Good morning, and again, Happy Independence Day! Today, my message isn’t strictly an Independence Day message, but as you listen to the Word this morning, I believe you can easily see how this message does teach us about the proper foundation for anyone wanting to have a truly good life, including those who desire to see this nation do as it should. Anyone who has ever built anything knows, the foundation is the most important part of whatever you build.
Today, I’ll be in John 2:13-22 as we continue to listen in on conversations that Jesus had with people to learn more about who He is. We’ve learned about Jesus being the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Teacher, and the Messiah. Let’s have another conversation with Jesus this morning about who He is.
“The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And within the temple grounds He found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making My Father’s house a place of business!” His disciples remembered that it was written: “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking about the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.”
There is a lot going on here, isn’t there? We have an interesting scene, Jesus coming to Jerusalem and seeing the tables for those who were selling animals for sacrifice in the temple and tables for those who were available to change money for anyone who might not have the correct change to buy the animal sacrifices. At the sight, verse 17 tells us that Jesus was consumed with zeal for the Lord’s house.
I find this word, “zeal”, very interesting. Let me tell you why. Normally, when we read this passage, it brings to mind mental pictures of an angry Jesus, angry with justified and righteous anger. We get the mental picture of Jesus just sort of going crazy, bonkers, on those who had tables there, almost frenzied. That might be, but the word “zeal” gives us a different idea.
Not once do we get the word “anger” or “righteous” or “justified”. That’s not to say that those things weren’t true, but that’s not what the passage says. In nearly every translation of this passage, the word “zeal” is used, except the NIRV, which says, “LOVE”. As in, “My great love for Your house will consume me.”
That is at the heart of what zeal is: love. Jesus was consumed by love for the Lord’s house. He called it His Father’s house as well, again calling Himself the Son of God. He loved His Father’s house.
Put a thumb in John 2 and turn quickly to Isaiah 56:7, “Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
Here, Isaiah spoke about Christ, the Messiah, who we know is Jesus. He spoke about those that Jesus would bring to the Lord’s house, those that would come to the temple because of Jesus. That He would make them joyful in the Father’s house of prayer. That they would bring offerings and sacrifices that would be acceptable because God’s house would be a house of prayer. This was what God’s house, the temple was meant to be: a house of PRAYER, a place of WORSHIP of the Father, a place of offering and SACRIFICE.
But that was no longer the case. Seeing the Father’s house being used for something other than worship, prayer, offering, and genuine heart sacrifice, lead to His passion, His love displayed in the actions He took. Seeing the Father’s house used for any reason other than its intended purpose broke Jesus’ heart.
What is important for us to understand about this passage is that this wasn’t so much of a rejection of selling sacrificial animals. At this point, sacrificing animals was the only way to have the punishment for sins put off for a time. Sacrificing animals were necessary for religious offerings, and just outside the temple seemed the most convenient place to offer access to animals for those who had come to have their sins atoned for. The money changers were necessary too, to change money for those who had come to buy sacrifices.
And we must keep in mind too, that this one incident of Jesus driving the tables and business away from temple didn’t bring about permanent change or reform. Reform of this practice wasn’t the main point of Jesus’ actions, because He knew what was really at the heart of these practices. It wasn’t necessarily a desire to cheat people or rob people, or even to make a quick buck.
This was an outcry against the perversion of sacrifices that had become the norm. People were sacrificing to have their sins forgiven, but they didn’t truly have repentant hearts. They sacrificed out of obligation and tradition, rather than a desire to live a holy and righteous life free of the burden of sin.
Look at Amos 5:21-24, “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your festive assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened oxen. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll out like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
This broke the heart of Jesus, to see people come to His Father’s house and offer sacrifices without really meaning it. They were going through the motions, but there was no heart behind it.
This was not what He desired of God’s people. This was the desire of the Lord, “Behold, I am sending My messenger, and He will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, and as in former years.” Malachi 3:1-4.
The people’s hearts were not turned to God. They paid Him lip service, but there was no true worship. Jesus told the woman at the well that His people must worship Him in spirit and truth! His desire was to purify them like gold and silver so that when they brought their offering to God it would be a RIGHTEOUS offering, pleasing to Him.
How can that happen? We are sinful people. Each and every one of us. No one is good, not one. So how can we give to God something that is righteous when we are not?
Let’s go back to John 2:18-19. The Jews gathered there that saw Jesus drive out the sacrifices and overturn tables asked Him, “Oh yeah? How are you going to show this great zeal, this love you have for the Father’s house?” That’s paraphrasing, by the way.
Jesus told them that He would destroy the temple, and raise it up again in three days. He wasn’t talking about the physical temple that stood before them. He was talking about Himself.
To add to our conversations with Jesus about Himself, about who He is, we need to know that Jesus is the TEMPLE.
When He overturned tables here, and drove the sacrifice sellers away from the temple, He was showing that He was going to establish a new way of coming to God. God would no longer only be accessible to the priests, but to everyone. Each and every person would be able to come to God.
The Father and the Son, Jesus desired this, wanted their created people to come to them freely. He wanted a relationship with His people, for His people to seek Him, and find Him. He wanted to clean their hearts so they could come to Him whenever they could.
To do this, He died. He replaced the animals that had to be sacrificed. He died to forgive your sins. He rose again, and made it possible for you to come to God through Him, the temple. There is no other way to God except through the temple, Christ, Jesus.
The apostle Paul calls Jesus the foundation. Without Him, your life will crumble. Inwardly, you will always feel chaos, anxiety, unrest, and insecurity. You might put on a good picture on the outside, but you will always feel like something is missing, like you were meant for more. That’s because each of us needs Jesus. He is the foundation, He is the temple, the only way to God. You need Jesus to build your life.
1. If Jesus is your foundation, are you actively building your life based on His desires? If not, why not?
2. Jesus, the temple, desires to purify you so your offering to God is pleasing to Him. What is that offering, according to Romans 12:1-2.
3. Read Ephesians 2:18-22. Through Jesus, the temple, with Him as the foundation, what are you growing into? What does that mean to you?