Matthew 21: 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.
Jesus had come down from the Mount of Olives. It was just after Palm Sunday. Lambs would be set aside for the Passover. Jews from all over the known world converged on the holy city of God. No matter the situation, we need to converge on the city of God and make our way into the center of it—to the house of God. To be a Christian is to be made part of God’s family. God structured his church not as a nation of counties and states. No matter what kind of sinner we were, we were only saved when we called on the name of God. We are no longer outcasts. When we called on God we became his child. We may be young adults or senior adults in life, but in heaven we’ll simply be children of God. In God’s kingdom there are not young, middle or senior adults.
On this day Jesus could have commended his disciples for being with him. He could have commended the crowd that was still on his side at this point. We ought to be thankful to be a child of God any time of year. Never be like those who ran and hid afraid to accompany him to Calvary. The group Jesus spoke the most about this day was the one the Pharisees complained the most about.
They told Jesus to keep the kids quiet. In that day people came to the temple praising God. The incense burned and the windows and doors were open to all. God’s house was noisy. Jesus was happy to be there in his Father’s house. Looking around he was thankful. We have many who can’t come to God’s house right now because of illness. The time may come when we can’t. Be thankful for your ability to come now.
When Jesus looked around he saw the moneychangers and overthrew their tables. The house of God is a house of prayer. This is our church because it is first God’s house. Acknowledge this house belongs to God first. The temple needed some straightening out that day. Do our lives need to be straightened out? I have no claim to this house until I make God my Father and Jesus my Savior and Lord. I need to be faithful to God’s house. There are times we’re sick. Sometimes people have to work. Every Sunday there should be a desire to come to God’s house.
So here are the children. Do be a SADducee or puffed up like a Pharisee. Glory goes to God. Our life is not ours; it is God’s. Get things cleared between each other and come with a clean heart to the Lord. We all have faults. When the people began to criticize the children Jesus wouldn’t allow it. He said in other passages for such is the kingdom of God when children were mentioned. He said people need to repent and become as little children. We need to set self aside. We’re all on the same ground with Jesus. Before we see the moat in other’s eyes, don’t forget the beam in our own. My sins are not excused before God. Yours are not. We are only here by the grace of God.
The children said Hosanna to the son of David. Some didn’t like it and told Jesus. Never tell Jesus what to do. We have many who’ve fallen physically in the past, but I worry more about those who’ve fallen spiritually. It’s a hard thing to humble yourself as a child. When you and I were first saved we found fault with no one and were eager to come to church. Now days I’m upset with myself a lot over thoughts I have.
Jesus turned over the tables. Do we need to turn over some things that aren’t pleasing to God? Jesus told them the children didn’t need to be hushed. He said hearest thou what these say? Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? My praise, my thanksgiving needs to go to God. I want whatever comes out of my mouth to come out of the mouth of a babe, not a Free Will Baptist, not a preacher. A babe. We get to be God’s children! If we pray and seek him as a child, we can truly perfect our praise.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 