We have just read Matthew 21's account of the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. That was a coming, a preliminary coming, of the Great King into the City of the Great King. That's what Ps 48 calls Jerusalem, and our Lord Himself used that same title in the Sermon on the Mount. Now, what the gospels highlight is that the cleansing of the temple immediately followed the triumphal entry. The King cleans His house, purging evildoers from the place of His worship. The place where God dwells must be a clean place; the church must be free of all wickedness. That is something that the triumphal entry highlights.
We have knowledge and we have community, and together those two tools grow us up to maturity. We talked last week about how the Lord wants us to get along with each other according to the community rules He described in Matthew 18. This week we are going to look at more rules and practices of a mature Christian community. Children, lost sheep, and forgiveness are important; so is cleanliness within the church.
Now, Christ left the earthly Jerusalem and ascended up to Heaven, and even now His Father is sending the rod of His strength out of Zion so that He can rule in the midst of His enemies. Aside from the triumphal entry texts and the psalms, this passage in Deuteronomy is the clearest biblical description of how we need to live when God is in the midst of His people.
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Caleb Nelson grew up in Ft. Collins, CO. Born into a Christian home, where he eventually became the eldest of 11 children, he has been a lifelong Presbyterian. He professed faith at the age of six, and was homeschooled through high school. He then attended Patrick Henry College...
