What kind of salvation do you want?

“Who Is This?”

(Matthew 21:10-17, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 2, 2008)

Matthew 21:10-17 ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" ¹¹ And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." ¹² 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. ¹³ He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." 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 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.

Introduction – Hosanna… More than a prophet… What kind of salvation are you seeking?

The crowds were shouting “Hosanna” and calling Him the Son of David. The word Hosanna was an ancient cry for salvation. “Save us!” they were yelling to Him. I am surprised that they were doing this. I am sure that God had something to do with it, as He worked even within little children to bring His only-begotten Son praise that would be recorded in the Scriptures for our consideration.

Nonetheless, there were human motivations at work in their cry. What kind of salvation did they want? While every crowd in the New Testament is not the same in terms of their desires and actions, I think we can have some idea of what the crowds may have been looking for from this man that they were praising. His reputation must have preceded Him in some way. The crowds wanted healing, someone to give people freedom from demons, and food. It appears that some wanted to make Him King, more than they perhaps wanted Him to be the King that He came to be. This combination of things is the salvation that they surely wanted when they yelled out to Him, “Save us!” What kind of salvation do you want? They were wrong about Jesus. He was not their man. Are you looking for help that He is not going to give you? Are you ignoring the help that He comes to give you even today?

Who is this? (10-11)

The arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem is an earth-shaking event. That’s something close to what is meant by the words “stirred up.” There are four other uses of this expression in the Greek New Testament. Three of them have to do with something like an earthquake, and the final one describes the reaction of the guards to the angel visitation at the time of Jesus’ resurrection, when they shook with fear. Jesus’ arrival into the temple area shook the whole city.

Not everyone knew who He was, but they knew that there was some disturbance related to one man. Naturally, they wanted to know who He was. Some people in the crowds simply said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” This was of course true. Though He was more than a prophet, He certainly was a prophet. He was an authoritative spokesman of the Word of God, which is what a true prophet is supposed to be. He was from Nazareth of Galilee, an unremarkable town in a region that was not well thought of among important people. There was no expectation among the religious leaders that any prophet would come from Galilee, and there was no expectation among the people at large that anything good at all would come from Nazareth. Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem, and there were expectations about a Messiah coming from that town, but the story of His birth does not appear to be widely known by anyone at the time of this final week of His mortal life.

What kind of salvation would this prophet bring? Why was there such a stir concerning this man? Certainly it was not a common thing for a true prophet to arise in that era. In the time between Malachi and John the Baptist it does not appear that there were any true prophets. Of course false prophets could always be found, but false prophets cannot open the eyes of the blind. Jesus was doing miracles like an Elijah, and He was approaching the temple as the longed-for Son of David. It was a very exciting moment, and it soon became even more exciting.

And Jesus entered the temple (12)

Though Jesus was humble, He was not timid. In fulfillment of Psalm 69:9, zeal for the Lord’s house consumed Him. In the court of the Gentiles, there was much for sale. Currency translation could be accomplished and sacrificial animals could be purchased, all for a price. There was nothing inherently wrong with providing this service, but the temple court was not the place for that. Every detail in God’s instruction regarding this place of worship was full of meaning. For men to presume the power to make adjustments to the use of the Lord’s temple for their own convenience was a serious and sacrilegious mistake.

When the eternal King comes to Jerusalem, He attends to the corruption of God’s worship. This is something of great concern to the Lord. Consider His power as He addresses these problems immediately and forthrightly. How could He make these merchants leave? How could He overturn tables and not be arrested? By the same power over the souls of men that enabled Him to call His disciples so that they left their nets and followed Him, Jesus rules over the souls of men who are profaning His Father’s house. This is the work of the One who will return one day to judge the living and the dead. No one will be able to slow Him down on that day. He moves with the absolute confidence and control of perfect righteousness, and with the same inner resolve as He has when He goes to the cross to die for sinners.

He said to them … (13)

Not only does the Lord take decisive action, He also speaks definitive words from the Scriptures. The temple of the Lord is spoken of by Isaiah as a place that is like a word of invitation to the nations of the world that they might come and pray to Israel’s God. Isaiah writes,

Isaiah 56:6-8 ⁶ "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- ⁷ 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." ⁸ The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, "I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered."

The Court of the Gentiles is one place where Gentiles could go to seek the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a reminder that Israel’s God is not only a God of Jews but also of Gentiles. There everyone could hope that the blessing of salvation might reach beyond the borders of Israel, as the prophets had promised.

But now the commercial interests within the priestly world have turned this court of hope and petition into a den of thieves. Jeremiah spoke these words centuries before:

Jeremiah 7:8-11 ⁸ "Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. ⁹ Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, ¹⁰ and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered!'- only to go on doing all these abominations? ¹¹ Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.

The people have a tendency to treat the temple as if it is a magic charm. They think that they can avoid real repentance as long as they have the temple. Before long, their deception and abuse turn this place of prayer into a center for stealing money from the unsuspecting travelers coming from distant lands.

And the blind and the lame came to him (14)

The people who Jesus removes from the temple had a spiritual problem. They give evidence of that spiritual problem by the things that they do, justifying their commercial interests right within the place of God’s holy presence. You can sense a depraved and haughty spirit in someone like that. The Spirit of Jesus is not like that. Weak people, blind and lame, are coming to Him, though He just threw out the money-changers. They may sense something of His goodness and gentleness toward the humble. Do you sense that here today? They come because they are desperate. They are willing to be rebuffed by Him that they might instead be healed by Him.

These healings are a great display of the salvation that Jesus brings. This is one way that He celebrates the coming of His Kingdom. He does this right there within the place of supreme Old Testament worship. The blind are given sight and the lame are healed, and no one has to pay anything for these gifts from the Savior.

But the chief priests and the scribes … (15-17)

Not everyone is ready to rejoice in these events. There yet remain many in the house who have a haughty spirit, and they are even foolish enough and angry enough to speak against Him. We are told that they are indignant. This word is used to describe proud people who think they are in the right. People like Judas who thought that money should have been given to the poor rather than spent on expensive perfume that was poured on the Savior’s feet. He was indignant. People like the ruler of the synagogue after Jesus had healed a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years. That man was indignant because the Lord healed her on the Sabbath. The chief priests and scribes were indignant in the temple that day. The children were crying “Save us!” and they were calling Jesus the Son of David, so they challenged Him sharply.

He quotes from Psalm 8 to show them that something divine is happening when God makes infants praise Him and scatters every foe. He is the Man! He is the Savior! He is the One who will make all things whole! He is the Bringer of Good News! He is the Sacrifice that cancels sin! Do you want the lasting salvation that He brings? Do you want to be in the temple of God with Him in heaven forever? Do you want to know even now that your sins are forgiven and that you are eternally healed in His presence? Then shout “Hosanna” to the King of Kings, and give up on all smaller salvations that you have been seeking; things that can be so quickly taken away. Who is this Man? He is the Prophet. He is the Priest. He is the King. He is the Savior and He is mighty to save!

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. Why was the whole city stirred up at the arrival of Jesus?

2. Consider Jesus’ actions and words in the temple. Are they surprising? How do they make sense?

3. How could the chief priests and the scribes been so bold to speak against Jesus that day?

4. What are the smaller salvations that so easily distract us from the true salvation that Jesus brings?