John 2:13-25 says...

Today's verses are John chapter 2 and verses 13 through 25, which read,...

v.13-16 - The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.  And He made a scourge of cords, and 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; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business."

Jesus went from a wedding in Cana in the north to a Passover Festival and we find Him in the temple in Jerusalem in the south.  He has covered some miles since we last had an encounter with Him.  He walks into the temple and what does He see?  

You needed to bring a sacrifice for the Passover observance so there were those there offering this for those who had traveled great distances.  You also gave an offering and so there were those who would exchange your foreign money for what they considered the official currency of the temple.  The problem was that the worship of God became secondary and the providing of these services became primary.  They were charging very inflated prices for the sacrifices and the exchange rates.  They were taking advantage of the pilgrims coming and rejecting home grown sacrificial lambs so the purchasing of approved temple lambs was necessary and with the right currency exchanged at a tremendous rate.  The making of money had become primary to this festival to remember God's deliverance of them from the hand of the Egyptians.  The religious leaders were using this gathering to pat their pockets.

What would Jesus see if He walked in the church today?  Would He see any of this type of activity?  I hope not.  It is so easy to pollute why we gather together each week.  We can use it to focus on ourselves rather than on God.  We may make the excuse that it is convenient because we are all here but if it takes away from the worship of God then it needs to stop.  Notice that Jesus is not timid or reserved in His reaction to these activities.  He is driving them out of the temple area.  He seems out of control.  He "loses it" for the worship of God.  Jesus' assessment is that the temple doesn't look much different than the marketplace on any other day of the week.  Does our church look pretty much like the world?  All these questions are to be visited and re-visited by us so that we stay a place of prayer and not a den of robbers.  Left to our own devices, we will slowly transition to what brings us more comfort rather than coming to give complete focus on our God.

v.17-22 - His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house will consume Me."  The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as Your authority for doing these things?"  Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

One of the qualities of the coming Messiah was this zeal for the house of worship being just that, a house of worship.  The characteristic of the coming Messiah would be that He would be consumed by this and therefore actions like what we just read about Jesus would be in alignment with what is written.  The Jews wanted some sign to show Jesus had the authority to drive out all that was happening.  Jesus then gives them what is going to happen even though they don't understand it yet.

The Apostle John wants us, the readers, to know the correct interpretation of what Jesus said.  He gives us the information that the temple Jesus speaks about is His very body.  It would be destroyed but then it would rise in three days.  The crowd was thinking Jesus was talking about Herod the Great's temple which was an expansion project from Zerubbabel's temple.  The disciples put "two and two" together when Jesus rises from the grave on the third day.  They remember what was said by Him and it drove them to believe the Scriptures and all that Jesus had said.

The sign they were looking for was Jesus very self.  When people want a sign from God, we need to point them to Jesus.  He is the sign.  We give something inferior when we point them to anything else.  We need to see that our primary message is Jesus and not some messages that might bring some temporary behavior modifications or increase some physical comfort to ourselves.  They need to hear about Jesus who said, "If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  

v.23-25 - Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.  But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Great report!  Some were believing in Jesus' name.  Some were observing His miraculous signs and attributing them to God.  But Jesus doesn't get caught up in this initial attraction to Him.  Jesus knows if this belief is genuine and truly transformational.  Many were patting Him on the back and saying, "Way to go Jesus" at the miracles but they were just waiting for the next one.  Jesus was going off of something more than what was coming out of the mouth of man.  Jesus knew what was going on in the heart of man.

Is there truly a heart change in you?  Has Jesus changed your heart?  Do the words you say about Him come from a changed heart or do they just reflect what you are experiencing for the moment?  Our hearts need to be changed and there is only one surgeon qualified to do this.  We have bad hearts that can say good words but Jesus wants us to have good hearts that proclaim His words forever not matter the circumstances around us.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, what a passage that involves Your passion, Your plan, and Your power.  Help us to keep our worship focused on You.  Help us to keep our belief on Your resurrection.  Help us to keep our hearts in Your tender hands to continue to mold in the shape You want it to be so that what we say and do is a reflection of You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam