Third Sunday in Lent March 2-3, 2024
“Holy Zeal” John 2:13-25
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
One of my members, Wendell, told me that he was going to hell. He knew it. He knew that hell was the place of punishment for those who don’t follow Jesus. Wendell knew the word that Jesus spoke, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
By his actions it was evident that Wendell did not confess that he followed Jesus. He was controlled by a mess of drugs and a whole bunch of booze. One night he walked in front of a fast-moving car and he ended up on the pavement some 90 feet from where he began. He was broken all over his body. But Wendell told me that event, that awful accident that he caused, was his step out of hell into heaven. Wendell was no longer going to hell. God took him from the certainty of hell and gave him the guarantee of heaven. Wendell came to faith in Jesus.
Jesus has to shock people who are on their way to hell. He has to wake them up. He has to get in their face. Jesus is not always so quiet and reserved. He is not always so passive, meek and mild. Jesus can be disruptive when He needs to be. Jesus needed to be that way at God’s temple in Jerusalem many years ago. “In the temple courts he (Jesus) found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:13-16)
This is Jesus? His eyes must have been wild and wide opened. His arms were moving, and His feet were fast, and He raised His voice to an uncomfortable level. When the disciples were putting together the image of His fury they quoted the Psalm that said, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:17 – a quote of Psalm 69:9) His zeal had indeed consumed Him.
Do you know that old Baptist hymn, “Softly and Tenderly?” Verse 1 says, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; patient and loving, He’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me. Come home, come home, Ye who are weary, come home. Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling – calling, “O sinner, come home.’” Sometimes that is true. Jesus can bring people back to His side tenderly. Like that one sheep out of the hundred that got lost. He went out and found the lost one and then the Bible says, “He joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.” He then tells everyone about the sheep that was found. He gathers his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” (See Luke 15:3-7)
Sometimes that is Jesus. Sometimes He is a “Softly and Tenderly” God. But sometimes He isn’t. Sometimes He has to stop a guy like Wendell from being on the highway to hell. Sometimes He has to be John Wayne and kick all the scum out of the temple. He turns over tables, throws the money everywhere, the birds start flying, the cattle get moving and all the people run for cover. This is a very disruptive Jesus. And by the way, this disruption, this unbridled zeal, got Jesus into trouble.
Why did He get so angry? Godly people came to the temple in Jerusalem for holy purposes. It was the Passover and during Passover sacrifices had to be made so that sins would be forgiven. Prayers needed to be offered. Worship needed to be given. And those working in the Temple used that holy time for their greed. The ordinary money used every day, with the Emperor’s image on it, was good everywhere else, but that money couldn’t be used at the temple. It had to be changed into a holy currency. And the exchange rate was not favorable for the worshipper – I read that it could cost you twice what you owed. A temple tax of one dollar cost them two. Five dollars cost them ten. One hundred cost them two hundred. And all was done in the name of God and of holiness. The animals that had to be sacrificed? They all had to get “FDA” approval. Most people raised their own sheep, goats or birds. But if you brought them along to offer them in Jerusalem you might not find approval for them. Once your animal was rejected you had to buy from them – at a premium. The desire for the honest worship of God was exploited by some in the temple. Jesus disrupted all hypocrisy.
Zeal can get you into trouble. You know that, right? Zeal can be misguided. We see that. But sometimes zeal is just what is needed. Someone is strong and vocal. They take a stand. And the response that comes back at them is just as strong as they gave to others. After the cleansing of the temple this is the response that it drew, “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’” (John 2:18-19)
What an answer!! Jesus was sure to cause another fight. Do you know how long DIA has been under construction? Do you remember a time when DIA was not under construction? It has been going on for years and it will keep on going for years. The temple in Jerusalem, known as Herod’s Temple, had started to be built in about 19 BC. It would continue to be built until 64 AD. About 83 years of construction. When Jesus spoke about destroying the temple and that He would raise into again in three days they had already been working on Herod’s temple for 46 years.
Disruptive Jesus has always interested in temples – physical ones, bodily ones and spiritual ones. And He will do whatever He can to take care of those temples. The holy and honorable temple in Jerusalem had become disreputable. He cleansed it.
There is another temple that He wants to cleanse, as well. It is you and me. Paul in I Corinthians says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20) What does Jesus need to drive out of our hearts? What doesn’t belong in this temple that God has made? Take a look. Envy and jealousy toward others? Anger, hatred, a grudge that we have held on to for far too long? How about a pride that quickly dismisses the thoughts and ideas of others? If the thought didn’t originate from us, it certainly couldn’t have merit, right? Jesus wants to drive out everything that doesn’t belong in this temple!!
Meek and mild Jesus? Complacent? Indifferent? Apathetic? You’ve got the wrong Jesus. Isn’t that good? He cared enough to upset things in Jerusalem. He cares enough to upset things, the evil things, in our heart. God cares enough to bring us to a true faith in Jesus. He cared enough about Wendell to rescue him from Hell and get him ready for heaven.
But the job of Jesus is not just demolition. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19) The temple Jesus was speaking about was His body. It would be destroyed – crucified. Mistreated with nails and a spear. He would be humiliated by such an awful death. He wasn’t speaking about Herod’s temple but His own flesh. And something greater was going to come. “I will raise it again in three days.” Resurrection. Easter. Now His conflict was against death – His enemy and ours. Once again Jesus is not reserved and complacent. He is loud and strong. In every action on Easter He shouts that He is the victor. He wins. He conquers.
He cleansed the Jerusalem temple. He raised His temple – His body. Can He do the same with ours? What is He doing today in your temple – in your body and soul and mind? He wants to cleanse everything that is wrong and harmful and weak and dirty. He has a zeal to be in your life. The zeal for our best is forgiveness given, new life begun, eternal salvation received and that we are given the power of God in our lives – God’s Holy zeal – His Holy Spirit.
I’m glad that our God is not quiet and reserved. His love for us calls for Him to be active to bring us from death to life. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. He has done it and He will continue to do it. Amen!!
