I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Ps 122:1

As soon as the parade into Jerusalem disbanded, Jesus’ first order of business was to go the Temple.  I wonder if Jesus knew what He would find when He got to the house of the Lord?  Jesus knew He would need to “clean house” and was prepared to do it, but when the Son of Man/Son of God saw how bad it was in person, He knew this was another time that the prophets message would be fulfilled so that the glory of God was seen by all. 

“My house was designated a house of prayer”, He shouts among the noise of crooked buyers selling “sacrifices” at inflated prices to those who have traveled to the Temple.  The people will pay the price to accomplish their obligation.   The poor who need help the most are left out of the game altogether.  They cannot pay the price.  This is a human system of bartering and exploiting took the place of worship, desecrating the Holy Ground of the Temple.  They have forgotten why the Temple was built and Who it stands for in the heart of the city.  “You have made it a hangout for thieves,” Jesus quotes again from the Scripture—the same Scripture the religious leaders read but do not live.  Their faith has withered.  There is no holy fruit growing for they are no longer attached to the Vine.  They have become useless in helping people reconcile to God.

“Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.”  Psalm 122:2-5

Jesus, He who is without sin, is the One and Only who has the authority to judge in the house of the Lord—God’s Temple.

Matthew 21, The Message

He Kicked Over the Tables

^12-14 Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:

My house was designated a house of prayer;
You have made it a hangout for thieves.

Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.

^15-16 When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, “Hosanna to David’s Son!” they were up in arms and took him to task. “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?”

¹⁷ Fed up, Jesus spun around and left the city for Bethany, where he spent the night.

The Withered Fig Tree

^18-20 Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree alongside the road, he approached it anticipating a breakfast of figs. When he got to the tree, there was nothing but fig leaves. He said, “No more figs from this tree—ever!” The fig tree withered on the spot, a dry stick. The disciples saw it happen. They rubbed their eyes, saying, “Did we really see this? A leafy tree one minute, a dry stick the next?”

^21-22 But Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you’ll tell, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

To merely read of this act of cleansing the Temple with our smallness of human understanding, we might think, “wow, Jesus was in a mood that day.”  First, he chases away people then he causes a fig tree to completely wither and die. But when we ask God to open our eyes to see His glory at work through Jesus, we begin to understand a bit more.  As always, there is much more to be learned.

Jesus’ compassion for the poor, hopeless and helpless who could not get in drove him to chase the thieves out.  Just as there was “no room at the inn” when Jesus was born, there was no room for those who wanted and needed God most.  The Temple was built as a place of prayer to reconcile with God and to be healed by God.  The Temple of God was designed for praises, thanksgiving, celebrations, and prayers to God.  It was not a place for the carnival types barking their “sacrificial’ wares at prices that changed with each person’s ability to pay, with the poor left out of the equation completely! 

This behavior left not room for compassion, love, mercy, or grace.  Jesus set the Temple right again by turning the thieves’ world upside down!

Since Jesus reconciled us to God by dying for our sins—everything changes when we believe in Him!  We become the Temple of God in which His Holy Spirit has come to dwell.  Trust His Spirit to guide us!  And Jesus’ resurrection is our hope of eternal life with God!  Here’s proof:

 ^“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ESV

What is the depth and breadth of our faith? 

What is happening at the center of our being that houses His Holy Spirit? 

Our “temple” needs to be cleaned daily of all that offends God and does not belong in our hearts, minds, and souls—His House.  Pray like David…

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51:10-12)

Do we feel a bit withered and less fruitful?  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) so all of us need a check up on the production of the Holy fruits of His Spirit growing in us!  (See Galatians 5 for the list of those fruits)

Do we need the cultivate the Vine while allowing Jesus to pull some weeds? 

Is our branch attached firmly to the One, True Vine that gives and sustains Life?

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7  Go deep and nourish those roots!

“And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.” Colossians 1:27

Still wondering about the actions of Jesus, unlike his usual ways of ministry?  Warren Wiersbe helps us to understand what is really going on here…

“Jesus performed two acts of judgment: He cleansed the temple, and He cursed a fig tree. Both acts were contrary to His usual manner of ministry, for He did not come to earth to judge, but to save (John 3:17). Both of these acts revealed the hypocrisy of Israel: The temple was a den of thieves, and the nation (symbolized by the fig tree) was without fruit. Inward corruption and outward fruitlessness were evidences of their hypocrisy.”  (Wiersbe Study Bible)

What then, does God want as the temples of God who come together in One House?

God wants prayer among His people (1 Tim. 2:1), for true prayer is evidence of our dependence on God and our faith in His Word.

Prayer connects our raw humanness to His holiness.  “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV

Jesus also wants us to help people seeking Him.  The needy should feel welcome, finding the kind of help they seek and need most—Jesus!

Real, authentic prayer, in Jesus Name, is powerful and effective!  (See James 5) There should be power-praying in God’s house, while watching the power of God at work to change all of us from the inside out!

Praise and thanksgiving are also features of God’s house as indicated in this passage.  Jesus quoted from Psalm 8:2.

Avoid being “all show but no go”!  When we consider the time and place of this event, we understand it better. Jesus was near Jerusalem in the last week of His public ministry to His people. The fig tree symbolized the nation of Israel as the prophets Jeremiah, Hosea, and others foretold.  Just as this tree had leaves but no fruit, so Israel had a show of religion but no practical experience of faith resulting in godly living.

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls with your new mercies each morning.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work within us where you dwell.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory and Praise, Amen