Skip to content True Worship Beyond Profits: Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple in Matthew 20-21 Jun 24 · 16 min ...more
True Worship Beyond Profits: Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple in Matthew 20-21
June 24, 2025 · 16 min
A reflection on Jesus' bold actions in the temple as a call for genuine worship and service, contrasting with mercenary religious practices.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand June 24, 2025 · 16 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
A reflection on Jesus' bold actions in the temple as a call for genuine worship and service, contrasting with mercenary religious practices. ...more Show the full description Show less A reflection on Jesus' bold actions in the temple as a call for genuine worship and service, contrasting with mercenary religious practices.
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The Parable of the Workers and Kingdom Principles 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Alright. Today, we are looking at Matthew chapters 20 and 21 where Jesus not only turned the tables over, but he0:21 turned the tables around on the Pharisees. Verse 13 of chapter 21, 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. Now we're coming0:33 to the last week of Jesus' life prior to his, crucifixion, his burial, and resurrection. A lot to cover in these 2 chapters. So let's jump right into it. Verse 1, chapter 20. For the kingdom of0:45 heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyards. So now Jesus is continuing with the parables in his teaching. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a0:57 day, he sent vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, you also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right, I will give you. So they went.1:07 Again, he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise. So the land owner goes all the way out until the eleventh hour when the day basically is, done. Then it's1:19 over. He pays all the workers, and he pays the the ones who came in last first. And we see the shock of those who worked1:31 all day long. They were paid last, but they were paid the same wage as those who had worked just an hour. Verse 12. The last man have worked only 1 hour, and you made them equal to us and1:43 have borne the who have borne the burden in the heat of the day. But he answered and said to them, friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours1:55 and go your way. I wish to give this last man the same as you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things, or is your eye evil because I am good? So2:07 the last will be first and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen. Now at first glance, this looks unfair, doesn't2:18 it? The 1 who worked all day got the same pay as those who worked for just an hour, but they were given what they were promised and what they2:30 agreed to. The landowner was not only just, but he was also gracious. God's goodness and faithfulness to us are not diminished by his grace and generosity2:42 to others. The parable of the prodigal son and the response of his older older brother contains a very similar message. We need to cultivate hearts within ourselves that are2:54 willing to serve and grateful for our reward from our master and being able to celebrate his grace poured out on others.3:06 Now here's another kingdom principle that is, is counterintuitive. Verse 25, but Jesus called them to himself and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those3:18 who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to3:29 be servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. So here here it is. Here's this counterintuitive truth of the kingdom of God. You want to lead, serve. Wanna be great, humble3:41 yourselves. Now this is not the way of the world, but it is the way of the kingdom. Alright. Let's jump over to chapter 21. This is on the Monday when Jesus is coming into Jerusalem, again, in the lastJesus Cleanses the Temple and Teaches Faith 3:53 week, and this is where he turns over the tables. Let's start at verse 12. 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 money4:05 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. People were making a profit off selling I mean, a big4:16 profit. They were it was scandalous of of selling these, the animals for the sacrifices, but also exchanging money, because the Roman money could not be used in the temple.4:29 And, and he said, as is written, my house should be called a house of prayer, but you have made it an end of thieves. Then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and healed them. Look at the contrast. They were4:40 concerned about4:56 children crying out in the temple saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were indignant. And he said to them, do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, yes. Have you5:07 never read out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise? Jesus cleansed the temple of those who, through subterfuge, had turned what was to be a sanctuary5:20 of worship of God in a place of help and healing for man into an enterprise of personal profit. In verse 14 and don't lose the principles here. There's application5:32 today. In verse 14, he healed those who were unable to enter. See, the blind and the lame could not legally enter the temple to praise and worship God, and so he healed them so he5:44 they could enter into the presence of God. Isn't that a picture of what he's done for us? Excuse me. Verse 18. Now in the morning, as he turned to the city, he was hungry.5:57 And, as he returned to the city, so he's going back into the temple once again to be the last time. And seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves and said to let no fruit grow on you6:08 ever again. Immediately, the fig tree withered away. And when his disciples saw it, they marveled saying, how did the fig tree wither away so6:21 so soon? Jesus answered and said to them, assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to this fig tree, but also you say if you say to this mountain be removed6:33 and cast in in the sea, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Now notice the answering of the prayer is conditional upon believing, upon faith. Now we've seen this truth6:44 before over in Matthew chapter 9 verse 29. Then he touched their eyes saying according to your faith, let it be to you. But it must also be according to the will of God as6:56 John wrote. First John chapter 5 verse 14. Now this is7:11 petitions that we have asked of him. Now the focus on this passage is generally on the faith required to move mountains. I mean, if you've heard that before, and and this is needful.7:24 However, what is that faith for? Let's look at this for just a moment. He He was in Bethany, which is next to Bethpage, which means house of figs.7:35 Right? This place was known for its figs. Now Mark's account provides a little more detail, in which I'm drawing from here in this analysis or this7:47 discussion. Jesus sees a fig tree with leaves. Alright? It was not fig season, but the tree had leaves, which generally coincides with figs. If a tree7:59 has leaves, it has figs. The tree boasted of fruit but had none to meet the real and the urgent need. The religious crowd had leaves, but they did not meet8:11 the needs of the people. Religion will8:24 way spiritual mountains as well. Now I believe the cursing and the withering the fig tree was a physical representation of what Jesus had done in the spiritual realm by8:36 cursing the religious racket that was in the temple. So this was a physical manifestation, an manifestation, an example, an illustration of what had happened in the spiritual realm. Now next, Jesus8:48 turns the table around on the religious crowd who were seeking to trap him. I I just you have to love how Jesus turns the table repeatedly on the religious9:00 crowd, and they think they're gonna trap him. Oh, they're so smart. They've been conniving. They've been, they've been, they've been, you know, in their smoke filled rooms coming up with these ideas of how to trap Jesus,9:10 and then just with, like, a sentence. I mean, he just turns the tables. Verse 23. Now when he came into the temple, the chief priest and the elders of the people confronted him as he was teaching and said, by what9:22 authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? You know, I I I think of Jeremiah, the prophet, who didn't have the authority of man, didn't have the authority of government. He9:34 wasn't voted, wasn't put into place, but god gave him the authority to raise up and to tear down. And Jesus, he operates by the authority of god. But9:46 Jesus said in answered to them, I also will ask you 1 thing, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was it from?9:58 From heaven or from men? And they reasoned among themselves saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, why then did you not believe him? But if we say from men, we fear the multitude, for all count John10:10 as a prophet. So they answered Jesus and said, we do not know. And he said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority10:26 fools. He their hearts at this point were hardened, and he knew he knew the plan. He knew what they were going to do, and and so there was no sense in trying to reason with10:38 men whose minds were closed. Their eyes, they were blind. Their ears, they could not hear. So he turned the tables on them by exploiting their fears. See, they didn't fear10:50 God, but they had a fear of the crowd, so they ended up slinking away after Jesus turned the tables on them. This again reveals the wisdom of Jesus and the confidence and certainty with which he operated.11:02 He did not feel compelled to answer their contrived questions. He simply turned the tables on them, asking them questions that expose their true intent. And by the way, this is a good11:14 model to follow. Alright? Especially when when when we're you know, people wanna put I I actually had this happen recently on an interview. I was on C SPAN, and they asked me a question11:26 about, you know, Christian nationalism. And I just stopped. I said, define it. You know, the terms are thrown around, but people won't define them. And and and so I I think we don't have to be in11:38 a defensive posture feeling that we have to answer every contrived question that people come up with designed to entrap us. We need to pause and have a conversation, which is11:50 what Jesus did because he asked them questions. Alright. I I wanna leave you with just we're running out of time. So I wanna leave you with just 1 more verse, but please read both chapters in their12:01 entirety. Remember, my, my role here is just a tour guide. I'm, I'm the trail guide. I'm leading us through this journey, pointing out some of the, the vistas, the high points,12:14 and but the rest, as you open the word every morning, just pray for the holy spirit to show you because it is our daily bread. What you need today, god will12:25 provide through his word. What you need spiritually, your inner man to be nourished, and and and I don't know what you're going through. There there's we've got thousands of people on this journey,12:37 and and each family, each individual has different needs. But here's here's the reality. God will meet your need. He'll give you the direction, the insight, the understanding,12:49 the encouragement, the correction that you need for this day, and it's found in his word, our daily bread. So, please, my if you own and IAuthority of Jesus and the Call to Humility 13:01 said this before, and I'll repeat it. If you only have time for either the video or the reading, do the reading. Alright? And pray for the holy spirit to open your eyes as you read his word. Okay. Very quickly, verse 4413:13 chapter 21. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Now this sounds very familiar for those who have been on the journey because we13:25 read something like this in Daniel. Daniel chapter 2 verse 34, you watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them into13:37 pieces. That is the kingdom of God. That's Jesus. When Jesus came the first time, he came as a savior, extending grace to those who in humility would fall broken13:49 upon the cornerstone that was rejected by man. Now we're still living in that dispensation. We're still living in that time, that period of grace. But when he comes again, right, when he comes again and I believe it's14:01 very soon. I I mean, with what's happening in the world, what's happening in the Middle East, and I think it could be at any moment. I mean, we could literally be seeing this momentarily.14:24 Humble ourselves and fall broken upon his grace and experience the spiritual freedom that comes from embracing his mercy and his grace14:36 through Jesus Christ, our lord. Father, thank you for this word, this morning through Matthew. Lord, I just thank you for the gospel. Thank you for your word. Thank you that14:47 you preserved it for us. Every word has meaning for us. It's been preserved with purpose. And so we continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, to direct us, to give14:59 us insight, and to be our teacher. And and may we not be hearers of the word only, but may we be doers of your word. And, Lord, guide us. We pray in15:11 Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thank you for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.15:22 Today's study comes from the stand on the word Bible reading plan available for free at FRC dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,15:34 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Parable of the Workers and Kingdom Principles3:46 Jesus Cleanses the Temple and Teaches Faith12:58 Authority of Jesus and the Call to Humility
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