Jesus Restores the Temple

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Jesus Restores the Temple

Date: Sep. 14, 2017

Passage

Luke 19:41-48 (ESV)

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 19:46a

saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

1. Why did Jesus weep? (41-44)

Although the crowds enthusiastically shouted his praise, Jesus knew that the city would reject him as the promised Messiah. Jerusalem, of all cities, should have recognized his entrance as the coming of God to them. They could have known peace and salvation, but now it was too late. Their spiritual eyes were blinded and God's judgment would fall upon them in the years to come. This broke our Lord's heart. His desire is for all people to turn to him and be saved. Jesus continues to weep over the lost today and he longs to enter the hearts and lives of those who repent of their sins and accept the peace and forgiveness he offers.

2. Second, Jesus restores the temple (45-48)

Jesus entered the temple courts and witnessed the rampant extortion and corruption. The Court of the Gentiles was filled with money changers and merchants who charged exorbitant prices for their services. Instead of being a place where foreigners could come and meet God in worship and prayer, the temple had become a den of robbers. Jesus drove out those who were selling and began to teach the word of God. The people hung on his words because his words are the words of life. Restoring the temple was our Lord's first priority.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, restore the temple of our hearts through your word and your presence.

One Word: God's house is a house of prayer

Countless Saved from God’s Wrath by the Blood of the Lamb

Revelation 7:1-17

Key Verse: 7:9-10

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Today's Question

Are all sins equally evil?

See answer and references