Matthew 21:12-14 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple… It demands but little acquaintance with Holy Scripture to be aware that either of these two forms of bodily ailment is the common, as well as the obvious emblem of a corresponding moral defect (Isaiah 42:7; Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 35:6). To these two classes of cures Christ Himself refers as evidence of His Messiahship (Matthew 11:4, 5). A subject is thus set before us in which we find our place without difficulty. We are reminded of our own great spiritual infirmities; of our need of His Almighty aid who poured the light of day on sightless eyes, and gave those ankle-bones strength which before were powerless in Israel. I. For surely the life of many of US — OUR OWN LIFE, IN TOO MANY RESPECTS, IS THE LIFE OF THE BLIND. We grope our way in self-reliance, and we often lose it. We stumble and fall. We feel after, and we find not; we reach forth, and we grasp not. 1. We read God's Holy Word, yet we see nothing, or very little, of the many wonders which it contains. The veil is upon our hearts while we read. 2. We look abroad on the Miracles of Love which surround our dwelling; we look within, on the mystery of Divine goodness in which we live and move and have our being; yet we recognize little or nothing of the hand of God either within or without us. II. Who, again, does not see in the HELPLESSNESS OF THE LAME A LIVELY TYPE OF HIS OWN CONDITION which, so far from "running in the way of God's commandments," knows not how to "walk with God" for a single hour? 1. Reluctant to begin what we know to be holy. 2. Unwilling to persevere in good courses begun. 3. Sluggish in spiritual growth. 4. Remiss in prayer, regarding it as a task instead of a recreation. (J. W. Burgon, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, |
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