Why Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple?
In this teaching, I want to cover one of the key reasons why Jesus cleansed the Temple.
Oftentimes, we’ll learn about the specific details of exactly what Jesus did, as He drove out those who bought and sold in the Temple.
And that He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
And how He quoted Scripture.
But we can see that Jesus is giving some kind of signal to the people!
So I always wondered what was the significance of Christ cleansing the Temple?
Because usually I was just taught about WHAT Jesus did.
Or WHY Jesus cleansed certain things in the Temple.
WHEN THE TEMPLE WAS CLEANSED IS IMPORTANT AND SYMBOLIC
You see, what’s important is not just WHAT Jesus did in cleansing the Temple.
What’s important is also the context of WHEN Jesus cleansed the Temple!
Because He’s doing something symbolic that we can see, but we need to see the context of the Palm Sunday story!
We know that Jesus cleansed the Temple at the start of His earthly ministry.
But now three years later, Jesus cleanses the temple again! This is His second time.
Luke tells us this Temple cleansing occurred after Jesus had His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Luke 19:45-46 says – “Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
JESUS JUST FULFILLED A HUGE PROPHECY AS JERUSALEM’S KING
Palm Sunday is the day that the LORD had made where Jesus would be formally announced and publicly proclaimed as King, Messiah and Savior.
But before this day, Jesus wouldn’t allow Himself to be publicly and formally proclaimed as King.
IN THE HISTORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE, THERE WERE BAD KINGS AND GOOD KINGS
In the time of the Kings, the Northern kingdom was called Israel, while the Southern kingdom was called Judah.
The Northern kingdom had no good kings! They were corrupt, they worshiped false gods, and they typically fell deeply into idolatry and immoralities and they would not repent.
The Southern kingdom had Jerusalem, they had the Temple and they had some good kings.
They were obviously much more obedient to God’s Word in the Southern Kingdom, and so God blessed Judah far more than Israel up North.
When you study the good kings, a good king would remove idols and the worship of false gods out of the Temple.
In other words, a good king would cleanse the Temple, restore the people back to God’s Word and help restore the people back to the worship of the one true God.
JESUS IS JERUSALEM’S ULTIMATE GOOD KING!
So on Palm Sunday, as Jesus fulfilled a huge prophecy that Jerusalem’s “King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey.”
Then this Prophesied King comes into the Temple and cleanses the Temple.
He’s showing all of us that Jerusalem’s ultimate Good King has arrived!
So let’s remember that we can trust this King, Jesus Messiah!
He’s not only the King of kings, but wants to be the Savior for your sins and be the Lord of your life.
Palm Sunday, and all the prophecies surrounding it are a huge demonstration of how accurate and unbreakable God’s Word is.
Let’s continue to trust Jesus as our Good King and continue to share His Good News with the world!
God bless you and see you soon!
Question: As you see Jesus as your Good King, how can you share this Good News with others?