ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME: JOHN 2:13-22 A. INTRODUCTION: We come now to John’s record of Jesus’ public ministry. Scholars often divide the Gospel According to John into two major sections, with a Prologue (John 1:1-18) that we have already seen, and an Epilogue (John 21). The first major section, Chapters 2-12, describes Jesus’ public ministry, his revelation of Himself to the world, showing by signs and teaching that He is the Christ, the Son of God. If you will look briefly at the end of Chapter 12, verses 36-50, it presents a summary of the section: beginning with the second half of verse 36: John 12:36-50 When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." 41

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. 44

And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment- what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me." After this, the focus of the Gospel According to John changes. This second major section, running from chapter 13 to chapter 20, focuses on Jesus revealing Himself more privately to His Page 1 of 9

disciples, and then spectacularly to the world in his death and passion. The pace of the narrative slows considerably. John has spent 11 chapters describing Jesus’ public ministry; 11 chapters to describe approximately three years of public ministry. John then spends the next 8 Chapters on one week, the week leading up to and including Christ’s giving of Himself on the Cross. John shows us Jesus revealing Himself to His disciples at the Last Supper (13:1-30), and in His Farewell Discourse (13:31 to the end of Chapter 16), in His High Priestly Prayer (Chapter 17), and finally in His arrest, trials, death and resurrection (Chapters 18-20). We have seen last week, in Chapter 1:19-51, the testimony of John the Baptist and the calling of the first disciples. Now, in this major section beginning in Chapter 2, dealing with Christ’s public ministry, we see Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, demonstrating to the world that He is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus reveals Himself through “signs and wonders,” through teaching, both explicit and veiled, that He is the Christ, but, as we saw in the summary at the end of Chapter 12, while many come to believe in Him, others refuse to believe. There is growing conflict with the religious authorities, ultimately leading to His execution. And, even among His closest followers, there is a lack of understanding, a false expectation, about what the Messiah will do in and for God’s people. It won’t be until after Christ’s resurrection that the disciples will fully understand. ____ read for us John’s telling of Jesus’ first ‘sign,’ the turning of the water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. The disciples see it, the servants see it, and Mary suspects it, but while this is a very significant sign, a proclamation that Jesus is the ultimate Bridegroom, and a promise of future feasting with Him, it is not a public display of His power. Jesus says to Mary, “My hour has not yet come.” As we look further into Chapter 2, we see a very public proclamation. At the most important festival of Jewish life and faith, at the Passover, Jesus fashions a whip of cords and drives moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals out of the Temple precincts. Let’s read Chapter 2, verses 13-22. John 2:13-22 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And 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 moneychangers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised Page 2 of 9

from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

B. JESUS IS ZEALOUS FOR THE TEMPLE (V.13-22) 1.

Picture the Passover feast and the Temple in Jerusalem (v.13-16)

John paints for us a vivid picture of the crowds and the noise and the excitement of the Passover in Jerusalem. 





Jews and proselytes from all around the known world: o “. . . it was not only the Jews in Palestine who came to the Passover. By this time Jews were scattered all over the world, but they never forgot their ancestral faith and their ancestral land; and it was the dream and aim of every Jew, no matter in what land he stayed, to celebrate at least one Passover in Jerusalem. Astonishing as it may sound, it is likely that as many as two and a quarter million Jews sometimes assembled in the Holy City to keep the Passover.” (Barclay, p109). But, in the midst of these crowds of pilgrims, Jews from Jerusalem itself, from the surrounding area, from around the world, coming to celebrate the Passover, coming to worship God at the commemoration of His gathering of His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand, there is the clamour and confusion of a market place; people selling all kinds of animals and moneychangers with tables set up, loudly hawking their wares, shouting to the arriving crowd: o “Here, come and buy! Here, get your pigeons, get your doves, get your lambs, get your goats, get your oxen! All without blemish, all pre-approved for sacrifice!” o “Here, come and get your shekels! Here, come and exchange! Money from Rome, money from Tyre, money from Sidon, money from Alexandria – all exchanged here! Best exchange rates here!” See this picture of what the Temple of Herod would have looked like, although in A.D. 30 it wasn’t yet finished. This model is in Jerusalem (wouldn’t you like to go at see it sometime!). All of this would be happening in the Court of the Gentiles, part of the Temple precinct, but not actually within the Temple. The Court of the Gentiles was the closest that Gentiles could approach the Temple itself. This diagram gives you an idea of the size of the Court of the Gentiles. Remember, up to perhaps 2 ¼ million pilgrims coming to worship. Even Gentiles who had decided to follow the Jewish faith, Gentiles who had studies for years and finally been accepted as proselytes, could only enter the Court of the Gentiles. Of course, everyone else approaching the Temple would have to pass through the Court of the Gentiles, and here, maybe in the porticos surrounding the Court, maybe throughout the Court, everywhere they could set up a pen, a stand, a table amongst the press of people, Page 3 of 9





 

the money changers and sellers of animals for sacrifice would be set up, shouting over the crowd, vying for business. These money changers and animal sellers were actually providing a necessary and valuable service. Sure, they were undoubtedly making a profit, taking advantage of the fact that people were coming to the Temple, wanting and needing to make a sacrifice, arriving from the surrounding areas and around the world, not having taken the trouble to bring that goat or that lamb with them on the journey. The Temple tax: every Jew over 19 years of age – equivalent to about 2 days’ wages: o “For all ordinary purposes in Palestine all kinds of currency were valid. Silver coins from Rome and Greece and Egypt and Tyre and Sidon and Palestine itself all were in circulation and all were valid. But the Temple tax had to be paid either in Galilaen shekels or in the shekels of the sanctuary. These were Jewish coins, and so could be used as a gift to the Temple; the other currencies were foreign and so were unclean; they might be used to pay ordinary debts, but not a debt to God.” (Barclay, p109). Noise, confusion, clamour, crowds And into this confusion comes Jesus. We know from Luke’s Gospel that this would not have been the first time that Jesus visited the Temple, that He would have attended the festival. But this time, Jesus, angry at the noise and confusion, angry that His “Father’s house” has been made into “a house of trade,” fashions a whip of cords and drives them all out. o What a scene! What a clamour! o Thousands of people would only hear that something was going on. Confusion! Shouting! Temple guards and maybe Roman soldiers (fearful of a dangerous riot with all of these million Jews from everywhere) would be pressing in, trying to find the source of the confusion, trying to restore order. o And at the centre of the confusion, Jesus, driving out the animals, kicking over tables, Himself shouting, “Get out! Get out! Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade!”

2.

“Zeal for your house will consume me.” (v.17)



As John records in verse 17, “His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” “Zeal for your house will consume me.” What is “zeal?” o Zeal is “ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending anything”. Zeal is a jealous pursuit of what you believe is right. Zeal is an emotional outburst, a passionate cry, a fervent energy driving one to do something. It can override other thoughts and emotions, other needs, even concern for one’s own safety. o Jesus displayed zeal in driving out the money changers and animal sellers. He was passionate about the sanctity of the Temple. He was angry!



Page 4 of 9





But was Jesus zealous for the Temple itself, or was He zealous for right relationship with God? o The verse says, “Zeal for your house will consume me,” but I don’t believe that it is concern for the physical building that is driving Jesus, I believe that it is concern about people coming to worship God, and being confronted by all of this noise and confusion. o “Instead of solemn dignity and the murmur of prayer, there is the bellowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep. Instead of brokenness and contrition, holy adoration and prolonged petition, there is noisy commerce.” D.A. Carson, p179. o As we shall see in a few minutes, it isn’t forms of worship that God is interested in, it is the hearts of His people. It isn’t the Temple itself that Jesus is zealous about, it is the fact that all of this confusion in the Court of the Gentiles is making it difficult for God’s people to approach Him in an attitude of worship. But there is something more going on here. In this passionate driving out of the money changers and the animal sellers, Jesus is actually proclaiming that He is the Christ, the Messiah. o How is that? In two ways – Jesus is fulfilling prophecy, and Jesus is making an explicit link between who He is and who David speaks of in the Messianic Psalms.

3. Jesus is the Messiah, the Holy One of God: (v.17)





First, let us look at two Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament. In the clearing of the Temple, Jesus is fulfilling these prophecies, He is demonstrating that He is the Messiah:  Zechariah 14:20-21 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.  Malachi 3:1-3 1 “Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 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 fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. John also makes an explicit link to Psalm 69. Psalm 69 is a psalm of David, probably written when he was being pursued by Saul in the wilderness. The Jews, however, recognized that Page 5 of 9

the psalm had a double meaning. It was written by David, but it also foreshadowed the coming Messiah. When John says, “His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me,” John is recalling Psalm 69:9, and proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the one in whom the Messianic fulfillment of Psalm 69 is found: o Psalm 69:9 9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. This is the specific verse that John is referring to, but when a New Testament writer refers to a verse in the Old Testament, we should look not just at the specific verse, but the context, the verses surrounding. See what David has written in other verses in Psalm 69:  17 Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.  21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.  28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. o Study this whole psalm and see. John is proclaiming, not just that this one verse applies to Jesus, but that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Holy One of God. He is the fulfillment of the Messianic hope for Israel. 4. Jesus replaces the Temple: (v.18-22)





More even than this, however, Jesus proclaims that He is the replacement for the Temple. o Let us look at verses 18-22:  John 2:18-22 18 So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. You want a sign, then “Destroy (you destroy) this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” o The Temple authorities, maybe just the Temple guard, but probably some representatives of the Sanhedrin, have caught up to Jesus. They have found that He is the cause of the ruckus. Who is this who dares to start throwing the money changers and sacrificial animal sellers out of the Court of the Gentiles. They demand a sign, and Jesus makes a real offer to perform the miraculous sign that they demand. . .  D.A. Carson writes, “That they requested a miraculous sign demonstrates they harboured at least a suspicion that they were dealing with a heavenPage 6 of 9







sent prophet. But if so, they were asking the wrong sort of question . . . A sign that would satisfy them, presumably some sort of miraculous display performed on demand, would have signalled the domestication of God. That sort of ‘God’ does powerful stunts to maintain allegiance, and that kind of allegiance is not worth having. Indeed, if the authorities had eyes to see, the cleansing of the temple was already a ‘sign’ they should have thought through and deciphered in terms of Old Testament Scripture. (Carson, p181.) After Christ’s resurrection, as John writes in v.22, the disciples recognize that when Jesus said this, he was actually referring to His own death and resurrection. Jesus wasn’t executed. He freely gave Himself over to death, and He raised Himself up in three days. o This is a “double entendre,” a deliberate description that has two meanings. Here, John lays out the meaning for us. He doesn’t always do so. Jesus is making an actual offer for the religious authorities to destroy the Temple and He would restore it. He knows that they aren’t about to take Him up on the offer – in the middle of the Passover festival!? Is He really a prophet sent by God? But Jesus is also referring to His death, burial and resurrection. But there is yet another layer in this confrontation that John doesn’t make explicit for us. Jesus is making a direct comparison, a parallel between Himself and the Temple. o John explains that what Jesus was really referring to (in v. 19) was his own body, that body in which the Word became flesh (1:14). The Father and the incarnate Son enjoy unique mutual indwelling (14:10-11). Therefore it is the human body of Jesus that uniquely manifests the Father, and becomes the focal point of the manifestation of God to man, the living abode of God on earth, the fulfillment of all the temple meant, and the centre of all true worship. In this ‘temple’ the ultimate sacrifice would take place; within three days of death and burial, Jesus Christ, the true temple, would rise for the dead. (Carson, p182). Jesus is the One in whom we see God, in whom we meet with God. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that the Temple was given to represent.

C. GOD IS ZEALOUS FOR THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE 

John’s reference to the “zeal” of Jesus in cleansing the Temple also brings to mind other passages in the Old Testament where the “zeal” of God is discussed. The prophet Isaiah, in particular, makes reference to God’s zeal, His jealous fervour in seeking after the hearts of His people: o In Isaiah 9, we are given a prophecy about the coming Messiah. God will send one to sit on the throne of David, who shall rule.  Isaiah 9:6-7 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Page 7 of 9



Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.  In Isaiah 26, the prophet pleads with God to intervene, for His justice to be done and to be seen to be done:  Isaiah 26:11 O LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.  In Isaiah 37, there is a prophecy of the return of the remnant of faithful people that God will bring back to Jerusalem and Judah:  Isaiah 37:31-32 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.  And there are many other places in Isaiah’s prophecy that we could turn to that refer to God’s zeal. But just as Jesus was zealous, not for the Temple itself, not for the sacrifices that would be offered, but rather for the hearts of the people as they came to worship God at the Passover festival, God is, and has always been, zealous for the hearts of His people, and not for forms of worship, not for sacrifices, but for hearts. o Deuteronomy 10:12-13 12 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? o Psalm 51:15-17 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. o Micah 6:6-8 6 "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? o Hosea 6:6 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Page 8 of 9

 

Our God is a jealous God; He is also a zealous God. He is zealous in His pursuit of His people. He pursues us and demands of us a right relationship with Him. Which brings me to the question: “Are you zealous for knowledge of God, for His Word, for His purposes to be accomplished in your heart?”

D. ARE YOU ZEALOUS FOR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, FOR HIS WORD, FOR HIS PURPOSES TO BE ACCOMPLISHED IN YOUR HEART? 



If “zeal” is “ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending anything”. If zeal is a jealous pursuit of what you believe is right. Zeal is an emotional outburst, a passionate cry, a fervent energy driving one to do something, is that not what God is seeking from us, His children? Should zeal for knowledge of God, for knowledge of His Word, for His purposes not characterize His children? We can be leery of zeal. We have seen misguided, misplaced zeal. Passion about things worries us. If we see someone who seems to be overly enthusiastic about something, then we worry. And we certainly see examples in Scripture of people who were

1. Misplaced zeal possible – Paul, religious authorities, misguided ‘Christians’







In Galatians, chapter 1, Paul describes himself as having been zealous for purity in Judaism:  Galatians 1:14 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.  Philippians 3:6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; In Romans chapter 10, Paul talks about his hope and prayer that his own people, the Jews, would come to faith in Jesus Christ,  Romans 10:1-2 1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. And in the Middle Ages, ‘Christians’ acting out of misguided zeal, attempting to convert people to faith in Jesus by force. So there were the Crusades and the Inquisitions and many thousands of people were horribly tortured and killed out of a misguided zeal – a false belief that faith could be forced. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone comes to faith in Jesus Christ. Faith itself, is a gift of God.

2. Properly focused zeal



Properly focused zeal, zeal for the Word of God, zeal to know Him and to serve Him – that is what I believe God wants to see in us. He wants to see us passionate about our faith, living our faith day by day, ready to serve Him, ready with a word of hope, a word of salvation to speak to the lost and hurting.

3. Transforming zeal  Zeal that God uses in transforming our lives. Page 9 of 9