The Temple and the Fig Tree
Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 9 viewsThe rightful King cleanses his house and curses fruitlessness.
Notes
Transcript
The Temple and the Fig tree
The Temple and the Fig tree
What a scene played out last week as Jesus was in the temple
Tensions are high, shouts for the Messiah are ringing out- the King is here
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they 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 infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Vs 12- Sometime after Jesus enters the city, Jesus enters the Temple courts
The Temple was quite a work of art
Solomons temple was built in 950-587BC
The Second Temple was built after the Exile- around 539BC- 70Ad when Rome destroyed it
Herod, who had a desire to build, made many renovations upon the temple beginning in 37BC
Herod expanded the Temple courts to 35 acres with a massive retaining wall around it
Some stone block themselves were 40 feet tall and 100 tons- i have no idea how they moved them
It became the largest building site in the Ancient world- Twice the size of the Roman Forum
White marble enhanced the visual display and the gold veneer on the front wall of the core temple reflected the sunlights brilliance
4 Courts- Court of the Gentiles, Women, Israel, and the Priest
Court of Gentiles was as close as Gentiles seekers and God fearers could get under penalty of death
The actual marker for this is in a museum in Constantinople- Turkey
Court of Priest- altar for sacrificing, the brazen laver( wash basin), slaughtering place for animals
The priest would enter the Holy Place- Incense would be burning, table of presence with showbread would there and then beyond that woud be the Holy Of Holies
In here would be the ark of the Covenant- on top of this would be the mercy seat and here God presence would come and abide but also this is were sins were atoned for
This was a magnificient work-
And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,
You would think Jesus would respond in similiar fashion but he doesnt
“As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
In our text, Jesus responds firm and disciplinary
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
He is driving all people buying animals and selling in the temple,
-He turns over the money changers tables and those selling pigeons
This area was rented out by the Priest and were set up in the court of the Gentiles inside the temple grounds
No reason for it being there
So when Gentiles came in to worship- the closest they could get was outside with the animals
The money changers wouldn't accept Roman money, so they would exchange your money for temple money at a price
Animals were overpriced, money was not calculated fairly, and the place of worship had been corrupted by greed and the stench of animal waste
So the traveling convert to Judaism- got as close as the petting zoo to worship of God at the Passover
Preaching the Word: Matthew—All Authority in Heaven and on Earth Worship in the Temple
Don’t overlook it. Don’t underestimate its importance. Nearly 2,000 years ago the Lamb of God (the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin, who would bring healing to the hopeless) who is also the lion of Judah (the king who came to judge Israel and soon all the world in righteousness) walked into the temple. He walked into the temple to save the poor in spirit but also to judge those who are rich in religious hypocrisy
For His Great Name- Jesus cleans house
He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Jesus cites Is 56:7
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
The Jewish idea of Messiah had no part for the Gentiles- However Jesus and the Scriptures did
The second quote is found in Jeremiah 7:11
Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.
But lets look if you will at
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’
“For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.
“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.
Just God saw from heaven, the works of Israel
Jesus, the Son of God, stands in the temple and sees all that they are doing and they have made it nothing but a hideout for thieves and robber
A place were no sin is addressed, no hope for the broken
Prayer and praise should the chorus but instead bellowing cattle and the call of birds fill the air
This ornate cathedral which was supposed to be centerpiece of Jewish worship had all the looks of religious worship but it missed the mark
Because you can spend all money in the world on dirt and building materials and never have genuine worship
You will look good doing it but you wont be Godly
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
What does Jesus do- He heals the broken- for free
He wasnt looking to turn the biggest profit- he was fishing for men
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant,
As the Jesus continues his work, children begin joining in the Messianic choir- “Hosanna to the Son of David”
Never was there a day when that was ever a more true statement- As the only one who could save them was in front of them
But dont worry, the RL are here- they hear it, see it and are furious
and they 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 infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
The great teachers of the law and prophets look at the Word of God in flesh and say dont you hear them, they need to be quiet
Pretty much saying- you know they are wrong about you so shut them up
Then the Great I am, the Word of God in flesh, looks at them and says you better believe I know what they are saying
Arent you the teachers of the Law? Have you not read Psalms 8:2
I am the one who David was speaking of
Im here, their worship is right and yours is wrong
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
So Jesus leaves but the story doesnt end there- the next section cant be seperated from the previous one
In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.
Jesus heads back to Jerusalem and was hungry
Jesus was fully God and fully man and we see again another aspect of his humanity but thats not the main point
And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
So Jesus sees a fig tree full of leaves and stops by to get some fruit but when he finds none he curses the tree and it dies then
Some have viewed this to a misuse of Jesus power and have said this is clear sign that Jesus was not perfect
But they would be missing the point
In March, fig tree begin to put out small edible fruit buds
in April, the fig tree really begins to put out leaves
In May, the buds fall off and the figs replace them
So when Jesus, gets to the fig tree, he expects to find something edible on the tree
He isnt being irascible or ignorant by cursing a tree that shouldn't have fruit but one that by all aspects had all the looks of a fruit bearing tree but it was a fraud
This is crucial- because this is a real life parable for is happening in the temple
The temple by all intents in purposes had the look of the place of worship but it wasnt
The religious leaders by all intents in purpose had the look of real faith but they were fakes
So as Jesus is cursing the fig tree is, is just as much cursing and condemning the fake practices of the Judaism and their leaders
Why do you say that? Read the next couple verses
When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
The disciples stand amazed at Jesus power as they often had
As they ask Jesus why, Jesus answer them about faith
Jesus wasnt mad about not getting food, he could make food if he wanted it- feed 5000 from scraps
He went 40 days without food- he could miss a meal
This was a real life parable playing out before his disciples eyes
The faith in the Temple was fruitless and cold
They pushed the Gentiles out completely and put them with the animals
So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
John records the first time Jesus cleans house- but more so what we see Jesus refers to the temple as his body
this is significant because on the cross what happens as Jesus dies
The veil in the HOH is torn from the top down- the very veil separated Gods presence from all the courts was forever severed into by Jesus death
So now their is Ephesians 2 says no benefit Jew or Greek because Jesus has severed the dividing wall
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
So Jesus answers the disciples questions not so much about how the plant died but more so about the living parable
Those who have real faith in God can rest assure upon his power and promise knowing that if they pray according to His will God answers
Every prayer in His Will is a yes
But many faithless Jews were walking into the temple looking to be absolved of their sins and the temple had become nothing but an overgrown confessional booth
Hypocrites is what he saw
Sure, as Christians we all still sin against God and against each other, but that is very different than being a hypocrite, someone who has no heart for God but will do whatever is necessary to make sure the “god” in his life is appeased and the people in his life are pleased.
So I’m talking now to the real hypocrites. I’m talking to you who rob God throughout the week by doing things you ought not to do and not doing things you should do and then go to church to find “sanctuary,” a hiding place for a now guiltless conscience. There is no fear of God before your eyes! But listen, if there is anything we learn from this passage it is that the green leaves of your religious practices cannot cover a fruitless life. The leaf of baptism or the leaf of church membership or the leaf of praying the prayer—these things cannot hide your nakedness from the eye of an all-seeing God. As Jesus came closer to the fig tree and as he entered into the temple to check for fruit, so even now he enters to examine your lives, looking for the fruit of repentance and holiness of life and sincerity of faith. And if there is no fruit, then stop fooling yourself and others. There is only one thing to expect—judgment!
O’Donnell, D. S. (2013). Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 604). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
We are left with the Temple and the Fig tree- both fruitless, both destroyed
Faith is found in Christ alone- Is yours?