Sermons

Thank you very much to the choir this morning for the work that went into being ready. If I could ask you please to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19. Let's take a moment and pray.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we do thank You that you are the God who is seated on high, the one who sees all, the one who knows the heart of every individual. And Lord, we know that we are not the people we ought to be. And we recognize that the church is not what it ought to be. That those who exercise the role of leadership in the church and churches all across this world, they are but fallen men. And there is a tendency amongst all of us to corrupt, but we thank you that your word is always true. We thank you that Jesus is always true.

We thank You that despite the weakness of men, that He insists on being active in this world. We thank You that He sent the Holy Spirit to be busy amongst the people of this world, drawing to Yourself those who were elect, those who were chosen before the foundation of the world, and causing them to see and establishing them in the faith and nurturing them in the way that they should go, insisting that that which has been begun will be brought to completion, that even in the face of the weakness and indeed the out-and-out sinfulness of human leadership, we thank You that there is a good shepherd who has insisted that his will be done among the sheep. We thank You as well that the Word that has been given to us by Him is alive and active, sharper than a two-edged sword.

And so, Lord, we ask that it would have dealings amongst us, and it would push us to a greater thankfulness, a greater spirit of worship, towards Jesus Christ, we thank You that at the close of our service today, we have opportunity to eat and drink in remembrance of Him. And we ask, Lord, even our study would prepare us for that great act of remembering the one who is worth remembering. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. (End)

Well, the Bible begins in Genesis with a great picture of the unity between mankind and God. There in the Garden of Eden, the first man and the first woman had the privilege of walking with God in the cool of the day, and we can only imagine the things that they got to talk about. The sweetness of fellowship that they got to enjoy, the joy of very much being intimately in the presence of God.

The great consequence of sin was a severing of that relationship. Adam and Eve had to be sent out of the garden, sent east of Eden, away from that intimate presence of God. And we read even in Genesis 4 about Cain as he sinned even more grievously. He was sent further east of Eden. There's this movement away from God in increasing degrees that we see through Scripture.

And yet after Genesis comes Exodus, and Exodus gives us a foretaste of something wonderful that is yet to come. God delivers a people from Egypt with those signs and wonders that were done, the great act of Passover, where He spared His people while punishing the unjust, and He brought His people out, brought them across the Red Sea, brought them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where He gave them His holy law that they would know what was expected of them. But the most amazing part about the book of Exodus is not all that so often gets dramatized in movies and everything else.

But the last half of the book seeks to unfold the plans for a tabernacle, a dwelling place, an insistence that this holy God would dwell in the midst of His people. And that very literally is what took place. The tabernacle was a tent-like structure that was placed in the middle, and all of the tribes were to gather around it. It was to be at the heart of the nation. God was going to dwell amongst them. The holy God was once again seeking to dwell in a more clear, in a more distinct, in a special sense. He's still the God who is everywhere, and yet the tabernacle was glorious in that His glory was to be manifest there in a special way. Later on, as the nation was established in the promised land.

There would be a movement to select a king. Things would go back and forward for a while until King David comes clearly to the throne, a man after God's own heart, one who does much good. He's not perfect, but he does much good in the process of his rule. Much that was right in terms of being a king who ruled over the people with kindness and with justice, and yet also sought to point them to a greater ruler, one who was above him, and to direct the people to recognize the Lord as above all.

And one of the great aspirations that David had was to take that tent-like structure and to see it built into a temple. A permanent structure, a place in the midst of the capital city at that time, Jerusalem. That there in the capital, that special dwelling place of God, that place where His glory was to be manifested in a special way would take place. Now, ultimately, that building was carried out by Solomon, David's son, but it was the temple was established and sacrifices were made and prayers were offered and God's glory came and entered the temple and dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant, above the mercy seat, in that place called the Holy of Holies there, in the center of this building, of this structure, and it was glorious. There was this real manifestation of the glory of God.

The problem was while God was there amongst them, the people continued in their rebellion. In the Old Testament largely as a chronicle of the rebellious nature of the nation. The nation that had been given such privilege, such blessing, such proximity to the living God, squandered that privilege.

Ezekiel chapter 10 records after many records of sin and brokenness. It records how there was a clear point, given the fallenness of the nation, Ezekiel chapter 10, where the glory of God left the temple. Ezekiel 10 paints a picture of this strange chariot-like structure carried by cherubim that metaphorically ascended and left, taking with it the glory of God. God's glory rode on this chariot to be taken away from a people not worthy of closeness to Him.

And the glory of God from that point forward in the Old Testament was no longer in the temple. That first temple of Solomon would ultimately be destroyed, the people would come back to the land, but not the glory of God. The temple would be rebuilt under the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. It would be established once more, but the glory of God would not return to the temple again until in Luke chapter 2, verse 22.

If God's glory had left on a supernatural chariot carried by the cherubim, the glory of God comes back carried by a teenage mother to be circumcised in obedience to the law. In Luke 22, verse 46, the glory of God once again comes into the temple. To display wisdom as a young man questions and answers those teachers of the law. In the third time, Luke records the glory of God once more in the temple is here. In Luke chapter 19 and verse 45, would you stand with me while we read God's word? Luke chapter 19 and verse 45.

(Scripture reading) “And He,” that is Jesus, “entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, ‘it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ And He was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him. But they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.” Amen.

Have a seat.

The church history is littered with stories of corruption, especially the corruption of leadership in the church. In the Middle Ages, the Middle Ages are marked by popes that sought to lead the church, whose lives were notably marked by moral compromise. Many of the popes in the Middle Ages fathered numerous children outside of wedlock and even boasted about the fact that they did so. In fact, the first pope to talk openly about his child outside of wedlock, ironically was called Pope Innocent VIII. Innocent!

And not only did that happen, but they often exacerbated the issue by their actions being marked by a nepotism. They would often take those illegitimate children and promote them to offices of significance in the church. Alexander VI, Pope Alexander VI, he appointed notoriously his teenage son as a cardinal though he had very little background in training.

You think of the Reformation, Luther's Reformation primarily at the beginning was not so much about bringing Scripture back in central, it became that very quickly. But what initially sparked the Reformation was, again, the corruption of Rome. In order to refurbish and expand and develop St. Peter's Basilica, they devised a system of purchasing indulgences.

It was a way of quickly making money, to have a doctrine of purgatory, this in-between state, and yet an option where if you really loved somebody who had passed away, you could speed up their cleansing. You could get them out of that no-man's land, out of that prison cell, and get them into heaven's courts if you would just pay up. The translation to English from German of Tetzel, the great merchant that ran around Europe trying to sell these indulgences sticks in the mind. When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs. And so, they sought to deliberately manipulate the vulnerable. to exploit for the sake of their own exaltation, comfort, and profit. And today, I don't know if we are any better.

The church at large in America seems to constantly, almost every week, you go online and you read of sex scandals. You read of child abuse happening in the context of the church. You read of money laundering. You don't have to look too far to see examples of corruption in the church, or even those who, again, are marked as Christians by society, who go on Sundays to buildings with church on the door.

And yet they're advocating LGBT plus agendas, they're always trying to move and manipulate Scripture to whatever the social issue of the day is, they dismiss and indeed they exalt sin from their pulpits. But friends, none of that is new. If you were to go to the last book of the Bible, to the book of Revelation, it begins with letters to seven actual churches. Churches of the day, two of them, you know, we don't really read of strong negative comments being made, but five of them, there is. The church in Ephesus, they're described as having lost their passionate love for Christ. They were doctrinally sound, but they'd grown cold in their affections for the Savior.

Pergamum, they compromised by tolerating the things of this world, tolerating sin, tolerating false teaching, specifically those holding to the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Leading the people into idolatry and gross immorality within the church. Thyatira, they're described as tolerating this, whatever she is, this Jezebel figure. A false prophetess whom, again, misled the believers into sexual immorality and eating food offered to idols. Sardis had a reputation for being alive but is actually described as spiritually dead; with works that were not complete in God's sight.

And then Laodicea, the last of the seven churches, is described as having a lukewarm apathy for everything. They claim to be rich and self-sufficient, but they were actually spiritually wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked, according to the text.

And that's the first generation of the church. You see the point? Wherever you find religion, you find corruption. That's the reality. Wherever you find religion, you find corruption. And Jesus confronted that reality Himself. In His day, the religion, the last of true Judaism. In his day, that religion was also marked by brokenness and corruption.

It was said earlier in Luke chapter 19, the glory of God, Jesus Himself, enters the temple here in verse 45. In particular, the area of the temple He comes into is the court of the Gentiles. The first section you would come to in that temple, in Herod's temple in Jesus' day, was the court of the Gentiles. And then there would have been the court of the woman, and then the court of the man, and then the court of the priest, and then the Holy of Holies. So, we're in the outer precincts of the temple, but still the temple, the place of worship, the place to hear God's Word, the place for prayer. And this court in particular was one that the foreigner who desired to know the light, who desired to know the truth could come to.

That this was meant to be the place where they got access to the things of God. Where the God fears could be built up in the faith and express their piety to Him. However, in the time of Jesus, the leadership of the day realized they could make money off this geographical location. The temple was twisted, and this particular area of the temple that was designed for the foreigner to come and to hear the things of God had been twisted into a center of commerce.

It was always true, people could have brought their lambs or whatever other animals they wanted to the temple to offer as a sacrifice to God, but there were inspections that would take place. There were priests who were assigned to assess the animal, to make sure that it was fit for purpose. Now, that was biblically instructed. That was good in and of itself.

But what had happened in the temple of Jesus' day was corrupt priests, under the guidance of the former high priest Annas who still wielded significant influence in the courts because it was his son-in-law Caiaphas that now officially held that title. They had twisted the system and made deals with merchants to, as quickly as they could, negate and dismiss other animals that were brought to force the people to have to buy, if they wanted to make a sacrifice, to have to buy one of the lambs or one of the goats or one of the calves that were for sale in the temple that day. You see how the system worked. And the arrangement was the merchant could raise the prices, so they made more money, and the priest got a cut.

That's how it worked. Everything sold, some of that profit ended up in the priest's pocket. You see the incentive, oh, I can find fault. Some of us are very good at finding fault with everything. Well, these priests were very good at finding fault because they profited from it.

Also in the temple, there were others in this particular court, the money changers. And because the world at the time was really ruled by the Romans, and the Romans had their currency, but the temple, the leadership didn't want anything Roman in the temple. They wanted only Jewish coins, temple coins, to be those that were placed in the offering box. And so, even if you brought your, you know, money, your offering to the temple on a given day, the first thing you had to go was to go to a money changer to get the Roman money taken away and replaced by a bag of Jewish money. But here's the thing, Roman money weighed a lot more than Jewish temple money.

You get the idea, there was exchange rates going on, and the system was locked in. In fact, one commentator, F.F. Bruce, he does the numbers and he calculates that the exchange rate was about twelve and a half percent profit for these money changers.

Again, part of that was pulled off and put in the pockets of the priests. It was a built-in system for these people to make money off those who desired to worship God truly. In the day, the area of this particular court, the court of the Gentiles, again for them to worship God, was nicknamed Anna's Market. Anna's Market after that high priest who had developed this whole system in order that he and his family would profit. And for multiple generations, all of his sons, and indeed now for 17 years Caiaphas, his son-in-law, reigned as high priest formally.

It was a locked-in system. It was a controlled system, and it was a system that benefited this corrupt leadership. And so, the result was because they knew they could make a lot of money quickly through pious Jews, who cares about the Gentiles? Who cares about the foreigner that would want to come and know more about God? Who cares about the one that would want to come and pray and seek His face? And there were individuals like that. You think of the Ethiopian eunuch. Why did he have the Scriptures? Because he had come to Jerusalem seeking. It's just that there were those who wanted to know but now had no access.

The very area where the foreigner was meant to be able to come and seek the face of God had become a noisy farmer's market. And I don't mean something pretty like Dallas's farmer's market. I mean like Fort Worth stockyard at its heyday. Like it was wild, smelly, noisy. It was not a place you would say prayers.

That's the point. And they didn't care. because they were profiting. They didn't need the Gentiles. There were enough Jews with money who would quite happily give it to them in order to engage in worship. But Jesus is not like these leaders, these religious leaders, these corrupt leaders of the day. He doesn't seek money. He seeks worshipers, those who would worship in spirit and in truth. And Jesus is jealous for His people. He's not content with those who would hold them back. He hates those who would seek the profit off the back of his sheep, who would exploit those who would want to seek the face of God in prayer in order to line their own pockets.

And so, when the glory of God enters the temple in Luke chapter 19, verse 45, that day, literally, tables were turned. I think in this particular passage, there's so much that we can learn, even though it's short. But I think in particular this morning, there's a lot for us to learn about the marks of corrupt leaders, because that's what Jesus was addressing. The marks of corrupt leaders, and then in contrast, and I think it will prepare us for the table. what we can learn about Jesus himself. So, here's the first mark of a corrupt leader, and we're going to go quickly through these.

Corrupt leaders are financially driven. Corrupt leaders are financially driven. Look at the language in verse 45, and He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold. We're immediately into a financial term, and that's reinforced in verse 46 by Jesus quoting the scriptures to declare that what was taking place in the temple had turned it into a den of robbers. Again, it's not bandits, general, it's not murderers, it's not adulterers, it's in particular robbers, those who would seek to profit by exploiting others. The condemnation is clear. This is about money. These leaders are broken. These leaders are guilty because these leaders were driven by money alone.

Now they said often in the church, money in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, money can be a wonderful blessing from God. You think of many, like we talked about, the temple itself was built by Solomon, who was given significant wealth. And even David, as he prepared for the building of the temple, Solomon's father, he was able to spend resources, money, in order to secure the cedars of Lebanon and gold and all the things necessary for that extravagant build. Even after the Holy Spirit comes, we see in the early church in Acts that before the apostles, money was brought and money was offered and given for the sake of the work of the Lord. That was a good thing.

But the problem was here was not the money that was given by the individual for the work of the Lord or for the worship of the Lord, it was being taken by these men and used for selfish purposes. It wasn't used to help the kingdom grow; it was used to help their personal bank account grow. Here were men who were meant to be servants of the church or servants of the people who were acting like kings. And it was all being funded by the people itself.

So, Jesus in His move and in His attack here, He is highlighting that these leaders were corrupt because they were financially driven. Sadly, the church today again is littered with example after example of men who would exploit the sheep for the sake of their own personal bank account. Men who live in lavish homes funded by the people of God.

Second thing about corrupt leaders are corrupt leaders ignore the call of Scripture. They ignore the call of Scripture. Look at verse 46. Jesus, as He speaks immediately in that broken system, says, “it is written,” and He continues to quote from Isaiah 56 and then from Jeremiah chapter 7. “It is written.” His point is very clear.

This wasn't a gray area. It was obvious what was going on, and it was obvious that the behavior that was taking place by the leadership in the temple that day was falling short of the standards that God required. They were acting anti-Scriptural. They were disobeying the obvious Word of God. Then that's the problem.

And Jesus doesn't stand there. He could because He is the one with all authority. He could stand there and tell them they were wrong because He has the ability to know the heart and declare good from evil. He could have done that, but He doesn't. He deliberately chooses to instead quote the Old Testament, because what they were doing was such an overt, rebellious action against Scripture that that's all he had to say. He's making that point. Here were men who had disregard for the clear implications of Scripture.

Now, especially in light of the passage that we're in, it's important that I tell you, Trinity, I'm so thankful for the elders that we have at our church. I'm really thankful. And the more that I've got to know the men who lead our church, the more and more thankful I am for them. Because they're humble, they pray, and they want to live out The Book. But here's something you need to know about the leaders of our church.

They're not perfect. And I'm looking at them to make sure all of them would agree with me. No, it's the wives that are nodding their head. All of the wives would agree with me. They are not perfect. We want you to know that because there is a check on us. When we talk about checks and balances, there is a way to measure us, and we want you to do that.

There's a great example in Acts of how the people are to respond to the preached Word of God, to the instructions they receive. The men of Berea. They went to the book, to the Scriptures, to check if the things they were being told were in accordance with this. And where they saw that it was, then they put those things into practice.

That's our desire, church. Don't do it because Andrew says. Don't do it because the elders say. Be listening attentively. Weigh up the truth. Go to The Book and see if these things are in accordance with the whole counsel of God's Word and where you see that what is said is, do it. And where you see that it isn't, speak. Come, talk to us. We are accountable to the church in that what we say must measure up with The Book. And that's what Jesus is highlighting here.

These corrupt leaders that are condemned in Scripture are condemned in part because they ignored the obvious call of Scripture. So corrupt leaders are financially driven. Corrupt leaders ignore the call of Scripture.

Thirdly, corrupt leaders trample those without reputation. They trample over the top of those without reputation. Now, when Jesus speaks, we've already said he quotes Scripture, but he quotes from two places.

It says, verse 46, “it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” He quotes, first of all, from Isaiah 56. Isaiah 56, if you have your Bibles, turn there. Here is laid out what the temple was meant to be. What the design was meant to involve. Here's the ideal. Jeremiah will quote the negative of what the reality was, but here in Isaiah 56 we are told what it was meant to be.

What Jesus is quoting in particular it's from verse seven. 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, and here it is, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. That's important. Jesus does not quote randomly. He quotes on purpose. And that language of for all peoples is not throw away.

In fact, if we read the larger context, Isaiah 56 verse 3, look at who's being talked about. Isaiah 56 verse 3, “let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord, say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people.’ And let not the eunuchs say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’

For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off and the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be His servants. Everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it and holds fast to my covenant, 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 to all peoples. The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares, I will gather yet others to Him besides those already gathered."

Do you see the point? Jesus is quoting a verse that's all about how expansive God's work is. About how inclusive the kingdom is meant to be. About the fact that the outsider, the foreigner, the one who was born outside of the nation, there is a place in the temple. There is a place in worship. There is a place amongst the people of God for the likes of them. It's Ruth the Moabitess becomes part of the genealogy of Christ. It's the fact that a Rahab has a home amongst Israel.

That's the goal. That's the desire. That's the design. And Jesus is quoting that reality. When He says that the house, the temple, was meant to be a house of prayer, in particular, because of the context of the verse that He's quoting, it's a house of prayer, the very next phrase in Isaiah 56 says, for the foreigner. For all peoples. For the one outside. And what's happening in His day?

The glory of God enters. The court of the Gentiles, and it's like a zoo in there. It's a cattle market, and there's no room for the foreigner to pray. That's the point. Now, why was there no room for the foreigner? Well, it's because they didn't profit the high priest. It's because there's no money to be made off these Gentiles. There's so few of them to begin with.

The money was to be made off the pious Jew. And that's what they leaned into. There was stuff to be sold. There was profit to be had. And sure, what did the Gentiles bring to the table anyway? They were easy to shun, easy to push off. And that's exactly what happened. The corrupt leaders of the day trampled over those who had very little reputation in Judaism because they weren't Jews.

Now, today it is different. There are others who are the vulnerable in the church who are easily missed. Who don't profit the leadership in the same way, and corrupt leadership all trample over the top of them without a second thought. That's the pattern that we see in Scripture, and that's a pattern we still see in our world. Beware the leader that talks out both sides of his mouth. He talks with love and warmth and passion to the rich and doesn't know the name of the poor in the church. But beware the person that is always smoothing, drawing alongside those with influence. And there's no time for the children, those who bring very little of benefit to them and their reputation, because corrupt leaders trample over those without reputation.

Fourthly, corrupt leaders rebrand their sin as righteousness. They rebrand their sin as righteousness.

I'm going to pick up my pace here. But I said there were two quotes that Jesus makes. First from Isaiah 56. The second one is from Jeremiah chapter 7. Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 11, this is what it says, "'Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have sent it,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah chapter 7, you can read the whole thing.

It speaks of that which was meant to be a place for the foreigner, was meant to be a place of worship, has been ruined, has been corrupted, has been made a den of iniquity, a den of sin. And in particular, verse 11 highlights that sin of robbery. And the idea is that these men, I think the reason Jesus is quoting Jeremiah chapter 7, these men who were meant to lead the church instead in a desire to profit, it actually rebranded sin as righteousness.

It was wrong to extort their people. The Old Testament speaks strongly against that, but they made it a matter of worship. Do you see that? They took worship. And they made sin, they instructed the people to sin, to engage in sin, as their worship act. They brought in these others who were working with them to exploit the people, and yet they made it a noble thing. Oh, we want to encourage worship. We want to make sure you have access to the right sacrifices. We want to make sure that you can pay with pure money. They rebranded what was corruption as righteousness. And again, that's exactly how dangerous leadership works. The very things God warns against, they reframe it as something noble.

The fifth thing we can see about corrupt leadership is corrupt leaders attract corrupt people. Corrupt leaders attract corrupt people. Again, verse 45 talks about those who sold.

They were always able to get people to work with them. So sometimes people fall into the trap of thinking, well, they can't be that bad because look how many are around them. Look how many are associated with them. That's the way it's always been, friend. Corrupt leaders are like magnets.

They have an ability to attract others to them and their cause, and even other evil workers to work alongside them. This wasn't a small enterprise. This was a massive system. A massive system that required a lot of wicked people to do a lot of wicked things. And it worked.

You know, it's very hard to get people to pursue righteousness. That's a constant battle. That's why we have to come together every week and have God's Word confront us, because, friends, this is hard. Even as I goad you with God's Word, it's an unsettling thing, and not everybody likes it. In fact, very few of us like it. It's not something we embrace.

But corruption, oh, that's a different story. People like a bit of sin. And when people are made just to feel comfortable, they're quite happy to empty their pockets. It's easy to get them to embrace a broken system. And dogs don't bite when they're being petted. You know, the Bible talks, doesn't it, about those who like to scratch those itching ears? Corrupt leaders are very good at attracting corrupt people.

And, sixthly, corrupt leaders ignore true preaching. They ignore true preaching. Look at verse 47, and He was teaching daily in the temple. Like, this wasn't a one-off sermon. Like, many of you, maybe even at the picnic, will be talking about a sermon that annoyed you. I don't know. I don't know. That happens, but these men didn't get one sermon. You see the implication of verse 46. Verse 47, He was teaching daily in the temple. This is an ongoing activity. They had exposure to many sermons, not one.

But that didn't matter because corrupt leaders ignored true preaching. They don't want it. They may be around it, but they don't listen to it. They don't engage with it. They don't let the heart be confronted by it. They ignore true preaching. Preaching's not what they need because they won't embrace it to begin with. You need a movement of the Spirit.

Seventh, corrupt leaders love positions. They love positions. Look at the people that Jesus highlights are the problem here. The chief priests. The scribes who were basically like the academic theologians, the elite, the ones who had their PhDs in theology, and the principal men of the people. In other words, we're talking about the influencers.

We're talking about those who have position, and that's because corrupt leaders love position. They love a title. You know, they spend their work week stressing over how they can make their title sound bigger and grander and more expansive. You want to reward a corrupt leader? Put, you know, senior in front of whatever title they have. The senior pastor. You know, the senior executive. You know, they love the pump. They love the adulation that comes with that. They love position.

Eighthly, and this is where it starts to get very serious, corrupt leaders seek to destroy Jesus. They seek to destroy Jesus. Again, verse 47, the chief priest describes the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy Him. The place where corrupt leadership most kicks out is against Jesus. It's not a mistake that the charismatic movement in its most extreme excesses never talks about Jesus. They talk about the Spirit and they don't even talk about Him as a person, they talk about Him as a power to be known.

Because He doesn't fit in with their agenda. He doesn't look like what they want things to look like. The corrupt leader in the church that's seeking to prophet himself, he's not wanting to exalt Jesus, he's wanting to exalt himself. Now there are some, Philippians chapter 1, who preach Christ out of rivalry and deceit. They'll use Him, but that's the point, they're using Him. They're not exalting Him. They're not extolling Him.

They're not seeking to worship Him; they're seeking to destroy Him. Because the true Jesus of Scripture, the humble servant King, is so starkly in contrast to who they are and what they do.

Ninthly, corrupt leaders are controlled by a fear of man. Look at verse 48, but they did not find anything they could do for all the people were hanging on His words. The only reason they don't act and silence Him there and then is because they care about the people because the people's where the money is. It's all about following. It's all about keeping the crowd. It's all about keeping up the numbers. Corrupt leaders are driven by a fear of man.

And lastly, corrupt leaders are hostile to true worship. That's the whole point of this section. Jesus is turning over tables and driving them out because ultimately worship is being threatened. Worship cannot take place in this environment. And it moves the Lord to act. These men didn't care about worship.

They cared about the bank balance. And in contrast, Jesus comes in and he cares about worship. Because He cares as well about all people. He cares about the Gentiles. He cares about the marginalized. He cares about the poor. He cares, Corinthians talks about the church being like a body and that we're to give honor to the hidden parts of the body. Those who would be missed, those who would be mistaken as not contributing, they in particular to be given honor. He, Jesus, takes corruption action against the corruption here. He insists on highlighting the sin that was going on. He teaches truth. He preaches daily.

The language there in verse 48, “for all the people were hanging on His words.” Literally, the Greek says they were hanging on His lips. In other words, everything that came out of His mouth, they wanted it. They needed it. It resonated with Him. And what was He presenting? Well, without spoiling next week, look at verse 1 of chapter 20. One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the good news. That's why they're hanging on His lips. He was offering something that changed, that transformed, that renewed, that saved. He was offering good news. He was offering gospel. Not the benefit at Him, but the benefit at the people that he ministered to.

So, what are we to make of this? Well, look, chapter 17, verse 2, sometimes people get panicked. What are we to do with this reality that there are false teachers in the church at large? How do we address it? Friends, don't worry, for there is one who is over all who has promised to address it with all severity. Luke 17:2, “it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea and that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

They haven't got away with it. The Bible insists that leaders will be judged with a stricter judgment. Whatever you think you could do to teach them or to rebuke them, the Lord is way stronger than you are. And His insistence and justice is way more severe than yours. All we can do in the church is point out the false teacher and see them removed. You can't burn them at the stake or do anything else. We're very limited in that regard. You can only point them out.

But God will deal with them. In a way beyond what you even have in your mind right now, the fullness of His wrath will fall upon their head unless they repent. And that is sobering and serious. And what about you, the sheep who've maybe been abused in the past by corrupt leaders? Sometimes people harbor hurt from the past, bad experiences, bad leadership that they were under, and it causes them to run away and pull away. But here's what the Word says, “all have sinned and need a Savior.” Corrupt leaders will be judged for their corruption.

But friends, don't let them stop you from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who in contrast to them comes and loves and cares for the sheep. Broken religion highlights even more the need for a true King, and the true King had just walked into the temple that day.

Do you know him? Are you trusting in Him? When you get to heaven's gate and have to give an account for the life that you've lived, are you gonna blame your lack of repentance on the foolishness and brokenness of some man who told you mistruth, who led you astray? Friend, you're gonna be judged by your own account. There's gonna be a reckoning for your own misdeeds. And salvation is found in no one else but the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one we need.

Yesterday, we were driving down the road, LBJ Freeway, pulled off the road, and someone drove into the back of us. Had Ian and Isla in the car, and we were all like, it was bad, but we were all okay. And we were talking afterwards and, you know, as parents, you're always grappling for those little instruction moments, aren't you? And we were able to talk about the fact we were okay.

Why? Well, it wasn't because, you know, I pumped the brakes in a clever way and turned the tires at the right angle or what, you know, it wasn't that. It was ultimately why? Because I'm a good shepherd who cares for the sheep who comforts, who protects, and we'll continue to all the way home.

If we have more time this morning, and we don't, I would turn you to Isaiah 53, and I would read it to you because He looks so different from these broken leaders. All they wanted was money, and all He did was pay the cost with His own blood, so that you could be a child of God. You could be one of His sheep. You could be under the Good Shepherd, whose rod and staff they comfort us, who prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Who insists surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and has promised to take us home. In contrast to the corrupt leaders we see before us in Luke chapter 19, we have one who gives His life for the sheep.

Let me pray that we may eat and drink in remembrance of him.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we do give thanks to You for Jesus Christ, the good shepherd who loves the sheep. Help us now to eat and drink in remembrance of Him. For it's in Jesus' name we ask it, amen. (End)

Can I ask you if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? That you join me in eating and drinking in remembrance of Him. If you're not a Christian, let me ask you not to eat and not to drink, but to use this as a time. Maybe you have experienced broken human leadership in the church before, and it's caused you to use that as the excuse why you've never bowed the knee.

Today, if you hear His voice, repent of your sin, and put your trust in Jesus Christ that you may know salvation, know the forgiveness of sins, and know the fullness of being one of His sheep under His loving care. If this morning you already know Him as Savior, it is only because you are trusting in that work that He has done on your behalf. Let's eat and drink in remembrance of that suffering shepherd who cared for the sheep in the most sacrificial way by laying down his life for them. God's Word instructs us, “for I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you.” Do this in remembrance of me. Let's eat in remembrance of him.  God's instruction continues in the same way also. He took the cup after supper, saying, “this cup is a new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Let's drink together.

Can I ask everyone, if you would just stand while we close in prayer.

(Prayer) Our Heavenly Father, we give thanks once more for Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who unlike every form of human leadership, that which is grossly corrupt, and that which is just weak, because we are men who are weak, we thank You that He is so unlike us in every regard.

He was pure and perfect, all wise, He is one in whose hands we can trust ourselves. He is one who understands our sympathetic high priest and yet one who has prepared a place for us. We ask, Lord, that You would give us the strength to entrust ourselves more wholly to his loving care, to rejoice in the protection that we have, and Lord, we do pray for discernment as we move forward.

We pray for the leadership of this church. Lord, anchor us to the Word of God. Help us to be consistent. Help us to love the sheep well, to feed them truth, and to push them to their Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray for the church, may we be like the men of Berea, that go to the Scriptures to see if these things are in accordance with the counsel of God's Word, and where we see it, may we be a people who insist in putting these things into practice, and may we continually be a people who love and are dependent on our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. (End)

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