Christ's House

Verse 14, the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. This is us, the needy. There were those in the church where their need, their desire, their greed was for money, and the Lord threw them out. Now the Lord only is qualified to do that, right? We don't throw people out of the church unless it's impossible to worship with them here. As long as someone's willing to come and listen and do so respectfully, then everybody's welcome. But it's interesting that the church that man built, God had to disassemble. the Lord Jesus. I'm sure, you know, they had read the book, not literally, but you know what I'm talking about, How to Build a Church. And the Lord taught them how to break one up. So there's great learning in that for us.

But then there were those who were also greedy, needy, hungry, but they were hungry for the Savior, the only one who could do for them what they couldn't do for themselves. I pray that that's every one of us. The Lord taught that the whole have no need of the physician. Those that were there before, they didn't have any need for the Savior.

They had what they wanted, money, the pursuit of money. But these needed a physician. These needed someone who could heal. These needed the one who is the healer of souls, the one to whom we come for spiritual healing. And of course, these Earthly maladies picture our spiritual condition before God.

They were lame. We can't walk before God. We can't stand in his presence by nature full of sin. We have no ability to come to him. He's got to come where we are. The good Samaritan did. The blind, we can't see God. We don't know God. Except you'd be born again, you can't see the kingdom of God, you can't enter the kingdom of God. The deaf, the gospel falls on deaf ears until the Lord gives ears to hear.

The leper, Isaiah preached that from the sole of our feet to the top of our head, there's no soundness in us. but only wounds and bruises and putrefying sores." That's the description of a leper. But the gospel teaches that we're spiritual lepers. There is that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. There's no soundness in us.

This reminds me of those who came to King David in 1 Samuel 22.1.

When King David was exiled, his son Saul had exiled him and usurped his throne. It says David therefore departed thence and escaped to the cave of Dolom. And you know David's a picture of Christ. He's a man after God's own heart. And when David's brethren in all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.

That's the church, his brethren. We're his brethren. He's not ashamed to call us his brethren, his family. Who is my mother, my sister, my father, my brother? He asked. They went down thither to him, and everyone that was in distress, everyone that was in debt, everyone that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them. There were with him about 400 men, in the big scheme of things, just a handful. Few there be that find it, and yet here we are, in debt. We owe everything to the Savior.

Discontented, our Lord went to that last great feast day, and people were leaving, and he called out, is anybody thirsty? Is there anybody here that observed this religious day and all of the religious trappings that were involved in that holy day? Is there anybody that didn't get what they came for? Anybody thirsty? In distress? Lord, make haste and come unto me. Make haste. Why are you here this morning? Why am I here?

Is it just fleshly religion, or do we have a need? The whole have no need, but the sick, the lame, the deaf, the blind. Do you have a need, though, that only the Master can meet? Is just religion enough? Just, you know, showing up? You know what need that fulfills?

Just the presence of you in a church, going through all the religious motions. That fills your need for self-righteousness. And many are very happy with just that. I went to church, I read my Bible this week, I invited somebody to come, I gave my time. The only need that's filling is your self-righteous heart.

But do you have a need that only He can meet? that only if the Savior shows up, you will leave here content. Did you come because the Lord Jesus has power on earth to forgive sins? Did you come because you know that if he will, he can make you clean?

In verse 15 of our text, when these fleshly religionists saw and heard Christ being glorified and mercy shown to sinners by Him, they were sore displeased. I'd say our Lord was displeased in the beginning of this text, right? With them, with their making His house of prayer a den of thieves. They were displeased with Him too.

Christ was being glorified. People were saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna, praising His name. The Lord called it perfect praise because it was offered in the name of Christ. That's why we pray in Jesus' name because we don't know what we ought to pray for. Our Lord is our intercessor. We pray in His name for His sake, for His glory. they saw Christ being worshipped. Now you think about this. In the house of worship, okay, this is a house where Christ is worshipped, and people were worshipping Christ, and they didn't like it.

Verse 16, he says to them again, have you never read? Have you never read? You look up sometimes how many times that the Lord revealed their ignorance of the scriptures to people that prided themselves the most on knowing their Bible. He continually, and this is merciful of him to do so, If you don't have a clue what God's word says, wouldn't you like to know that? Have you never read?

What happens here? Do we preach the gospel of the Savior? I don't preach on topics. I preach Christ. I preach verse by verse in the scriptures. And what do we find there every time? The Lord Jesus. It doesn't matter if you're in the New Testament, the Old Testament. Has it ever not been the same message? We pray. Now that's again, that's not saying your prayers. You don't have to do this. Hands don't pray, hearts do. That's bearing your soul before God, that's what that is.

We thank him for his goodness unto us in Christ, for all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What is that to him? What does he call that? Perfect praise. Just like when Paul said, we preach the gospel and unto some it's the savor of death unto death. And to some, it's the savor of life unto life, but it's always a victory because it's always a savor of Christ, a sweet-smelling savor of Christ unto God. Psalm 8-2, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, this is the verse that he was quoting in that temple.

As thou ordain strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. And it had that effect, didn't it? When they praised him, the enemy was shut down. The enemy was silenced by the praise of those who love the Lord Jesus by his grace.

And today, while his enemies are doing what they do, may we praise him. who is worthy of all glory for saving us for his precious blood that he shed for our sins, worthy is the lamb. We can't sing that now like we will, but we can sing it now. Worthy is the lamb that was slain and has redeemed us to God by his precious blood.

Now in verses 18 through 22, our Lord curses this fig tree. We read the text a moment ago, but let's consider this fig tree and why he cursed it when he did and what it pictures. No fruit. What did our Lord say about fruit? He's illustrating by this fig tree what they had just witnessed. in that temple of fleshly religion and under the curse of the Lord Jesus Christ." This world's religion is under the curse of God. Christ was hungry.

We know from the words of our Lord in John 15.8, you remember what he said about fruit in John 15? Unless you abide in me, You can't bear any fruit, but if you abide in me, you shall bear much fruit. It's being united, vitally joined in a living way to the Son of God. It's being one with Him.

The fruitless, fleshly religion of this world is under His curse. Christ was hungry. What is the Son of God hunger for? Now you think about this. Of course, He was a man in every way that we are, yet without sin, which is a big difference. But one of us, to represent us, our last Adam in this world, but He's hungry here.

And the Lord said there in John 15 when he's talking about, unless you abide in me, you can't bear any fruit. You can do nothing. Without me, he said, you can do nothing. That's not an overstatement. That's not hyperbole. But vitally joined to Christ and his life, the life of Christ flowing through us, we bear fruit unto him. What does that mean? What is he hungry? He's hungry for fruit. What does the fruit do for him?

John 15.8, right in the middle of that same context. Hearing as my father glorified that you bear much fruit. Why did he make human beings? Why did he make a world? For his glory. His glory.

What is it that God hungers for? You know, when Christ said from the cross, I thirst, was he just craving water? on the cross? No, his father had forsaken him. He cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? By the way, a guilty man doesn't say that. Think about that. He was, I'm the guilty one. If the Lord was guilty, he wouldn't have to say why, why? That would be a very disingenuous statement if he had any sin of his own. He was guilty of sin. He bore my sins on Calvary. Thirsty for water, his father had forsaken him. He was thirsty for the glory.

Listen to what he said when he came to that hour, John 17. On his way to Calvary, he prayed his high priestly prayer in John 17, and what did he cry for? Father, the hour has come, glorify. Glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify thee. What was God getting out of that? What was God doing for God on that cross? Glory! Herein is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit by being vitally united to Him by His grace, free, sovereign grace, The hour has come, he said. What happened in that hour? Is everything to us?

It's redemption, salvation, justice, sins paid for, and ultimately glorification, which is just being like him and in his presence. What was in it for God? Glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify thee. What does God desire from us? Glorified. Glory. And how does that happen? By fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. Notice he didn't say the fruit of the flesh. He mentions the fruit of the flesh in that context and it's all evil. That's all we can produce by nature. But in Christ, If we abide in Him, we bear much fruit.

Meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts, and the fruit of the Spirit is born unto Him. And these are not just invisible concepts, love and joy and peace and longsuffering and faith. Faith is the fruit of His Spirit. That doesn't grow in a garden of flesh. That's the fruit of His Spirit, along with all of those other wonderful virtues. But they're not just invisible concepts, but living, working principles within the people of God.

How are we going to bear fruit before God? John 15, 5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. He's gonna get all the glory, and we're gonna be happy about it by his grace. Amen, let's pray.

Christ's House

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