LUKE 19:45-48

Luke 19:45-48

Many of you remember in 2003, the U.S. launched an attack on Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction, but also to remove the brutal dictator Sadaam Hussein. What became clear early in the war was it was a race to Baghdad. While dealing with resistance along the way, the objective was to get to headquarters and take out governmental and military leaders. For the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, 3rd Infantry Division, and others, it was, get to enemy headquarters as fast as possible, secure it.

The Coalition Forces led by the U.S. entered Iraq on March 20 and by April 4, through “Shock and Awe” the forces had taken the Baghdad Airport. A few days later, April 8, military and governmental leaders had abandoned Baghdad itself – and the capture of the city was symbolized by the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue the following day.

Interestingly, along the way, U.S. forces had strict instructions to avoid religious shrines, mosques, and temples. Take out Saddam – but leave the mosques alone. This was not to be a holy war – stay away from religious and holy sites. In fact, there came a time when American troops were fired upon by Saddam loyalists from within a mosque, and they had to get permission to fire back. At other times, the loyalists would fire on American troops and run to local mosques. Like a game of tag, mosques were considered base – a safe place where they knew American troops would not follow.

Here’s the point. If you’re going to win a war, stage any kind of takeover, any kind of military action, any would-be conqueror knows you have to supplant the existing governmental and military regime. And, if you’re going to win the confidence and support of the people, stay away from their religious shrines and holy places. Right? Enter Jesus. The Messiah, the Jewish hero – the long-awaited conqueror – the one who would throw off Roman oppression.

A few weeks ago, we looked at His entrance into Jerusalem on what we call the Triumphal Entry. He entered the city on a donkey – actually, on a colt, the foal of a donkey – a beast of burden. Maybe it wasn’t the grand entrance you would expect of a mighty conqueror – no trusty stallion, no chariot, no tank or Humvee, no flowing cape or glittering stars on His collar. But we’ll take it – after all, the people did receive Him. They threw their own capes before Him – peasant cloaks, to be sure. And they began hailing the coming conqueror, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” The other gospels tell us they cried, “Hosanna [meaning save us now, hosanna] to the Son of David.”

Now, as a coming conqueror, everyone knew the route He would or should take. It should have been a race to governmental and military headquarters – that is, if you want to be successful. Now, while Jerusalem was the capital of Palestine, there was a despised occupation army in the land. The hero Messiah, everyone knew, would get rid of Rome and end the dastardly occupation. Of course He would. So, when the conqueror came, of course He would make His way to enemy headquarters, that is, the Antonia Fortress.

Built by Herod the Great in 35 B.C., the fortress was named after his friend, Marc Anthony. It stood 115 feet high and was partly surrounded by a deep ravine. It functioned as the headquarters and barracks for the Roman army. Typically, there were 600 Roman soldiers garrisoned there. Strategically located on the northwest of the Temple Mount – it was supposed to guard the Temple. More likely, it was there to keep an eye on the religious leaders and zealots within the country which had been a thorn in Rome’s side. In fact, the ceremonial robes of the High Priest were kept in one of the four guard towers and only worn on Passover and other important religious feast days. The Romans realized the tremendous power of the High Priest and had taken custody of his robes as a precaution.

So, if you were going to take the city of Jerusalem in a successful military operation, you would have to take the Antonia Fortress. Everybody knew that. In fact, in 66 AD when the Zealots staged their revolt, that’s what they did. Of course. The expected route may be through the Golden Gate, through the Temple grounds, but to the fortress.

But as you may know, that’s not what Jesus did. He came through the gate, maybe the Golden Gate, and to the Temple – not to the fortress. He violated one of the first rules of engagement – He went to a holy site. Jesus – that’s not the way to stage a takeover. All you’ll do is infuriate governmental leaders, but more, religious leaders – the chief priests, scribes, the elders. This was a religious country. Did you know, that’s currently one of the challenges with Gaza and Iran. You don’t do that. But that’s what He did – He went to the Temple – and that’s not all He did. Read it with me – Luke 19:45-48.

Jesus’ so-called triumphal entry was not very impressive, but He was less so as a conqueror – He failed at military conquest 101. He went straight to the religious shrine, the holy site of all holy sites. It was called Herod’s Temple because he started a reconstruction in 20 BC, and it was still being built in Jesus’ day. He enlarged it and made it grandiose, one of the most beautiful temples in all the ancient world. Marble, gold, pillars, silver and bronze, ornate curtains. The common person couldn’t even see the holy of holies with its golden ark of the covenant and golden cherubim. It was stunning. And Jesus showed up and made a mess. The parallel narratives in the other gospels tell us He turned over tables, threw some chairs, drove out moneychangers and even worshippers from their place of worship. Everyone knows you don’t do that if you want to stage a successful military coup. Leave religion out of it.

It’s no wonder they turned on Him, even crucified Him by the end of the week. He was a failure as a conqueror. Unless, unless…He was staging a different kind of coup – maybe it wasn’t a military coup at all. Unless, He was a different kind of Conqueror King. Unless, He was setting up a different kind of kingdom. A kingdom, by the way, which has continued to thrive for almost 2000 years after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of this magnificent temple, and almost 1600 years after the fall of the Roman Empire. It’s a different kind of kingdom, with a different kind of King. Let me give you the outline of the text as we begin:

I. Those Jesus Opposes in the Temple (45-46)
II. Those Jesus Teaches in the Temple (47a,48b)
III. Those Opposing Jesus in the Temple (47b-48a)

Let’s set the stage by looking at those Jesus drove out of the Temple, and try to answer the question, why? What was He doing? Now, most of you know this story, but you should note, this is actually the second time Jesus cleansed the Temple – the first time was at the beginning of His ministry over in John 2 – Luke didn’t tell us about that, but there we read:

13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”

Again, the question, what was Jesus doing, why was He mad? We use this story to teach things like – it’s okay to get mad, Jesus did – but why? We may miss it. We know the story – and we use it to teach things that probably have little to do with the story – like you shouldn’t sell things in church, like you should be respectful in church – you shouldn’t run around, everything should be neat and tidy. Interesting thing is, when Jesus got finished, the place was a mess. As we look at it, let’s try to figure out – what’s going on?

Now, it’s interesting to note, while the author of Luke was a Gentile, the Jewish Temple played an important role in his gospel. Chapter 1 began at the Temple, when the priest Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, had a vision in the Temple. Later, Jesus was taken to the Temple when He was eight days old to be presented and redeemed. It was later, when Jesus was 12 and discovered missing after a Passover, that His parents found Him at the Temple, “Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house?” Then, Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple to tempt Him. The temple played a central role. Why?

John tells us Jesus made several trips to Jerusalem and its Temple during His ministry – usually during the feasts. In this last week of His life, Mark tells us Jesus went to the Temple on Monday of Passion Week – the day after the Triumphal Entry. He will spend the next few days of this last week there, teaching the people.

I want to remind you it was Passover and there were hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in Jerusalem at this time – hotels were full, people pitched tents and slept in the streets or in the countryside – which is why Jesus made His way back to Bethany each evening – probably to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. There were lots of people, and the center of attention, the place everyone eventually went, was the Temple. There were thousands of people milling around this particular Monday.

The Temple was more than a building, it was a complex. Within that complex, there were specific areas where certain people were allowed to go, others were not. Like concentric circles moving inward, it went like this. It was 500 yards long, 325 yards wide – it covered 35 acres. It was huge, surrounded by a covered porch with giant Corinthian pillars. Furthest out was the large court of the Gentiles, where pretty much everyone could go – men, women, children, Gentiles. From there, you would go through a gate called Beautiful, and enter into the court of women, where Jewish women and Jewish men were permitted. I’m not sure about kids, but no Gentiles were allowed there – there was that sign by the gate that read if any Gentiles entered, they would be responsible for their own deaths.

Through another gate, the Nicanor Gate, which was made of Corinthian bronze and took 20 men to open and shut each day, came the court of Israel, where circumcised Jewish men gathered – no women, no children. Inside that court, through an entryway, was the elevated court of the priests. The men would bring their sacrifices to the priests, but they could come no closer. At the center was the Holy Place, within which was the Holy of Holies, separated by the veil, where only the High Priest went, and then, only once a year on the Day of Atonement.

Now think about it: this physical setup made God a bit remote – the closer you got to the center, the closer you got to God, but the fewer could come. And it wasn’t just the physical setup that made God remote, it was the system which really made Him unapproachable. You see, it was in the court of the Gentiles, farthest out, that the moneychangers and those selling sacrifices set up shop. There is some evidence they used to set up across the Kidron Valley on the Mount of Olives. But at some recent point, they had moved to the temple – to the court of the Gentiles. It was like a mall – not a lot of worship happening there.

This whole setup, this whole scene, felt an awful lot like this – you can’t get to God. He’s separate, He’s aloof – you aren’t holy enough. There’s only one person, once a year, who gets to the ark of the covenant, who gets to the mercy seat, who gets to God – the rest of you, keep your distance. Let me give you a sneak preview: when Jesus drove the moneychangers and traders out of the Temple and even the buyers; He was in that farthest court out – the court of the Gentiles. This whole story unfolds in the Court of the Gentiles. The point is, where was God, then? In the outer court. He was accessible – you could get to Him. You see, Jesus showed up and blew that picture up – He came and said, you can get to God. Which is why, a few days later, when He is crucified, the veil of the Temple will be ripped in two. You can get to God – you do have access through a new and living way.

Now understand, there was a sense in which what they did in that outer court was a needed service. Pilgrims were coming from all over the Roman Empire. The moneychangers would exchange the pilgrim’s currency for Tyrian currency – the currency accepted at the Temple. Specifically, they would exchange money into half-shekel units – why? Because, Jewish men were required to pay the half-shekel temple tax once a year. It was due by Passover and most of the time, they’d wait till Passover to pay, just like you wait till April 15. Nothing wrong with that.

As for the sacrifices – remember, the sacrificial system was in place. If you were coming to the Temple to worship, certain sacrifices were prescribed. You needed animals and oil, wine, grain, salt, things like that. Not only that – this was Passover. So, you needed a Passover lamb to sacrifice. Where to get one? You could bring one with you on the long trip to Jerusalem, or you could just wait till you got there – most did.

So, the moneychangers and those selling sacrifices set up shop in the outer court of the Gentiles. By this time, this market had become known as the Bazaar of Annas – Annas was the high priest at that time. You see, this whole system had become a corrupt scam by which the priests got rich exploiting the people. How? First, the priests, actually charged franchise fees for the right to set up shop in the Temple. And the merchants, in turn, fleeced the people. If you came to exchange money, the moneychangers charged you a hefty 25% fee, half a day’s wages for the common man.

Not only that, if you brought your own Passover lamb, it had to be approved by the priests. After all, the lamb was supposed to be without spot or blemish. Guess what? The sacrifices people brought were often unacceptable – no problem – it just so happens we have priest-approved sacrifices available right here, for a price. They were charged as much as ten times the going rate. It was Passover – you didn’t have a choice. Suddenly, God is getting more distant, remote – you can’t get to God – you don’t have what it takes – and if you want to, you’re gonna pay a high price. The priests fleeced the flock; they were stealing from the people. That’s why Jesus said, this place meant to be a house of prayer, you’ve made it into a robbers’ den. By the way, that’s a quote from two OT Prophets. That it was to be a house of prayer for all nations was from Isaiah 56:6-7, which reads:

6 “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath
And holds fast My covenant;
7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

All nations. The Israelite and Gentile believers were to be given access. It wasn’t till later, in the Second Temple period and certainly during Herod’s Temple that the inner court was restricted to only Jewish men and the next, court of women, and outer court for the Gentiles.

The last part, the robber’s den, is found in Jeremiah 7 where the prophet is decrying the sins of Israel – read it, it’s a stunning denunciation that they would have known – robbers in the temple. But, the merchants and moneychangers weren’t the only problems. This is critically important – Mark says Jesus drove out the ones selling and the ones buying. We miss that – we think He was just mad at the merchants. But, He didn’t just get rid of the sellers; He threw out the buyers, the pilgrims.

What? Why? This is key to what’s going on – the whole system had deteriorated into a corrupt, merchandizing system. The Temple was the place you were supposed to come meet God – it was supposed to be a house of prayer. But they, all of them, had reduced it to a system of external performance and compliance. Pay the right price, perform the legal obligations, and you’re fine – God-approved. It was a corrupt, bankrupt system of buying your way into God’s favor. Jesus said, this is not acceptable, and threw the whole thing out.

Today is November 1, which means yesterday was October 31 – not Halloween, Reformation Day. That’s important, because on that day – 509 years ago, a German Augustinian monk posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenburg protesting the same challenges. The church was corrupt. You can spend a little money, buy an indulgence, and get to God. You can buy your way or a family member’s way out of purgatory. It was a bankrupt, made up, ungodly religious system of buying favor, making money, and it made Martin Luther sick, and brought about the much-needed Protestant Reformation.

The fact is, the Jewish system had become a rote, mechanical performance that was devoid of worship, devoid of truth, devoid of righteousness, justice and mercy. And Jesus threw them out – all of them. This is meant to be a place to meet God, and you have erected an entire system whereby people are kept from Him. Get out of My Father’s House. He came to stage not a military coup – but a spiritual coup. To set up, not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom.

It makes me wonder – has the church of Jesus Christ, in any way, become a system by which people meet God? Come here, do it our way, jump through these hoops, and you’ll be fine. No real worship, no real prayer, no real relationship?

Jesus marched into the Temple and symbolically overturned a different kind of oppressor – one with far greater implications than the guys next door at the Antonia Fortress. He made it clear the biggest problem in Palestine was not secular oppression, but spiritual oppression – a system designed to make people feel good about themselves, a system which in fact kept people from God. It was a robbers’ den – where souls were stolen.

Before we move to our next point, I want you to notice something else. If you have headings in your Bibles, this story is likely called the Cleansing of the Temple. Think about that. If you told your kids to clean their rooms and they went in, started overturning desks and nightstands, throwing their homework and bedding on the floor, tossing their Legos around the room, would you call that cleansing the room? I don’t think so. When Jesus finished, the place was a wreck. Overturned tables, coins rolling everywhere, people scurrying about, feathers flying. The Cleansing of the Temple.

What a beautiful picture to illustrate exactly what Jesus did. You see, when He came, He came to wreck religious systems – to clean out our vain attempts to make ourselves acceptable to God. And Matthew tells us, when the place was a wreck, when He had driven out the religious, others felt like they could approach Him – the lame, the blind, the sick, children came to Him. Again, it was a cleansing, but not a physical cleansing – it was a spiritual cleansing. This is where you meet God.

Which leads quickly to our second point – those Jesus teaches at the Temple. I only mention this because it sets the stage for the next three chapters. Look at the beginning of verse 47 and the end of verse 48, “And He was teaching daily in the temple…[and] all the people were hanging on to every word He said.” Again, when the place was swept clean of a corrupt system, then people could come and hear from the Savior. That’s what the church is supposed to be – a place where broken people can come and find grace, healing and forgiveness – not jump through a bunch of hoops.

Which leads, lastly, to those opposing Him in the Temple. Look at verses 47 and 48 again, “the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything they might do…” You see, in the next few chapters, while He is teaching the people, these guys were sending their stooges to try and trap Him – to catch Him in what He said – to destroy Him – but they could not. We’ll look at that in the months ahead, but you can try to find fault with Jesus, but you can not.

Which brings us to our conclusion. You know what I’m sure of? It’s possible that while Jesus was there that week, these moneychangers and merchants stayed away – after all, He’d done this before. But, when Jesus walked out of the Temple, either that day or after His crucifixion, they came back. They straightened the tables, put their coins in nice, neat rows. Those selling sacrifices were back – everything was straightened out – the temple was clean and shiny again – they did their own cleansing of the temple. It was business as usual. And by the end of the week, they had crucified this would-be Messiah. Because they didn’t understand the kingdom He came to bring.

What are we to do with this message – with this truth? I’m not interested in shiny temples, are you? You see, the temples Jesus came to cleanse and make right, are us – the temple of the Holy Spirit – and I want Him to clean out whatever He wants to clean, don’t you? 1 Corinthians 6, so you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? 1 Peter 2, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 2, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a temple in the Lord.” What is it that is cluttering your relationship with God, that needs to go?

The truth is this: Jesus did come to Jerusalem to conquer. But He came to conquer the unjust and hypocritical ways of religious systems which had made captive the hearts of people. He’s not interested in our performance – He’s not interested in our jumping through hoops. He’s interested in broken people coming to Him, realizing their own brokenness, with complete dependence on Him – by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as declared in Scripture alone, to God be the glory alone. He’s not interested in this place being all clean and shiny – with everything in its place and the chairs in nice, neat rows and the plants and flowers beautifully arranged. He’s interested in us coming to Him, with the messiness of our lives, saying, Jesus, I need you to fix me – clean me up, no one else can. That’s the kind of kingdom I want – it’s a kingdom that will never end.