The Son Reclaims His Father's House

The Son Reclaims His Father’s House

Palm Sunday

Collect of the Day: ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 21:1-17

1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

When I was a minister to students, I took a young man to lunch and asked, “What do you want to do with your life?” It turned out that his family’s business had been bought and several family members dismissed. He told me he goal was to go into that business and reclaim it for the family.

Jesus as a Son loved his Father and his Father’s house, the Temple. One of his goals was to reclaim the Father’s house for the Father.

1. Claiming Kingship

Jesus spent Saturday night in Bethany with his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. On Sunday morning he began the short journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. As he and his disciples arrived at the Mt. of Olives Jesus sent two of his disciples to get a donkey colt he had arranged with the owner to use. The colt had never been ridden so the disciples also brought along the mother to calm the colt.

As they got near Jerusalem, the disciples threw their cloaks on the colt, and Jesus began to ride into the city. There were people following along behind Jesus, and people coming out of the city to greet him. Many people took off their cloaks and threw them on the ground, while others went into the countryside and cut palm branches which they also threw on the ground, so that Jesus rode on a covered path.

One of St. Matthew’s special interests is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy in the life and ministry of Jesus. Here he quotes briefly from today’s Old Testament lesson from Zechariah 9:

All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold,

           thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and

     sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of

an ass.

Not just St. Matthew but Jesus himself sees his entrance into Jerusalem as the fulfillment of Zechariah’s words. Having repeatedly damped down speculation that he was the Messiah, Jesus now embraces that identity. He is the Messiah-King. He is not not like the vain kings of the world, for he is not proud and grabbing power, but meek. He comes not riding a charger at the head of a great army but riding a donkey as a king on a mission of peace. On this day Jesus says, “I am your Messiah - your King. I am not the King you envisioned and wished for, but I am the King you need - the King who will deliver you from  Satan, sin, and death.”

At Passover time, when the people celebrated their deliverance from Egypt, Messianic excitement ran high with hopes that this year the Messiah might appear as their Deliverer and Liberator to expel the Romans and restore the Jewish kingdom. So, when Jesus came riding on a donkey, a crowd already around him, and others gathering so there was  great crowd, some going ahead of Jesus and some following him began to shout, “Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”

Their words come from Psalm 118, the last of 6 Psalm called Hallel Psalms that were sung at Passover. It is likely that St. Mark was referring to this Psalm when he wrote that at the conclusion of the Passover Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn before they went to the Mt. of Olives.

Psalm 118 was written for the celebration in Jerusalem of a king’s victory. At one point his cause seemed hopeless, but the Lord helped him, and he prevailed. As Jesus rode into the city, the crowds shouted to him, “Save us, we pray, O LORD.” When that is translated into Greek it is “Hosanna!” The people went on shouting to their King, “Blessed is he who comes in the  name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.”

They were shouting words from  an ancient and and well known song. They were calling out to words that celebrated the victory of a king. The scene caused such a stir that people were asking about Jesus, “Who is this?” Others answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” That answer is true but inadequa

What was Jesus saying? He was saying, “I am the Messiah, the King, the Deliverer of God’s people. I am the greater Son of great king David, the Messiah you have longed for. I am different from your expectations of a nationalistic, military Messiah. I have come on a mission of peace - to establish peace between you and God by dying for your sins. I will do a far greater work of salvation and deliverance than kicking out the Romans and sitting on a throne in Jerusalem. I will save you from the devil, sin, death, and hell.

Jesus orchestrates Palm Sunday to proclaim himself Messiah, King, Deliverer, Liberator.

2. Cleaning House

When we read St. Matthew’s account it seems that Jesus reclaimed the Temple for his Father on the same day as his Triumphal Entry. But when we compare Matthew’s account with St. Mark’s we find that Matthew has compressed the story. Mark tells us that on Sunday Jesus went to the Temple, looked around, surveyed the condition of the Father’s house, and then went back to Bethany for the night.

The next day he went back to Jerusalem and to the Temple. He saw what he had seen the day before -  merchants selling animals and moneychangers exchanging currency. Why had the Temple authorities allowed people to set up to do business at the Temple?

First, it is important for us to know that these businesses were not set up inside the Temple building itself or in the area outside the entrance where sacrifices were made on the altar. The Temple area was large and included courts outside such as the Court of the Women and the Court of the Gentiles. The merchants were set up in one of the courts.

There was a practical reason that these merchants were doing business in the Temple precincts. Remember that pilgrims - Jews, Gentile converts called proselytes, and Gentile followers called God-fears - came from Palestine and also from all over the Graeco-Roman world to participate in Passover. They needed sacrifices to present at the Temple. Those who could afford it were expected to offer a sheep, while the poorer people offered pigeons. But, unless you lived near Jerusalem, it was impossible for you to bring your own animal. You would need to buy one. Where more convenient to get an animal for sacrifice than at the Temple itself?

Worshipers also needed to give offerings of money. However, Roman currency was not accepted at the Temple. There was a special Temple currency, so worshipers needed to exchange their secular money for temple money. What could be more convenient than to exchange your currency at the Temple?

But this convenience put the merchant at an advantage. If you’ve flown into a foreign country where you needed to exchange some American dollars for local currency, you know that, if you do that transaction at the airport, the exchange rate will be less favorable to you. You will pay a premium for the convenience.

But the buying and selling at the Temple went beyond the customer’s paying extra for the convenience of buying at animal that near the altar and exchanging currency that near where you would make your offering. The merchant had the customer at his mercy. He  could and did take advantage of the situation to charge exorbitant prices and fees for animals currency exchange. It opened up all sorts of opportunity for dishonesty, fraud, and price gouging. The effect rob those who needed the services.

So Jesus, who loved his Father and his Father’s house, saw it as his responsibility as the royal Son, to do something about the corruption he found in his Father’s house. So Jesus drove out both the sellers and the buyers. He overturned the tables and seats of the merchant and moneychangers. He said, quoting from Isaiah, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” He was saying, T”his place is dedicated to God - a place of worship and prayer, but you make it look like a cave where a bunch of robbers hang out planning their crimes.”

We see here a side of Jesus that many don’t know about and others prefer not to think about - the holy anger and righteous indignation of Jesus. Some think the God of the Old Testament is a God capable of wrath, but when Jesus comes we see that God is a God of love and tolerance. This scene says, “No, Jesus reveals the holy anger of God over the corruption of his Temple.”

What is the Temple today? St. Paul tells us that the church is the temple of the living God. You, we together, are the dwelling place of God, the holy building made up of living stones, where God is worshiped and proclaimed.

Jesus had to cleanse this Temple to make it a place where God would live - a place where God would dwell and not consume with his wrath against sin. Jesus cleansed and purified his church with his blood so that the Father sees the church not a spotted with the defilement and dirt of sin, but as clean and white, washed in the blood of Jesus.

So we come to this Table, the memorial of Christ’s sacrificial death, the place of  thanks for his shedding of his own blood to make us clean, and the place where by faith we commune with Christ who makes our bodies clean and washes our souls with his precious blood.