Trouble in the Temple

TROUBLE IN THE TEMPLE: Monday-Tuesday Spring Valley Mennonite; March 14, 2021; Matthew 21:12-25:46 We continue our Journey to the Cross as we consider the events after Jesus' entered the city presenting Himself as Messiah and King. There are many things that happened in that last week; literally dozens of chapters are devoted to that short time span by the four gospel writers. This morning I want to focus on the events of Monday and Tuesday. We recall that Jesus was in Bethany on Saturday evening, then entering Jerusalem on Sunday. This was the day we call "Palm Sunday". The crowds, as well as Jesus' followers, recognized that entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey fulfilled the scriptures of the Messiah. After arriving in Jerusalem on "Palm Sunday" we find in Mark 11 that Jesus visited the Temple and "after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late." It is difficult to place all the events of the week of the Crucifixion and Resurrection into a timeline with absolute certainty. Each of the Gospel writers had their unique approach to these events, and we can place the things done and said with only reasonable certainty as to when they happened. What we can observe with certainty is that Jesus was no longer avoiding confrontation with the Jewish leaders, but His actions and teachings were calculated to expose their sinful and evil hearts. He confronted each group of the leaders, the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Herodians. The crowds continued to be fascinated by this open conflict with the Jewish leaders; these common people had little love or respect for these leaders. Most of these confrontations happened within the Temple grounds. It will add to our understanding if we take a moment to picture the Temple of the New Testament; this was Herod's Temple, the third temple built on the same site, the first being built by Solomon (destroyed by the Babylonians), the second being built by the returning refugees by permission of Darius the Persian. Herod doubled the Temple grounds and expanded and remodeled the existing Temple to a great extent, yielding its designation as the "Third Temple." I. HEROD'S TEMPLE The construction of this third Temple began around 20 B.C., the project of Herod the Great. His purpose was most assuredly winning the support and admiration of the Jewish religious leaders. Herod was never able to shed the identity of an outsider; the fact being that he was not Jewish, but of Edomite heritage. The Edomites, descendants of Esau, originally lived southeast of the Dead Sea, but had been displaced by the Babylonians and had settled in the southern part of Israel. Herod had been installed as King by the Romans around 40 B.C. The main Temple building itself was completed relatively quickly, although the construction of other buildings in the area continued for many years. John 2:20 quotes the Jews as saying the Temple had taken 46 years to build. Actual embellishments to the temple grounds continued until 64 A.D. just six years before it was destroyed by the Romans. It was said that if one had not observed Herod's temple, "You had never seen a beautiful building." The Temple area consisted of several concentric and terraced courts, the Temple itself being at the highest point. To enter the Temple courts counted as having "entered the Temple." The outermost and lowest court was called the Court of the Gentiles, it was also the biggest area, and was surrounded by a covered portico. The schools of the rabbis met under this portico and this also was where Jesus did most of His teaching. The inner courts were restricted to Jewish people alone and were divided into several areas: the Court of the Women and the Court of Israel, which admitted only Jewish men. Closest to the Temple itself was the inner court of the Priests where the sacrifices were made. In the center was the Temple itself, consisting of a long, tall building, divided into the holy place containing the golden lampstand, table of incense and the table of unleavened bread. In the rear of the Temple was the Holy of Holies, separated from the Holy Place by a thick veil or curtain. In the original Tabernacle constructed in the wilderness, and then in Solomon's Temple, the Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant which contained the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. On the top of Ark was the Mercy Seat where the blood was applied on the annual Day of Atonement. Two golden cherubim spread their wings over the mercy seat, and in the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple the Shekinah Glory of God dwelt over the mercy seat. But as Judah lapsed into gross idolatry, the Temple became polluted with idols. The prophet Ezekiel describes the inside of the Temple in Ezekiel 8: (Read Ezekiel 8:8-13). Just previous to the Babylonian invasion, because of the repeated desecration of the Temple by idols, the Shekinah Glory of God departed from the Temple. Ezekiel 10 and 11 describe this sad scene; turn there if you will, for this has application to the Temple of Jesus' day. (Read Ezekiel 10:4, 18-19; 11:23) God's glory was no longer dwelling above the mercy seat; His glory had departed. When the Babylonians destroyed Solomon's Temple in 586 B.C., the Ark of the Covenant disappeared. Speculation has it that it was removed by priests before the Temple destruction, but no one really knows what happened to the Ark. I suppose it still could exist, and its discovery would certainly spur on the rebuilding of the Temple; a Temple does exist in the Tribulation Period. In the Temple built by those returning from Babylonian exile, the Holy of Holies was basically a bare room. Where the Ark would have stood, there was only a raised platform. The blood of the yearly atonement offering was poured out on this raised platform. God's Shekinah Glory never returned to either the Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah's day, or to Herod's Temple. In Herod's Temple, a bare rock was exposed in the Holy of Holies, and on this rock the blood was applied and prayer offered by the High Priest for the people. All this background explains how the High Priests, who were appointed by the Romans and were of the sect of the irreligious Sadducees, could enter the Holy of Holies with impunity and did not die for defiling the Holiness of God. The Temple, magnificent as it was, was little more than a symbol, although it did have value as a place of worship, and Jesus called it "my house". It was a place of worship for the righteous and a place of prayer for all people. It was here that Jesus entered on Monday morning and cast out the merchants and money-changers. What was the significance of Jesus' actions? II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE We read of these actions of Jesus in Matthew 21:12-17 (READ). Note that at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus had also driven merchants and money changers out of the Temple. Look at John 2:13-16 (READ). In both of these instances, the merchants and money changers had set up their businesses in the Court of the Gentiles, rendering it unsuitable for any semblance of quiet worship and prayer. We can imagine the loud bargaining and dickering going on with the sellers of animals. We can imagine the filth of animal droppings polluting the court. The required changing of money from the various currencies of the Roman Empire to the official temple shekel carried with it a charge for the procedure. Roman coins and other currencies, because they bore the likeness of men, were judged profane, and were unacceptable. The Talmud, the Jewish writings of the day, tells us that if the value of your coin was more than the temple tax, the excess change was liable to another charge! The whole money changing process was designed to defraud the worshipper and enrich the money changer and his superiors. The Talmud also gives us a very important fact that figures largely into the opposition of the Chief Priests to Jesus: the whole business operation on the temple grounds belonged to the family of Annas, the High Priestly family. When Jesus upset the merchants, chasing them out of the Court of the Gentiles, He was depriving the Chief Priests of revenue! He was hitting them right in their wallets. This largely explains the opposition of the Sadducees, who were the ruling aristocratic class of Israel and Jerusalem. One more word of explanation about the High Priests: They were appointed by the Romans, no longer holding the official office for life. They served at the discretion and pleasure of the Roman government. The High Priest of this period was named Caiaphas. Caiaphas held the office from 18-36 A.D. He had succeeded His Father-in-law Annas. The Chief Priests spoken of in the Gospels were Annas, Caiaphas, and other family members of Annas. Annas had five sons who also served at High Priest. Josephus, the Jewish historian, notes that Annas was "'a great hoarder up of money,' very rich, and as despoiling by open violence the common priests of their official revenues." Rightly did Jesus call the Temple a "den of robbers". By casting out those selling in the Temple Court of the Gentiles along with the money-changers, Jesus was implying that the High Priests were evil sinners and robbers! But the Sadducees were not the only ones Jesus confronted during these two days... III. FURTHER CONFRONTATIONS WITH THE PHARISEES AND HERODIANS Jesus continued to teach and heal the sick on Monday and Tuesday. Note the words of Matthew 21:14-15. (READ) The response of the chief priests and scribes (who were also called lawyers, experts in the Jewish Law, and of the sect of the Pharisees) to miracles of healing? They became indignant! They objected to the praises of children crying "Hosanna to the Son of David". Jesus' parables during these days also directly accused the Jewish leaders. Look at Matthew 21:28-32 (READ) Can you imagine their response to Jesus' words in v. 31? Matthew 21:33-46 (READ) Consider the words of v. 43: the kingdom would be taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles. This was the leaders' worst fear, and their response is seen in v. 45-46. They understood clearly that Jesus was talking to them. But they could do nothing for the crowds were on Jesus' side, probably thoroughly enjoying this exchange! Jesus did not mince words with the Pharisees, and we learn exactly what God thinks of religious hypocrisy in Matthew 23. Follow along as Jesus describes their evil behavior, which was hidden behind religious observance, and note how this might mimic some religious practice today: (Read 23:1-3;13-15;25-33 ). This was up front, in your face, before the people condemnation! Another challenge was raised by a group of Jews of the Herodian political party (those supporting Herod's dynasty) Matthew 22:15 reveals a plot to trap Jesus: (READ VV. 15-22). Jesus used amazing logic, recognized by the Jews themselves, effectively silencing this group. This principle sets the standard for how we Christians are to conduct themselves in relation to the government in regard to taxation, as well as honoring and obeying our government. We find recorded in this chapter another challenge to the Sadducees; Jesus answered a question from the Sadducees, a group including the High Priests. The Sadducees were irreligious and pragmatic materialists, not believing in life after death. (That is why they were sad, you see!) They brought a question involving a woman who married seven brothers in succession. This was proscribed under the Law of Moses to ensure a man's family would not die out. If a man died without an heir, the man's brother was to marry the widow and a son from that marriage would carry on the name of his dead father. If the second brother died without fathering a son, the third brother would marry the widow and so on. In their question, seven brothers married a woman in succession. The question then was, "In Heaven, whose wife would she be?" I'm sure they were patting themselves on the back at their cleverness! Jesus answered that in Heaven there would be no marriage, so their proposed dilemma was irrelevant. I admit this raises more questions than I am prepared to answer. My wife tells me that it is O.K. to say "I just don't know"! In addition to challenging and confronting each of the leading groups of the Jewish leadership, Jesus taught extensively during these two days to the crowds and His followers. He told of the future period of Tribulation judgment and of His second coming in what we call the Olivet Discourse. He encouraged all of us to be prepared for His return, for only the Father knows when that day will be. Jesus was clearly setting the stage for His arrest, trials and crucifixion. He deliberately and publicly condemned the Jewish rulers. But many were attracted by the truth of His message and His teaching with authority. I believe that many who heard Jesus on these days became part of the 6000 who believed on the Day of Pentecost almost two months later. Remember that Jesus' disciples and close followers, as they watched these confrontations, were expecting Jesus at any moment to openly announce He was Israel's Messiah and take the Throne of David. This explains their shock and extreme surprise when Jesus was arrested and put to death. They did not understand the Messiah had to come and offer Himself as the one acceptable sacrifice in order to pay for our sins. Jesus came to earth the first time for one purpose: to die for our sins. He will return to establish His earthly Kingdom. Even so, come Lord Jesus! 1