Questions

1. Fill in the blanks below from Hebrews 12:1-2. And when he drew near and saw the city, he ____ over it, ⁴² saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for ______! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴ and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one ______ upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation. And he entered the ______ and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ‘My ______ shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of ______.”
2. TRUE or FALSE: According to John 3:17, Jesus came into the world to condemn the world.
3. The sermon defines repentance primarily as:
4. Moral improvement
5. Feeling guilty
6. A complete turning from sin to God
7. Religious tradition
8. John the Baptist came to guide our feet into the way of ______ (Luke 1:79).
9. TRUE or FALSE:  Justification by faith results in peace with God.
10. Jesus calling the temple a “den of robbers” references:
11. Isaiah
12. Ezekiel
13. Jeremiah
14. Malachi
15. The destruction Jesus predicted in Luke 21 refers to:
16. Rome’s collapse
17. The temple’s destruction
18. The end of the world
19. Babylon’s fall
20. Jesus declared, “My house shall be a house of ______” (Luke 19:46). 
21. In Pastor Winans message, looking “to the side” for peace means ________________________________.     

Discussion

1. To prepare to answer this series of questions you can review this section of the message in this link to the video: My daughter loves to bake (Timestamp Beginning to 8:04)
2. Consider Pastor Winans’ description of his daughter’s baking a cake with a wrong ingredient: what was he comparing that to in Luke 19:41-46… what was the wrong ingredient that Jesus was pointing to?
3. Discuss the following questions in this link to the video: The Meaning of Repentance (Timestamp 8:05 to 11:28)
4. Is repentance more than just feeling bad about sin?
5. Why is repentance described as “repentance unto life”?
6. Read Psalm 51 and discuss the different how David turns from sin and to God in these verses.
7. To prepare to answer this series of questions you can review this section of the message in this link: The Mercy of Repentance (Timestamp 11:29 to 21:28)
8. According to John 3:17–18, why did Jesus come?
9. Why did Jesus warn entire cities (Luke 10, 13)?
10. What does Jesus’ weeping over Jerusalem teach us about God’s heart?
11. Discuss how we share the gospel- the good news of Christ death and resurrection ( a rescue mission) with the truth of judgement for all who don’t believe.
12. To prepare to answer this series of questions you can review this section of the message in this link: Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Timestamp 21:29 to 26:11)
13. Why does Jesus reference Jeremiah when cleansing the temple?
14. What does the destruction of Shiloh teach about putting our religious security in a heritage?
15. What does this passage teach us about external religion without repentance?
16. Are there any ways in Christians today where we put forward external performance over a heart of repentance?
17. To prepare to answer this series of questions you can review this section of the message in this link: Let’s put it plainly (Timestamp 26:12 to End)
18. Why doesn’t comparing ourselves to others bring peace?
19. How does the Pharisee in Luke 18 illustrate false peace?
20. How might modern Christians “look behind” today?
21. Why can obedience never be the basis of peace?
22. Discuss any needed repentance for  “looking to the side”, “looking behind”, and “looking within” in your group.

Sermon Outline

My daughter loves to bake (Timestamp Beginning to 8:04) . Not long ago, she was in the kitchen doing what she often does—whipping up cupcakes with buttercream frosting. As you know, one of the key ingredients in buttercream is powdered sugar. She mixed everything together, spread the frosting generously over the cupcakes, and proudly handed them out to the family.

I took a bite and immediately knew something wasn’t right. But like a good dad, you smile and try to be encouraging, even though your expression says, “What just happened?” It turned out she had used something that looked a lot like powdered sugar. Instead of powdered sugar, she had mixed in flour.

Here’s the thing: it looked perfect. The texture seemed right. The appearance was convincing. But the substance was completely off.

As we enter the season of Lent, we’re going to spend time walking through the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry—His Passion Week. Each Sunday, we’ll focus on a different day of that week. And as we do, we’ll look at it through the lens of what Jesus says in Luke’s Gospel as He approaches Jerusalem. He says…

Luke 19:42 – ⁴²“Would that you...had known on this day the things that make for peace!”

Just as flour cannot produce true buttercream icing, we want to walk through Christ’s Passion Week and ask: What are the real ingredients of peace? When Jesus speaks of “the things that make for peace,” what does He mean? What belongs in that recipe so that when we taste it, it truly satisfies as it should?

Today we begin with Jesus cleansing the temple. Though He enters Jerusalem on Sunday—what we know as Palm Sunday—we’re starting on Monday, because when Palm Sunday arrives in our series, we’ll return and give that day its full attention. So picture Monday in Jerusalem. Jesus enters the city and goes to the temple.

Our reading comes from Luke’s Gospel. Mark gives us the clearest day-by-day chronology of the final week. Luke, however, often arranges events with a theological purpose in view. In Luke’s telling, it feels as if Jesus moves straight from entering Jerusalem into the temple itself, and that is likely intentional. Luke wants us to see that this was no detour—it was central to Jesus’ mission. So we will read Luke 19 beginning in verse 41, connecting Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem with His cleansing of the temple, just as Luke does.

In that passage Jesus says, “Would that you, even you, had known the things that make for peace.” Our message this morning is titled The Turn Toward Peace. And the focus of that turn—the key ingredient we will consider—is repentance.

Now, that might seem surprising. In Luke 19:41–46, the word repentance never appears. So why frame this text through that lens? Because both the sorrow in Jesus’ words and the force of His actions flow from one reality: the absence of repentance among God’s people. You will see clearly how repentance stands at the heart of what makes for peace.

So we will consider three things together: first, the meaning of repentance; second, the mercy of repentance; and finally, how repentance helps us understand Jesus and His cleansing of the temple.

The Meaning of Repentance (Timestamp 8:05 to 11:28)

So first, what do we mean by repentance? If we truly want to understand what makes for peace—and if repentance and faith are the two sides of the one coin of salvation—then it is vital that we grasp what repentance really is. The word translated “repentance” in the original language carries the idea of a change of mind. It speaks of a rethinking, a deep inner shift in perspective. But it goes further than that. It also implies a turning—a decisive turning away from something. Biblically, that “something” is sin. Repentance is not merely feeling bad about wrongdoing; it is a changed mind that leads to a changed direction. As one writer has put it…

It is best to see in repentance a complete and utter turning of the person away from sin. – Bradley Green Repentance

At its most basic level, repentance begins with recognizing our sin. It means acknowledging, “I am guilty. My actions have dishonored God, harmed others, and damaged my own soul.” That awareness produces more than regret—it leads to a decision to turn away from that sin. But biblically, repentance is not merely turning from something; it is turning toward Someone. True repentance is not just the abandonment of sin, but the embrace of Christ. The Westminster Confession captures this beautifully with the phrase “repentance unto life,” reminding us that repentance is not simply leaving the old path behind, but stepping onto the path that leads to life in Him.

Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of...grief and hatred for his sin, turns from it to God. – Westminster Shorter Catechism

Biblical repentance begins with recognizing our sin and feeling genuine guilt and sorrow over it. It means admitting that what we have done is wrong and grieving the ways our sin has dishonored God and harmed others. But true repentance does not stop at remorse, nor is it merely a resolve to “do better.” It is not simply turning away from sin; it is turning from sin to God—casting ourselves upon Him and trusting in His saving grace.

This distinction matters because repentance is often reduced—both outside the church and sometimes within it—to little more than feeling bad and deciding to stop certain behaviors. But that alone is not biblical repentance. A person does not have to be a Christian to recognize that an action is wrong, that it hurts others, and that it should cease. Anyone can make moral adjustments. What makes repentance biblical is that it moves beyond behavior change to heart change—a reorientation of the soul toward God.

As G.K. Chesterton has said, “There are a million ways to fall down, but only one way to stand up straight.” When we turn from sin, we do not turn into moral neutrality; we turn toward righteousness. We turn to the Lord Himself, clinging to Him and walking in the newness of life He provides.

The Mercy of Repentance (Timestamp 11:29 to 21:28)

We need to understand that repentance is a mercy—indeed, one of God’s great mercies to us. Yet too often, repentance is read in Scripture, or heard by unbelievers, as though it were a threat. It can sound harsh, severe, even confrontational. Instead of being received as an invitation to life, it is sometimes perceived as a warning of judgment.

What do we mean by that? Let’s take a moment to unpack it. To do that, we won’t begin with Jesus Himself, but with His cousin—John the Baptist. When he was born, his father Zechariah spoke a prophetic word over him, declaring the role he would play in God’s unfolding plan…

Luke 1:76-79 – ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways...to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied that his son would “guide our feet into the way of peace.” So if we are asking what makes for peace, we cannot ignore the ministry of John the Baptist. Peace, according to Scripture, is closely tied to the message he proclaimed.

And what was that message? In a word: repent.

When you survey the ministry of John the Baptist across the Synoptic Gospels, his central theme is unmistakable—repentance. We’re told that people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and the surrounding region were going out to him at the Jordan River. They were confessing their sins and being baptized. There again we see the shape of true repentance: confession requires recognition of sin. There is no repentance without an honest acknowledgment of guilt. But they were not only confessing; they were also being baptized.

Baptism signifies many rich truths, but at the very least it represents a visible, public commitment to follow God. So their repentance was not merely private remorse—it was a communal, embodied declaration: we are turning from sin, and we are turning toward the Lord.

Yet we’re also told that others came to the Jordan—the religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were not coming to be baptized in repentance; they were coming to observe, to evaluate, perhaps even to scrutinize what was happening. And when John sees them standing there, what does he say?

Matthew 3:7-8 – ⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

This theme is not isolated to John alone. Throughout the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures—and carried forward into the New Testament—we see a consistent connection between judgment and repentance. John warns the Pharisees and Sadducees that wrath is coming, that God’s judgment is real. And if they would escape that coming judgment, there is only one doorway: repentance. Judgment is certain—but so is the mercy of an open path. The way of escape is not denial, not heritage, not religious performance, but repentance.

How can we press into this even further? When Jesus speaks in similar terms, we encounter one of the most well-known verses in all of Scripture: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” But we must not stop there. We need to keep reading. What does John 3:17 say?

John 3:17-18 – ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.

Why does this matter when we think about repentance? Because Scripture teaches that humanity already stands condemned before God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every one of us, by nature, is in rebellion against Him. Though people knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him; their hearts were darkened. That means our default position before a holy God is not neutrality, but condemnation.

And that is precisely why John 3:17 is so striking. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world—why? Because the world is already condemned. He did not come to bring a new sentence, but to provide a rescue. He came on a mission of mercy.

That reframes repentance entirely. Repentance is not God threatening otherwise innocent people; it is God offering mercy to guilty rebels. It is a gracious invitation for enemies to lay down their rebellion and be reconciled. Repentance is the doorway through which condemned sinners become accepted children.

But here is where confusion often arises. Many people do not believe they need mercy. They assume they are fundamentally good. So when they hear, “Repent or perish,” it sounds like a threat. Yet mercy is not a threat. It is an offer of rescue. If someone does not realize they are in danger, the warning feels harsh. But the warning itself is an act of compassion.

As we share the gospel, we must remember this: humanity already stands under judgment. Christ comes not to intensify condemnation, but to extend mercy. “You are already condemned,” He says in effect, “but I have come to save.” Repentance, then, is not the removal of joy; it is the path to life.

We see this dynamic unfold repeatedly in the Scriptures. At one point, some people come to Jesus and say…

Luke 13:2-3 – ²Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

What Jesus is making clear is that every person already stands on a path that leads toward condemnation and destruction. That is the default trajectory of fallen humanity. And unless there is repentance—unless His saving mercy is received, that destination remains unchanged. This is not the fate of a few especially bad individuals; it is the shared condition of us all.

Jesus does not speak this way only to isolated individuals. He also pronounces it over entire towns and cities. His warnings are not vindictive outbursts but sober declarations of reality—meant not to crush, but to awaken. They are urgent invitations to turn, to receive mercy, and to step off the path of destruction and onto the way of life.

Luke 10:13-15 – ¹³Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago...¹⁵And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

Jesus says that if the mighty works performed in Israel had been done in Tyre and Sidon—Gentile cities—they would have repented long ago. And to Capernaum He asks, “Will you be exalted to heaven?” No—you will be brought down, because judgment already rests upon you. The issue was not a lack of opportunity. Mercy had come near. The message had been proclaimed. Yet it was not received.

What is especially striking is that even before Jesus enters Jerusalem for His Passion Week, He declares that Jerusalem has not repented. The city that should have recognized the time of its visitation failed to turn. And remember the principle: if there is no repentance, what remains is judgment. That is the sober reality Jesus speaks of in Luke 13.

Luke 13:34-35 – ³⁴O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁵Behold, your house is forsaken.

This connects directly to what Jesus does in the passage we’re considering. He says, “Your house is forsaken.” In the context of Jerusalem, what is “the house”? It is the temple—the very center of their worship and identity, and His words carry weight. “Your house is forsaken” can also be translated “Your house is left desolate,” or even “Your house is abandoned.” It is a solemn declaration that the place meant to signify God’s presence now stands under judgment because repentance has been refused.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Timestamp 21:29 to 26:11)

He has already declared that the city has not repented. He has already announced the consequence: “Your house is desolate. Your house is abandoned. Your house is forsaken.” The verdict has been spoken. And yet, He still comes into Jerusalem.

But notice this carefully—just as we saw in Luke 13—pay attention to the posture of Jesus as He enters the city. Even after pronouncing judgment, His heart is not cold or detached. His response reveals something profound about the character of God, even in the face of rejection.

Luke 19:41-42 – ⁴¹And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!”

God is not One who delights in the death of the wicked. He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. When judgment is spoken, it is not with glee—it is with tears. Jesus weeps.

That matters deeply for how we understand Him. In our imagination—and often in the imagination of those we speak to—God can be pictured as stern, arms folded, eager to hurl thunderbolts from heaven. That is not the picture Scripture gives us. As Jesus looks over Jerusalem, He cries out, “Would that you, even you, had known what makes for peace!”

Yet, remember the context: He has already said they did not repent. He has already warned that where there is no repentance, judgment follows. So when He speaks next, it is not from a place of cold indifference, but from a heart that longs to save—even as the consequences of rejection draw near.

Luke 19:41-44 – ⁴¹And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Jesus comes to Jerusalem having already pronounced judgment and warned of destruction because they did not recognize what makes for peace. And what is the very next thing He does? He enters the temple—and He cleanses it.

Luke 19:45-46 – ⁴⁵And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, ⁴⁶saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

Many assume that when Jesus entered the temple and called it a “den of robbers,” He was simply reacting to financial corruption—that the money changers were cheating people, and He overturned the tables because of dishonest business practices. While exploitation may well have been present, to understand what Jesus meant, we have to look deeper. His words are not spontaneous; they are drawn directly from the prophet Jeremiah.

In Jeremiah 7—one of the most powerful sermons in the entire Hebrew Scriptures—Jeremiah stands at the gate of the temple and pronounces judgment upon it. During his lifetime, Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. And in that sermon, he warns the people that destruction is coming because they have turned the house of God into a “den of robbers,” all while assuming that the temple itself would protect them from judgment. Jesus deliberately echoes that moment. He is not merely addressing corruption; He is invoking Jeremiah’s warning—a declaration that judgment once again stands at the door.

Jeremiah 7:11-12 – ¹¹Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?...¹²Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.

Shiloh was the central sanctuary of Israel for three to four hundred years during the period of the Judges. It was the place where God’s tabernacle stood. It was where Hannah prayed for a son. It was where Eli served as high priest. It was where the ark of the covenant rested. In other words, Shiloh was the dwelling place of God among His people—their spiritual center.

And yet, what did God do to Shiloh? He allowed it to be destroyed.

In Jeremiah’s day, the prophet points back to Shiloh as a warning. Just because a place bears God’s name does not make it untouchable. Because of the people’s persistent evil and unrepentance, God declares that Jerusalem and its temple will face the same fate.

When Jesus echoes Jeremiah in His own day, He is making the same sobering point. The temple in Jerusalem is not immune. Sacred history does not guarantee present security. The message is clear: because of your evil—because of your refusal to repent—this place too will face destruction.

Jesus’ driving out the sellers is not based exclusively on what he sees when he arrives. Rather, he is motivated by his prior conviction of Jerusalem's assured destruction because of their unrepentance. – Paul T. Sloan Jesus and the Law of Moses

As they walk away from the temple and glance back at it, Jesus tells them plainly that the day is coming when that very place will be destroyed.

Luke 21:5-6 – ⁵And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, ⁶“As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

If you want to understand the heart of the Olivet Discourse, it centers on the coming destruction of the temple—a judgment tied to their refusal to repent.

Let’s put it plainly (Timestamp 26:12 to End): nobody wants to bite into a cupcake topped with what looks like buttercream frosting—only to discover it’s made with flour. It may look right on the outside, but something essential is missing. In the same way, we can convince ourselves that we’re right with God because we feel bad about our sin or because we’ve made some adjustments in our behavior. But what makes for peace is not vague regret—it is repentance unto God. It is turning from sin and turning to Him in saving faith.

There are subtle ways we can believe we’re at peace with God without truly resting in His grace. Borrowing from what Pastor Paul shared last week about running the race, he warned that we can fall out of the race by looking to the side, looking within, or looking behind. That framework helps us see how easily we can substitute something that resembles repentance for the real thing—like frosting made with flour instead of sugar.

First, there is looking to the side. This is when we measure ourselves against others. We reassure ourselves, “At least I’m not as bad as him,” or “I’m not doing what she’s doing.” We assume that because we compare favorably with someone else, we must be right with God. But comparison is not repentance. Measuring ourselves against other sinners may soothe our conscience, but it does not reconcile us to a holy God.

Luke 18:11 – ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.’

Is peace with God found in being slightly better than the person standing next to you? Hardly. In truth, we may not even measure up to the comparisons we make. That is not what brings peace. Peace comes through saving repentance—through turning from sin and trusting in God’s mercy. What about looking behind? Can we discover peace by relying on our past? Many in Jesus’ day thought so. When John the Baptist called people to repent, some assumed their history, their heritage, or their religious background was enough. But repentance calls us not to rest in where we’ve been, but to turn in faith to the One who alone can save.

Matthew 3:9 – ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.’

What they were saying, in essence, was this: “I’m right with God. I have peace with God because I’m a descendant of Abraham.” They were looking behind—resting in their lineage, their heritage, their religious identity. We can do the very same thing. “I was raised in church.” “My father was a preacher.” “I went on a mission trip.” “I made a decision years ago.” But the real question is this: Are you trusting in Jesus now? Have you turned to Him in true repentance? Peace with God is not secured by family history or a past religious moment; it comes through living faith in Christ.

Then there is looking within. This one is especially subtle. We tell ourselves, “I’m right with God because of what I do.” We look to our morality, our discipline, our service, our record. That was the error of the Pharisees. They trusted in their own righteousness. But peace with God is not found by looking to our performance—it is found by looking away from ourselves to the mercy of God in Christ.

Matthew 23:23 – ²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

You can convince yourself that you’re right with God because you keep all the small rules. You obey in the fine print. It’s like a child whose room is spotless—the bed perfectly made, the laundry folded, everything in its place—but their heart is harsh and unkind. What does the clean room prove if the character is rotten? So what if the surface looks good? We are all far more broken than we care to admit.

If I believe that peace with God rests on my performance—even my most careful obedience—then I am in trouble. What makes for peace is not me. God help me if it were. What makes for peace is the finished work of Jesus Christ—His blood shed on the cross, the perfect Lamb of God. By believing in Him, by turning to Him in saving repentance, we are cleansed. As Scripture says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God.” We don’t want flour dressed up as frosting. We want the real thing.