Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Isaiah 56:6, 7; Jeremiah 7:9-11; Mark 11:15-19
International Sunday School Lesson
April 6, 2014
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
This is another one of those weeks that comes around where rather than having a direct theme in my commentary my effort to assist you consists of a multitude of questions.
Questions can create conversation either for a student to use or a teacher. I know just as in sales the classroom production is something like 20% of the students produce 80% of the discussion. Maybe these “questions” can help increase participation.
1. Discuss the foreigners in sight in today’s Isaiah 56:6-7. For interest see the eunuch from the not included Isaiah 56:5 and the Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading Isaiah in Acts 8:26-40.
2. Discuss God saying, in today’s Jeremiah 7:10, “…I have been watching!” and apply it to His house today.
3. Discuss what resulted from the behavior described in Jeremiah 7:9-11.
4. Discuss the people saying, “We are safe” from those same verses.
5. Read the parallel accounts from Matthew 21 and Luke 19.
6. Discuss that these 3 accounts of Jesus are near the end of His ministry but the one that John wrote of in John 2 is near the beginning of His ministry.
7. Discuss the necessity of money changers and the selling of doves.
8. Discuss what the real problem was.
9. Discuss Mark 11:18’s words about the priests and teachers, “…they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.”
10. Discuss what we can glean from how the crowd reacted to this type of teaching and apply it today.
11. Discuss How Jesus was bringing an end to this system.
12. Discuss the idea of worshiping in spirit and truth.
13. Discuss the significance in the not included verse 11 when Jesus had come here the night before, “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”
14. Discuss that these people in view in today’s scripture for the most part though they were in His temple were neither thinking of God nor glorifying Him.
15. Discuss who had responsibility for the temple then and what was going on and who is in that position today. If the answer was the priests remember we are a kingdom of them now.
16. Discuss the parallel with treating Christ’s sacrifice as an unholy thing and what might result.
17. Discuss Jesus Triumphal Entry as studied last week comparing it to His entry into your heart and the temple within you.
18. You may find it helpful to read my commentary from April 2012 in this very blog that dealt with the temple clearing as written in John 2.
Remember God’s words as you finish up this week in your life and head for church and sit down to class. He has been watching!
Upcoming Lessons:
4-13-14 A Messianic Priest-King, Jeremiah 23:5, 6; Zechariah 6:9-15, John 19:1-5
4-20-14 The Third Day, Hosea 6:1-3, Luke 24:1-12
4-27-14 From Suffering to Glory, Isaiah 53:3-8, Luke 24:25-27, 44-47 or Isaiah 53:5-8a; Luke 24:25-27
5-4-14 Jesus Resists Temptation, Deuteronomy 6:13-16; Matthew 4:1-11 or Deuteronomy 6:13-16; Matthew 4:4-11
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
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