When Jesus Lowered the Boom, Part 1

Jesus is often typecast as meek and mild when portrayed in movies. He seems like someone who could never get riled up or lose his cool today on Insight for living this narrow image of Jesus is a one-dimensional man will be broken as Chuck Swindoll teaches from Matthew chapter 21 in the section of Matthew's account will find out what triggered Jesus to display unrestrained anger and will attempt to overlay the scene on today's world so that we don't miss the application for our times. Chuck titled his message when Jesus lowered the boom come to the central section of the 21st chapter of Matthew as we work our way through this gospel by Matthew will begin reading at verse 12 of Matthew 21 down through the 22nd verse you'll find an outline in your worship folder that will guide us in our time together. This is one of those sections in the Bible that surprises most people you don't normally think of Jesus as one turning over tables and throwing chairs to the side and driving people out of a place normally dedicated for worship until you understand why he did it and what prompted such an angry response. It also leads into a section that is very difficult to understand when you teach through the Scriptures which is called X positing the word of God in your exposition you don't have the freedom to skip the tough parts and to take only the easy parts and some parts of the Bible were very difficult to understand what are my resources in preparing for today made the statement that in his opinion, this section is the most difficult part in all the Bible to understand. I member pausing in my study and praying. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus, and deliver me from this difficult time, but he didn't.

And by the end of the first service. No one threw anything at me so we made it through that part and I were here for the second. But as I read for you these verses try to imagine your teaching them and what you would say about them, especially verses 18 through 22 but I want to read for you from the new living translation. Matthew 21 beginning at verse 12, Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling God's he said to them, the Scriptures declare my temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the temple shouting.

Praise God for the son of David, but the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus you here with these children are saying yes, Jesus replied, haven't you ever read the Scriptures for they say, you have taught children and infants to give you prints. Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight in the morning as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem. He was hungry and he noticed a fig tree beside the road.

He went over to see if there were any fittings but there were only leads and then he said to it, but you never bear fruit again and immediately the fig tree withered up the disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked how did the fig tree whether so quickly.

Then Jesus told him, I tell you the truth if you have faith and don't doubt you can do things like this and much more. You could even say to this mountain, may you be lifted up and thrown into the sea, and it will happen you to pray for anything and if you have faith you will receive in the Lord help all of us understand what this essay and what it means for us. You are listening to Insight for living.

Study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll.

Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to insight world.org/studies another message from Chuck that he titled when Jesus lowered the boom.

Can you remember the last time you got really mad for the right reason I'm talking about an out of control temper tantrum and kind of re-know I'm talking about a time when you had every reason to be angry and you were and you showed it is sometimes called righteous indignation. Paul writes of that kind of thing in Ephesians 426 when he in fact gives a command to be angry but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.

So in the right sense when it is for the right reason. When you are angry righteously. You don't sin.

You're doing the right thing, something that should have made you angry made you angry and you reacted the wrong thing would've been for you to fold your arms and simply leaned back in carelessly shrugged her shoulders as if you're not going to get involved or not going to say anything. For whatever reason you're just going to remain passive, I read somewhere and I heard also on a number of occasions a good statement past 70 is an enemy. It is easy for us in this day when so much goes on. That is wrong for us to cultivate a whole lifestyle of past 70. We don't make waves. We just stay out of the problem and hope it works its way out know there are times when you need to be engaged in the issue. For example, his right to feel anger toward an abusive who deceives and then later wounds are brutalized as an innocent child that ought to make you mad is appropriate to feel anger toward a bully who takes unfair advantage of someone smaller or disabled or for whatever reason cannot defend herself or himself that's worth getting angry over we should feel anger when we witness individuals who shamelessly desecrate that which is sacred or selfishly exploit those who are poor, those wrong acts get to us and they should they stir up our anger and they should rest later about our reaction. I have the feeling that without trying to blow our own horn. We simply say look, it's only human. It's only right that I say something or that I do what I did only use that statement as a place to address an important theological subject. Stay with me because it will help you understand what Jesus did when he was on this earth when Jesus was among us, he took upon himself flesh, he became the first and only God man theologians referred to Jesus as the fee anthropic person fails God and through plus man fee anthropic in one body to nature's exist deity and humanity. When you study the life of Jesus. You see, each emergence sometime we see them come close together. For example, we witness him as he was perfect knew no sin did no sin, had no sin as deity. He could calm the waters.

He could give sight to the blind. He could give health to the cripple and the disabled. He could walk on water as deity, he could turn a huge jugs of water into a good wine he could even raise the dead because he is God, but also man is a little baby. He didn't know how to talk or walk.

So we had to learn he had to obey his parents as he was growing up under their roof. He learned the Carpenters trade from Joseph though God he was also man he became weary so he needed sleep when life was funny. He left when he was in grief. He wept when he was hit he hurt when he was cut he bled when he died in his heart stopped beating human he got mad when he witnessed the desecration of sacred things and he should have. There was everything right about it in but because of sound doctrine. When you understand his person.

You have no difficulty interpreting the things he did and often the things he said Jesus is walking into a large worship area called the court of the Gentiles. The temple was a vast bit of architecture. The temple includes this outer court which covers one of my resources says 35 acres acres of space. When worshipers came they would, unlike today with animals they would bring their animals that would be sacrificed and the blood that would be poured out would be a part of the forgiveness process that God would honor over time. All of this became corrupt and the leaders because of their greed and pride and unaccountability turn the whole thing into well, a bizarre, for example, when you came as a visitor from another country to worship at the temple you could bring your animal, but the leaders at the temple would disqualify that animal furthers simplest of reasons. The point is you have to buy one of errors and when you buy that animal you have to pay 10 times more than the animal would normally cost extortion you would come with money from the country where you are living in you now must exchange the money into the coin of the realm of Jerusalem. They would charge you 25% surcharge for all the change in that money process is a classic case in point of corruption.

What you have to understand is that those who were behind it were their robes a religion. They look so religious they were proud of their robes. All of it is an empty pretense. They were studies in hypocrisy. In fact, the one who was behind it is a man named Annis a double NAS the whole courtyard seemed to be known as Annis bizarre. It was a joke when I described it is resembling a mix of a county fair in the pit of stock exchange. It was an unholy mercenary commercial myth and what was meant originally to be acts of worship turned into well desecration when Jesus walks in on the scene and he lowered the boom and it was a side of him. They had not seen before. I frankly I love it. Junot asked me what scene would you like to have been in at the time.

During the first. This is the one I would love to have been there. I mean is when everywhere and money was really all across the courtyard and doves were flying and chirping and and end tables are turned over chairs or turnover. It is a great scene and the freezer staring in disbelief. Those who think their gonna live through it. Are there the rest of them ran for their lives and strangers would come to worship must've stood and stared and some of them must've thought to write but of course Jesus simply did what was right, without announcing it to the scene were tables were turned over chairs thrown aside and there's of the whole mess in front of you maybe you have will I have and I want to tell you about.

I was a thousand miles from home.

Fingers and I was serving in the Marine Corps. We had just done a landing on the north end of Okinawa and at what we had to we were on the combat training three days living in the field.

No showers of sorry food from rations and is hot and a miserable situation in you are waiting through swamps and going through all that nonsense and you wind up really dirty really stinky and starving.

When we finally got back to the base for some reason I'll never understand why, but the chef well and he put it this way. He did not train at the Ritz Carlton in Paris.

The chef chose to service liver and onions for our meat that they know the thing is in record when you have liver and onions. They also provide another meat dish because so many don't like liver and onions. I happen to like liver and onions but I'm weird so I didn't mind, but the other day she served was legal but for him in little more like palpable dog food. I made it kind of a slimy mess and then there was potatoes mashed potatoes and gravy's are regarding reading beans and a green peas and there were was coconut pie cream pie and there was chocolate pudding.

I'll get to that in just a minute.

I so we all went to the line we got this and am course, that would be served with a slap it on your tray so that it tends to get on your garment and you walk in and sit down at the table and everybody is kind of hairtrigger close to reach when we sit out there, but it stinks advice hungry and they don't like what they been served and a guy punches into the meatloaf and part of the meat lands on the guys sitting across from Andy gets on his fatigues, which were already dirty, but he picks up this and he swings it back at the guy and hits him in the face and I'm thinking I shot not aside, I have a more liberal than the normal person would want to eat so hate this guy in the face with a slab liver and corset ran down his neck and body and there were to potatoes and peas and all. I should add chocolate pudding and some of the best, pie landed on heads and bodies in it that it will be tables or turnover guys are duking it out it was great and all the chairs were all over the place. The place was a royal mess I've eaten food almost like that's the first time I've ever worn it and we were all wearing it, and we looked over the exit and there stood the officer of the mess hall staring at us. He tended to blow this shrill whistle so loud and he's blowing dill is read the face until he gets hit with a pizza liver and some onions ago and is not a good moment because until about 930 10 o'clock at night. We are in the mess hall with hose and scrub brushes cleaning everything up so I been in the scene something like that.

But that was over the wrong reason.

That was all just satisfy me. There's something about getting it out of your system and you can't throw enough food and and and and and you can't get on enough tables and you can't throw enough chairs around is just you just have to do that is from your flinch. But here interestingly Jesus does it all alone.

You don't read a word about the disciples helping out they don't get involved in this mean after all, this is a powerful man by the way. He's one of the reasons Jesus was later arrested.

He never forgot.

It's he's the Godfather of the religious establishment, and he despises Jesus tables were turned over doves or flying animals are rushing here and there, and while Jesus is doing all of this book. Verse 13. He's quoting verses you know it's righteous indignation when what you were doing includes the quoting of verses of Scripture, and he doesn't remember he quotes from Isaiah and 56 in Jeremiah chapter 7, he says Scriptures declare my temple will be called a house of prayer and you have turned it into a den of thieves yells not at the worshipers would come, but at the leaders who were behind all of this corrupt activity but interesting as soon as the if you will please the place out.

Of all of this corrupt activity. But what happens verse 14 the blind, and they receive site. The lien come and they are healed and children come and they are shouting praise to God for the son of David, a messianic statement and the leaders watch all of this, and though the miracles were true and real and life-changing.

And though the children's songs were innocent songs sung in praise. The reaction of the leaders in the verse 15 look for yourself. They were in the word he has in mind if they were they were livid they were angry beyond words. Why for all the wrong reasons. That's an anger that's around anger he had done what is right, but because he messed up their religious playground and the income they had counted on for that day and he is expose the wrongness of their activities. They hated him for it. By the way, don't fear for him. He he is as safe as Daniel in the lion's den, though, is one against all these invincible with ideas about presence of mind to say to these leaders who were staring him down to do. You do you hear what the children are saying you heard their words that came that and then he says yes. Haven't you read the Scriptures for they say, you have taught children and infants to give you praise right out of Psalm eight verse two, he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight. As you can tell were just getting started in the study of Matthew chapter 21 is much more Chuck Swindoll wants to show us as it relates to this unsettling scene in the temple, listening to Insight for living, Chuck titled today's message when Jesus lowered the boom and to learn more about the resources we have available for today's topic, please visit us online@insightworld.org before we move ahead like to try your attention to a book Chuck Swindoll selected for our listening family in recent days. Our study in Matthew has featured a number of references to the justice of God and the fairness of his actions in today's politically charged climate. These words are surfacing in our conversations as a relates to social justice, and even the worldview that is often called critical race theory, what, when Chuck finished reading a new book called faultlines by fellow pastor Bodie Baucom immediately wanted to share with you. Chuck said whether you're a layperson who's trying to engage in sensitive conversations on race or a pastor who is grappling with a polarized congregation. You want to read faultlines. You can purchase a copy right now by going to Insight.org/offer.

In closing remind you that your generous donations are what empower Insight for living to deliver these daily Bible studies, when you give actually making it possible for someone you may never meet in places you will likely never visit to have access to this life-giving Bible teaching. So thanks for giving generously to this nonprofit ministry trucks. Teaching is heard around the globe and in fact in eight languages other than English and were able to do so in part through your generosity to give a donation today. Call us if you listing in the United States, call 800-772-8888 two give a donation online, go to Insight.org tomorrow. Swindoll describes the moment when Jesus lowered the boom be listening Thursday to Insight for living.

The preceding message when Jesus lowered the boom was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited