Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.09UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.07UNLIKELY
Fear
0.12UNLIKELY
Joy
0.61LIKELY
Sadness
0.47UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.65LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.45UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.78LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.89LIKELY
Extraversion
0.27UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.69LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.77LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
This morning if you will turn back in your Bibles to .
This morning we are going to pick up in verse 12 and try to get through verses 22, and then return to verse 23-27 tonight, because they all really tie together.
And I say “try” because each of the parts of this passage could really have their own sermon.
And someday we may have to break them down a bit further.
But in this passage we are going to see three things take place.
First, in verses 12-17 we are going to see Jesus dealing with the money changers in the Temple.
Then in verses 13-22, Jesus is going to teach us a lesson of faith through a fig tree.
And finally, in verses 23-27, Jesus is going to deal with the Jews who were pretty much fed up with him at this point, which is what we will deal with tonight.
And it all really hinges on the last part of the passage, which also ties back to what we talked about last week.
On Sunday night we looked at Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem and how the people were praising Him and lifting Him up as their source of deliverance from the Romans.
And one of the key points from Sunday night was that even though they were praising Jesus they had no idea of who He really was.
In fact, one of the last things we read was them questioning who Jesus really was . . .
And their reply was . . .
Notice, that they identified Jesus as a “Prophet from Nazareth in Galilee,” but had no idea he was God in the Flesh.
No idea that His deliverance and salvation was from death, hell, and the grave, and had nothing to do with the Romans or any other government in the world.
His deliverance was from the hand of Satan and it was an eternal deliverance.
But they didn’t have a clue.
And they were happy and praising Jesus at this point because, as we mentioned last week, he hadn’t really challenged their core belief system on a grand level yet.
Yes, when he encountered individuals he challenged them, but as a society, as a people—Their moral code— Jesus hadn’t done that yet.
But all of that was about to change.
And this change also brought about a change in their attitude about Jesus.
Which is what we see begin to take place in our passage this morning.
So, if you have found in your Bibles stand with me if you are able.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Drive Them Out (vs 12-17)
Now, our narrative picks up in the city of Jerusalem and Jesus following Jewish custom and tradition visits the temple to worship.
In fact, since Jesus and the disciples had been gone for such a long time, this was probably the first place that they went.
And when they showed up they saw something, that disturbed at least Jesus.
Verse 12 again tells us that . . .
Matthew 21;
And remember the temple area is this big huge area with the temple and different courts around it with different things going on.
And one of the most profitable things that went on were the people who sat outside in the courtyard selling animals to be sacrificed.
Instead of bringing your own “best” to the sacrifice the Jews had just streamlined the process and decided to make a dollar as well.
Don’t worry about all of that command stuff, “we have everything you need right here!”
Need a bull, just buy it!
Need a dove, just buy it!
Which completely violated the whole premise of the “sacrifice.”
When God asks us to sacrifice, he doesn’t do it just because.
The sacrifice is meant to teach us something.
And we can’t just “pay somebody else to do it.”
For instance, if God has called you to sacrifice and be a missionary, you can’t just give some money to world missions instead.
That won’t cut it.
Also, think about it in terms of your salvation.
Many of these sacrifices were atoning sacrifices for their sins.
Which is why it had to be their “best” without spot or blemish.
You can’t buy that.
Just like you can’t buy your salvation.
If that was the case, every church in the United States would be filthy rich.
Because it is much easier to buy salvation than it is to place your faith in Jesus Christ, which is free.
People would snatch that up in a minute (and they try all the same).
But it will never work.
So, the first problem is the violation of God’s command by turning the sacrifice into a business.
The second problem here is the robbing of the people who are buying these animals, not only by those selling them, but also by these money-changers.
These were the guys who handled the exchange rates.
People would come to the temple in Jerusalem from all over, so they all had different types of money depending on where they were from.
It would be like people from the U.S., Mexico, Canada, England, and Russia all coming to the temple wanting to buy something.
Each would have their own currency, but to buy an animal, they had to use Israeli currency, so they would have to exchange it.
And what these guys were doing were charging huge fees just to exchange the currency, in effect ripping the people off.
And Jesus was not happy about all of this shady and crooked business going on in the temple.
So, he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves.
And this is the second time he did it also.
The first time he used whips to drive them out.
This time he ran them off.
And he tells them . . .
Matthew 21:
And the prophesy wasn’t just for them at that time.
That one is for all churches everywhere.
Because even today we have a lot of churches who have turned God’s house of prayer into a den of robbers.
Turned the church into a business.
A place where you can take in a good show and buy a little salvation.
And those churches, and their leaders will split hell wide open because they are leading people down a path of destruction.
It is a trap of Satan and we need to be very careful not to fall into it.
So, Jesus has cleaned out the temple area now and now . . .
Matthew 21:
But there were also people watching what was going on here.
They had been watching the Triumphant Entry.
They had been watching as he drove out the buyers, sellers, and money-changers.
They had been watching as he was healing people, showing the the mercy of God.
And they didn’t like what they saw.
Matthew 21
And you might as well say that they were jealous.
After all, who does this Jesus think he is, God!
So, they confront him . . . .
Matthew 21:
So, they were expecting a big debate from Jesus, but instead he gives them a simple answer and leaves them fuming.
Figs and Faith (vs 13-22)
And they spend the Night in Bethany.
He probably got a good night’s sleep, while the Jews stewed over what happened the day before all night long.
And Bethany was not far from Jerusalem, just on the outskirts, so . . .
Matthew 21:
And, now many people would say that “Jesus was mad, so he cursed the fig tree.”
I say, nonsense.
Jesus didn’t do things out of poor anger.
He did it to teach a lesson to his disciples.
Look again what what actually happens in verse 19 . . .
There was nothing on the tree but leaves.
It wasn’t doing it’s “job.”
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9