Matthew’s Gospel: Believing

Before he headed for the Temple, He borrowed a whip from a camel driver.

Posted on

After the big parade, people were wondering what to expect from Jesus.
He quietly dismounted the young donkey and handed the guide rope to the Disciples, patting her strong neck to let her know she had done well, never balking at all the noise or stumbling on the streets. Before he headed for the Temple, He borrowed a whip from a camel driver. The man surrendered the whip without a question but wondered why Jesus would need one.

In the Outer Court
Jesus entered the Temple and slowly walked through the courtyard. This place was intended to be a place of preparation for sacrifices in the Temple, a place of repentance where sins were regretted and forgiveness sought. Not today. It was a marketplace. Animals for sacrifice were on sale everywhere: expensive lambs for rich people and expendable doves for the poor. Instead of the solemn sounds of prayer, the courtyard rang with shouts, bickering, and the ever-present clank of metal coins.

As the offense of such profanity boiled over in His Spirit, Jesus cracked the whip. Those close enough to hear it over the din of commerce gave Him a furtive glance and quickly went back to their selling. He cracked the whip again, louder, and this time across the back of a dove handler. His cage full of condemned birds fell from his hands and broke open granting the birds a welcomed reprieve. Jesus then had everyone’s attention. A few more cracks of the whip and merchants scattered for safety as birds, lambs, and tiny goats took advantage of broken cages and dropped ropes. The noise of the animals, the screams of the merchants, and the protests of the priests watching profits escape ruled several minutes of chaos. Finally, with a cordon of fearful souls surrounding Him, Jesus spoke His rage:

“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’
but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.'”

In less than a minute, the crowd again took up the songs of the parade and the religious leaders renewed their protests. Sick people rushed toward Jesus and a great healing service was the result. There was little the leaders could do. In the presence of such power, their picayune protests were dismissed by Jesus:

“Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”

Over the objections of the mistaken leaders, the healing and rejoicing continued as merchants scrambled to recapture doves, round up sheep, and collect their scattered coins.

To Bethany and Back
The parade over and the healing service ended, Jesus returned to Bethany to rest, most likely to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The next day He returned to the city and to the Temple. On the way, He was hungry and stopped by a fig tree but found no fruit. He pronounced judgment on the tree and it withered from the roots up. When His men marveled at this, Jesus interpreted the whole sequence of events for them.

It was all about believing.
The merchants and the priests believed that the forgiveness of sins was a business; they were wrong. The crowd believed Jesus was Messiah; they were correct. The sick people believed Jesus was their healer; they were right. Such was the power of belief when the things believed were actually true. Jesus told them, and us:

“…whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Let us, therefore, believe!

Scriptures:
Matthew 21:12-22
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.'” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and 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 babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I believe! In believe in You and in Your Word. Your promises are true and they are for me. I believe in Your will and plan for my life. You are my Savior, my Healer, My hope and My rejoicing. Show me the things that You have planned for me so I can fill my prayers with them. I believe in the future that only You can see and I know that when I get there You will already be there ahead of be. Hosanna! To the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.

Song:
Because We Believe
Words and Music: Jamie Harvill and Nancy Gordon

1. We believe in God the Father.
We believe in Christ the Son.
We believe in the Holy Spirit.
We are the Church And we stand as one.

2. We believe in the Holy Bible.
We believe in the virgin birt.h
We believe in the resurrection,
That Christ one day Will return to earth

Refrain:
Holy, holy. Holy is our God
Worthy, worthy. Worthy is our King
All glory and honor Are His to receive
To Jesus we sing. Because we believe

3. We believe in the blood of Jesus.
We believe in eternal life.
We believe in His love that frees us
To become the bride of Christ.

Refrain

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author

Full of passion for Jesus Christ, Stephen Phifer is a third-generation minister with more than three decades of experience as a pastoral artist, worship leader, and conductor.