Matthew 21:12-17 New American Standard Bible 1995
Cleansing the Temple
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’ [a]den.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children 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 for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
We know a lot about Palm Sunday and Good Friday, but what is Holy Monday?
On Holy Monday, Jesus went back into Jerusalem and cursed a fruitless fig tree, wept over the city, and in a fit of great anger entered. then cleansed the temple.
Ponder this succession of events, the King of the World comes in riding on a donkey in humility to repeated shouts of the most joyous Hosanna on Sunday.
Then, the very next day, in complete contrast to the previous day, our great Rabbi, High Priest, enters the temple the next day and turns over the tables.
Holy Monday reminds us of the true mission and the worthiness of our Savior.
He was faultless, he was sinless a perfect model of praise and worship and here the people had taken His house of worship and made it all about selfish gain.
In thinking about all of the legalism and hypocrisy the Pharisees had been partaking in, it mightily grieved a normally calm and evenly collected Jesus.
His people were supposed to love God with all of their heart, mind and soul and strength and to love Him, but He was instead betrayed, ignored as Messiah and would be chosen over a murderous criminal to take the cross a few days later.
There is a clear verse in Ephesians 4:26 that says, “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”
Jesus was righteously angry, but his actions were not sinful.
It is hard to believe because we often like to take the love and compassion of Christ while ignoring His holiness and sovereignty.
Ponder this, He has gone into the place that was supposed to be His home, where God resided in the Holy of Holies, and observes the people were more interested in making a business out of His home-an obviously corrupt business.
They were taking advantage of God for personal gain.
They made it a place of robbery under the guise of righteousness.
They took away the attention and purpose of the Lord, and they prevented the people from connecting with Him and placed a unrighteous barrier in the way.
We see this in the time when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down the mountain, and the Israelites had crafted the golden calf to worship as an idol.
Moses broke the commandments and went back up the mountain a second time.
As we pray about the righteousness of Jesus, we can thank Him for His holiness and his gift of forgiveness to those who believe in Him.
We, too, have made His house about selfish gain.
We have sinned against Him, and we deserve His wrath eternally.
Yahweh Tsidkenu: “the Lord Our Righteousness”
Jeremiah 33:14-18New American Standard Bible 1995
The Davidic Kingdom
14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘[a]David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 [b]and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices [c] continually.’”
Do we ever find the book of Jeremiah too difficult to read?
It has many bleak passages about judgment and exile for God’s people, who relentlessly disregarded their covenant Lord.
The people were constantly unfaithful to their faithful God, Yahweh.
Today’s reading is set within that dreary context, but the content of the chapter is anything but depressing.
Though confined in the court of the king’s guard (see 32:2; 33:1), Jeremiah proclaims a bright future for the people of Judah.
God promises a future of healing and health, of forgiveness of sins, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The city will be restored for all nations to see, and it will be called Yahweh Tsidkenu, “The LORD Our Righteousness.”
Tsidkenu stems from the Hebrew word tsedek, meaning “stiff,” “straight,” or “righteousness.”
It occurs more than 1000 times in the Old Testament, translated variously as “right,” “righteous,” “righteousness,” “just,” “justify,” “declared innocent.”
It appears here in Jeremiah chapter 33 as Yahweh Tsidkenu, “The LORD Our Righteousness,” or “The LORD Our Righteous Savior.”
In this prophecy of restoration, we catch a brief but an exceptionally promising glimpse of “a righteous Branch from David’s line,” one through whom we are justified, declared innocent, made right with God through a coming Messiah.
Knowing that Jesus is your righteousness, live righteously today and always.
Gatekeeping the Love of Jesus
Matthew 21:15-17 English Standard Version
15 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, 16 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’?”
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Just one day prior, Jesus had entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey’s back and had been received with much acclaim. But not by everyone. The chief priests and Pharisees had no desire to welcome Jesus. They wanted Him dead.
Why?
Among other things, Jesus claimed to be “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6a, NLT).
The only path to God.
The religious leaders believed this to be blasphemous because the only path to God they knew was through keeping the Law. Jesus’ very existence threatened their authority and all the religious rules they loved to lord over other people.
Then we come to this day of Holy Week.
Jesus arrived at the temple and saw the outer courts filled with merchants selling sacrificial animals at prices only the wealthy could afford.
Even worse, because the outer courts were the only spaces where gentiles were allowed to enter and pray, all such opportunities for them to worship God were gone.
In His righteous anger, Jesus overturned the tables and drove the merchants out, declaring, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13, NLT).
Then we read:
“The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, ‘Praise God for the Son of David.’ But the leaders were indignant” (Matthew 21:14-15, NLT).
This moment in the temple was a visible representation of everything Jesus had come to do — tear down every barrier that exists between us and God so literally anyone could approach Him.
But even seeing the healing miracles Jesus performed, the leaders still didn’t get it.
Rather than bending to the authority of Jesus, they chose to continue in their way. They were gatekeeping the sacred for purposes of their profit and benefit.
It’s here I pause and reflect: Have I been guilty of gatekeeping Jesus? Deciding (whether consciously or not) whose righteousness, who is worthy of His love?
While I’ve never been accused of sacrifice price gouging, I wonder how many people I’ve written off as being “too far gone” for God to save them.
How often have I looked the other way instead of acting with compassion?
How many opportunities have I missed to remind someone they’re loved by the righteous God of the universe?
How many times have my words or actions unintentionally reconstructed the very barriers Jesus came to demolish?
How many times have yours?
How many times have we decided the righteousness of God is not enough and severely discounted, severely misrepresented God’s righteous love for us all?
May this day of Holy Week remind us the love of God is for everyone.
No gatekeeping required.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Dear Jesus,
We praise You for Your righteousness this Holy Monday. We could not be obedient to the law. We failed miserably. We could not even keep one command. However, You came, and in your faithfulness to Your Word and to us, You gave us new life and hope. As we reflect on Your anger that was perfect and righteous, help us to take our sin seriously. Enable us to be intentional to think about the ways that we have sinned against you by sins of omission and sins of commission.
We have not followed You. We have turned to our own fleshly ways. We have committed spiritual adultery against You as our Groom. Please forgive us. Please help us not to stay there. Give us the conviction by Your Spirit, the foundation of Your Word, and the support of community to propel us into lives that fully honor You. Help us to look more like You, Jesus. Thank You for turning the tables that day. For giving us an eternal reminder that You flip our legalism and our deceptions on the ground and everything is leveled by the cross. All have sinned and fall short of Your glory. All deserve death and hell. But You came in Your holiness, and Your righteousness became our own. Thank You for Your great mercy on us. Thank You for being righteous for us and then placing it upon all who believe in Your name. Amen.
Psalm 16 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3 As for the [d]saints who are in the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The [f]sorrows of those who have [g]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my [h]mind instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to [i]Sheol;
Nor will You [j]allow Your [k]Holy One to [l]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 