Mat 21:12-13 | KingComments | STEP | In Jerusalem the Lord goes to the temple, the center of their religion. He proves His royal power by cleansing it. Without any restraint He drives everyone and everything out of the temple, His house. The Lord Jesus cleansed the temple twice. The first time we read about it in the Gospel according to John. There He does so even before He begins His public ministry ( ). The zeal for the honor of the house of His Father drives Him. There is also the proof that He rejects them because they have rejected Him. This is certain from the beginning of that Gospel: “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” ( ). Now, standing just before the end of His earthly journey, He cleanses the temple once more. He acts on the basis of the Word. He saw the abuse of God’s house, which he called “My house” according to the quote ( ). In Him we see Yahweh acting. It is His house. People should come there who are in need of and seek God’s help. However, the Jews turned it into a trading house. They want to benefit from it themselves. In this way they have made it a robbers’ den ( ). They rob God of his due. Through the presence of the Son of God, the temple becomes, after having cleansed it, a house of mercy where people come to Him with their misery. And He helps them. This is not to the liking of the chief priests and scribes who have their own ideas about the temple, about Christ, about His miracles, and about children singing His praises in the temple. These people reveal again their resistance to Him. They can only criticize. They find every tribute to Him misplaced. They want to receive honor from people themselves. They dare to ask Him if He understands what the children are saying. He answers that He certainly hears it and appeals to the Scriptures. From what He cites from Scripture, it becomes clear that He is Yahweh ( ). The Lord does not wait for their reaction. He has finished talking with them. He does not want to spend the night in Jerusalem, but with people who gladly receive Him. Indeed, Martha and Mary and Lazarus live in Bethany.

‏ Matthew 21:12-13

The Cleansing of the Temple

In Jerusalem the Lord goes to the temple, the center of their religion. He proves His royal power by cleansing it. Without any restraint He drives everyone and everything out of the temple, His house.

The Lord Jesus cleansed the temple twice. The first time we read about it in the Gospel according to John. There He does so even before He begins His public ministry (Jn 2:13-17). The zeal for the honor of the house of His Father drives Him. There is also the proof that He rejects them because they have rejected Him. This is certain from the beginning of that Gospel: “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (Jn 1:11).

Now, standing just before the end of His earthly journey, He cleanses the temple once more. He acts on the basis of the Word. He saw the abuse of God’s house, which he called “My house” according to the quote (Isa 56:7c). In Him we see Yahweh acting. It is His house. People should come there who are in need of and seek God’s help. However, the Jews turned it into a trading house. They want to benefit from it themselves. In this way they have made it a robbers’ den (Jer 7:11). They rob God of his due. Through the presence of the Son of God, the temple becomes, after having cleansed it, a house of mercy where people come to Him with their misery. And He helps them.

This is not to the liking of the chief priests and scribes who have their own ideas about the temple, about Christ, about His miracles, and about children singing His praises in the temple. These people reveal again their resistance to Him. They can only criticize. They find every tribute to Him misplaced. They want to receive honor from people themselves. They dare to ask Him if He understands what the children are saying. He answers that He certainly hears it and appeals to the Scriptures. From what He cites from Scripture, it becomes clear that He is Yahweh (Psa 8:3).

The Lord does not wait for their reaction. He has finished talking with them. He does not want to spend the night in Jerusalem, but with people who gladly receive Him. Indeed, Martha and Mary and Lazarus live in Bethany.