Zeal for His House Consumed Him

Understanding Complexities of the Bible

Scriptures

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22

Theme

God’s pre-eminent revelation

Sermon Summary

While we may not always understand or appreciate the revelation of God through Jesus –as recorded in His Bible– His words, His actions, and His Spirit “convict us of all guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement [... and] guide us into all truth” (John 16:8, 13)

Introduction

Agnus Day is a comic strip produced by James Wetzstein to support, with humour, the readings assigned by the Revised Common Lectionary. The comic provided for this Sunday is the following:

Lest you think that this is simply a fanciful jest, there is a company, called Jesus Christ Superstore, that has produced such an action figure, complete with ninja-messiah throwing nails, a death killer-cross, and a pump action shotgun:

Now, you are probably chuckling and wondering to yourself, “Where would anyone get the idea for a Jesus action figure?” They got such an idea from the Jesus represented in today’s assigned reading of John 2:13-22.

¹³When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²²After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken (John 2:13-22).

This story about Jesus, recorded in all the gospels, has been, and remains, a difficult passage to resolve. How can Jesus be God when He loses control of His anger and commits such a violent act? A dangerous interpretation of this passage has been used to legitimise violent civil disobedience by Christians.

Yet, in this passage’s complexity is revealed some important insights regarding the nature of God’s revelation, as well as implied instructions for how we can understand and use what we read in the Bible.

Why is Jesus Consumed with Zeal?

1.   Jesus appears to be angry. Why?

      a)   Pilgrims, often from far-off countries, are ‘ripped off’ during forced currency exchange and unfair sale of sacrificial animals

            i)   Priests won’t accept non-Jewish currency

            ii)  Money changers charge high commission during exchange

            iii) Sacrificial animals brought by pilgrims unfairly assessed as “unclean”; pilgrims forced to buy from local merchants

      b)  While currency exchange and the sale of sacrificial animals may be a necessary business, it became sinful in its execution

            i)   Not unlike war profiteering

During and after World War II enormous profits were made by persons selling rare goods like cigarettes, chocolate, coffee and butter on the black market.

In general, all companies selling weapons increase their profits when war starts.

Furthermore, one can distinguish passive war profiteers from active war profiteers:

“Passive” war profiteers make profits from a war without influencing the duration and/or outcome of a war.

“Active” war profiteers, in addition to making profits from a war, have a vital interest in starting and prolonging wars in order to make or increase their profits. Basil Zaharoff's Vickers Company sold weapons to all the parties involved in the Chaco War.

Illustration of negative effects of war profiteering: Oliver Fisher Winchester (November 30, 1810 - December 11, 1880) was a famous American businessman and politician. His main claim to fame was his manufacture and marketing of the Winchester repeating rifle [...] When Winchester died his ownership in the company passed to his son, William Winchester, who died of tuberculosis in March of the next year. William's wife Sarah believed the family was cursed by the spirits killed by the Winchester rifle, and moved to California and began building a chaotic mansion with her inheritance, to confuse the spirits seeking revenge.

Illustration of positive effects of war profiteering: Alfred Bernhard Nobel (October 21, 1833, Stockholm, Sweden – December 10, 1896, San Remo, Italy) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, pacifist, innovator, armaments manufacturer and the inventor of dynamite. He owned Bofors, a major armaments manufacturer, that he had redirected from its previous role as an iron and steel mill. In his last will, he used his enormous fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes.

      c)   The worship of Gentile adherents to Judaism, which was only allowed in The Court of the Gentiles, was distracted by this unholy business

2.   Was His anger controllable and appropriate?

      a)   Uncontrollable anger is a sin

In your anger do not sin (Psalm 4:4a)

      b)  Revenge is a sin

It is mine to avenge; I will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35a)

      c)   Jesus’ zeal was a righteous anger seeking the purity and holiness of the Temple and it’s worship

            i)   The Gospel writers identify Jesus’ response as one of zeal rather than anger (John 2:17)

            ii)  Jesus, as God, is a jealous God (Exodus 20:4-5) and is fully justified in punishing those who claim to be His followers, yet worship idols

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Matthew 6:24)

            iii) The apostle Paul applied and epitomised this principle when he visited Athens and was provoked to anger by the idols of that city, yet he proclaimed the gospel of Jesus with gentleness and respect

While it appears, at first glance, that Jesus becomes angry by the presence of such unholy business in the Temple, and responds with violence, a fuller investigation reveals instead that He was righteously zealous for the purity and holiness of worship. Thus, we are confronted with a deep and powerful story that provides us with important insights into the nature of God’s revelation of Himself in human history.

Signs, Wisdom, or Revelation?

1.   Paul’s encourages us not to mix human wisdom with God’s revelation (1 Corinthians 1:20-21)

      a)   The Greek-style philosopher (e.g. Descartes, Kant) starts with the human capacity for abstract thought to postulate the nature of the universe

      b)  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10), not the result

2.   Jesus refuses to perform signs to assert His authority other than His resurrection (the ultimate sign and authority)

      a)   The Jews, an oppressed nation, had an history of divine intervention

      b)  Signs demonstrated power, the power they needed to overcome their oppressors

      c)   Signs demonstrated God’s blessing and conferred authority

      d)  The cross is a symbol of weakness; thus, unacceptable as a sign

      e)   The Jews did not understand that their scriptures prophesied that their Messiah would suffer

3.   Signs and wisdom are insufficient to complete human understanding; only revelation will ‘fill in the gaps’

      a)   For example, humans are not born with morality

            i)   Human babies learn how to interact with their world through reflexive behaviours and the instruction of significant adults

            ii)  God repeatedly had to instruct humankind how to behave. His covenant with Moses included a moral code (i.e. the Ten Commandments), for our benefit

            iii) The apostle Paul recognised that “where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15b)

            iv) Nevertheless, the Spirit has always been at work in the world, acting as our conscience

      b)  God’s holiness and justice is the standard against which our morality is measured, as opposed to social contracts

            i)   The revelation of nature, fully expressed in the revelation of the Law, reaches it’s pinnacle with the revelation of Jesus

            ii)  Jesus is the human who was sinless, the representation of our potential

The readings today challenge us to see the world as God reveals it to us, and to act in accordance with His moral code. As we begin to operate based on revelation, we see the signs of His presence and intervention all around us, and are thus provided with truth, from which we develop Christ-centred wisdom rather than human-centred wisdom.

This process is a little tricky, however. It takes practice. How can we read from the Bible rather than into the Bible? How can we engage the revelation of God in earlier times, as recorded in the Bible, and allow this to help us perceive God’s revelation in modern times?

Reading the Bible As the Early Church Did

1.   The first disciples of Jesus were faithful Jews

      a)   The OT was their Bible

      b)  After having met Jesus, they began to read the OT in light of His life and teaching

            i)   The NT developed from this process

            ii)  The NT does not negate OT but fulfills it

2.   Jesus reveals the full intention of God’s revelation

      a)   For example:

            i)   Jesus’ anger becomes the zeal of Psalm 69:9

Zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me (Psalm 69:9)

            ii)  The centrality of the Temple becomes replaced by a sense of God-with-us

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19)

            iii) Jesus must be God because He raised Himself

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”
(John 2:19)

The Bible is the record of God’s intervention in human history, particularly amongst a chosen people, yet not reserved to that chosen people. It’s stories can be read from for their intended teaching, rather than being read into for a meaning best suited to our sensitive palates.

Conclusion

Our reading from John can be quite challenging on the surface, yet, like the first Christians, when we investigate the depth of the stories of Jesus, we discover that God is drawing us to Himself through the life of Jesus. He wants us to live by faith, without sin, and to have a vital and dynamic relationship with Him.

As we read the Bible to discover God and His expectations for us, may we let the Bible speak for itself, rather than allow our preconceived expectations determine our discoveries. If we read into the Bible to justify ourselves, we miss the beauty of God and the joy of a Christ-centred lifestyle.

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 19 March 2006
[email]

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