DAY 2 - Son of David
The next event Matthew records after Jesus’ triumphal entry is the cleansing of the temple. Following his humble arrival on the foal of a donkey, we witness our Lord’s righteous indignation as he confronts the corruption and irreverence of the religious elite toward the temple.
The temple symbolized God’s holiness—a sacred place where the Jewish people sought purification from sin through sacrifices offered by the priests on their behalf. Yet, ironically, the very place designed for spiritual cleansing required cleansing itself.
Jesus, filled with zeal for his Father’s house, overturned the tables of the moneychangers and vendors selling sacrificial animals, rebuking them for turning the temple into a marketplace. Immediately after, the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. Meanwhile, children cried out in praise, declaring, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”
The title “Son of David” was synonymous with the Messiah—the long-awaited, anointed one who would come from the lineage of King David to establish an eternal kingdom. Throughout the New Testament, whenever Jesus is called the Son of David, it is often in the context of healing, restoration, and the recognition of his messianic identity.
The chief priests and scribes, outraged by this display, demanded that Jesus respond to the praises being offered to him. In reply, Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise.” This affirmed that even the youngest recognized what the religious leaders refused to see—Jesus’ divine authority as the Messiah.
Who else but the true Son of David could rightfully condemn the exploitation taking place in the temple? Soon, this Son of David would replace the physical temple itself by offering the ultimate sacrifice for sin. His death and resurrection would fulfill the law’s sacrificial requirements, rendering the temple system obsolete and granting direct access to God.
Jesus did not just cleanse the temple—he redefined its purpose. He exposed its misuse, restored dignity to the outcast by healing those deemed unworthy to enter, and demonstrated that all are welcome in God’s presence. This foreshadows the cleansing Jesus offers us today. Only he can purify us from sin, heal our brokenness, and make us worthy before God. Only the Messiah, the Son of David, has the power to set things right.
How do Jesus’ actions in the temple point to his ultimate sacrifice and the establishment of a new way for humanity to approach God? How does this deepen our understanding of salvation and redemption through Christ?
The temple symbolized God’s holiness—a sacred place where the Jewish people sought purification from sin through sacrifices offered by the priests on their behalf. Yet, ironically, the very place designed for spiritual cleansing required cleansing itself.
Jesus, filled with zeal for his Father’s house, overturned the tables of the moneychangers and vendors selling sacrificial animals, rebuking them for turning the temple into a marketplace. Immediately after, the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. Meanwhile, children cried out in praise, declaring, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”
The title “Son of David” was synonymous with the Messiah—the long-awaited, anointed one who would come from the lineage of King David to establish an eternal kingdom. Throughout the New Testament, whenever Jesus is called the Son of David, it is often in the context of healing, restoration, and the recognition of his messianic identity.
The chief priests and scribes, outraged by this display, demanded that Jesus respond to the praises being offered to him. In reply, Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise.” This affirmed that even the youngest recognized what the religious leaders refused to see—Jesus’ divine authority as the Messiah.
Who else but the true Son of David could rightfully condemn the exploitation taking place in the temple? Soon, this Son of David would replace the physical temple itself by offering the ultimate sacrifice for sin. His death and resurrection would fulfill the law’s sacrificial requirements, rendering the temple system obsolete and granting direct access to God.
Jesus did not just cleanse the temple—he redefined its purpose. He exposed its misuse, restored dignity to the outcast by healing those deemed unworthy to enter, and demonstrated that all are welcome in God’s presence. This foreshadows the cleansing Jesus offers us today. Only he can purify us from sin, heal our brokenness, and make us worthy before God. Only the Messiah, the Son of David, has the power to set things right.
How do Jesus’ actions in the temple point to his ultimate sacrifice and the establishment of a new way for humanity to approach God? How does this deepen our understanding of salvation and redemption through Christ?