John 20:31 is John’s theme verse for his Gospel and why - over the past several Sundays - why we’ve been looking at what we’re looking at.  The things that John has written - recorded for us here in his Gospel - these things are the truths and historical facts behind why we as Christians believe what we believe about Jesus.  John’s “that by believing you may have life” is what all those facts can mean for us as we live out our lives in the places where we do life.  What believing in Jesus is all about in the real time of life.

This morning we’re coming to John 2 - starting at verse 13 - which is the next event in the sequence of the beginning part of Jesus’ ministry that we’ve been looking at over the past few Sundays.  Jesus cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem.  The first part of what we’re going to look at - verses 13 to 16 - are about What Jesus Did.  The cleansing part.

Let’s jump into the text and then we’ll come back and do some unpacking.  Would you read with me:  The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  In the Temple He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.  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 money-changers and overturned their tables.  And He told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make My Father’s house a house of trade.

Let’s go back and unpack what Jesus did.

Two Sundays ago we saw Jesus transform water into wine at a wedding that took place in the town of Cana.  Then Jesus and His family and His disciples went to Capernaum for some R&R.  Which we can see on the map.  John tells us that after that Jesus and His disciples came down to Jerusalem for the Passover.

The Passover is...  the Passover.  Right?  The time in Egypt when God gave Moses instructions to have the people prepare a lamb a certain way and to honor God and trust Him for His salvation by spreading the lamb’s blood on the lintel and doorposts of every Israelite home.  When the angel of death moved through Egypt taking the life of every first born male child - the angel “passed over” every home bearing the blood of the sacrificial lamb.  We’re together on that?

By the first century that Passover festival looked radically different.  God’s people had really lost touch with the whole solemn remembering of what God had done and what it really meant to be His people.

The Temple - which was to be the national center of Jewish worship and devotion to God - the Temple had become kind of a combination of a flea market and one of those check cashing places that’ll charge an arm and leg in interest - maybe literally an arm or leg if they don’t get paid.  The bottom line of what was going on was a well run con-game on a grand scale - that was being run by a corrupt priesthood.

Throughout the year - but especially at Passover - all the Jewish males were expected to visit the Temple to pay the half shekel tax required by the law of Moses and to sacrifice an animal.  Which required two things.  Money for the tax.  And - second -  it required an unblemished lamb - no defects.  Only perfect lambs would do.

During the Passover the population of Jerusalem swelled by maybe 250,000 males.  Josephus put that figure at around 3 million males and their families.  Meaning that this was a huge money-making opportunity.  The priests and their fellow racketeers set up tables for the purpose of conducting the services necessary to “facilitate” the celebration of the Passover.

Taxes had to be paid with a special temple coin.  That meant that a person couldn’t just show up with Roman or Greek coins or your average everyday shekel - which bore images forbidden by the law.  Which of course meant that the priests and their cronies provided an exchange service - often an exchange that was half the actual value of the currency being exchanged.

Sacrifices had to be made with a perfect lamb - meaning a lamb approved by a priest.  Which meant that if someone brought his own lamb for the sacrifice - of course - that lamb had to be inspected by a priest.  And this is hard to imagine - but sadly enough that lamb didn’t pass inspection.  So another priest approved lamb could be purchased at a premium price that included trading in the unapproved lamb.  Then the unapproved lamb was later offered for sale to another worshipper who’s lamb had amazingly also failed inspection.

Let’s make sure we’re clear on what’s going on here.

To do the Passover right - in the Mosaic - Exodus way of doing Passover - every Jewish household spent seven days before the feast meticulously going through their house looking for any kind of yeast or substance that could cause fermentation and then removing - cleansing that yeast - from their home.  All of which had to do with cleansing the home of what represented sin - preparing the home for the celebration of Passover.

And yet - in Jerusalem - a city where people may have meticulously cleaned out their homes - when Jesus came to the Temple - the house of God - the center of national worship - He found it filled with clutter and noise and dirty-smelling animals - money changers - merchandise.  Not a house of worship but a shameless shrine to greed and a sanctuary for thieves.  And no one seems concerned about any of that.  That’s just the way we do Passover.

The priests - the descendents of Levi - from back in Moses’ day - the priests should have known better.  Should have been leading the people to purity before God.

Jesus sees all that and He just tears up the place.  He creates a scene of wild confusion.  But its anger under control.  This is not some passive aggressive explosion.  The coins can be regathered and sorted.  There’s no real loss of livestock.  He tells the pigeon sellers to remove them.  His is anger with purpose.  His point is well made:  “Don’t make My Father’s house a house of trade.”

The word in Greek is “emporion” - which is where we get our English word... “emporium.”  Point being:  This is God’s house not Walmart. 

Jesus is purifying - removing what should have been removed.  Taking it to the priests - the sons of Levi - who should have known better.

We also need to make sure we’re clear on when all this takes place.  John is purposeful.  Cana - Capernaum - Jerusalem.  The Passover at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus coming to the Temple with His disciples.  Cleansing the Temple.

Jesus had been to the Temple many times before.  From the time He was a child - when His parents brought Him - until now - probably every year He’d been there.  He’d come as a worshipper to His Father’s house.  For years He’d seen exactly what He was seeing at this Passover.  But this Passover was different.   

Reading through the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke - those writers record Jesus cleansing the Temple.  But their record is about Jesus cleansing the Temple during the week leading up to His crucifixion.  The accounts are different.  How Jesus does what Jesus does is different.  Different Scriptures are mentioned.  What Jesus claims is different.

Meaning that there are two times in Jesus’ ministry that Jesus cleanses the Temple.  Once at the end of Jesus’ ministry.  And this cleansing that takes place at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

Are we together? 

Malachi - the last prophet of the Old Testament - the Hebrew Bible.  God speaking prophetically through Malachi - 400 years earlier - God said:

“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.  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 a fullers’ soap.  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.  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)

For 400 years God’s people had been waiting for the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy.  And then comes Jesus - purposefully tearing up the Temple - purifying and refining - cleansing the Temple - a fullers’ powerful soap - purifying the sons of Levi - the priests - refining God’s people of Judah and Jerusalem so that the offering they bring in God’s Temple will be in fact pleasing to God.

John’s point - the timing of this cleansing - what Jesus did - is an announcement - a declaration of God.  The silence is ended.  The wait is over.  God’s Messiah - the refiner and purifier of God’s people - is here.  The ministry has begun.  The nation has been put on notice.  It is time to get right with God.  God is moving among His people.

Coming to verses 17 to 25 - John is going to focus us on What The Disciples Learned.  What can what Jesus - Who Jesus is - the purifying temple cleansing Messiah - and what Jesus did - what does that mean for us in the real time of where we live our lives.

There are three things that we’d like to focus on.  The first comes in verses 17.  Let’s read this together:  His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

We can see Jesus’ disciples watching Jesus create chaos.  Standing there probably in stunned silence.  Mouths open.  Astonished.  Watching Jesus rearrange the Temple - animals running - coins getting tossed - tables getting flipped over.  How can you process all that?

They haven’t been with Jesus all that long.  Maybe a few weeks.  This is early in His ministry.  They’re still trying get to know Him.  Water turning into wine at a wedding is pretty cool.  But this is the Temple.  Jesus is challenging the authority of the religious leadership.  This is big time.

Maybe they’re standing there with some embarrassment.  Probably with some fear.  How are the authorities going to react to this?  Its not hard to imagine they’ve got mixed feelings about all this.

But, as they’re trying to process what Jesus is doing - John tells us that  the words of Psalm 69 went through their minds:  “Zeal for your house will consume me.”  (Psalm 69:9a)

Psalm 69 was written about the Messiah.  It describes the suffering - the agony - of the Messiah - the Christ - our Savior.  Zeal is passion that grabs hold of us and propels us into action.  Consumes us is about a fire within that drives us regardless of the personal cost.  The extremes we’re willing to go to because of what drives us from deep within - even crucifixion.

As they’re watching Jesus - maybe for the first time - there’s a realization that God does not compromise with sin.

400 years go by since Malachi.  The people are waiting.  Maybe they think that God is like someone who winds up the clock of creation and lets it run but doesn’t really get involved in the day to day details of our lives.  Maybe this coming purifier person is really just kind of a spiritual philosophy - some kind of religious ideal.  But not to be taken literally - like a real person is going to show up.

Sinful habits sneak into the worship of the people.  Maybe they think they’re successful at hiding what they’re doing.  Maybe they have their version what’s right. 

We’re God’s people.  God should judge the Romans.  However they’ve gotten there - somehow they’ve come to the point of compromise where what they’re doing in the Temple doesn’t seem all that wrong.

And yet here’s Jesus tearing up the place - purifying - refining - announcing His ministry.

It is one of the great wonders of our faith as Christians that anyone can come to Christ - no matter what our background - murderers - prostitutes - addicts - liars - adulterers - perverts - drunks - proud snobs - hypocrites - self-righteous jerks - as many of us here have been… and may still be.

Anyone who realizes that there’s something wrong - empty - messed up in their lives.  We’re doing life our way and it ain’t working.  Whatever the pain - the hurt - the woundedness - the heartache - the sin - the failure - anyone who wants to be free of all that can come to Jesus.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  (Matthew 11:28 TNLT)  

Anyone can come.  We don’t have to clean ourselves up first.  Just come.

But God isn’t going to leave us there - with our version of what means to come.  Sometimes we think we’ve come - like we were clever enough to figure this out on our own and bring ourselves - and so we can take God on our terms.  What’s comfortable for us.  Our letting God deal with only what we want Him to deal with.  Maybe looking for Him to do a quick fix of our lives.  To clean up a mess we’ve gotten ourselves into so we can go on doing whatever we’ve been doing.

Maybe we want to put limits on what kind of commitment or sacrifice we’re willing to make to follow Him.  We just want to live a good Christian life with a minimum of drama.  But we really don’t want Him to deal with the core issues of our lives.  We’re uncomfortable with all that talk about sacrifice and dying to self.

But God lovingly desires what’s best for us.  He’s not going to settle for the compromise - the corrupting - the defiling - the sinful habits.  He may take His time.  God deals with us with patience.  But, if we refuse to deal with what He calls us out on - one day we’re going find Him coming with a whip in His hands - controlled anger - loving purification - and He will deal with the sin in our lives.

God is zealous for what’s His - us.  God lovingly desires us to come as we are.  And God - because He loves us - God is not going to compromise with the sin in our lives.  He’s not going to leave us as we came.

The second thing the disciples learned - what comes in verses 18 to 22 - that we are temples of God.

Let’s read these together:  So the Jews said to Him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”  But He was speaking about the temple of His body.  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.

Signs point at things.  The Jews expected the Messiah - when he arrived on the scene - the Messiah would do signs that would point Him out.  Specific fulfillments of prophecy that would point out the Messiah.

Malachi said the Messiah would suddenly come to His temple and purify the sons of Levi.  Which Jesus did.  Jesus just fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi which Malachi said, “When you see this happen - that’s the Messiah.”

The religious leaders knew the Scriptures.  What part of that sign did they not understand?  Probably they didn’t want to understand because acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah meant they’d have to change - pun intended - change how they were living.  We like our sin.  Thank you.

Instead they’re asking Jesus for a sign.  “The sign you did is declaring that you’re the Messiah so what sign are you going to give us that declares that you’re the Messiah.”  How many signs is Jesus suppose to do?  This could go on and on.  

Notice that Jesus doesn’t play along.  Jesus’ answer is to point forward through time to the one sign that they cannot ignore.  That has ultimate meaning for their lives.  The sign of His own resurrection.

The religious leadership goes off talking about King Herod’s never ending building program.  Herod was a nut about building things.  46 years he been building this Temple into a huge imposing complex.  And in Jesus’ day it still wasn’t finished.

But Jesus isn’t talking about buildings.  He’s talking about His what?  His body.  His coming bodily resurrection.

John tells us - verse 22 - that when Jesus was raised from the dead then they remembered what Jesus had said and then they understood what He was talking about.  When they saw the holes from the nails driven through Jesus’ hands - through His feet.  When they saw the wound in His side from the spear.  When they realized that - astoundingly - He’s alive once again - then they understood what Jesus was getting at.

One of them probably said, “Remember back that day at the Temple, when He said, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up again.’  We didn’t get it.  But now we understand.  The real temple isn’t the building.  It was His own body.”

Jesus didn’t come - take on humanity and die on the cross - just so He could clean out a building.  Jesus came and died for us - for me - for you.

What the disciples learned is that bodies are the temples of God.  A building is merely an illustration of that.  More important than buildings is the body - who we are physically - spiritually - mentally - as God’s people. 

We need to make sure we’re processing that for ourselves.

Paul writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.”  (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)

I don’t know about you.  But for myself that’s hard to come to grips with.  Thinking about my life being lived out in this body.  There’s a whole lot of that that’s just epic failure.

When Paul writes in Romans 3:23 that “all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” I get that. 

Paul writes that God purchased this temple of my body with a price - meaning Jesus on the cross in my place paying the price for my sins - dying in my place - taking on Himself the punishment - the wrath of God - that I deserved.  Jesus paying for my life with His.  Somehow it seems like God could’ve gotten a better deal for the price He paid then the fixer upper temple that’s my life.

Are we together on that?  Not just about my life.  But yours as well.

But life is about… God.  Meaning that our being a temple is about God - not us.  God is zealous for us.  Meaning that God has a plan and purpose for our lives that is way beyond us and what we’re able to imagine or do with our own whit, wisdom, and working.

In a very real sense what Jesus is saying is, “Do your worst.  Take your best shot.  Carry out your rebellion to the utmost.  Destroy this temple.  And when you’ve done everything you can do - even crucifixion and death - God will do what God wills to do.  God will touch this temple - resurrect it - work in it and through it to His glory.”

Which life has done.  Is doing.  Life has taken its best shot at all of us.

And yet - here’s the good part -  when God touches our lives things change.  God purchases us with the blood of Jesus - not because we think that’s such a great deal - but because God does.  Because God chooses to do so.  So that as He transforms our lives into a temple worthy of the living God - God brings glory to Himself.

What is a whole lot more important than cleaning out a building is the real time application of what Paul writes “You are not your own.”  Because we’re bought with a price we belong to God.  God - who owns us - God knows where He’s going with our lives not the messed up version of our lives where we see ourselves as today.  But the cleansed temple that’s being used for His glory. 

The third thing the disciples learned - what comes in verses 23 to 25 - which is that Jesus Knows People.  He gets us.

Let’s read these verses together.  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing.  But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Jesus is in… Jerusalem.  John tells us that - while He’s in Jerusalem - Jesus did signs - plural.  Signs like healing the sick, the lame, opening the eyes of the blind - what the other Gospels tell us Jesus did early in His ministry.  Signs that pointed out to the crowd that Jesus is the Messiah.  The crowds were watching this and believing.

The disciples are watching the crowds believing and seeing that the crowds are believing in Jesus because of the signs that He’s doing.  Which is seemingly a good thing.  Jesus does signs that point to Who He is.  The crowd believes.  Life is good.

Except - John tells us - that Jesus, on His part, Jesus didn’t trust the crowds.  Why?

John explains that Jesus knew all people.  Jesus doesn’t need anyone to bear witness - to instruct Him about what goes on inside of us.  He doesn’t need to take Psych 101.  Jesus gets us. 

Jesus doesn’t need to trust the crowds.  Some will believe.  Some won’t.  It doesn’t change Who He is.  What He does.  His ministry and self-esteem isn’t greater or less in value based on the fickleness of the crowds - who are all about possessions and performance and popularity.  Like we so often get wrapped up in what people think about us - what we have - what we do.

Jesus is just putting out the truth of Who He is.

And He knows who’s believing because of the miracles - because they want some God who’s going to perform for them - doing what they want the Messiah to do for them.

They’re like people today who come to Christ - maybe they pray the prayer - come forward at some event - have a camp experience - and yet when it comes down to it nothing gets changed.  There’s no evidence in their lives of anything else going on.  They go on living like they did and eventually they drift away and rarely come back.  They want God on their terms. 

Jesus knows Who’s believing in Him because of Who He is - THE God in the flesh of humanity - THE sacrificial Lamb of God - THE Messiah come to save us from our sins.

Jesus gets us.  He sees deeper than the looks on our faces and the tone of our voices and our body positions.

Some of you are looking at me like you are totally dialed in to what I’m saying and yet the eyes are open but you’re fighting sleep.  We get that.  Those chairs are pretty cushy.

Jesus is never fooled.  Never mistaken.  He gets us.  Despite what our outward appearances maybe.  He knows our hearts.  Which is hugely reassuring.

This is who?  Sheila Walsh.  Singer, author, former co-host of the 700 club.  Now a speaker with Women of Faith.  How many of you have heard her speak in person?

A few years back Sheila told her story of how in 1992 the wheels fell off the wagon of her life.  Sheila said this:

One morning I was sitting on national television with my nice suit and inflatable hairdo and that night I was in the locked ward of a psychiatric hospital.  It was the kindest thing God could have done to me.

The first day in the hospital, the psychiatrist asked me, “Who are you?”

“I’m the co-host of the 700 Club.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.

“Well, I’m a writer.  I’m a singer.”

“That’s not what I meant.  Who are you?”

“I don’t have a clue,” I said, and he replied.  “Now that’s right, and that’s why you’re here.”

...the greatest thing I discovered there is sometimes some of God’s most precious gifts come in packets that make your hand bleed when you open them, but inside that’s what you’ve been longing for all your life - to be fully known and fully loved.

I measured myself by what other people thought of me.  That was slowly killing me.

Before I entered the hospital, some of the 700 Club staff said to me, “Don’t do this.  You will never regain any kind of platform.  If people know you were in a mental institution and on medication, it’s over.”

I said, “You know what?  It’s over anyway.  So I can’t think about that.”

I really thought I had lost everything.  My house.  My salary.  My job.  Everything.  But I found my life.

I discovered at the lowest moment of my life that everything that was true about me, God knew…  Jesus knew the worst, and He loved me.  What a relief to know the worst about yourself and at the same moment to be embraced by God. (1)

God deals with reality.  God isn’t fooled by our actions and attitudes.  He’s not fooled by the things that we’re caught up in that fool us.  We’ve been touched by the God who is zealous for us.  Who knows everything about us and still chooses to love us.  Who knows exactly what kind of deal He’s getting for the price of the broken body and shed blood of His Son on the cross.

When we’re finally ready to admit that He’s right about us.  When we come clean.  He’s not going to reject us.  His desire is to enter into us and dwell within us and to lead us through life.  He offers us forgiveness and salvation - healing and purpose - life with Him now and forever.

Processing what Jesus did and what the disciples learned and what all that can mean for us as we head out of here into life out there.

Question:  What do you think God wants to drive out of your temple?

Let’s be careful.  While God wants the temple of our body to be clean the task is not ours to complete.  It was God in human flesh that confronted and cleansed and removed the impurity as only He can.  Our part in that is to submit to His cleansing process.  Which means that we’ve got to give Him control of the Temple.

First - to agree with Him that there’s sin to be cleaned out.  Second - to ask Him to do it.  Third - to let Him do it.

_________________________

1. From interview:  “Staying Alive” - Leadership, Summer 2002, pages 52,53

General reference for this message:  “The Temple Cleanser” - sermon shared by Ray Stedman from John 2:12-25, May 8, 1983 

General Reference for this series:  Charles R. Swindoll, “Insights On John:  Swindoll’s New Testament Insights,”  Zondervan, 2010

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.