Temple

John 2:13-17

¹³The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ¹⁷His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

We rarely think of Jesus as expressing strong negative emotions. In fact, we would rather not think of Jesus as even having negative emotions. That doesn’t fit our pretty picture of the Savior. Loving, kind, gracious, forgiving; these are the words we want to use when describing our Lord and they are accurate. But in today’s reading we find a new category of words to add to our list of characteristics that describe Christ. Angry, righteous, vengeful, violent; these too describe the Lord and we don’t like it.

This passage is exceptionally powerful for it describes a scene unlike any other in the life of Jesus. His strong and “take charge” actions are surprising both for His disciples and for John’s readers. The other Gospel writers put this incident (or one similar to it) toward the end of Jesus life. Here, John places it at the beginning of His ministry. There are two possible explanations for this. One, Jesus actually performed this cleansing twice; early in His ministry and again at the end. Or two, John simply chose to report this event out of sequence. Chronology wasn’t as important to the Jewish thinker as it is for those of us in the West. I’m prone to lean toward the first option, but really it doesn’t matter.

What brings this passage some amazing strength is the quote, taken from Psalm 69 that appears in verse 17. The Disciples have an Old Testament prophecy brought to mind as they watch these events unfold.

Psalm 69:9

For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

As the Jewish leadership is supposedly pointing their people to watch for the coming Messiah they have also clearly defined that Messiah. They are looking for someone to free them from the tyranny of the Romans. They would love to see Rome crushed under their boots and be returned to the days of King David. Rebuilding the temple to its glory as in the time of Solomon was their greatest dream. Then Jesus comes along and He too is thinking of the Temple. But it is nothing like their dreams. He Himself is the Temple and all focus is now taken from that building used for sacrifice and placed upon Him, the final sacrifice. This is a huge concept and we are merely bringing a flash of illumination to the ideas exposes here.

As we worship this King who would use a whip to clear the Temple courts of these opportunistic merchants, may we remember that He is indeed more than a quiet, milquetoast Savior. His strength knows no bounds and His righteousness is pure and holy. We don’t get to define Him for He defines Himself and worship Him as He is, not that which we invent.