12Then 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. 13And 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."'
14Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15But 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 16and 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'?" |
17Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
I just did a quick search, and this is the first time it is mentioned in the book of Matthew that Jesus entered the temple. He is entering it now, full of authority. Jesus claimed Himself as Lord in the previous verse. He is now taking action as Lord, cleaning out God's house. He is attempting to return the temple to the house of prayer it was intended to be.
What is the significance of the blind and lame coming to Him and Jesus healing them? Jesus had healed many people in many different settings. But I wonder if this is the first time Jesus healed in the temple. It is the first time that it mentions that Jesus went to the temple. Plus, I wonder what it would have been like for the lame and blind before Jesus got rid of those who bought and sold in the temple, and got rid of the money changers and those who sold doves. Would the blind and lame have been allowed in the temple? Would the blind and lame have been required to purchase animal sacrifices in the temple? Would they have been required to exchange their money for another denomination or currency? Would they have been able to even afford to seek help in the temple? Would they have been cheated out of their meager possessions? But here it says that they simply came to Him in the temple and He healed them. All are invited to enter the temple. There are no requirements of those who wish to enter the temple. There are no requirements for those who seek help from God in the temple.
It is interesting to note that in the previous verse when the people were confronted with those of the city, being asked who this is, the people answered "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." But still the children in the temple were not held back by who was hearing them and still continued in their proclaim of "Hosanna to the Son of David!"
When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus did and heard the children crying out their praise of Jesus, they became indignant. My dictionary defines indignation as anger aroused by something unjust. It defines indignity as an offense to ones dignity and defines dignity as inherent nobility and worth. They probably viewed as unjust the healing of the lame and the blind if they didn't first offer sacrifices , sacrifices which they had provided through unscrupulous sellers and money changers. They probably viewed as unjust the praises that were being given to Jesus by the children. They didn't want to accept Jesus' authority as it would take away from what they felt of their own worth and nobility. I get the impression that they wanted Jesus to deny what the children were saying. Instead, Jesus quoted scripture. It was perfect praise that was coming from the Children.
Praise is not meant to be held back based on who might become indignant around you. We adults have a difficult time with that. But children have no such problem. They can model perfect praise.
There have been many times that Jesus has warned people to not tell others what they have seen. But now Jesus is not quieting those who praise Him as their Savior. Jesus is asserting His authority in the house of God. A great change is coming.