At this time we will turn in our Bibles to the 21st chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 21. So we're kind of beginning, it records the events that take place on Palm Sunday. And yet what we're going to do is, since I think the last couple of years we looked at the triumphal entry itself, the events that preceded it and so forth. So we're going to read this same scripture this week and next week, focusing our attention this week on what is called Jesus' temple cleansing. And then next week we'll consider the fact that Jesus, almost in passing, curses the fig tree and then subsequently the disciples pass by and they notice that the tree is no longer alive. It's withered and it's turning back to dust. And of course Jesus uses that as an illustration or an application, I suppose, of what was befalling the religious worshiping of the day. So let's first ask the Lord's blessing and then we'll read the first 17 verses of Matthew chapter 21. Gracious God, we thank you that we have copies of the scriptures in hand, that we are able to read them and discern from them what is right and true. In fact, with the working of your spirit in our hearts when we individually or together as a congregation read the scriptures. The witness born to our hearts is that they are profoundly true. They reveal to us spiritual truth that we can know and believe in which we can trust. So let us find them as they're intended to be profitable for doctrine, for reproved for correction, for training in righteousness, that together we might be thoroughly equipped to face all the trials that we will in this life. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So, Gospel of Matthew chapter 21, beginning at verse 1, here is the word of God. Now when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them. And immediately he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, behold your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? So the multitudes said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And he said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. Then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant and said to him, Do you hear what these are saying? Jesus said to them, yes, have you never read out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise? Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and he lodged there. Beloved congregation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Make no mistake, the events that take place in the triumphal entry are remarkable and astounding. They witness to God's, to Jesus being God and that He knew the events that would take place. He was able to say, go and do this without seeing or knowing or without being physically seeing those things. And all of these things witness to the reality of who he is. Well, in recent years, as we've considered Palm Sunday, the events that take place with the triumphal entry and so forth, we have looked at these various parts. We've taken note of some of the favorite words even that are found in the New Testament are Jesus' response and the words spoken by those who were criticizing Him. Of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Oh how I would have gathered you to myself as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. What a... Demonstration of love, of compassion, of mercy is shown. Well, I thought what we would do today, next Sunday, as well as at our Holy Week service and on Thursday, Maundy Thursday service, is we would look at some of these events that take place between Palm Sunday and Good Friday when the Lord Jesus is crucified on the cross. throughout our Lord's earthly ministry. We have all of these witnesses and testimonies to the fact that no one could do what He did. if he didn't have the power of God in him and working through him. And all of these things testify to the fact that Jesus is who he said he was. And so this morning we will look at, part of it includes the events that take place on Palm Sunday, but what has become intriguing or interesting to me. If you compare the parallel accounts, I think most all of us would say that this temple cleansing happened on Palm Sunday. Well, it may have, but if it did, it also happened the next day. Because the account of these same events in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 11, It describes the events very clearly. It says, verse 11 of chapter 11, and Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when he had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. The next morning, we're told, When he came to Jerusalem, then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned their tables. Much of the events are recorded as just the same. So we have, in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, at least two temple cleansings, possibly three, who knows, maybe more. Because we have recorded early in the Gospel of John that Jesus cleansed the temple early on in his ministry. Well, what we will see by the scriptures here, the events that take place, you know, it is... The temple cleansing is a striking event. It's a remarkable thing. And so I would say this, Jesus cleanses the temple to demonstrate the true condition of temple worship and of the Jewish leadership in the day. So we will notice the boldness of this cleansing. We will notice the miracles appended or related to this cleansing. And then thirdly, we'll give our attention to the dialogue that takes place between the scribes and the Pharisees and the Lord Jesus. First off, the boldness of this cleansing. Look here at verses 12 and following. We're told, then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold dots. He pretty well upset the status quo. In fact, we're even told in one of the gospel accounts that he made a cord, he made a whip from cords and drove them out. And a little bit of a humorous thought occurred to me a few years back. It was real popular to say, all these little necklaces and rings, what would Jesus do? And I'm not sure how that would fit into the matter of temple worship, into the matter of how seriously we are to take the instructions and the commands that God has given. And so we see in in these events, right, that there were some amazing things taking place. In fact, I find it interesting that while Jesus is coming into Jerusalem riding on a colt, the colt of a donkey, that he is being worshipped and praised, right? Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And the great stir, it says that the whole city became aroused or became awakened and they were asking, who is this? And the multitudes get it right. This is Jesus. This is Jesus. As verse 11 says, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Who does Jesus drive out of the temple? Those who were buying and selling there. It says, Jesus went into the temple of God, whose temple was it? God's, and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned their tables, the tables of the money changers. See, it's interesting that instead of the prophetic religion exemplifying and teaching the words and the ways of God, over time it had become corrupted. And instead of being a prophetic religion, it became a religion for profit. And Jesus' response was unmistakable. And I think that there are connections to the present day, right? When you have churches arranged to please people, to gather them, to satisfy their inclinations, it's not a good thing. And so worship is a holy business. In fact, I think our minds are confused, and if ours are, I think the culture and the world in which we live is also. What does it mean that worship is holy? We're going to get that verse up on the wall there one of these days. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. That's our task. That's our job. And when worship is in the beauty of holiness, it's reverent. It's humbling. It's life-impacting and really life-changing. It's world-changing. Because when we are reminded of who we are and whose we are and why we're here and what we're supposed to do, the only right response is, yes, Lord. Use me any way you want. Bring me to yourself and direct me in the way we should go. Notice Jesus' words. He did, he drove them from the temple, but he spoke these words to them. It is written, my house, my house, Jesus speaking first person, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. The first of those quotations It's from Isaiah chapter 56, verse 7. And it's a partial quotation, because in the end, that verse is quoting and awaiting the day when the temple of God will be filled with all nations, all peoples, from all places. He doesn't quote that part in this brief tidbit from that verse, but certainly he is indicating Who he is, and whose house it is, and what his relationship is to that house. As he said at another point, the Father and I have been working from the beginning. What is Jesus doing? He's identifying himself with the Father. In fact, Jesus says, I'm not here to do my will. I'm here to do the Father's will. I have come to seek and to save what was lost. And of course, that is exactly what he did. And then the last part, you made it a den of thieves, that is from Jeremiah chapter 7, and in its broader context, it's really a critique of what temple worship had become in the days of Jeremiah. And what Jesus is saying, you think it was bad back then? It's no better right now. As he drives them forth. Well, our second point is the miracles after this cleansing, and it's interesting. We have the temple court, right? You have the sanctuary, temple proper, and then you have these courtyards used for instruction and teaching. Well, what Jesus did is he drove out those buying and selling the money changers from that courtyard, and after they were kicked out, then there's some amazing things that take place. Then, says verse 14, the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. In another place, we're told that they were receiving His teaching. They were benefiting from what He was saying. And of course, We're not surprised to see Jesus' word ministry being manifest in His deed ministry. As He says, so He does. As He speaks of being gracious, He Himself is gracious and gives and supplies all that is needed. In the parallel in the Gospel of Luke, it says that Jesus taught in the temple daily, And the people were very attentive to his words. No doubt he was teaching, and we see that in each of the gospel accounts. In fact, I, in preparation, looked through the four different gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and I looked to see where This event, the triumphal entry, was recorded. In the Gospel of Matthew, where we are, there's 28 chapters, and this event is recorded in verse 21. So about a fourth of the book is dedicated to that part of his life between Sunday, Palm Sunday, and Easter evening. So seven days. The Gospel of Mark, This triumphal inch is recorded in chapter 11. So more than a fourth, almost a third, of the book of Mark is dedicated to this period of time between Palm Sunday and the end. In the Gospel of Luke, there's 24 chapters. It's recorded in chapter 19. And the most amazing is the Gospel of John. The triumphal entry is in chapter 12. And there's 21 chapters in the Gospel of John. So almost half is focusing in on the Gospel of the Olivet Discourse. And so it takes place between Palm Sunday and Jesus' death on Good Friday. And so we have this remarkable witness this remarkable crescendo, if you will, of Jesus' life and ministry, demonstrated by what He says and what He does in the work that is before Him. And it's telling, right? Look at how they respond. Verse 14 again, Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. Look at verse 15. It's just crazy. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, they saw it. They saw sight being given to the blind. They saw those who were lame being healed. They saw it. They didn't dispute it. They saw it. They saw it. And the children crying out in the temple saying, Hosanna to the son of David. They were what? They praised God? They thanked him for his mercy and for his love being shown? No? You're correct. It says they were indignant. They were mad. They thought, what does he think he's doing? All the people are following Him. You can't have that. Astounding. In fact, in the Gospel of John, chapter 11 is when Lazarus is healed, right? Raised from the dead. They say, well, we're gonna have to kill Jesus and Lazarus. We can't have this dead guy. walking around, and so what you're seeing by their words and their actions is the moral depravity of their hearts. And it's a frightening thing to see. You know people that hate the gospel? They hate organized religion? Well, I think the reason for that is if If God is real, if the gospel is real, then they are outside of hope and purpose and grace. In fact, Jesus in John chapter 3 says that the light has come into the world. Jesus came into the world, but men preferred darkness over the light. Why? Because their deeds were evil. And so our task, our challenge, of course, is to come into the light, is to dwell there, is to live there, is to be there. And so there's, I think you saw this juxtaposition, right? They saw what Jesus had done and was doing, and then what? Then their response is just upside down of what it ought to have been. It ought to have been a plea of praise and worship. And Jesus says that. They're criticizing the children for singing praises to the Lord for what was being done. The children are saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna! Praise be to the Lord! Praise be to God! So Jesus responds, Jesus said to them, yes, I hear what they're saying. Have you never read? Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, you have perfected praise. That's from Psalm 8. Lord, our Lord in all the earth, great is your name." And of course, the quotation there I think is quite remarkable. What does it do? It says that the crying baby who doesn't really understand what it's doing The children who are joining the throng, because what, the ones being described here, the children, back in verse 15, are in the temple, so they're not nursing babes at this point. Maybe Edwin? Naya? Your age? Anna? And they're singing out a praise to God. Hosanna to the son of David. But the scribes and the Pharisees, the scribes and the chief priests were indignant and said, do you hear what they're saying? And Jesus said, absolutely, I do. And I accept it. Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, you have perfected praise. Jesus' words. infer that their praise was acceptable, that their words were pleasing. And these scribes and Pharisees, just think about it. They saw the unexplainable. They witnessed the undeniable and hated what they saw and heard. And of course the truth of the Gospel, of who Christ Jesus is, of why Christ Jesus came, of how He would have us respond to Him, is pretty clear. It's pretty clear. All that Jesus did, all that Jesus said really has this end in mind. That we, too, also might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing in Him, we might have life. Think about that. We might have life. And our eyes might see, our ears might hear, our hearts might beat and be warmed by the truth of the Gospel as we put our confidence, not in men, not in self, but in God, the God who provides and has had grace upon us as his people. As we conclude these brief points, Jesus' temple cleansing was both real and symbolic. He really does respond to what amounts to unacceptable behavior, unacceptable worship in the temple. He really drives them out multiple times. Two, three, maybe more times. It's also symbolic. As Jesus was rejecting what the leaders of the day had deemed as tolerable, deemed as normal, He is showing that He Himself rejects that which is contrary to His will. Secondly, I hope you children heard this verse. God has perfected praise from your lips. What does that mean about how we're supposed to sing in church? Right? If we can read, even if we can't read, we hum and we sing along and delight in the things of God and the things of His grace. From your lips, He has perfected praise. At minimum, it means He's listening to you. Or maybe said differently, He's listening for you to sing. Because He made you, He is calling you to join the chorus of those who worship Him throughout all time. Thirdly, true, rightful worship as we've been doing this Parts of Worship series, this kind of fits right in there, is worshiping God as He commands. False worship is distinguished from true and acceptable worship. It's doing what God has not commanded. So we don't say, okay, who wants to do this? Half of you raise your hand and half of you don't. Who wants to do that? It's irrelevant. Our job and our task and responsibility is to do those things that please Him. Those things which God commands. Oh well. We'll finish up here. And fourthly, the heartbeat. of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our heartbeat is worship. Our heartbeat is doing those things which are right and well-pleasing in His sight. Jesus' purpose, Jesus realizes His purpose in our life when we respond as He calls, as He commands. are called to worship. And so we are called to sing. We're called to bow down. We're called to reverence. We're called to draw near. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. And in His time, He will lift you up. Those are all things fitting and good and beautiful in His sight. Might we have ears to hear and hearts that humbly obey. Amen. Gracious God, We thank you that we might gather and assemble in your presence. We thank you that we might read and meditate upon your word. We thank you for the vivid demonstration of worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Acknowledging Jesus for who he is, the son of David, the great king. by worshiping today as the risen and exalted Lord of heaven and earth. So grant and supply what we need, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.