Title: Jesus Healing / Matthew 21:14-17
Contents
I. Healing of the blind and the lame
(Matthew 21:14) The blind and the lame came to Jesus from the temple, and he healed them.
A. Jesus' Healing Ministry
After Jesus cleansed the temple, He performed a healing ministry. He taught us the right mindset and attitude toward the temple and did the work of healing, but the work of the Lord transcends time and space and is accomplished at the right time. The healing of the blind and the lame was very different from arguing with those who bought and sold in the temple, showing Jesus' deep concern for human suffering.
In this age when the sick are marginalized, we desperately need the Lord's tender love. When love grows cold, even Christians should become people who practice love.
B. Healing Ministry in the Temple
Jesus wanted prayer to be done in the temple. He also wanted healing to take place in the temple, the house of prayer for all people. The temple of the Lord is where the good power of God is manifested. Just as the Lord healed the blind and the lame at the temple, in the house of God, the power to change people by curing Young-wook's disease must be revealed.
Example) Treatment of a person sitting and begging at the temple door
In contrast to the clergyman of his day, who traded and promoted corruption in the temple, Jesus performed the power of God in the temple. Instead of raking up wealth by using the temple as collateral, He healed their pain with love.
C. Jesus' sensible love
Jesus made a distinction between those to reproach and those to have mercy on. He resolutely rebuked those who disobey God's work and extended a loving hand to the poor. The love of Jesus is so discerning.
He gave the love of a whip to those who sinned, and showed compassion to those who were afflicted with the love of healing. Christ's love for the sick on this earth is unchanging.
Christians who believe and follow the Lord must also live a life of freely giving the power they have received from the Lord to the hungry, naked, and sick in the world. Just as Jesus never took his eyes off the sick during his public life, so the saints should not take their eyes off them.
II. The wrath of the high priests and scribes
(Mat 21:15) When the chief priests and the scribes saw the strange things that Jesus was doing, and the children in the temple cried out, Hosanna, Son of David,
A. Wrongful anger
When Jesus was cleaning the temple, he attacked the priests. This aggressive challenge enraged the priests and scribes.
Just as anger arose in Judas Iscariot's heart when Mary offered the perfume oil to Jesus, Jesus' miracles and the praises of children aroused anger in the hearts of the clergy.
When the direction of the heart is deviated from the truth, the action of the truth is rather angered. The wrong hearts of the high priests and scribes lost their discernment even when they saw the good power of Jesus and the pure praises of the little children, and rather provoked anger. They have hardened their hearts and hear, but do not understand; they see, but do not see.
Believers in God must have a pure heart. Only then will we not repeat the mistakes made by the religious leaders of the time who had a wrong heart.
B. Protest of the high priests and scribes
In Jewish custom, small children were sometimes used to praise rabbis. Therefore, the admiration of these little children was not new. However, the chief priests and scribes protested, thinking that it was blasphemy against God for Jesus to be praised by children.
But by protesting that it was blasphemy, they charged themselves with blasphemy.
At that time, the religious leaders who did not recognize Jesus refused to praise the Lord and instead committed the sin of anger and protest.
C. Spiritual Ignorance
At that time, the chief priests and scribes did not recognize Jesus and sinned because of their spiritual ignorance.
It was impossible to recognize the divine Christ through the religious life that was biased only toward formality. Today's saints also need spiritual arming. Because no one knows when the coming of the Lord will come.
In order to fully receive the Lord and be approved by Christ, we need to be more vigilant and sober and prayerful.
III. God Who Perfects the Praise of Children
(Matthew 21:16) And he said to Jesus, "Do you listen to what they are saying?" Jesus said to him, "Have you never read that out of the mouths of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise?"
A. A child's praise
Jewish children participated in temple worship from an early age. Jesus, who had already received the title of Messiah, 'Son of David,' from the blind, the crowd, the Gentile women, and the citizens of Jerusalem, now receives the same confession of praise from children.
At that time, the religious leaders refused to praise the Lord, but the little children filled the gap. The adoration of little children, repeating the joyful cheers of their parents, was never imitated.
The praises of young children were far purer than the praises of grown-ups who sang in a nationalistic patriotic dream.
B. Fulfillment of the Old Testament
By applying the praise to Jehovah God in Psalm 8:2 to you, Jesus testified that the praise of children was the fulfillment of the Old Testament and proclaimed the will of God.
In other words, he taught the high priests and scribes who were angry and protested that the praise of children was justified. If they truly knew the Bible, the high priests and scribes had to recognize, acknowledge, and worship Jesus as the Messiah through this hymn.
C. Discernment of Truth
At that time, priests who had learned a lot and claimed to be wise did not recognize the truth, but young children praised the truth. In this way, those who are humble as children can discern spiritual truth better than those who know the world. Because God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Also, you cannot know God with the wisdom of this world. Moreover, no one is more foolish than the one who prides himself on God, who destroys the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the wise.
The young children did what the religious leaders of the time could not do. All saints must come before God with the spirit of a child. At that time, we can offer a full confession of praise to the Lord and discern the truth.