Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
In the middle of the 1970s Christianity experienced an interesting change in the way it approached ministry.
Many referred to this change as the “seeker-sensitive movement”.
This movement was about:
Making people feel confortable in church.
Preaching to people’s “felt needs”.
Making our buildings feel less like a church and more like an ordinary building.
Making our music more appealing to the masses.
Making our sermons less theological and more therapeutic.
Speaking less about sin, death, holiness, sacrifice and more about overcoming your fears, feeling better about yourself, learning to be a better parent, etc.
Unfortunately, this lead opened the door to worldliness inside the church.
Pretty soon, churches were growing in number, prospering financially, filling up the week with many programs; but in reality the church was now full of unbelievers.
It had become a social gathering instead of the redeemed people of God.
The church had almost stopped being the church.
It had lost its focus.
The house of God had become the psychologist’s chair, the motivational speaker’s platform, the charlatan’s podium.
Something very similar occurred with the judaism of the first century.
The jews, the children of Abraham had lost their way.
We will consider this sad state of affairs under the following headings:
Jesus cleanses the temple
Jesus gives a sign of his authority
Jesus examines the hearts of men
I. Jesus cleanses the temple
I. Jesús limpia el templo
Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover (2:13).
This feast was commanded by God in the Old Testament ().
Israel was to celebrate this feast to commemorate their liberation from the house of bondage.
God had set them free.
God had shown himself to be their liberator.
Just imagine how the jews living in the concentration camps felt when the allied forces arrived to liberate them from the Nazi’s.
It was sure to be a day of great celebration for they were now free to serve God.
Passover was a time to celebrate they were the chosen people of God, God had demonstrated his great power, God had shown himself to be faithful to his promises.
Surely, people would be in the temple praising God’s faithfulness.
Surely, people would be in his house giving thanks for his provision.
Jesus approaches the temple and he cannot hear the prayers of the people.
He cannot hear the people singing praises to God.
All he can here is the sound and stench of the cattle, sheep, and doves.
Try to take in this scene.
You can hear the animals.
You can hear and smell the chaos within the temple area.
What were these animals doing within the temple?
Let us not forget that the people of God were commanded to bring a lamb to be sacrificed during the Passover.
Many people were coming from afar.
Some would travel as much as 90 miles to Jerusalem.
It was simply impractical to bring an animal along such a far distance.
The next best solution was for the animal herders to sell animals for the sacrifice to the traveling pilgrims.
However, they were much more interested in the business of making a profit rather than to the worship of God.
We can also hear the clanging of coins - it’s the money changers?
What are they doing in the temple courts?
These were people who would exchange foreign currency into currency made from pure silver that was required to purchase the animals for the sacrifices/offerings.
They too were most interested in turning a profit.
Commentators tell us it’s possible they made as much as 12% commission on their exploitation of the people.
So instead of the worship of God, we encounter a pathetic sight of people selling, buying, haggling, exploiting one another - all this being done in God’s house!
The Lord Jesus is moved by a holy anger to drive out the people who have completely utterly the house of the Lord.
He scares away the animals with the whip he made out of cords.
He orders the money changers to leave the temple precincts.
He reclaims the house of the Lord for the Lord himself.
He charges the people with turning God’s house into a market!
They have so disregarded the purpose of God’s house that it is absolutely unrecognizable.
The furniture in God’s house was the same.
This building still looked like a temple of worship.
The worshippers were there.
However, none was interested in worshipping God.
It was utter chaos; which sadly demonstrated their spiritual state.
The house that was to be a house of prayer for all nations had become a market place.
What was is that drove the Lord Jesus to do this?
The disciples would later on reflect upon where it speaks of the psalmist being consumed with zeal for the house of the Lord.
Are we consumed by that same zeal when we come to the house of the Lord?
Are we consumed by that same zeal when we gather to worship; when we come to present ourselves before the presence of God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do we realize the presence that we are in?
Does our behavior and attitude in the house of the Lord reflect the majesty of God’s power, and holiness?
II.
Jesus gives a sign of his authority
II.
Jesús da una señal de su autoridad
Let us not forget that Jesus’ actions would have definitely captured the attention of the Jewish leaders.
John 2:17
They demand to know: what gives him the authority to do what he has just done?
Is he proclaiming to be a prophet of God?
With what authority does he demonstrate God’s disapproval of their actions?
They demand a miraculous sign.
They know that the prophets of old would perform miraculous signs demonstrating that they had come from God.
Jesus gives a single sign which they simply did not understand.
Jesus speaks of destroying a temple that he would raise in three days.
Their immediate reaction was to think that he was speaking of the temple they were in.
This was Herod’s temple.
It was a glorious temple indeed.
At the time that Jesus spoke those words, the temple had not yet been completed.
It would not be completed for another 30 years; although it was completely destroyed in the year 70AD.
The disciples, including our author (John), later realized that Jesus was speaking about his own death and resurrection.
The sign that Jesus was giving the people was a future sign.
The sign that he was giving was that they would kill him but he would rise again three days later.
This is the the miraculous sign that Jesus gives all mankind to demonstrate his authority, his sovereignty, his worthiness to be praised and glorified, his right as the God and Creator of all that exists.
Nevertheless, they rejected him.
He had come to his people - Israel - but they rejected him.
Jesus has given us all a undeniable sign - he has risen from the dead.
That is his sign of authority.
As we come together, let us understand that this is God’s house.
Let us understand that Jesus, in his word, has spoken about:
How his church is to be governed.
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