John 2:13-25

4 September, 2013, CMA

(Disclaimer/Warning: The following has been prepared in informal english/style. Also they are not entirely original. You may see word-by-word cut-and-paste from other sources, without even proper credit/reference. Also some of the presented thoughts could be wrong - so use your own judgement)

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believedin his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

- This is one of the few places where we see Jesus getting very upset.

-- Does it happen today? (i.e., Jesus getting very upset) If yes, then in what ways?

(Note, this Temple is no longer there. So, where is the Temple today? We (Church members) are the Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16)! So, back then God's Spirit was in that Temple of stones. Now God's Spirit is in us (His new Temple)).

-- Talking of Jesus getting very upset - is there any link to Jesus rebuking the Church in the Book of Revelations? (i.e., Revelation 2:16: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of mouth”)

Right from the beginning, throughout the Old Testament (OT) and then even till today, we see God’s people tending to stray away from the ways of the GOD. Throughout the OT, whenever God’s people would tend to stray from His ways, God would warn/admonish/rebuke His people through His Prophets, urging them to come back to the His right ways. That pattern continues after Christ till today. That is, Church groups would tend to deviate from the true course (i.e., infiltration of false teachings, etc). Also, as a result, historically people have often cried for reformation in the Church. Infact, deviation from true course would always happen, as Church is composed of humans and humans are fallible to sin. So, the question, is what does God do when Church groups tend to go astray? Actually, as expected, God/Jesus does not sit back idle. And, that is what we see here in John 2:13-25 - a proactive GOD! Recall, Proverbs 15:3: “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” and Hebrews 13:5: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”. God is watching and guarding over His institutions and people. God will do whatever it takes to ensure His institutions and people stay on course. Here in John 2:13-25, we see Jesus going to extreme: v15:“He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.“

Even after this, we see in the Book of Revelation, Jesus not tolerating the way some Churches went astray (i.e., not upholding the Biblical principles, being lukewarm). He says:- Revelation 2:16: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of mouth” (them: Those who promote false doctrine); Rev. 3:16: “So because you are lukewarm -- neither cold nor hot -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”. Of course He clarifies in Rev 3:19: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (So, chastisement from God, like you see here in John 2-13-15, often happens)

Have you ever thought, given that humans are so prone to fall to sinful ways, how come the Church has survived for so long? : ) It is because of what we see here and in Book of Revelation:- Jesus is, always, actively watching and guarding over the Church. It is because of Jesus that the Church remains sustained (Colossians 1:17: “In Him All things hold together”).

Talking of Jesus rebuking some Churches in the Book of Revelation, in coming weeks as you search for a home Church, be wary of those groups which call themselves “Church” but would be classified as same as those Jesus rebuked in the Book of Revelation. That is, be wary of groups which call themselves “Church” but engage in gross false teachings or are lukewarm. As you try to seek a home Church, it would help you a lot, if you yourself knew the Bible inside out, pretty well. That would help you to know if a group that calls itself a “Church” is actually living out the Bible. So, do invest in reading and understanding the teachings/messages of the Bible well.

On an individual level, God’s Spirit lives in a Christian. So a Christian is a Temple today. So, the question is, what are the parallels of what we learn from John 2-13-15, in our own individual lives? In what ways the things that made Jesus upset in John 2-13-15 relate to any thriving sin in the life of an individual? Would Jesus get upset, like he John 2-13-15, towards the thriving sins in an individual’s life? If yes, then, the title of the passage would change from “Jesus clears the Temple Courts” to “Jesus cleanses us (out of love: Revelation 3:19)”!

Misc points:-

- John 2:17: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” - The same should be true for us. Zeal for God and His Kingdom in this campus should be consuming us.

The Spirit of GOD that was upon Jesus is now in us. The natural/visible characteristic of that Spirit is ZEAL. So the world should see the same zeal now coming out of us.Let us not be just sitting on it, but let the Spirit in us display itself in/through us - So that people around us can see us and say for us: “Zeal for God’s Kingdom in the campus consumes these Christians”

- In another account of “Jesus cleansing the temple”, such as in Mark 11:17, Jesus clarifies “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’(Isaiah 56:7)? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.” - The same should be true for us here. That is, CMA should be known as a house of prayer - we as a body should be known as men and women of prayer. Prayer is so foundational in Christian walk. Hence we insist on corporate prayer for 5-10 minutes before we leave.

On an individual level too, one is the Temple/House of God. Hence, individually one should be known as a man/woman of prayer ...

- Note that throughout the Gospel writings, Jesus is consistently quoting and referring to Old Testemont passages (Isaiah 56:7: “house of prayer for all nations”; Jeremiah 7:11: “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?”; Psalm 69:9: “zeal for your house consumes me”). It helped so much to tackle the tricky situations, like these, He often had to deal with, while on His “brief stay”/mission on earth. So the same for us. Knowing very well (inside out) the Word will help you a lot in your daily life.

--- Also, lot of times you want hear God’s voice. But know that God has already said a lot of things for you in the Bible. So heed to that first. Such as, here, Jesus is so often going back to the Scriptures.

- And lastly a note on the prophesies that we see (being referred to, being fulfilled, being made) throughout the Gospel writings. Prophesies, made in Old Testament (my favorite being Daniel precisely predicting the day of Palm Sunday), are being constantly referred to, to show how they were fullfilled in Jesus. And Jesus also made new prophesies for the future. Such as, how He will be killed but will rise from dead after three days. How the temple will be destroyed: not a stone will be left. Prophesies are obviously big deal. As, when you try to tell others about Jesus (which we always encourage you to do), people will ask/challenge you - if Jesus/God/Bible is true/real. And then you can challenge them back by showing them the fulfilled prophesies in the Bible which cannot be denied.

-- For instance, note the Malachi 3:1 prophesy: "“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty ..."