Matthew 21:12-17 Cleansing the Temple
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: July 5, 2019 Matthew 21:12-17
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
(Revelation of God) Jesus cleared out the temple two different times-once at the beginning of His ministry and once at the end. Why did He clear it out at this time? Was it so that it would be cleaned out when He made His sacrifice? Was it to rile up the leaders so that they would feel compelled to respond to His challenge? Was it so that He could teach there in the outer court to symbolically show where He was in His ministry? Were these the only times that Jesus officially entered the temple, and He felt the necessity of cleaning it out every time He was officially there?
(Understanding the Text) Jesus said “It is written.” Where is it written? Isaiah says “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.” (Isaiah 56:6-8). The part that Jesus cleaned out was the outer court where the Gentiles could come. The Jews had deemed that having a place where Gentiles could come and peacefully worship was not important. They figured that they had all that empty space, and they could use it to make their own worship more efficient. They were making it more convenient for the Jews–both worshipers and the priests who were profiting from the worship. The fact that Jesus declared it a den of thieves means that the people were being cheated by the sellers and moneychangers. Thus, besides the noise and the taking up of space, the Gentiles were being repelled from the temple by being cheated.
Many barriers were being placed in the way of Gentiles coming to God. Do we make barriers to gentiles coming to God that make us a den of corruption of some kind? I can’t think of anything comparable, but there must be some barrier because people are not joining in. However, I’m not sure what the barrier is except strangeness and a lack of friendliness in some churches. I tend to think that our biggest barrier to Gentiles is that we ourselves do not socialize with Gentiles, and we do not have a relationship with God that allows Him to shine through so that they come to us wanting to know God and have what we have.
Jesus sat in the outer court and received visitors. The crippled and blind were brought before Him, and He healed them. Families came to the temple to listen to Him. The children sang out what everyone was thinking after His triumphal entry the day before. This was the descendant of David who was the Messiah. The chief priests and scribes were not protesting the overturning of the tables. They knew that they could set them up again when He was gone, and their profits would continue. They had learned that lesson the first time. They were protesting the title that the children were giving to Jesus–Son of David. The children were declaring openly that Jesus was the Messiah, and Jesus was accepting the praise openly. When the leaders called Him on it, He did not back down. While He did not actually say, “I am the Messiah,” He indirectly said it.
Which verse is He referring to about out of the mouth of babes? I found a Psalm that is somewhat similar, but not exactly. “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:2). I can’t find a verse that says established or prepared praise, only established strength. Was this a common saying at the time? Or was this the original meaning of Psalm 8:2?
Jesus stayed the night outside of Jerusalem in Bethany. There were places that He could have stayed in Jerusalem if He had wanted. Mark’s mother’s house was open to Him. Why did He stay outside of Jerusalem? Was it to avoid giving the chief priests an opportunity to take Him before it was time? Was it to stay with people who loved Him and relax with them in these last few days before His death? Was it that He did not want to create too big a disturbance in Jerusalem with the crowds that always gathered around Him because the Romans would move on Him too soon? I don’t know.
(Application) My application for myself is I should always consider the people that God wants to draw to Him, and I should never make a barrier to keep them from Him. I should find ways to welcome them to God. Also, I should encourage the young ones in their praise for God. He likes them to sing out their praise. I should never shut them down. That’s all I’ve got this morning.
(Prayer) Please never let me push anyone away from You. Take all my mistakes and awkward words and use them to draw people to You.