By Pastor Dave Farmer
After Jesus judged the fig tree, He proceeded to the temple and when He entered He began overturning the tables of the money changers causing a great disturbance. Some have suggested that this was not the act of someone in control of Himself and showed a flaw in His character. Is this true?
Matthew 21:12, 13
12) And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.
13) And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”
What did our Lord Jesus Christ see that day when He entered the temple? What disturbed Him?
Outside the city walls, He had just cursed the fig tree which immediately shriveled up and died. This was a picture of the nation of Israel in a spiritual tailspin and about to crash. The time of maximum discipline was at hand. All of the warnings had been ignored. They had passed the point of no return. Their failure to follow God is startling because from all outward appearances Israel is a very religious nation. If you were an observer of their culture, you would conclude that the Jewish people were very devout. However, something is wrong, for God was not pleased with them. What brought Jesus to tears when He looked upon the city earlier in the week [Luke 19:41]? What was our Lord thinking when He overturned the money-changer's tables creating a great disturbance?
There is a consistency of purpose with these two events: the cursing the fig tree and the overturning of the tables in the temple. Both reveal the truth that the favored nation status that Israel enjoyed was going to be removed. The fifth cycle of discipline 1 would be administered again. The first time was in 722 B.C when the Assyrians attacked the Northern Kingdom. After the fall of the Samaria, the capital city, the monarchy ceased to exist. The second time was in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. He plundered the city, confiscated all the sacred vessels of the temple, and took the people into bondage and captivity. Now for the third time in history, the fifth cycle of discipline would be applied. This time it will be Rome who would breach the walls of Jerusalem and burn the temple to the ground in 70 A.D. Between 70 A.D until our era (May 14, 1948) when Israel was granted statehood), the nation of Israel would no longer exist. The consequences of their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ will be losing their homeland and being scattered all over the world for the next two millennia.
What did Jesus see when He entered the temple that day? The nation's end was near! This weighed heavily on the heart and mind of our Lord. So, He would declare in the clearest possible way, the failure of the priesthood. For they were given responsibility for disseminating the truth of God, but instead, they were spreading lies about Him. We will study His scathing denunciation of the priesthood in Matthew chapter 23. For now, it is important to note that the temple is like a thermometer which measures temperature. Are the people spiritually hot, cold, or lukewarm? The turning over the tables was our Lord's verdict that the hearts of the people were spiritually bankrupt, devoid of truth and righteousness, and they were under divine discipline.
He saw the failure of Israel to fulfill her mission.
Israel was selected by God to receive His special blessing so that the world would come to know Jehovah, the only True and Living God. God deposited in this nation His blessed Word causing their status among the nations of the world to be unique. Paul asked this question, "Who are the Israelites?". What makes them so special? Notice his answer:
Romans 9:4
who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises.
Who are they? God's chosen people! No other nation on the earth up to that time [Paul writing Romans in 57 A.D] could make this claim. God bound Himself to this people by establishing four 2 unbreakable and irrevocable covenants. Even though in 30 A.D [when Jesus entered the temple], they are less than forty years away from the destruction of their nation, the Jews as a race will survive. As I sit here writing this article, Israel and the Jews exist. God is keeping His unconditional and gracious promises to them. God's immutability guarantees His faithfulness to keep His Word.
Israel was to be separated from the influences of the world, but it was given a mission to evangelize the world. Moses spoke of how keeping the Law would bring her great blessing from God and how she would become the envy of the world.
Deuteronomy 4:6-8
6) “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
7) “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?
8) “Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?
Israel would be a wonder throughout the world of nations. All the nations of the world would see the Law and the God who gave it and this would be a monument to God. During Israel's history, there were times when she fulfilled her mission; such as, in Solomon's day, through the prophet Jonah, and Daniel whose missionary work in Babylon and Persia was extraordinary.
I think of the story in the Book of Joshua regarding the spies that were sent to Jericho on a reconnaissance mission, which illustrates the principle. Unfortunately, the event is overshadowed by the fact that Rehab was a prostitute and she lied to protect these soldiers. However, the real story is her faith in the God of Heaven and Earth. She was a believer, but how was she evangelized? This is extraordinary! She is not a Jew. There was no Jewish nation or city that she could visit. For 450 years the Jews had been trapped in Egyptian bondage. But listen to her testimony:
Joshua 2:8-11
8) Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
9) and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.
10) “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea[39 years ago] before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11) “When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
The history of Israel and how God blessed and protected them is for her a testimony of God's existence, power, and greatness. Rehab heard the stories of Jehovah's power, the plagues upon Egypt, the crossing of the red sea on dry land, the destruction of Pharaoh's chariot army, and the defeat of the two Amorite kings. This gave her overwhelming proof of the existence of Jehovah, the God of Israel and she gave her heart to Him. She believed in God. Hundreds of miles away and some 39 years after the event of the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea some Gentiles had believed in the God of Heaven and Earth. This is an example of what God expressed to the people in Deuteronomy 4:6-8.
Rehab then ask to be spared the destruction which was ahead for the people of Jericho. The men gave her a scarlet cord to tie to her window so that those in the house would be safe. I can't help but see in the crimson cord as a picture of the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us so that we might be delivered from spiritual destruction that is the destiny of all who are without Christ. The Jews lives were spared in Egypt as the angel of death passed over their homes because they applied to their lintels the blood of an animal so that Rahab would be protected by the crimson cloth.
In Jesus day this mission was lost. It never occurred to them to seek to evangelize the Romans. However, one day, yet ahead, there will be 144,000 Jewish evangelists, 12,000 from each tribe who will go into the entire world sharing the good news of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. They will be rejected and suffer martyrdom, Revelation 7.
Secondly, Jesus saw how they distorted the Way of Salvation
The nation's constitution was the Law of Moses, and it had a spiritual component. The symbol of this spiritual element was the temple of God in Jerusalem. When that temple became defiled and corrupted, the nation is ripe for judgment. No priest- nation 3 can survive the destruction of their faith in God. The priesthood was established to preserve and protect the Word of God, to teach the people how to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and how to live a life that is pleasing to Him. It was in that relationship with God that He would bless His people above and beyond anything they could ask or think.
In reality, this is just the Temple of Herod. He restored and enlarged it. It was a splendid structure, but at this time it is anything but the Temple of God. The temple in Jerusalem was no different in policy than the Temple of Diana in Ephesus or the Temple of Isis in Egypt or temples of other world religions in outward appearance and ceremony, but they have the same underlying, fundamental error. You work for your salvation.
Remember, it is out of this place that all the distortions and confusion about the Messiah originated. If there is an error, these officials are responsible. If there is ignorance, then the religious leaders are accountable. All religious activity and teaching are generated from this place that Jesus now enters. Why didn't they recognize Him as Messiah?
Jesus' answer is shocking for His view of the temple was that it had become Satan's place [John 8:44]. The land was populated by Jewish unbelievers who through their law-keeping thought they were going to heaven by their good works. This is a lie. Those who believe this, the Bible teaches come under a strong delusion [just as in a future time - 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11]. When you reject the truth, God's truth as found in the Scripture, you fall under the lie of Satan. Paul faced this same thing at Galatia, and this was among believers. Paul wrote in the third chapter of Galatians, "You foolish Galatians who has bewitched you? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? [Galatians 3:2]”. Is it by faith or by good works? Be aware, dear Christian; you are not immune to this spiritual disease; that is, denying the truth of God and therefore falling for the lies of the evil one. Bible doctrine is your only protection against the wiles of the devil's world which is filled with false doctrines and teachings. What God has said is our only security!
The Jewish authorities distorted the way of salvation. What good is a Temple if the people who worship there are lost in a maze of works? What good is a temple if worship is cluttered with meaningless rituals? The purpose of the temple was to bring people to God. Jesus said this was not happening:
Matthew 23:13
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Matthew 23:15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Faith alone in Christ alone
The doctrine of salvation was distorted by the doctrine of works for salvation. All resistance to Christ and every rejection of Him was due to the teaching the people received before and during Christ's ministry. In a priest- nation the issue is doctrine! The issue is the truth! The Jews believed that they did not need a savior because they were Jews. Aren't Jews God's people? Isn't Abraham their father? The reality is that they were all heading for a Christless eternity.
Jesus said to Nicodemos, "You must be born again." You Nicodemos, a Jew, and a very religious person, a Pharisee, are not going to heaven as you are. You need a spiritual birth. Your Jewishness or your physical birth or your religious lifestyle is insufficient as a bases for salvation. This was a brand-new message to Nicodemos, but Why? It is the same message, the same gospel of salvation that God always gave to man, "it is not of works."
Late in our Lord's Judean ministry, several months before the events we are studying, Jesus was in the temple. The religious leaders sent the temple police to arrest Him. The arresting officers were so impressed with Jesus that they returned to their bosses’ empty-handed, and this is what the Scripture says about this incident:
John 7:44-49
44) And some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
45) The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why did you not bring Him?"
46) The officers answered, "Never did a man speak the way this man speaks."
47) The Pharisees therefore answered them, "You have not also been led astray, have you?
48) "No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he?
49) "But this multitude which does not know the Law is accursed."
In other words, we know best. We know the Law of Moses. We sit in Moses' seat. We are the only ones who are competent to judge who Jesus is. Have we believed? There was a great deal of confusion among the people as noted by John:
40) Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet."
41) Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?
42) "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"
43) So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him.
Where was the religious leadership? Why didn't they step in to clarify what the Scripture says about Messiah? Jesus hit the nail on the head when He said about the priesthood:
45) "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
46) For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.
47) "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words’?” John 5:45-47
How indeed! Jesus is saying they were not operating on the basis of the Word of God. The writing of the rabbis’ had replaced the Scripture. [find verse traditions] They were functioning on the explanation of men. The Messiah of Israel was no longer discernible. Apostasy removed the temple from being the "temple of God." Apostasy is the departure from the truth and in this case from the Law of Moses. The law was given to point them to Christ, as Jesus said "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. " Paul said, " the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith" Galatians 3:24
Well, of course, I have to ask. Given our Lord's words, who are you trusting in today? I am sure you are a good person, but that is not the central issue in salvation. God does not make the focus, "What you do for Him." He raises with us, the only way that a Just and Holy God can, the issue of trusting the work of Christ, not our works. We do not work to be saved; we work because we are saved.
Footnotes
1 The nation had been under the 4th cycle of discipline since 63 B.C. This is when the Roman's began to rule over the peoples of Palestine. At that time the nation lost its independence. From that time on they were not able to govern themselves. The iron hand of Rome would prevail over them. See study on the Fifth Cycle of Judgement in Reference Section. Or Click Here
2 The four unconditional covenants: 1. Abrahamic Covenant identifies the people and promises perpetuity and special protection: Genesis 12:1-3. 2. The Davidic Covenant identifies the ruling dynasty of Israel: 2 Samuel 7:8-17. 3. The Palestinian Covenant identifies the Promised land: Genesis 3:15; 15:18-21. 4. The New Covenant to Israel promises restoration after the 5th cycle of judgment: Jeremiah 31:31-34; cf., Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:15-17. These four covenants are unconditional and eternal and are guaranteed to Israel based upon the immutable character of God. He is always faithful to His promises. He keeps His Word.
3 A priest-nation is God's specifically protected representative on earth. The purpose is to be the center of evangelism, Bible teaching, and missionary activity, see also Hosea 4:6.