The Background Setting: A Deeper Revelation #

Jesus begins the last week of His earthly ministry by cleansing the temple, a significant act in His final journey. Before this powerful action, He triumphantly enters Jerusalem through the eastern gate, riding on a donkey. This moment is not just a royal procession, but a prophetic declaration that the long-awaited Messiah has come. The eastern gate, also known as the Golden Gate, holds profound symbolic meaning.

It was the gate through which the King of Glory would enter Jerusalem, as prophesied in Ezekiel 44:1-3. This specific gate would remain closed until the Messiah’s arrival. Jesus’ choice to enter through it was no accident but an intentional fulfillment of this prophecy.

The donkey He rides is not just any animal; it is symbolic of humility and peace. Jesus, the King, does not come with the power of a military conqueror, but with the peace of the King who would lay down His life for the people.

The colt, the foal of a donkey, is a direct fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9, NKJV).

This prophecy speaks of a King who brings salvation, justice, and peace, in contrast to the conquering kings of the world who come with military might and force. The crowd’s spontaneous, exuberant response reflects their recognition of the Messiah’s arrival, but with a limited understanding. They shout “Hosanna to the Son of David!”—a cry for salvation. Yet, their understanding of salvation was limited to political and earthly liberation. They failed to see that the salvation Jesus was bringing was far more profound and eternal than anything they had hoped for.

The Cleansing of the Temple: Prophetic Judgment #

Upon entering the city, Jesus goes directly to the temple, the very heart of Jewish worship and culture. His actions here are deeply significant—not only as a demonstration of righteous anger but as a prophetic act, marking the climax of His ministry.

Jesus, in His zeal for God’s house, drives out the merchants and the moneychangers, overturning their tables. He is not just cleansing a physical space, but He is symbolically cleansing the temple of the old order, announcing that the temple system, with its corrupt practices, is coming to an end.

The money changers, who were exchanging currency for temple offerings, and those selling animals for sacrifice, had turned the sacred space into a marketplace. They had desecrated the temple, the dwelling place of God, by making it a den of thieves. This corruption was not just economic but spiritual, as it distorted the true purpose of the temple: to be a place of worship, prayer, and communion with God.

In quoting Isaiah 56:7, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations,” and juxtaposing it with Jeremiah 7:11, “But you have made it a den of thieves,” Jesus is not only condemning the commercial exploitation but also highlighting the prophetic significance of this action. He is announcing the fulfillment of God’s judgment on the religious system that had strayed far from God’s original intent.

Jesus’ cleansing of the temple was a symbolic gesture of God’s judgment on the religious leaders who had failed to shepherd His people, and on the corrupt sacrificial system that had become an empty ritual. This event also foreshadowed the final destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, a judgment that would be both physical and spiritual. The destruction of the temple would signal the end of the old covenant and the inauguration of the new covenant, where Christ Himself would be the true temple.

The New Covenant Temple: Christ in Us #

As Jesus cleanses the temple, He is not only condemning the practices of the religious leaders but also pointing to the coming transformation.

Jesus Himself would become the true temple, as He declared in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He was speaking of His body, the true temple, which would be destroyed on the cross and raised on the third day.

Moreover, in 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul teaches that believers are now the temple of the Holy Spirit: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

This shift from the physical temple in Jerusalem to the spiritual temple in the hearts of believers is a powerful reality. Just as Jesus cleansed the physical temple, He now desires to cleanse the temple of our hearts, removing all that is not of Him.

The prophetic significance of this is clear: the coming destruction of the physical temple is a foreshadowing of the establishment of the true temple—the body of Christ, the Church, and the individual believer who houses the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, in His cleansing of the temple, was also preparing the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would dwell in believers and empower them to live as the temple of God.

The Judgment on Jerusalem: A Foreshadowing of A.D. 70 #

When Jesus drove the merchants from the temple, He was not merely cleansing a building; He was signaling the judgment that would soon come upon the city of Jerusalem. His actions were prophetic, symbolising the impending destruction of the physical temple and the judgment on the people of Israel for rejecting the Messiah.

In Matthew 23:37-39, Jesus laments over Jerusalem, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate.”

This desolation would come to pass in A.D. 70 when the Roman army destroyed the temple, fulfilling Jesus’ words. The destruction of the temple was not just a historical event but a prophetic sign that the old covenant had been fulfilled in Christ and was now passing away. The judgment upon the temple and Jerusalem was a sign that God was shifting His focus from the old covenant system to the new covenant, which was established in the blood of Christ.

The Prophetic Act: An Eternal Sign #

The cleansing of the temple also serves as a prophetic act that resonates beyond the first-century events. Jesus’ actions were a visual declaration that the temple system was no longer valid; the true temple had come, and it was in Him. This act of cleansing was not just a judgment on the corrupt practices of the time but a declaration that the true worship of God was now to be centred in Christ and the hearts of believers, not in a physical building.

The destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 was a sign that God was bringing an end to the old covenant order and that the Kingdom of God, established through Jesus, would now be spread through the Church—the Body of Christ. The Church is now the temple of the living God, and it is through the Church that God’s purposes will be fulfilled in the earth.

Christ, the Fulfillment of All Things #

As we reflect on Jesus’ triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple, we see a profound revelation of the shift from the old to the new covenant.

Jesus, as the Messiah, came to fulfill the law and the prophets. His entry into Jerusalem signalled the dawning of a new era, where the old ways of worship and sacrifice would no longer be needed.

Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He would become the final sacrifice, and through His Spirit, He would dwell in the hearts of His people.

Jesus’ cleansing of the temple was not only a judgment on the religious system of His time but also a prophetic act pointing to the coming of the new covenant, where Christ would be the true temple, and His people would be the temple of the Holy Spirit. This profound truth challenges us today: just as Jesus cleansed the physical temple, He desires to cleanse our hearts and lives, making us fit to be His dwelling place.

In this new covenant, we, the Church, are called to be a house of prayer for all nations. We are to be a people who reflect the holiness and righteousness of God in the world, living as temples of His presence, walking in the light of the new creation that has been established in Christ.

This is the deep, spiritual reality that the events of Palm Sunday and the cleansing of the temple point to—a reality that has come, is coming, and will ultimately be fully realized in the return of the King.

In Christ,
Shaliach.