John 2:12-16(NKJV)
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. 13 And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
After reading these verses a question might arise. Why did Jesus clean the Temple in such a harsh manner? He turned over tables. He made whips to beat the merchants, etc.
Jesus cleansed the temple of the money-changers and sellers of merchandise because of His disgust at what they had made of God’s house of prayer and His zeal, His passion to purify it from the abuse of ungodly men.
Well, some of you might say, "isn’t it true today that all the ministries advertise after they give a sermon that they will send you something in the mail or you can receive some kind of free gift just for giving a donation to their ministry. Is that not what the Lord was annoyed with?"
No, that is not the case in this passage in the Bible. In the Temple there was a place where the animals were to be brought in and watched for three days to make sure they were healthy and approved for sacrifice. But, the problem that was happening was that the priests had become corrupt.
They were telling the people who brought animals sacrifices that your animal was NOT healthy. Your animal is not clean so you have to buy an approved temple animal that has been tested for the necessary days and we have just the right one here for your family.
The priests were not telling the truth. They were lying and forcing people to buy from their vendors whom they possibly were getting money from as part of a kick-back scheme they had devised.
The sellers were gouging or extorting the faithful by charging exorbitant or very high prices. There were other merchants selling cattle and sheep for the temple sacrifices as well. Because of these sellers who preyed on the poor and because of His passion for the purity of His Father’s house, Jesus was filled with righteous indignation. As He overturned the tables of the money-changers, He condemned them for having turned God’s house of prayer into “a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). As He did so, His disciples remembered Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.”
These same moneychangers were associated with others who engaged in shady business practices in the temple courts. Some sold sacrificial animals, overcharging people who did not bring their own. Others were in charge of examining the animals to be sacrificed, and it was a simple matter to declare an animal “unapproved” and force the worshiper to buy another animal—at an inflated price—from the temple vendors. Such goings-on, exploiting the poor and the foreigner, angered the Lord Jesus and was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:34).
It is quite possible that others had felt “uncomfortable” about what was going on in the temple. However, Jesus was the only one on record who actually did something about it. In this case, “consuming zeal” may have a bit of a double meaning. Not only was Jesus’ zeal consuming in that it caused Him to take radical action, but it set Him on a collision course with the Jewish leadership that eventually ended in their delivering Him to Pilate for crucifixion.
The New Testament writers see many parallels between Jesus and David. Jesus’ zealous actions were rejected by His countrymen. David was also rejected, scorned, and mocked because of His zeal for God. This is simply one more line of evidence that Jesus really is the rightful heir of David—David’s Greater Son. Likewise, those who follow in the steps of Jesus may now face the same kind of rejection if they prove to be zealous for the things of God.
Today, ask yourself, are you willing to stand up and take radical action for the things of GOD?
Be sure to check back on October 15 for part 2 of this important topic!
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. 13 And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
After reading these verses a question might arise. Why did Jesus clean the Temple in such a harsh manner? He turned over tables. He made whips to beat the merchants, etc.
Jesus cleansed the temple of the money-changers and sellers of merchandise because of His disgust at what they had made of God’s house of prayer and His zeal, His passion to purify it from the abuse of ungodly men.
Well, some of you might say, "isn’t it true today that all the ministries advertise after they give a sermon that they will send you something in the mail or you can receive some kind of free gift just for giving a donation to their ministry. Is that not what the Lord was annoyed with?"
No, that is not the case in this passage in the Bible. In the Temple there was a place where the animals were to be brought in and watched for three days to make sure they were healthy and approved for sacrifice. But, the problem that was happening was that the priests had become corrupt.
They were telling the people who brought animals sacrifices that your animal was NOT healthy. Your animal is not clean so you have to buy an approved temple animal that has been tested for the necessary days and we have just the right one here for your family.
The priests were not telling the truth. They were lying and forcing people to buy from their vendors whom they possibly were getting money from as part of a kick-back scheme they had devised.
The sellers were gouging or extorting the faithful by charging exorbitant or very high prices. There were other merchants selling cattle and sheep for the temple sacrifices as well. Because of these sellers who preyed on the poor and because of His passion for the purity of His Father’s house, Jesus was filled with righteous indignation. As He overturned the tables of the money-changers, He condemned them for having turned God’s house of prayer into “a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). As He did so, His disciples remembered Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.”
These same moneychangers were associated with others who engaged in shady business practices in the temple courts. Some sold sacrificial animals, overcharging people who did not bring their own. Others were in charge of examining the animals to be sacrificed, and it was a simple matter to declare an animal “unapproved” and force the worshiper to buy another animal—at an inflated price—from the temple vendors. Such goings-on, exploiting the poor and the foreigner, angered the Lord Jesus and was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:34).
It is quite possible that others had felt “uncomfortable” about what was going on in the temple. However, Jesus was the only one on record who actually did something about it. In this case, “consuming zeal” may have a bit of a double meaning. Not only was Jesus’ zeal consuming in that it caused Him to take radical action, but it set Him on a collision course with the Jewish leadership that eventually ended in their delivering Him to Pilate for crucifixion.
The New Testament writers see many parallels between Jesus and David. Jesus’ zealous actions were rejected by His countrymen. David was also rejected, scorned, and mocked because of His zeal for God. This is simply one more line of evidence that Jesus really is the rightful heir of David—David’s Greater Son. Likewise, those who follow in the steps of Jesus may now face the same kind of rejection if they prove to be zealous for the things of God.
Today, ask yourself, are you willing to stand up and take radical action for the things of GOD?
Be sure to check back on October 15 for part 2 of this important topic!
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