Resource Detail

2025 Study of Matthew’s Gospel

MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER

Matthew 21:12-16

Key Verses 21:13

1. What was happening just before this event (21:1-11)? What did the temple symbolize to the Jewish people at that time? Why do you think Jesus chose to cleanse the temple as one of His first actions after entering Jerusalem?
2. What kind of trading was taking place in the temple courts, and why do you think this practice had started (12a, John 2:14)? Why was Jesus so angry, and how did He express His anger (12b, 13b)? What does this reveal about God’s heart toward the corruption of true worship?
3. When Jesus said, “My house will be called a house of prayer,” what do you think He meant (13a)? Mark adds the phrase “for all nations” — what does this tell us about God’s purpose for the temple and for His people (Mark 11:17)? How can we keep our church community focused on prayer, worship, and mission?
4. What is the spiritual meaning of healing taking place right after Jesus cleansed the temple (14)? Why did the children begin to praise Jesus, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David” (15)? Why were the religious leaders upset with Jesus, and why did Jesus answer them with Psalm 8:2 (16)?

Oct 26^th, 2025 SWS by Moses S Kang - Matthew 21:12-17 (Key Verse 21:13)

MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER
 

“It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”(Mt 21:13)
 

Last summer, my family and I traveled to Montreal and visited the Notre Dame Basilica. Inside the church, they held a spectacular “Aura Show”. It is a kind of light show with laser light, video projection, and orchestra music. It was a beautiful performance. But, as I walked out of church after the show, this thought kept running through my mind “Does the church really have to do for making money?”

I thought this beautiful church was no longer a place of worship and prayer, and became more of a tourist attraction spot where people come to take photos and enjoy the show(entertaining). Someone said, “In some churches, especially in Europe today, the sound of cameras clicking is louder than the sound of prayers”. (Don’t get me wrong. I don’t judge anyone). I just felt bad that the church, a place for prayer and worship of God, has changed into a commercial place focusing on making money from tourists.

But this is not new. The same thing happened in Jesus’ time. In today’s passage, we see how the temple, meant to be a house of prayer, had become a marketplace focusing on making money from people.

Let’s look at what happened there—how Jesus acted and how the people around him responded. Look at verse 12, Jesus went into the temple courts and drove out everyone who was buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

Beginning from Matthew chapter 21, the Bible tells us the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of the gentle and humble King, not as a conqueror. The crowds welcome him by spreading their cloaks and palm branches on the road, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!, Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

It was during the Passover week that Jesus entered Jerusalem. Passover was one of the most significant feasts for the entire nation of Israel. According to Moses’ law, every Jewish male, thirteen years and older, no matter where they lived. was required to return to Jerusalem to offer the Passover sacrifice and remember their exodus from Egypt.

After Jesus entered Jerusalem, behind all the shouting and celebration of the crowd, he went straight to the temple. This shows that he did not come as a political Messiah, as many Jewish people expected, but come as a spiritual King. He did not go to Herod’s palace to get political power or earthly authority. Instead, he went to the temple, the center of Israel’s spiritual life. As the spiritual King, his first concern was to restore true worship and right relationship with God.

Perhaps he wanted to see people from the different place gathered at the temple, and praying, worshiping, and seeking God with sincere hearts together. However, what did Jesus actually find when He entered the temple? Look again at verse 12. “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.”

He found that the temple, which should be a holy place of worship and prayer, had turned into a noisy marketplace filled with business deal, negotiation and money exchanges. Seeing this corruption, Jesus was filled with holy anger. He did something completely unexpected with his holy anger. He overturned their money tables and drove out dove sellers.

“Overturning tables” and “driving people out” may seem out of character for Jesus, who is usually known for his gentleness, compassion, and patience. Some might even wonder, “Wasn’t Jesus being too violent?” But Jesus did not strike the money changers, but He overturned their tables. He did not hurt the dove sellers, but he overturned their benches. His anger was not against the people themselves, but against the corruption and hypocrisy that had turned God’s house into a place of greed and exploitation.

In fact, the buying and selling of animals for sacrifice at the temple, as well as the exchanging of money, were legally permitted at that time. This market system had been established to help those who traveled from faraway to worship in Jerusalem. Bringing an unblemished animal all the way from home was difficult for travelers from faraway, so sellers provided pre-inspected and defect-free ox, lambs, goats, and doves for use as sacrificial offerings.

Also, when people bought sacrificial animal and paid a temple tax, it had to be paid with an Israel coin. Since people came from many different regions and used various currencies (Rome, other regions), money changers were stationed in the temple to exchange their money into the proper Israel money like currency exchange booths at airports today.

Originally, during the Old Testament period, the sale of sacrificial and the exchange of money were operated outside the temple, close to the Mount of Olives. However, as demand grew(more Jewish diaspora), these markets gradually moved closer to the temple area. By the time of Jesus, merchants and money changers were running their business inside the temple, in the Court of the Gentiles.

As you can guess from the name, this was the only area where Gentiles were allowed to come and worship God. But because the Court of the Gentiles had become crowded with trade and noise, these Gentile worshipers lost their space for worship, and even their opportunity to offer sacrifices and pray before God.

The religious leaders and priests should have removed the merchants from the temple courts to keep true worship. But they let the selling of sacrificial animals and money-changing business continue in the temple courts as a monopoly.

Of course, it was not free. They protected and supported the merchants’ monopoly business in the temple, while personally collecting huge profits from merchants and money exchangers for themselves(commission).

For example, if they declared that a worshipper’s animal was blemished and insisted, they needed to purchase new animal from the temple market (“Your offering can be accepted. You must get from our temple. Only Temple authorized animal accepted”), travelers from faraway had no alternative. Eventually, people stopped bringing their own carefully prepared animals for sacrifice. Instead, for the sake of convenience, they brought money and bought animals at the temple to offer as their sacrifices. This practice gradually led them into habitual and careless worship, causing them to lose true preparation and devotion.

The temple was the center of Israel’s spiritual life. Jesus, who came as the spiritual King, could not ignore its state with indifferent and he was filled with holy anger. Through His actions, Jesus wanted to restore the temple to its true purpose.

Now, Jesus declared to everyone that the temple, God’s house should be a house of prayer, not a marketplace. Jesus told people that temple should be a house of prayer, not a place for annual events. Prayer to God is far more important than ritual activities.

Now Look at verse 13. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Here in verse 13, Jesus refers to two Old Testament passages—first from Isaiah 56:7, and then from Jeremiah 7:11.

First , House of prayer: Isaiah 56:7, it is said, “These, I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.”

Here we see the true purpose of the temple. It is a place where people come to rejoice in God’s presence, bring their offerings, present their sacrifices, and call God’s name in prayer. The temple was a place where people could meet God, lift up their prayers, find forgiveness, and be restored."

And, it should a house of prayer for all people. The temple was never belonged only to the Jews. It was designed to be a house of worship for all people, a place where anyone, regardless of background, conditions, could come and pray, and worship God. But the reality of temple in Jesus’ time was the complete opposite.

The religious leaders had turned the temple into a means of maintaining their own power and privilege. They changed the Gentiles’ prayer area into a marketplace for their own profit. God wanted the temple to be a place where even gentiles could freely come and worship God. This is image of house of prayer for all nations, temple’s purpose. But the temple lost this original purpose as house of prayer for all people.

Even though we no longer have a physical temple, the Bible tells us that our hearts are now God’s temple (1 Corinthians 6:19; 3:16-17). In the Old Testament, God’s presence dwelled in the temple. Today, when we believe in Jesus and accept the Gospel through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, making our hearts the dwelling place of God.”

Just as Jesus cleansed the temple, He wants to purify the temple of our hearts. Take a moment to ask yourself: What is the condition of temple of your heart? “Is something else occupying the place in your heart that should belong to God in prayer?” Are there any clutters that hinders true your worship? Such as selfishness, pride, hypocrisy, hidden sin, worldly desires, lust, or spiritual complacency.

If you find your hearts are filled with spiritual clutters, distractions or anything that keeps you from worshipping God, you must open the door and invite Jesus to clean the temple of your hearts.

How can Jesus clean the temple of our hearts? First, when we humbly receive and obey God’s Word, it cleans our sins, clears away the dirty sin clutters, and renews our heart of temple.

Second, we can keep the temple of our hearts clean through repentance and confession. Repentance means turning away from sin and returning to God. Confession means humbly admitting our sins and letting God cleanse us. When we confess our sins, Jesus forgives us and purifies us from all sins. Through this, we can maintain the temple of our hearts as a holy dwelling place of God.

The temple was a place where anyone could meet God, pray, be forgiven, be healed, and worship him. That was its true purpose. Today, God desires that same temple to dwell in our hearts, not just in a building. May God help us to keep these true purpose in our temple of heart.

Most of all, Jesus proclaimed, “My house will be called a house of prayer ” Let’s pray that our heart of temple may be restored as a house of prayer by having personal devotion time with Jesus through prayer. Let’s pray that our homes, workplaces, and gathering places become houses of prayer where everyone can meet God. As we pray, worship sincerely, and follow God’s Word daily, may our hearts be restored to be his true temple

As I prepared today’s message, I realize and thanks to God because Jesus desires to cleanse my heart and shape me into a living house of prayer. This year, God has guided me to join early morning prayers and to deliver a morning devotion message once a week. By starting each day with prayer—lifting up myself, my family, our church, and God’s work—I have become more aware of his presence in my daily life. I believe that God wants me to be a living house of prayer. May Jesus continue to purify my heart whenever it becomes cluttered with my sins, so that I can restore worship and live each day as a temple place where prayer and God’s presence exists.

Second: Den of robbers: Jesus quoted Jeremiah 7:8–11 too. The prophet Jeremiah rebuked the people, reminding them that God cared about their hearts and obedience—not just their temple rituals. At that time, the people wrongly believed, “As long as we have the temple, God is with us, so we are safe from judgment.” Because of this false belief based on their spiritual pride, they continued in sin worshiping idols, practicing injustice, and living in hypocrisy. But they still came to the temple to offer sacrifices and pray, thinking their rituals would cover their wrongdoing.

The phrase “den of robbers” literally refers to a place where thieves hide and feel secure after committing their crimes. In the same way, the temple had become a kind of hiding place where people tried to escape from guilty feeling rather than repent of their sins. At the temple, the religious leaders claimed to serve God out of their spiritual pride but live hypocritical life by seeking power, money and privileges.

Moreover, instead of sincerely turning their hearts back to God, people became comfortable in their religious routines. They believed that simply being in the temple and offering sacrifices was enough to make them right with God—thinking, “As long as I come to the temple and give my offering, I’m fine.”. In a “den of robbers.” the religious leaders and the people had become numb to their sins, spiritually arrogant and complacent without true repentance.

Even today, many people make the same mistake. They believe that simply attending church on Sundays is enough—that as long as they show up for worship service, it doesn’t really matter how they live the rest of the week. As soon as they leave the church building, their faith doesn’t influence their daily life any more. These are we called “Sunday Christians, even Sunday morning Christian”

None of us want our church to be called like 'spiritual den of robbers'. None of us want to live as Sunday Christians, right? We want both our church and ourselves to live as true temple of God. Let’s pray that God may help us to live Jesus’ centered life, not live on habitual spiritual life. Just as Jesus cleaned the temple, may God help us to let God’s words clean and renew our hearts, so that we become a true temple, place of prayer, worship, and fellowship with Him as God intended.

In terms of temple’s purpose, look at verse 14. “The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.” According to Moses’ law, anyone with a physical defect was not permitted to enter the temple, specifically, those who were blind or lame (Leviticus 21:18). The blind and the lame were often rejected by society, and even more the Jewish leaders saw their disabilities as punishment for past sin. They were not allowed to offer sacrifices or participate in temple worship. It’s ironic that the merchants were welcomed because they brought profit, but those who were truly in need were ignored. But Jesus welcomed them and healed them, showing that the temple was a place of mercy, healing, and worship God’s love and grace for everyone

Here, Jesus showed a different perspective of the temple’s purpose. When the blind and lame came, just as they were, he welcomed them and healed them completely. God’s house is to be open to everyone—no one is excluded Through this, Jesus showed that the temple is not only a house of prayer but also a house of healing. Those who are sick in body, mind, or spirit are invited to find restoration in God’s house.

Now look at verse 15: “But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant.”

How did the religious leaders respond? The passage tells us that even though they witnessed the amazing things Jesus was doing—healing the sick and restoring lives—they were filled with indignation. Instead of rejoicing that the temple was being used as a place of prayer, healing, and restoration, their hearts were filled with anger and jealousy based on their selfish mind. They could not tolerate that Jesus was being praised, They cared more about protecting their authority, position, and profit than about God’s mercy in the temple of God through Jesus.

When the religious leaders confronted Jesus about what the children were shouting in the temple “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, Jesus responded with Scripture. Look at verse 16: “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked Him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” They asked Jesus, “Don’t you hear?” and He answered, “Haven’t you read?” In other words, Jesus was saying, “You should have known this, it’s written in the Scriptures!”

The religious leaders should have rejoiced to hear children praising the Messiah in God’s house. Instead, their pride and jealousy blinded them to the truth. The children may not have fully understood what they were shouting, but their praise was pure and humble. Even little children recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah, but the religious leaders failed to see it.

Instead of silencing the children, Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2, which was originally written by David to praise God. By using this verse, Jesus showed that he himself is the one worthy of that praise, the Messiah and the Lord. For the first time in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus openly revealed that he is the Messiah. As he entered Jerusalem, knowing he would soon die on the cross, from now on he no longer hid his identity but clearly showed that he came to fulfill God’s plan of salvation.

Conclusion: Let us take a moment to reflect on the different kinds of people Jesus met when He entered the temple. (1) There were merchants who cared more about profit than true worship; (2) those who were physically weak yet still came to Jesus for healing even at the risk of breaking religious rules; (3) the religious leaders who clung tightly to their power, status, and privilege; and (4) the little children whose pure hearts overflowed with praise, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Now, let me ask: who are we among them? We may not be selling or trading at the church, but do we sometimes follow Jesus only for our own benefit (pray with selfish desire)? Do we come to God honestly—seeking healing, restoration, and grace? Or do we hold on to our pride or position instead of humbly serving him? Or do we praise and worship him with sincere heart, like little children?

Let’s check our hearts through today’s passage, and may God continually cleans our hearts through words of God, prayer, and repentance, so that we may live as true temples of God, God’s dwelling place.

May our church (New York UBF), our bible club in each campus distinguish from other social club, we are a house of prayer for all nation focused on prayer, worship, and mission. May God help our church to become a house of prayer, not place for event by obeying God’s words.

May our church to welcome and have compassion on the spiritually blind and lame, so they can find healing, Jesus’ love and hope through us. Let’s pray that may our church is filled with the sound of earnest prayer day and night with sincere worship to God.

Finally, as our prayer, may God bless our church community to be faithfully used by Him as a Spirit-filled church for campus students in NY area. Amen.