Spring Cleaning
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[SLIDE 1] Introduction
Just as Masao led us down to the “old path”of congregational singing and scripture reading, I will also lead us down to the “old path.”
I’ll do a bit a hybrid mode with the slides, but I do not want you to rely heavily on sermon slides for Bible references.
I want you to use the Bible that you have.
Sometimes, it makes me wonder if showing you the verses on the PPT would discourage you from making it a habit of bringing and flipping through your Bible, and even reading the Bible yourself throughout the week.
After God saved me after high school, I almost always bring my personal Bible to church so that I can read and engage in it and take notes on it during sermon time.
In God’s providence, perhaps what’s been said and done thus far may have relevance to our text this morning.
So, if you have your Bible, then please turn to John 2:13-17.
We are continuing in our expository sermons on the gospel of John.
I actually want to bring from verse 12.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. 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 money-changers 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.”
Illustration
Spring is almost here, and probably some of you are thinking about spring cleaning.
The text that we just read is rather interesting.
We see Jesus doing some spring cleaning.
You may think I sound witty and clever, but Jesus did cleanse the temple during Spring because the Passover happens during the Spring season (March / April) according to the Jewish Calendar.
Except, the cleaning that He’s doing...
is not mopping the floor
is not dusting the counter, and
is not vacuuming the carpet in the temple.
When we read the entire gospels, we do see Jesus being meek, humble, and lowly.
He is kind and compassionate towards sinners.
He is gracious and patient towards His disciples.
He heals the sick, paralytics and the demon possessed.
He is loving and selfless by giving His life for those who repent and believe in Him for salvation.
However, Jesus can be very stern on people.
For example, whenever Jesus deals with the religious leaders and religious establishments, He goes hard on them.
In Matthew 23 and Luke 11, Jesus confronts and rebukes the Pharisees (the Jewish leaders) for their hypocrisy.
He uses some of the harshest and indicting words against them.
He calls them Blind Guides.
Blind Fools.
Whitewashed Tombs.
Full of greed and wickedness.
So, it’s not a surprise that Jesus is not in a sense kind in this passage.
Jesus is not tender, but tough.
Jesus is not soft, but strong and sharp.
Jesus is not tolerant, but intolerant.
Jesus is not peaceful, but passionate.
So, if you came here to listen to a warm, comforting, and heartfelt message from Jesus, today is not that day.
Instead, this is one of the many texts in the Bible that reveals to us an aspect of Jesus that many do not want to hear or accept.
Nevertheless, God inspired this text, and it is profitable for you.
Biblical Theology
Context
With that said, let me remind you of the context that led up to this passage.
John 1:19-2:1 describes the first week of Jesus’ public ministry.
The first day was the dialogue between John The Baptist and the Jews.
The second day was John the Baptist pointing people to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The third day was the interaction between Jesus and the two disciples.
The fourth day was Philip, Nathanael, and Jesus.
On the 7th day…several days after Nathanael encountered Jesus...Jesus went to a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
We recall that Jesus performed His first of 7 signs in this gospel by turning water into wine.
The significance of Jesus’ sign is to manifest an aspect of His glory.
His glory reveals to us that He is the Creator God.
We pick up where left off in verse 12.
I didn’t say too much last time, but a brief comment would suffice.
Jesus, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples went back to Capernaum for a few days.
We won’t hear about his mother, Mary, until John 19 when Jesus is hung on the cross.
We won’t hear about his brothers until John 7.
What we know about Capernaum is that it was the place where Jesus lived after living in Nazareth.
Capernaum is located at the North of Galilee. Quite close to Gennesaret.
It was Jesus’ strategic homebase for His Galilean ministry.
After arriving in Capernaum, Jesus only stayed for a few days.
Now, did Jesus go to Jerusalem after a few days or was there a time gap between verses 12 and 13?
Perhaps, the natural reading or flow of the text should indicate that Jesus stayed in Capernaum for a few days and then went to Jerusalem to do spring cleaning in the temple.
John 2:13-17 will be the text we’re focusing on.
[SLIDE 2] The main idea that I want you to remember from this passage is this: “Jesus Is The Lord Of The Temple.”
There are four scenes that you can follow and take notes as we unfold this text.
Exposition
[SLIDE 3] The first heading is “The Obedience.” (v.13)
[SLIDE 3] The first heading is “The Obedience.” (v.13)
Now, if you are familiar with the gospels, you may be wondering about this question, “Did Jesus cleanse the Temple once or twice?
In the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke put the cleansing of the temple near the end of Jesus’ ministry during the final Passover week.
John, however, puts the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of his ministry.
So, how should we understand this?
[SLIDE 4] There are three possible ways to answer that question:
First, Jesus cleanse the temple only once at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
This is an extremely minority view and perhaps the most unconvincing view.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke consistently put the cleansing of the temple right after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem during His final week before His death.
Second, Jesus cleanse the temple only once at the end of Jesus’ ministry.
This view argues that John did not follow a strict chronology of how he tells the story of Jesus.
This view argues that John’s account is almost identical to the one in the Synoptic Gospels.
Both John and the Synoptics happened near the Passover.
So, there is a legitimacy to this argument, but I remain unconvinced since there are some differences from John’s account and the Synoptics.
I’m more persuaded with the third view.
Third, Jesus cleanse the temple twice based on the natural reading of the text.
Let me show you how I came to this view exegetically.
[SLIDE 5] Verse 13 begins by indicating that “the Passover of the Jews was at hand.”
This phrase is important to understand why I think the cleansing of the temple might have happened two times in Jesus’ ministry.
I would concur that the account in Matthew, Mark, and Luke did occur near the Passover, but which year of the Passover was it during Jesus’ ministry?
In the Synoptics, the Passover would be the 3rd year of Jesus’ ministry.
However, I’m convinced that the Passover in John 2 happened on the 1st year of Jesus’ ministry.
In John’s gospel, this phrase, “the Passover of the Jews was at hand,” is mentioned three times.
The first one is in this verse.
The second time is in John 6:4.
The third time is in John 11:55, near Jesus’ last week of ministry.
So, since there were three Passovers in John’s gospel, and it was celebrated annually, then it really summarizes three years of the ministry of Jesus from John 1-12.
If Jesus did cleanse the temple twice, then there is something significant about it.
And that is that the Jewish leaders repeated their error twice, and did not listen to Jesus the first time.
So, Jesus corrects them the 2nd time during the 3rd Passover.
Continuing in the exposition of verse 13, we should answer this question, “What is the Passover?”
The Passover was one of the OT feasts that the Jews celebrated annually.
Exodus 12 was the introduction to the Passover.
The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron to instruct the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses.
And LORD would come to Egypt and strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, except the household that had the blood smeared onto the doorposts.
The LORD would see the blood and PASSOVER it, and the plague will not fall on that household.
That was the tenth plague that God brought upon Egypt.
Afterwards, Pharaoh released the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
In the OT Law, the Israelites were commanded by the LORD to observe the Passover annually.
So, being a faithful Jew, Jesus went up to Jerusalem during the Passover season.
It was necessary for Jesus to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to demonstrate His active obedience to the OT law.
Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.
This was also necessary for our salvation because Jesus had to be perfect and sinless in order to be the perfect Saviour and sacrifice for our sins once and for all.
There’s no use having a sinful, law-breaking Saviour dying on the cross.
So, we can be grateful that Jesus was actively obedient to the Law and ultimately to the will of His Father.
After Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, He goes into the temple.
[SLIDE 6] We come to the 2nd scene: “The Observation.” (v.14)
[SLIDE 6] We come to the 2nd scene: “The Observation.” (v.14)
Why did Jesus go into the temple?
Jesus went to the temple since it’s His Father’s house.
When Jesus was 12 years old, He told his parents that He had to be in His Father’s house (Luke 2:49).
He had to be committed to His Father’s affairs.
Just like other pilgrims from all around the Roman world, Jesus went to the temple to offer sacrifice.
He also went to the temple to observe and investigate the spiritual and religious status of Jerusalem.
The temple was the center of religious activities.
When Jesus got into the temple, he found two groups of people offering services:
First, he found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and pigeons. I’ll call them the animal merchants.
Second, he found the money-changers sitting there.
Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with selling animals.
This service was important, especially for travellers during this season.
Pilgrims don’t have to bring an animal sacrifice from afar.
It was a convenient store, so to speak.
They would usually set up their merchant across the Kidron Valley on the slopes of the Mount of Olives.
The PROBLEM, however, is that they set up their business IN THE TEMPLE, most likely in the court of the Gentiles, which is the outer court of the main temple.
And these merchants would inflate the price of the animals to sell to the pilgrims during this special Jewish holiday.
We have similar things in our culture, right?
For example, you have Valentine’s Day. What gets expensive and pricey during that day? Flowers? Chocolate?
I read a satire news from Babylon Bee where the hypothetical husband refuses to buy chocolate and flowers for his wife on Valentine’s Day in order to stand up against corporate greed.
Now, the money-changers were also an important service.
They offered service on currency exchange.
Every Jewish male twenty years of age or older had to pay the annual temple tax.
But, it can only be paid using the Jewish coins, so pilgrims coming from other places had to exchange their money for coins that would be acceptable in Jerusalem.
However, according to FF Bruce, they would charge hefty fee (as high as 12.5%) for their services during this season.
It’s the same in our world.
I’m not an expert on foreign exchange.
But, if you’re travelling elsewhere, you generally get a better exchange rate by buying the foreign currency in Canada than in the foreign country.
All in all, what began as a service to the worshipers had turned into exploitation under the corrupt establishment of the religious leaders.
The temple that is meant to be a worshipful atmosphere has turned into a marketplace.
After observing the function in the temple, how does Jesus respond?
Be warned. This is going to be fiery.
[SLIDE 7] We come to the 3rd scene: “The Outrage.” (vv.15-16)
[SLIDE 7] We come to the 3rd scene: “The Outrage.” (vv.15-16)
After seeing the irreverent behaviour in the temple, Jesus is going to make a statement.
He’s going to be violent.
This is the anger of Christ.
This is the Jesus that perhaps many Christians may be embarrassed to believe.
But, we’re not going to apologize for this Jesus of the Bible, Amen?
In verse 15, Jesus makes a whip of cords.
Other translations would say “Scourge of cords.”
This whip was made out of ropes.
The tips of the whip are usually made with metal tips to increase the severity of the punishment.
Perhaps, the one that Jesus made might have been less lethal than the ones that the Roman soldiers used.
It was used for whipping or scourging or flogging people.
Having made a whip of cords, what did Jesus use it for?
In this instance, Jesus used it to drive the merchants out of the temple along with the animals, oxen and sheep.
Jesus is not being gentle. He is not kind.
He did not gently speak to them and SUGGEST them, “Hey…what you are doing is not right. Please pack up your belongings and move somewhere else.”
No, when Jesus drove them out, the word, “drove,” carries a sense of forcefulness.
Jesus forcefully got them out of the temple.
He expelled them
He threw them out.
He removed them.
In fact, it’s the same word used to cast demons out of the demon-possessed in the Synoptic Gospels.
Not only that, Jesus turns His eyes on the money-changers.
He poured out the coins of the money-changers.
He poured out in a sense of pouring out a bottle of water.
Jesus dumps all the money from the container that stored the tax coins and extra fees of the foreigners.
He overturned their tables.
This is Jesus flipping tables, not because He lost a game on board game night.
We have seen the action of Jesus in the temple. Now, in verse 16, we’ll hear the words of Jesus in the temple.
16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
Take these things away.
Jesus is giving a mandate or commandment here.
Remove these things away.
Remove these money-changers.
Take those animal merchants out of the temple.
Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.
I probably like the LSB or NASB95 translation more...: “STOP making my Father’s house a place of business.”
What Jesus is against is not their business in of itself.
He’s against them doing their business practices in the temple area...to the effect of him saying,
“How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
In other words, don’t use the sacrificial system to exploit the Jewish travellers and foreigners for financial gain.
In the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19, they would cite Isaiah 56:7.
That’s where the Father’s house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
The temple, the Father’s house, was to be the place where there is solemnity and prayer.
Since there are animals and businesses being done, the function of the temple has been disdained or polluted by the sellers and money-changers.
DA Carson, “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 commerse.”
Now, perhaps you may be asking, “How does Jesus' action align with His teachings on peace and love?”
Isn’t He the Prince of Peace?
Isn’t He love?
Well, you would have to understand peace and love not in our own term, but in God’s term as revealed in Scripture.
In fact, Jesus says in Matthew 10:34 that he did not come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword that divides believers and unbelievers.
The peace that Jesus is for is not world peace in a humanistic or worldly sense.
Jesus came into the world to die on the cross and raised on the 3rd day so that we can have peace with God the Father.
That’s the peace the world needs. Reconciliation with God. Not absence of conflict.
No one can have ultimate peace unless they place their faith in Jesus Christ.
So, the temple was meant for worshipers to go to the Father and pray peacefully, not get distracted and hindered by the noise
Jesus was concerned that the pure worship was taken away.
He was concerned about His Father’s house that was designed to serve as a location for God and Man to meet.
Jesus being the Prince of Peace is something that is in the future when He’ll set up His kingdom on earth and reign and bring peace among the nations.
Now, what about Jesus being loving?
Jesus is love precisely because of His love for His Father.
Because the religious establishments have corrupted His Father’s house, the purpose of the temple was lost.
So, Jesus cleansed the house to restore its purpose.
Just imagine a librarian overseeing a library.
You know that the library should be a place meant for studying and reflection.
When that space is disrupted by noisy activities that deter its purpose, the librarian steps in to restore order, ensuring that the library remains a useful environment for its intended use.
Also, Jesus loved His fellow kindred who intended to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with reverence and worship, not get ripped off and exploited by the religious establishments.
Jesus will not tolerate those that turned His Father’s house into a house of trade.
Now, what really motivated Jesus to cleanse the temple?
I may have answered the question already, but the text clearly tells us His motivation in verse 17.
[SLIDE 8] We come to the 4th scene: “The Obsession.” (v.17)
[SLIDE 8] We come to the 4th scene: “The Obsession.” (v.17)
In other words, I’m talking about the zeal or the passion of Christ.
What is quite significant about this event is that his disciples witnessed this event and remember a passage in the Old Testament.
They did not remember the quote from Isaiah 56:7 that Jesus quoted in the Synoptics...instead they remembered another text of Scripture from Psalm 69:9:
9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
[SLIDE 9] Why did the disciples remember Psalm 69:9? What is the significance of that text in the context of Jesus cleansing the temple?
In order to understand why, you’ll need to read the entire context of Psalm 69.
We won’t have the time to read the entire chapter, but let me give you a taste of it.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. 9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
Psalm 69 was written by David concerning his enemies who were God’s opponents.
Psalm 69 is known as an imprecatory prayer.
Imprecatory prayer means that the composer calls upon God to judge His enemies.
Here’s a taste of it:
22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. 23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
David is a zealous and righteous sufferer who bears the reproach or disgrace for God’s sake.
He was aliened by his family members.
David has a zeal for God’s temple
Just like David’s zeal, Jesus is consumed with righteous zeal and passion for His Father’s glory.
There is a correspondence between David and Jesus.
Jesus is the Greater David and the Son of David.
Jesus is zealous and driven to remove from His people any obstacles that would hinder them from properly worshipping the Father so that His glory would be put in the right place in the temple.
Psalm 69 is not just about the zeal of David, which is related to Jesus’ zeal.
David also suffered reproach from his enemies.
His family members abandoned him and viewed him as a stranger.
Certainly, our Lord Jesus fits that pattern of David.
He is the Suffering Servant.
He’s the Righteous Sufferer.
He had many enemies that plotted His downfall.
He was alienated from His own family members and his brothers did not believe in Him.
When the enemies dishonour and reproach God, David felt the pain.
Similarly, the religious leaders and the establishment dishonoured the Father by turning the house into a den of robbers, and in a sense it pained the Lord Jesus to see His Father get dishonoured by the Jews.
They were defying and bringing reproach to God’s name.
In John’s prologue, John 1:11 may speak into this situation:
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Application
[SLIDE 10] We return to the big idea of this passage: “Jesus Is The Lord Of The Temple.”
We have considered four scenes in the cleansing of the temple.
The Obedience.
The Observation.
The Outrage.
The Obsession.
You may be wondering how is this passage relevant for Christians.
Does Jesus' zeal justify similar actions by believers today?
Should we be flipping tables? (NO)
Jesus cleansing the temple has significance for us.
You would have understand what the church is under the New Covenant.
Many Christians mistakenly view the church building as the temple.
That’s a theological error. The church building in of itself is not the temple.
We’ll learn later in John 2:21 that “the temple” will be the resurrected body of Jesus.
And Paul connects the body of Jesus with His members, which born-again believers (1 Corinthians 12).
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says that you, brothers and sisters, are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit lives in you.
Peter describes Christians as living stones who make up God’s temple individually and collectively (1 Peter 2:4-5).
You as individuals are the temple of the Holy Spirit AND you as the assembly are the temple of the living God.
We are living stones gathering together to form the spiritual building and offering spiritual sacrifices to Him, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.
We are members of the body of Christ.
If we rightly understand “the temple” under the New Covenant, then it should have implications for Christian living.
[SLIDE 11] While we may not be flipping tables, we should reflect on three practical questions:
1. Do you have that zeal for God and for His people?
True zeal is the consuming obsession for the purity of worship and the holiness of God’s people.
True zeal is enthusiasm to do the will of the LORD.
True zeal is eagerness for repentance. (Be zealous and repent)
True zeal is the strong desire to selflessly serve and edify the church.
Brothers and sisters, does this true zeal CONSUME you?
2. As Christians, you are temple of the Holy Spirit.
Yet, here are the questions...
Have you been grieving the Holy Spirit by defiling the temple with sin?
Has it become a house of lust?
A house of greed?
A house of bitterness?
A house of anger?
A house of envy?
A house of pride and stubbornness?
A house of apathy towards the lost?
A house of ignorance towards His word and the Gospel?
If so, then as sinners, you can come to Christ for forgiveness.
He came to shed His blood for His people.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Furthermore, Christ may not come to you and literally bring the whip of cords, but He can certainly and lovingly discipline you for your own good.
71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
Third question to reflect: What if Christ came to our gathering?
Will He do the same thing as He did to the temple?
Will He be pleased to see us collectively and individually?
You may say, “Why would He do that?”
He did warn us in Revelation 2:5
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
According to Revelation 2-3, Christ had something against 5 out of 7 churches.
Does Christ have something against us?
If so, then repent.
[SLIDE 12] Conclusion
So, brothers and sisters, it’s time to do a spiritual spring cleaning.
Right now, I want to invite you to have a moment of silent prayer and do business with God as you reflect upon the questions that I asked.
Benediction
May the Spirit of God consume you with zeal for the glory of God and His people. May the mercies of the Father strengthen your resolve to worship Him in the splendor of holiness. May the love for Christ compel you to no longer live for yourself, but for Him who died and was raised.