Authority at the Temple
Matthew 21:12-27
Harry Stoliker
February 28, 2010 EBC
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In Matthew's gospel we have now reached Chapter 21 and the Passion
Week, the last week of Jesus' life on earth. We can call
this passage: Messiah Exercises Authority in Jerusalem.
"It is the first time in the Synoptics (except for the childhood
visit in Lk.2), that Jesus and his disciples come to the Jewish capital,
the site of the temple which was the earthly focus of
the religion of Israel. We cannot underestimate the significance of
the Temple to the Jews in Jesus' day. The visit is brief. All the narrative of 21:1-28:15
appears to cover a period of only about a week, focused on the Passover
festival which takes place as its climax and in the account of which Jesus will
be executed." What Jesus had predicted in Chap. 16, 17, and 20
about his death will at last take place. "The shadow of those events has fallen
across the whole of the journey narrative in Chaps. 16-20"
(RT France ).
The main question here is about Jesus' authority. Ever
since he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the question has been
by what authority does he act out this openly messianic gesture
of riding in like a self-proclaimed king? By what authority
does He cleanse the temple? By what authority does He
confront the Jerusalem leaders? By what authority does He speak a
series of parables that accentuate the difference between
the discredited leadership of the Jewish chief priests and the new
authority of Messiah?
21:1-11 is the story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry, the beginning
of Passion Week. We look at that text every Palm Sunday, so I will leave
it for then and pick up the story in the next 3 sections: V.12-17
Jesus at the Temple – V.18-22 The Withered Fig Tree -
V.23-27 The Authority of Jesus Questioned. using key words:
We have the Cleansing of the Temple (12-17); the Cursing of
the Fig Tree (18-22); the Confrontation with the chief priests/elder
(19-27). In doing Bible study, I try to get a clear picture of WHAT IS HAPPENING
in the text. Key words help us get that clear picture. Next, I look
for…
The central connecting theme: The Authority of Jesus.
We see Jesus exert His authority "in the temple"; he
exerts His authority "over nature"; he exerts His authority "against
His opponents."
The primary lesson from each section: Section 1: A lesson in purity.
We are God's house/temple/church – it is to be a place of prayer (and
all that prayer signifies, and not a place of selfish gain or extortion);
Section 2: A lesson in power. The fig tree teaches us the power of prayer
Section 3: A lesson in position/prerogative. Jesus was in the superior
position in the arguments by virtue of who he was and
how brilliant He was to turn the tables on them.
I. Jesus at the Temple: he shows His authority over the temple in 3 ways:
by cleansing and restoring the purpose of the temple,
by healing the blind and the lame, and by accepting
worship as the Son of David! Jesus acts like the temple is His
and He is God. The Temple was the focus of the religious life of
the nation of Israel; it was the symbol of national identity
and pride. It has been rebuilt and enlarged by Herod the Great on
a scale to match its patriotic significant (France). One rabbi wrote
some time later remembering the temple: "It used to be said: He who has not seen
the temple of Herod has never seen a beautiful building."
Jesus going into the temple on the heels of his triumphant entry was
significant to the alert onlooker. He goes in "not as a worshipper
but as the Messianic king to purge it of practices that mocked its
divinely intended purpose" (Hagner) There was a deep hope
that Jerusalem and the temple would be purified by Messiah. Ezekiel
40-48 spoke of a new and purified temple. Zechariah 6:12-13 "And
say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch:
for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and
shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne,
and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." Messiah is the
Branch, the Root of Jesse who builds and purifies the true temple
of God.
V.12 Jesus enters the Court of the Gentiles, the large outer
courtyard where anyone could go, as long as they didn't go into the restricted
area where only the priest were allowed to sacrifice.
This courtyard was roughly 33 acres in size and surrounded the temple
building and inner courts.
What was the issue that so aggravated Jesus? Remember, now, Jesus
never sinned when he tip over the tables and threw the
moneychangers and buyers out. The main issue was that they were
defiling the Temple by changing its focus from prayer to business.
The main issue wasn't necessarily the corrupt exchange rate that was
being charged to the people. The main issue in the text is the misuse of God's
house.
If we think about how this might apply to our situation we'd have
to say that God doesn't want the purpose of His New Covenant Temple
changed either. What is the NC Temple? 1 Cor. 3:16-17 "Don't
you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred,
and you are that temple." The pronouns here are plural indicating
the church as a whole. God lives in the NC Temple, the Church, by
His Spirit who indwells us.
1 Cor. 6:19 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you
were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." The purpose of
the Church is prayer, which is communion with the Father. That results
in witness to the world. He has called us into fellowship with Himself
(1 Cor. 1:9). The church is to be a place of prayer,
communion with God, a place of honest transparency before
the eyes of God who examines our hearts. To make it ANYTHING else
is to defile it. It is to be a place of cleansing our souls, healing the sick,
both physically and spiritually sick, and wholehearted worship of God.
Look at V.15 "But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the
wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna
to the Son of David," they were indignant. "Do you hear what these
children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,"
'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'.
Jesus clearly accepts the praise given him by the children who are
shouting the messianic title "Son of David!" The chief priests
wanted him to shut them up and rebuke them for praising
Him as Messiah. But Jesus says they were doing exactly what Scripture
said would happen! God was going to be praised by children because
He "ordained it" – He determined that it would happen. Jesus is saying
that the praise that was ordained by God for Himself is appropriately
given to Him as Messiah! There are many places in the NT where Jesus
takes to Himself praise an honor that in the context of the OT was given to Yahweh,
which clearly shows that He was self conscious of his own divinity.
II. The Withered Fig Tree: V.18-22
What's happening here? What is the main issue? What is the lesson
we should learn? Jesus left Jerusalem, spent the night a few miles away in Bethany
and came back to Jerusalem the next day.
He gets hungry and wants to eat some figs from a tree, but the tree
is full of leaves but has no fruit. He curses the tree and it withers
immediately. That alone shows his power and authority over nature.
But this was more than just a demonstration of raw power.
What this cursing is, is a prophetic sign that points to a far more
grievous barrenness, the barrenness of Israel. It is a
foreshadowing of the withering of Israel because of
its rebellion against God. Israel did not produce fruit
and would lose the kingdom. Look at V.43"Therefore I tell you
that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people
who will produce its fruit."Fruit represented the kind of behavior
God wanted from His people.Figs and grapesare used in theOT in judgment
languageon Israel. Jer. 8:13 "I will take away their harvest, declares
the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree
and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them."
The disciples are utterly astonished at the demonstration of power
and don't see the prophetic significance of what happened. So Jesus
uses the incident to challenge their faith in V.21. He
tells them and us that if we have faith and do not doubt we will see
impossible things happen. The moving of mountains was
a common metaphor of the day to talk about what is impossible for
man; like pulling a camel through the eye of a needle. What's the
point? Jesus tells them how to be fruitful.
In and through prayers of faith that are submitted to God's will,
there is miraculous power to live a fruitful Christian life.
Oh, if we only believed this and purified our prayers
from selfishness. What is your prayer life like my Christian friend?
Are you asking God for great things for His Kingdom in faith? Cry
out for more and more faith in your prayer life.
III. The Authority of Jesus Questioned: V.23-27
This is the last display of Jesus authority in our passage this morning.
The first display was the purification of the Temple,
reestablishing the true purpose for God's house. The second display
of authority was his power over nature and His promise to make prayer
of faith accomplish the impossible.
What is happening in this last section? Jesus isn't just being evasive
in sidestepping the question of the religious leaders because he didn't
feel obligated to. It is very much deeper than that. What is happening
is the exposing of the hearts of the Jewish leaders.
We see this by the non-answer the leaders gave. Why didn't they
want to answer Jesus' question about where John the Baptist's baptism
came from, was it by God's authority or only man's
authority. The bottom line reason they didn't want to show their
true colors – which was to reject John the Baptist – was that they feared
the people. They didn't want to antagonize the crowd and further weaken
their leadership status or get beat up by a mob
of angry people (Hagner).
The lesson: If you don't have a heart that recognizes the
fundamental authority of Jesus Christ as King of Kings
and Lord of Lords, you will not be given the truth. God reveals
His authority, glory, and majesty to humble, obedient, worshipper
of the Son of David. John 7:17 "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will
find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."
These Jewish leaders had hard hearts. No one demands anything
from Jesus in this heart condition. We all must come to the Son of David with
humble hearts.
So, here is the overview of all this passage teaches us: (1)
We are the temple of God that He wants to be a house of prayer,
intimate communion, healing and worship. He as absolute authority
to make this happen, and we should never bring into this house of prayer any attitudes
that inhibit its proper design. (2) We should ask for and
expect incredibly impossible answers to prayer when we pray in faith.
Expect nothing less. Prayers that don't exercise great faith for
great miracles are not pleasing to God. (3) When we come to Jesus
Christ, we don't come demanding that He explain Himself to our satisfaction.
He has supreme authority and will reveal what he wants to us, when
he wants to reveal it. If we are ready and eager to obey what is revealed
to us, then we will receive much more understanding, insight and wisdom.
These are deep and profound lessons. I want you to think about them
more this afternoon and examine your own hearts to see what applies
directly to where you are in your walk with Christ at this point in your life.
Let's pray.