Money Changers | 9 to 5 (Part 5)

[00:00:00] Host: you're listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. Travis Rutland is a spirit filled pastor and ministry leader who has been featured on International Christian Television. He serves as lead Pastor of Liberty Square Church in Cartersville, Georgia and as President of Global Servants. His sermons focus on clear biblical teaching, practical truth and encouragement for everyday life. Each message is designed to strengthen your faith and draw you deeper into God's word. This podcast is brought to you you by Global Servants. For more information about Global servants, please visit globalservants.org now here's Travis Rutland. [00:00:42] Travis Rutland: Today I'm going to be speaking on Money Changers. So turn, if you will, to Matthew chapter 21 and we're going to begin reading with verse 1, Matthew 21 and 1 as as we are looking at this Palm Sunday moment from the life of Jesus. Of course, this is the first Palm Sunday, as I mentioned before, Matthew chapter 21 and verse 1. Now, when they drew near Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage and the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied in a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them. All this was done so it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and they set Jesus on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the ground. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the ground. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out saying, hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Let's pray. God, I ask in the next few moments you will speak to us, each of the, each of us, all of us, on this wonderful Palm Sunday that you would reveal yourself to us so magnificently that you would speak to us spirit unto spirit, deep unto deep. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Pete Seeger was a famous folk singer, sort of the original kind of folk singer, acoustic guitar, all of those kinds of things. And he was very famous even as early as the 1940s and 1950s. He served then. He was sort of the grandfather of the folk music scene and in New York City and a Young man in the 1960s named Bob Dylan made his way to New York City. And Pete Seeger became sort of a mentor for the musician Bob Dylan. Years later, when Bob was at the height of his fame and his career, he went to Pete Seeger and was talking to him. And he told Pete Seeger, he said, I just feel lost. He said, I don't know what I'm supposed to be about. I don't know where I'm going. I don't know what I'm doing. He said, I've got this fame and records and money and all of it, Pete. But he said, I am lost. And Pete Seeger told him a fascinating thing. Pete Seeger said, you grew up in Minnesota, right? And Bob Dylan said, yes, I'm originally from Minnesota. He said, do your parents still live in Minnesota? He said, yes, they do. He said, do your parents live in the house that you grew up in? Bob Dylan said, actually they do. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in as a child. He said, bob, here's what I want you to do. I want you to buy a plane ticket and fly back to Minnesota. He said, I want you to rent a car and drive to your parents house. He said, I want you to go to your parents house, go into the bedroom that you grew up in as a child. He said, I want you to lay down in the bed that you slept in as a child and look up at the ceiling. And I want you to think about your childhood and growing up and who you used to be and what you used to be about. And Bob Dylan said, pete, what are you talking about? How in the world is that going to help me? Pete Seeger said, in order to figure out where you're going, you have to remember where you've been. That is a really profound statement from a guy that plays a guitar for a living. That's a really profound statement and it is super true for us in this moment. In this moment in particular, on the first Palm Sunday, we what is actually happening? [00:04:35] Travis Rutland: What is actually going on there? [00:04:37] Travis Rutland: Is it simply Jesus's triumphant procession into Jerusalem? [00:04:41] Travis Rutland: Yes, it is. But if we don't know where we've been, we can't remember what we've been about. We don't know where we're going. And so I worry that too often [00:04:51] Travis Rutland: we as modern New Covenant New Testament Christians, we often either ignore or feel that the Old Testament and some of the things that were happening previously are not important to us or don't reveal truths to us. [00:05:07] Travis Rutland: But we, I'M going to be honest with you. [00:05:09] Travis Rutland: You cannot fully understand the, the, the, [00:05:13] Travis Rutland: all of the stuff that is revealed [00:05:15] Travis Rutland: in the New Testament without having a concept of what was happening in the Old Testament. [00:05:21] Travis Rutland: There are things that are foreshadowed in the Old Testament, in the Old Covenant. There's stuff that is, hey, this is [00:05:28] Travis Rutland: going to happen, this thing is going [00:05:30] Travis Rutland: to be revealed, this thing is going to happen later on. And that's important to the story. And you need to know that. That's not to say that you, you [00:05:37] Travis Rutland: can't get saved if you haven't read the Old Testament. [00:05:39] Travis Rutland: I'm not saying that, but I'm saying that there are really important truths and revelation that is happening in the Old that are made clear to us in the New. And we don't fully understand what it's [00:05:51] Travis Rutland: saying to us if we don't understand the past. All that to say this is going to be a little bit of non linear storytelling this morning. We're going to go back, then we're going to go forward, then we're going to talk about Jesus again, then we're [00:06:04] Travis Rutland: going to go way to the very [00:06:05] Travis Rutland: beginning, or almost the very beginning, and [00:06:09] Travis Rutland: then we're going to come back and [00:06:10] Travis Rutland: then we're going to go on further into the New Testament. [00:06:12] Travis Rutland: So we're going to move around. But as Pete Seeger said, in order to figure out where we're going, we [00:06:18] Travis Rutland: have to remember where we've been. So let's talk about that Palm Sunday. But in order to understand what's happening on that Palm Sunday as Jesus enters Jerusalem and sitting on the back of a donkey, we have to understand what has happened previously. And in order to understand that, we have to go back to prophetic literature from the Old Testament. So turn, if you will, to Ezekiel. Probably have not heard a lot of messages from Ezekiel. Ezekiel, chapter 10 and verse 4. Ezekiel sees visions throughout his prophetic ministry, but he also sees things that, that literally happen. We are going to talk about a vision that he has in a moment, but first we want to see something that he, he does not see in a vision. He watches it happen. All right, so I want you to see this Ezekiel, chapter 10, beginning with verse 4, Ezekiel 10:4. [00:07:14] Travis Rutland: Then the glory of the Lord went [00:07:16] Travis Rutland: up from the cherub and paused over the threshold of the temple. And the house was filled with, with the cloud. And the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. All right? [00:07:28] Travis Rutland: The glory of the Lord. When the Temple of Solomon was dedicated, the glory of the Lord fills the entire Temple so thick, the cloud is so thick that they cannot see. They actually have to stop worshiping because nobody can see. Because the glory of the Lord is so magnificent and so tangible. They can see it. They can. They. It's there. The cloud fills. Fills the Temple. Remember what is in the Holy of Holies with the Temple of Solomon. The Holy of Holies contains the Ark of the Covenant. [00:07:56] Travis Rutland: The Ark of the Covenant is literally the. [00:07:59] Travis Rutland: The glory of the Lord fills it. It's there. [00:08:02] Travis Rutland: It's in the. It's in the Holy of Holies. And it's always been there. [00:08:05] Travis Rutland: Now Ezekiel is coming. At the very end, right after Ezekiel, the Babylonians are going to destroy Jerusalem, [00:08:12] Travis Rutland: and they're going to destroy the Temple before that happens. [00:08:16] Travis Rutland: Ezekiel is standing there, staring at this [00:08:19] Travis Rutland: massive structure which is Solomon's Temple, and [00:08:21] Travis Rutland: he sees the glory of the Lord begin to rise out of the Temple. [00:08:26] Travis Rutland: Look at verse 18, the same chapter, verse 18. [00:08:29] Travis Rutland: Then the glory of the Lord departed. Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the Temple and [00:08:38] Travis Rutland: stood above the cherubim. Now turn over to the next chapter 11 and 23. 11 and 23. [00:08:47] Travis Rutland: And the glory of the Lord went [00:08:49] Travis Rutland: up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain which was on the east side of the city. [00:08:55] Travis Rutland: So the glory of the Lord rises, departs from the Temple, leaves Jerusalem. It exits to the east. It exits to the east to a mountain on the east side of Jerusalem, [00:09:08] Travis Rutland: which, by the way, is the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is the mountain on the east side of Jerusalem. And the glory is gone. [00:09:16] Travis Rutland: It is made clear. [00:09:17] Travis Rutland: This is not a prophetic vision. [00:09:20] Travis Rutland: This happens. God is saying to the children of Israel, you have so fully and totally embraced idol worship, you have so completely abandoned me that I am withdrawing my glory from the temple. And within no time, the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem, burn it to the ground, destroy Solomon's Temple. It's gone. [00:09:41] Travis Rutland: Gone. It's finished. But before that happens, the glory has already departed. [00:09:47] Travis Rutland: Now imagine that. Imagine you are Ezekiel. You're a prophet of God, and you are watching as God literally shows you that his glory has departed from the Temple. What future is there? What hope is there? It seems as if God has sentenced them to a lifetime of. [00:10:09] Travis Rutland: Of darkness. The glory has departed. [00:10:13] Travis Rutland: It's finished. It's over. [00:10:16] Travis Rutland: Then In Ezekiel, chapter 43, turn, if you will, almost to the end of the Book. This does not happen now. [00:10:23] Travis Rutland: This is a vision of what is yet to come. [00:10:27] Travis Rutland: He does not see this happen as [00:10:29] Travis Rutland: he saw the glory departed. He now has a vision of what [00:10:33] Travis Rutland: will happen in the future. [00:10:35] Travis Rutland: Ezekiel 43 and verse 1. Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. Verse 4. And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court. And behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. But it's prophetic. It's a prophetic vision of what is yet to come. And it's as if God is saying, yes, I have. [00:11:18] Travis Rutland: My glory has departed. [00:11:20] Travis Rutland: But don't worry, I'm still with you. [00:11:23] Travis Rutland: And my glory will return to the temple. [00:11:26] Travis Rutland: They are taken into 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Then the Babylonians are destroyed by Persians. And the Persians allow the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem. Under Ezra and Nehemiah, they begin to rebuild the wall. They begin to rebuild Jerusalem. And they rebuild the temple. They rebuild the temple. But the temple is not nearly as amazing and magnificent as Solomon's temple was. And it tells us that when they dedicated the foundation, the old men who could remember what the temple looked like, the old men cried, because it wasn't nearly as impressive as what they remember. But then there is another prophet operating in that time. We call him one of the post exile prophets, after the exile in in Babylon. And his name is Haggai. And Haggai has this amazing prophecy for the people as they dedicate this new temple. Turn if you will to Haggai, chapter [00:12:19] Travis Rutland: 2, one of what we call the minor prophets. [00:12:23] Travis Rutland: Just two chapters in Haggai. [00:12:25] Travis Rutland: Look at Haggai 2 and verse 3, [00:12:30] Travis Rutland: Haggai 2 and 3. This is the word of the Lord. Through Haggai, the prophet says, who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now in comparison with it? [00:12:42] Travis Rutland: Is this not in your eyes as nothing? [00:12:46] Travis Rutland: So God is acknowledging that it is not as impressive. But look at what he promises in [00:12:52] Travis Rutland: verse 9, the same chapter, verse 9. [00:12:55] Travis Rutland: The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of Hosts. [00:13:06] Travis Rutland: Look again at the promise. [00:13:07] Travis Rutland: The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former. The temple is finished. The post exile temple is finished. They complete the temple. They dedicate it. And in the Bible and in all Jewish writings, there is no indication that the Glory returns. What they saw when Solomon dedicated it the cloud of God's glory, there was no indication that that returned. What Ezekiel saw, the glory of God departing, stays, departed. They dedicate the post exile temple and the glory doesn't return. Furthermore, you probably know this, but sometime between the destruction, sometime after, or right before the destruction of Solomon's temple, the Ark of the Covenant is lost forever. Now some Jewish scholars will say, they believe the prophet Jeremiah took it and hid it. Others believe that it's destroyed. But for whatever reason, however it happens, the Ark of the Covenant is gone. So the Ark of the Covenant cannot be placed. They can't build another one. Okay, it's like the Ark of the Covenant. If you haven't seen Indiana Jones, you know it's an important piece, right? If you handle it wrongly, it will melt your face. [00:14:23] Travis Rutland: If we've learned nothing, right? [00:14:26] Travis Rutland: So you can't just build another Ark of the Covenant. It's not like losing your keys and you go to the hardware store and [00:14:33] Travis Rutland: get another set made. [00:14:35] Travis Rutland: They've lost, hidden, destroyed. Something has happened to the Ark of the Covenant. So when they build the second temple after the exile, there's nothing in the Holy of Holies, at least there's no Ark of the Covenant. There's other stuff in there, but there's no Ark of the Covenant. There's. And there is no glory. The glory of the Lord does not return. They begin temple sacrifice, they begin temple offerings. The whole Mosaic law begins. The priests and the Levites, they're all there, they're making sacrifice. The business that is the temple continues unabated. [00:15:11] Travis Rutland: But there is no glory. [00:15:15] Travis Rutland: There is no glory. For almost 500 years, there is no glory. But God told them that the glory of the latter, the second, the glory later on, would be greater, more wonderful, more magnificent than the former. How is it possible? Not only is the glory not greater, there is no glory at all. There is no glory to speak of at all. And then this traveling rabbi begins ministry in the Galilee. Not in Jerusalem, way up in the Galilee. That's back country. That's. That's where, right? I mean, it's true. Back then, this is true. That's where the hicks and the rednecks live, is in the Galilee. And it's true, the proper people, the ruling class, the priests, the high priest, all of those are in Jerusalem. But this rabbi is preaching to the rubes in the Galilee and he's doing miracles. And they've heard about it and all this stuff is happening, and it's just for three and a half years, this stuff swirls around this guy named Jesus. Who is he? What's he about? What's he doing? And then in that moment, on that first Palm Sunday, Jesus arrives, makes his way there, and he and his disciples meet on the Mount of Olives, the mountain to the east of Jerusalem. [00:16:54] Travis Rutland: Now look at what happens. Look at verse 10. Back to Matthew, chapter 21. Look at verse 10. [00:17:07] Travis Rutland: And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, who is this? So the multitude said, this is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. [00:17:20] Travis Rutland: Look at the beginning of verse 12. [00:17:22] Travis Rutland: Then Jesus went into the Temple of God. Then Jesus went into the Temple of God. Ezekiel watches the glory depart. Then he has a vision of the glory returning. And the glory gathers on a mountain on the eastern side of Jerusalem. And then the glory enters through. Enters through the eastern gate. And the glory goes directly into the temple. And the temple is filled with the glory. And yet it doesn't happen. Hundreds and hundreds of years pass, and there is no glory. The sacrifices are being made, but there's no Ark of the Covenant. And there's no glory in the Holy of Holies. And then on that day, day on that Palm Sunday, Jesus and his followers meet on the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of Jerusalem. And he sits on the back of a donkey, fulfilling a prophecy that has been spoken about Messiah to come. And he goes down what we now call the Palm Sunday road. I've walked down that road dozens of times on my trips to. To Israel. He walks down. He goes down. He rides this donkey down the Palm Sunday road, a steep road from the top of the Mount of Olives. And then you're on the east side of Jerusalem. Why would he go around to one of the other gates? The eastern gate is right there. And Jesus, on the back of a donkey, goes through the eastern gate and goes directly to the Temple. And in that moment, his glory returns. Do you see it? The prophecy is fulfilled. The. The things that Ezekiel saw that they'd been waiting for for 500 years are finally fulfilled in the actual physical form of Jesus, the Son of God. The glory is greater than anything they've ever known because it's no longer a cloud. It's the tangible presence. It's fully man, fully God. It is the person of Jesus who enters the temple. That glory is greater than any cloud of glory that they could have possibly had. As wonderful, as wonderful as the Ark of the Covenant is the Ark of the Covenant, isn't Jesus as great as all of the stuff that's in the holy of holy is Jesus is better. Jesus is greater. Jesus is more wonderful. And the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former. But see, if we don't know that, then we just think Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and everybody applauded. That is happening. But something so much more meaningful and significant is happening. Jesus is revealing to us that he is the glory of God, that he is the physical manifestation of the glory of God. He enters the temple, he goes into his father's house as he told Mary and Joseph when he was a boy. The glory of the temple through the eastern gate, down from the mountain on the eastern side and directly into the temple. And in that moment, the prophecy is fulfilled. The glory has re entered the temple. And it is greater than anything Solomon could have ever imagined. His glory returns. But Jesus isn't done. [00:20:46] Travis Rutland: Look, if you will now at the second part of verse 12. Back to Matthew, chapter 21. He enters the temple. Look at what he does. [00:20:56] Travis Rutland: And drove out all those who bought [00:20:59] Travis Rutland: and sold in the temple and overturned [00:21:02] Travis Rutland: the tables of the Money Changers and the seats of those who sold doves. [00:21:07] Travis Rutland: And Jesus said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. Because we don't understand all that was happening in temple. Sacrifice and all of this stuff. We don't understand what is happening in that. And so we often misunderstand who the Money Changers were or what they were about. [00:21:34] Travis Rutland: The Money Changers were not evil simply because they were doing business. [00:21:38] Travis Rutland: And in the temple, the Money Changers were evil because they were ripping the people off. [00:21:45] Travis Rutland: It's like buying gas at a gas [00:21:47] Travis Rutland: station right outside of Disney World. [00:21:51] Travis Rutland: For those of you who lived in Florida or have ever been to Florida, you don't buy gas outside of Disney World. I know that. You go somewhere else in Orlando. You go up to, like, Altamont Springs, where I used to live, or Longwood or Sanford or somewhere in the Orlando metro area, because the gas outside of Disney world is about $2 a gallon more expensive because they're ripping you off. And that's what the Money Changers were doing. The Money Changers were overcharging. You show up and you want to make a sacrifice, but you forgot to bring a dove. Well, guess what? Doves in the Galilee are a nickel, but doves in the temple are $10. It is not that they are doing business. It is that they are ripping the people off in the name of worship and sacrifice. [00:22:44] Travis Rutland: I remember years ago When I was working for my dad at Global Servants, my dad was preaching at a men's conference, a weekend men's conference at a retreat center. There was, you know, hundreds and hundreds [00:22:56] Travis Rutland: of guys there, and there were three [00:22:58] Travis Rutland: or four or five guest speakers that were speaking throughout the weekend. [00:23:03] Travis Rutland: So at the time I worked for my dad, I sold his materials, books [00:23:07] Travis Rutland: and copies of his sermons and things like that. So I was at a table in [00:23:10] Travis Rutland: the lobby with, you know, there were four or five other tables, people that [00:23:15] Travis Rutland: worked for the other guest speakers. We had tables set up and books and things that we were selling. [00:23:21] Travis Rutland: And out of nowhere, one of my dad's friends comes in. He was a very, very odd guy. [00:23:29] Travis Rutland: My dad is interesting in that my dad often attracts very, very odd friends, in my opinion. [00:23:37] Travis Rutland: And I think it's because my dad is so put together. He likes having some crazy people in his life, I think. I don't know what it is. But regardless, this very, very odd friend of my dad's comes into the retreat [00:23:51] Travis Rutland: center in the lobby. [00:23:52] Travis Rutland: Four or five tables set up, guys working at the table, dozens of men standing around talking, buying books, stuff like that. And he raises his arms, and at the top of his lungs, he goes, whoa. To the money changers in the temple. That's a true story. And then he turns and goes, oh, hey, Travis. And comes over to my table. I wanted to be like, you know, [00:24:16] Travis Rutland: he's really my dad's friend. [00:24:20] Travis Rutland: I don't really know him that well. Right. What I'm trying to say is we misunderstand money chain. We think that Jesus making the point that you can't, you know, it can't be a business or you can't do any of that. That's not what Jesus is about. These guys are lying and stealing from the people who are coming to make sacrifice. And God will not allow evil or unholiness. And in his house. That's why the money changers had to be driven out. Because evil cannot exist in the presence of the glory of God. And the glory of God is holy. Look, if you will now go back again to Isaiah chapter 6. [00:25:05] Travis Rutland: As I said, we're going to be [00:25:07] Travis Rutland: all over Isaiah, chapter six and verse one. [00:25:11] Travis Rutland: You're going to be familiar with these verses. [00:25:13] Travis Rutland: This is Isaiah's call to be a prophet. He says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting [00:25:20] Travis Rutland: on a throne high and lifted up, [00:25:22] Travis Rutland: and the train of his robe filled the temple. So he sees the Lord. He has a vision of the Lord on a throne above the temple. And imagine this, he says, the edge, the bottom of the Lord's robe, was bigger than the entire temple, giving you an idea of the majesty or the glory of the Lord. So the Lord is so glorious that just the edge of his robe fills the entire temple. Now look. Above it stood seraphim, who had six wings. With two, he covered his face, with two, he covered his feet. With two, he flew, and one cried to another. So the Lord is sitting on a throne, there are seraphim flying around him. And the seraphim say this, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. What did we already learn? That the glory had returned. Jesus comes through the eastern gate, down the Mount of Olives, down Palm Sunday road, enters the eastern gate, goes directly into the temple. The temple is full of the Lord's glory at that point. And the Lord's glory is holy. The Lord's glory is holy. And therefore unholy things cannot be in the temple. [00:26:33] Travis Rutland: And. [00:26:34] Travis Rutland: And Jesus braids rope into whip and he drives out the money changers, not because they are doing business in the temple, but because they are being dishonest, because they are operating unholy. They are living unholy lives. They are ripping the people off, they're lying to them, they're stealing from them. And Jesus says, my glory has reentered this place. And where my glory is, there can be no unholiness. Do you see that? His glory returns and then his house is purified. His house is purified. It is cleansed, it is cleaned. There cannot be anything there that is not holy because the glory of the Lord is there and his glory is holy. Look again. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. His glory was holy. So if the glory has returned, then [00:27:33] Travis Rutland: the house must be purified. [00:27:36] Travis Rutland: Now, what we think is, well, Jesus is only dealing with the temple. But now we skip ahead, right? If we don't know where we've been, then we don't know where we're going. Now we know where we've been. So look at where we're going. Look at what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19, 1 Corinthians 6 and 19. Paul is writing and he says, do you not know that your body is the temple? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? We are the temple. We have been filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have been filled with his glory, just like the temple was filled with the glory when Jesus entered, we are now. Do you not know that your body, this mortal flesh, this flesh and blood and bone, is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. For you were bought at a price. Therefore. Oh, there's that word. Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Just as Jesus drove out the Money changers who were desecrating the temple with their unholiness, so also the Holy Spirit is challenging and convicting each of us to drive out the things in our temple that are not pleasing to him, just as he did it in the temple he is calling us. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the holy Holy Spirit? If the glory of God dwells within you, his glory demands that the unholy stuff be driven out. It can no longer remain. But here's the great part. We don't do it in our own power. We don't do it in our own strength. What does the Bible tell us elsewhere? Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. We have been filled with the glory of His Holy Spirit. And His Holy Spirit is a spirit of victory. It's a spirit of overcoming. It's a spirit of freedom. It's a spirit of life. It's a spirit that breaks chains and destroys addiction. So no matter what the Money Changers look like that are in your temple, the glory of God can drive them out. Because greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. The temple, the temple is cleansed. The temple in that moment and the temples that are all of us, the glory returns and the house is purified. [00:30:27] Travis Rutland: Now, we're not done yet. [00:30:28] Travis Rutland: Because Jesus is so much more awesome [00:30:30] Travis Rutland: and magnificent than we could ever think of. Look now back again at Matthew. [00:30:36] Travis Rutland: Matthew 21, right where we left off. Verse 14. [00:30:39] Travis Rutland: He drives out the money changers. He says, my house shall be a house of prayer. Verse 14. [00:30:47] Travis Rutland: Then the blind and the lame came to Jesus in the temple and he healed them. [00:30:56] Travis Rutland: Excuse me. [00:30:57] Travis Rutland: Then the blind and the lame came [00:30:58] Travis Rutland: to Jesus in the temple and he healed them. Seems like a very normal verse, doesn't it? [00:31:05] Travis Rutland: Jesus been healing blind and lame people [00:31:07] Travis Rutland: for the last three and a half years. Doesn't seem to be anything out of place there. [00:31:12] Travis Rutland: That's because if we don't remember where we've been, we don't know where we're going. All right, so now you're going to go way back to the Mosaic law. [00:31:20] Travis Rutland: Look, if you will, at Leviticus, chapter 21. Leviticus, chapter 21. We're going to begin reading with verse 16. [00:31:33] Travis Rutland: God is speaking to Moses about the priests, the descendants of Aaron. The descendants of Aaron are going to serve as priests in the temple. [00:31:45] Travis Rutland: Look at what the Lord says. [00:31:47] Travis Rutland: Leviticus 21:16. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. Speak to Aaron, saying, no man of your descendants in succeeding generations who has any defect may approach to offer the bread of of his God. For any man who has a defect shall not approach a man, blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long. Stop right there. So God was saying, the priests have to be holy. Remember, the sacrifices couldn't have blemishes. Therefore, the men who offer the sacrifices on behalf of the people cannot have a blemish either. But you know what happens with law. People twist laws to make it work for what they want it to be. God says the priests can't have defect. Over time, that becomes something else. Now skip ahead almost a thousand years to the time of David. Look at two Samuel. I told you we'd be all over today. Look at 2 Samuel, chapter 5. Jerusalem at the time was known as Jebus. Jerusalem was not Jerusalem, it was Jebus. And David and his army is fighting against the Jebusites who control Jebus. David is going to conquer Jebus and rename it Jerusalem, the city of David. But at this point, it is Jebus, and it is controlled by the Jebusites. Now look at what David does. 2 Samuel 5 and 6. 2 Samuel 5 and verse 6. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem. [00:33:26] Travis Rutland: They're using the new name against the [00:33:28] Travis Rutland: Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land who spoke to David, saying, you shall not come in here, but the blind and the lame will repel you, thinking David cannot come in here because it was so strong. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion. That is the city of David. Now David said, on that day, whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites, the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. [00:34:00] Travis Rutland: Look at the end of verse 8. [00:34:01] Travis Rutland: Therefore they say, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. Do you see that? So in Leviticus it said, priests can't have defects. But over time that changes. Over time, that changes. Over time. We manipulate it, we change it. We remember it wrongly. And then David was insulted because the Jebusite said, our stronghold is so powerful. Our stronghold is so. Our walls are so thick and so tall that we could defend Jebus with nothing but blind and lame people. And David is infuriated by their insult. And it says, and David hated them in his soul. And so they use David's hatred when his son builds the templ. What happens? The blind and the lame can't come into the temple. It is never given as a law in the Mosaic Law. It is never written in the Bible other than those two places. But it is clear to us in external Jewish writing that anyone who was blind or lame was banned from the temple. David to Jesus is a thousand years. A thousand years. A thousand years. The blind and the lame had to wait outside because they were less than. They had a defect. They weren't good enough, they weren't nice enough. We didn't like what they were about. And so there was a serious and obvious dividing line between us and them. And the them was on the outside. And the them could never access the glory of God, and the them couldn't make sacrifice. [00:35:40] Travis Rutland: And. [00:35:40] Travis Rutland: And that them couldn't encounter God and that them couldn't enter into his presence. And there was all these people on the outside crying, hosanna, save us now. And they were disqualified from the redemption that they could find in the temple because of the problems and issues in their own life. Do you see that? Because of what was happening in them, they could not enter in and find redemption. But glory to God. Jesus in his glory returns. The glory returns. The house is purified. Look again now at mark, at Matthew 21:14. Then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. His grace is for all. His grace is for all. His grace is for all. There is no one that is disqualified from the grace of God. His redemption, his restoration, his life, his freedom, his salvation. Those that the Son sets free are free indeed. Do you see that? Since the beginning of time, all of us were blind and lame. All of us were on the outside looking in. None of us had a way into the temple. None of us had an opportunity to find redemption. None of us could be restored. None of us could inherit eternal life. We were all on the outside banging on the temple doors. Let us in. Let us in. Let us in. And in that moment, on that Palm Sunday, his glory returns. He is Messiah, enters through the eastern gate. He goes to the temple. He drives out the stuff that shouldn't be there. And then he throws the doors wide and he Says, my grace is for all. Enter in, inherit salvation, inherit eternal life. We are no longer trapped on the outside with no way forward. His grace is for all. He doesn't go out to the temple. They come into the temple because the things that kept them no longer apply. Because Jesus has done something for all of us. We know this even from the moment of his crucifixion. The curtain that separates the Holy of Holies, that doesn't have an ark of the covenant, by the way, that has no glory in it, by the way, the curtain that separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple complex is ripped into from top, bottom, from top to bottom. And the blind and the lame enter into the temple. And he heals them all. Do you see that [00:38:40] Travis Rutland: we confess our sins. [00:38:42] Travis Rutland: He is faithful and just to forgive [00:38:44] Travis Rutland: us of all unrighteousness. [00:38:47] Travis Rutland: One that we all know. For God so loved the world. It doesn't say, for God so loved the folks that weren't blind and lame. It says, for God so loved the world that he sent His Son. For God so loved the world, all of us, every person since the beginning of humanity was trapped on the outside with no way into the temple. And on that Palm Sunday, the glory returned, the house is purified, and his grace was given to all of us. Now look what happens. Look at Ephesians Chapter two, and we're almost done. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1. Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus. [00:39:35] Travis Rutland: Now. [00:39:35] Travis Rutland: We're going forward, but we can't know where we're going if we don't know where we've been. Ephesians 2 and 1 and you, he meaning Jesus, and you, Jesus made alive. You were dead in trespasses and sins. You were what, Blind and lame, Banished to the outside of the temple with no hope for redemption or salvation or eternal life? You who were dead in trespasses and sins he has made alive. And what has he done when he made you alive? Now look at the end of the chapter, verse 19, Ephesians 2 and 19. Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Here we go. In whom the whole building being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. We all come together as a temple holy to the Lord. And the holy temple is filled with his glory. And the stuff that shouldn't be there is driven out. And his grace is for all. It is not just Palm Sunday because Jesus rode a donkey. It is Palm Sunday. It is one of my favorite Sundays because of what Jesus does in that moment, revealing to all of us what he has for each of us. Let me close with this. [00:41:18] Travis Rutland: As I said earlier, the people are shouting Hosanna. [00:41:22] Travis Rutland: Not Hallelujah. They're shouting Hosanna, which means save us now. They're crying out to Jesus for salvation from the Romans. They wanted a messiah who carried a sword and a shield, who destroyed. They wanted a messiah who was strong in earthly power. They didn't understand. The crowd didn't understand what Jesus was doing. But they were right about one thing. They yelled, save us now. And he did. But he was doing something they didn't understand. Which is the reason that five days later, in their frustration, they yelled, crucify him. But they screamed, save us now. He did. I can preach this Palm Sunday message anywhere in the world. I've preached barefoot in a gymnasium in Thailand because you got to take your [00:42:22] Travis Rutland: shoes off when you go in. [00:42:25] Travis Rutland: I preached in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere, Burkina Faso. I preached standing up in the back of a truck in huge metropolises in northern Ghana with a name like Bimpsy. Any town named Bimpsy, it's only got [00:42:47] Travis Rutland: about 200 people in it. [00:42:49] Travis Rutland: And I've preached standing up in the back of a pickup truck. I preached in schools in Honduras. I preached in a mega church in Hong Kong. I've preached all over the world. And this message is true to anywhere, anyone, anytime. We, in our sin, in our addiction, in our issues. We, the blind and the lame, trapped on the outside, never allowed to enter into the prison presence. Humanity since the beginning of time has screamed out one word. Hosanna. Save us now. Look at the mess we've made of our lives. Look at our addiction. Look at our pain. Look at our sin. Save us now. Hosanna. Save us now. And Jesus did and he is and he will. He did and he is and he will. The whole world cried out, hosanna to the King. Save us now. And Jesus, in his infinite mercy and grace, did save us. Is saving us. [00:44:10] Travis Rutland: Will save us. [00:44:12] Travis Rutland: Palm Sunday. Hosanna. Hosanna to the king. Save us now. And because of Jesus on that Palm Sunday, there is no one exiled outside of the temple any longer. [00:44:30] Travis Rutland: Hosanna to the king. Let's pray. [00:44:35] Travis Rutland: God asks that you finish this message in the hearts of every person here. I'm not going to ask you to come up to the front. I'm not even going to ask you to raise your hand. I'm just going to pray a prayer over you. His grace, his glory, his holiness has returned. He is the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word. John tells us he was the Word. He was from the beginning. He took on human flesh, lowered himself so that he could redeem all of us by his blood. We are not only saved, but we are healed and transformed. His glory has returned. He doesn't want you to have stuff in your temple any longer. His glory is the glory of holiness. And he calls you into a holy life. You can't do it. You're only able to accomplish it because his glory lives in you. Because of that, his grace is for all. So I'm going to pray over you. And if you need the grace of God in your. In your life, in your house, in your temple, I encourage you right now, in this moment, on this Palm Sunday, make him Messiah. It's not complicated. There's no magic words you have to say or specific phrases. All you have to do is make Jesus your Messiah, your savior, your lord. Invite him, his glory into your temple, and you will be transformed, never to be the same. His grace is for all of us. There is nothing you have done that disqualifies you. None of us are trapped on the outside of the temple any longer. We are all welcomed in. And he offers his grace to each of us. If you need that grace, pray that simple prayer and make him Lord and [00:46:21] Travis Rutland: Savior as I pray over every person here. [00:46:23] Travis Rutland: God, I thank you for this Palm Sunday. I thank you for the opportunity for us to gather. God, we love you. We worship you. God, I pray for every person here. Maybe some of you that have never welcomed some people who have never welcomed you as Lord and savior, ask in this moment that they open their lives, their spirit, to you. They put you in charge of everything. They confess their sin, you forgive us. And you, you become Lord and Savior. There may be others of us who have your glory, but we have allowed the money changers to flourish. We have allowed addiction to remain. We have allowed sin to prosper. God, in the name of Jesus, I pray that the glory of your holiness would burn out those things that shouldn't be there, replaced with your glory wherever any person is. God, I pray your glory, your spirit, your holiness hovers over their house and their temple. We thank you, God, that your grace [00:47:18] Travis Rutland: is for a holy spirit. Help us to receive it on a [00:47:21] Travis Rutland: daily basis in Jesus name. [00:47:24] Travis Rutland: We pray. Amen. [00:47:28] Host: Thank you for listening to the Travis Rutland Podcast. If you enjoyed this message and you're in the Cartersville, Georgia area, we invite you to join us at Liberty Square Church. You can also watch online and connect with us on Facebook and YouTube. We'll see you next week for another message from Travel Rutland.