are closed and no one looking around. Jesus came to die for your sin. Jesus came to Jerusalem with broken heart. This sinless man, the Son of God, returned from East and wish you to come with Him. Whatever your sin is, with opened arm He is waiting for you. Do you carry a heavy burden, tormented with the guilt of sin? You try hard to get rid of it but it seems sin is winning. Jesus understands that. Jesus identified with you. That’s the meaning of Palm Sunday. He took your sin on that cross and received punishment for you. Is Jesus speaking to you? If you decided to go to the temple with Jesus and pray a prayer of sinner, please, raise your hand. I want to pray with you.
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[1]Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.