The God Who Restores

The evolution of cell phones. They become status symbols rather than about what they are used for. Jesus was zealous because even though they had the temple, they had forgotten its true purpose.

John places this story early on in his book while the other Gospels put it near the end of his earthly ministry.

-We noted at the beginning of the series that John is less concerned with providing a perfect chronological account of these stories, John is writing in a thematic way, not a chronological way. So the question is, why does John put this near the beginning?

Jesus comes to restore our relationship with the Father

v. 17 will tell us that the disciples will remember what Psalm 69:9 says “because zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” That at the heart of what Jesus desired was for people to be able to worship God “in spirit and truth” as we will see in John 4. The temple was central to worship of God in the OT. It was where people came to enter into God’s presence. But what we will see is that it became anything but that. Things had distracted from worship of God.

Removing the Apps - What’s distracting your relationship to God?

Your apps keep you distracted for long periods of time. And when you aren’t on the apps, they send you notifications that remind you to come back! They know that the time spent on their app is more money for them, even when they know it is bad for you.

Love of money

Israelites from different places around the world would travel to Jerusalem for Jewish passover in order to sacrifice. You would bring animals to sacrifice at the temple. But what if it was too far of a journey in order for you to bring an animal? Well, your in luck! You could buy one right there at the temple! Oh...but you probably currency from your region? You need Tyrian coins, not whatever you have. But you’re in luck again! We have a place for you to exchange your money for the currency. All this...at an upcharge!

We can sometimes think there is a separation of our personal lives, or our work lives, from our relationship to God. We can act a certain way around some people, but still read the Bible and “follow” God. This isn’t about being perfect. But about if we are drawing people closer to God.

Love of superiority

Now there were people considered Gentiles who also came to sacrifice, but they were not allowed inside the Temple courtyard. so they would come to the outer court to pray and to give their offerings. This was the place that they were trading with people. So not only were they using this space to perform deceptive market practices, they were also preventing Gentiles from being able to worship God in the area they were allowed to pray and offer their sacrifices. Rather than go outside of the temple area. But Jews didn’t care about Gentiles coming to worship the Lord.

-We can see this in the words Mark records in Mark 11:17 “He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!””

What Jesus see’s as the problem is that they were using a place intended on bringing people closer to God, the literal temple, was in fact becoming a distraction from true worship.

-That where people should be allowed to come and quietly worship, instead it has become a place for only Jews to come and worship. Changing of money instead of worship.

So not only were they making it more difficult for Jews to worship, they were creating barriers for Gentiles to worship.

What’s more annoying than having to buy the “premium” versions of things just so you can “skip the adds”. It creates a barrier when all you want to do is enjoy the video or the music

It can be very easy for the church to look down on certain people who weren’t raised in church, or who act in ways differently than we do and not give them “access” to God and His Word. We can look down on them or not invite them in because they make things “messy”. But this is the exact problem that Jesus has.

Replacing the Landline - Is it hard to “get” to God?

Back when I was a kid, in order to contact someone you had to call them at their house. Most people didn’t have cell phones, and that wasn’t the way you contacted people. That meant that you needed to know their number and that they needed to be in their house in order to call them. Then we got cell phones, that changed the game!

The Jews asked him how he knows that he is right and they are wrong. They ask for a “sign”. This question is often asked. How do we know that we are correct in worshipping Jesus?

-But notice, even before we ask this question that there are things they don’t dwell on.

-They don’t respond or deal with becoming a “den of thieves”. Or respond to the OT Jesus quoted from to show the sin in their hearts. What they want is something they can use to point the fingers at Jesus. Jesus does a miracle and they will say “who are you to do miracles?” He does nothing, “see he can’t even prove to us who He is”. While the sign Jesus gives is on that is to come.

-They care more about authority. The question they are asking is “what authority do you think to be telling us we are in the wrong?”

Well Jesus tells them he will give a sign. He will destroy this temple and “raise it up in three days.”

Matthew 12:39–40 “He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”

What they focus on instead, in His answer, is how it is physically possible to build a temple that took 46 years to build. Their are thinking in purely physical terms.

-Jesus in talking in spiritual terms. Jesus is God’s presence with His people. Jesus would be the ultimate sacrifice that would bring God in the presence of His people.

-But even here John states that none of the disciples understood this until after the resurrection of Jesus.

-But what the disciples learned is not just that what he said here was true, but they “believed the Scripture”. They saw how Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s Word in the OT. They had misunderstandings that were understood after Jesus returned.

Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands.”

Acts 7:48 “but the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says:”

So if he doesn’t live in a sanctuary, how do we respond to God?

Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us.”

Christ appeared for us, therefore we now enter God’s presence THROUGH Christ.

God has a line to our hearts

What was true in the temple, if one came into the temple with impure hearts, and with Jesus, is that we can “question” what God’s Word says and make excuses for not following Him. But God knows our hearts.

Proverbs 21:2 “All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs hearts.”

1 Kings 8:39 “may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and may you forgive, act, and give to everyone according to all their ways, since you know each heart, for you alone know every human heart,”

We often spend our lives attempting to look “Christian” in front of others. That’s what the pharisees did. But instead they were making it more difficult for them and for others. That’s what Jesus was zealous about, his desire for God’s people to be in His presence.