Introduction: Three weeks ago we looked at the Compassion of Christ. We saw how Jesus showed compassion to a Widow who had lost her son, a man who was suffering from leprosy, and over 4000 people who were hot, tired and hungry. This morning I want us to look at a passage of Scripture that deals with a side of Jesus that we don’t normally think about. If you have your Bible turn with me to the Second Chapter of the Gospel of John. We will begin reading in verse 12 in a few moments.
But before we read this passage of Scripture I want you to use your imagination for a few moments.
Imagine you are on your way to church one Sunday morning. You have had a more difficult week than normal. You are physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. You realize that you are running on fumes and are looking forward to getting your tank filled up so you can face the world again Monday morning.
You are particularly excited about the worship service because you know we will be observing the Lord’s Supper, which is always a special service.
But when you pull into the parking lot you quickly notice that it is already full, and you have a difficult time finding a place to park. But even though you have to park over in the field you are still excited about being here and are looking forward to what God has in store for you today.
You notice that there are a lot of people standing outside on the steps and you wonder what is going on. When you get a little closer you realize that a couple of tables have been set up outside and that people are waiting in line for some reason.
You also notice that people are writing checks and converting them and the paper money they have into silver coins. You wonder what is going on and ask the person in front of you what up. They inform you that the members of the Finance Committee recently made the decision to have everyone start using a new type of Church currency for the tithes and offerings. You wait patiently in line and sure enough when you finally make it to the table you are told that you need the new church currency in order to make an offering. So you take out a $20 bill and lay it down on the table and the person at the table takes your money and gives you a $10 church coin in return.
When you finally get through the front door you immediately notice more tables and more lines. At one table you notice some people are buying hymnbooks, while others are simply renting them. At another table you discover that they are selling communion bread for $5.00 and a cup of grape juice for $7.50.
The longer you stand there the madder you get. You make a vow right then and there to never miss another business meeting again and to do your best to see that heads would roll over this.
If you can imagine an experience like this and how frustrating it would be, then you can relate to how Jesus must have felt when he entered the temple courts during Passover to worship the Heavenly Father. Let’s read this passage of Scripture together.
READ John 2:12-23
In order to really understand this passage of Scripture I believe it is important for us to understand the background behind it.
Notice that the 13th verse of our text tells us that it was almost time for the Jewish Passover. Passover of course was the Jewish Holiday or festival held during the Spring of the year where the Jews recalled how God delivered them from slavery in the Land of Egypt.
It is also important for us to remember that every Jewish male over the age of 12 was required to come to Jerusalem for the Passover, therefore Jews from all over Israel and around the world were in Jerusalem for the Celebration. Which of course meant that it was very crowded.
It is also important to know that every family was required to do two very important things. They were required to pay a Temple Tax and offer a perfect sacrifice for the atonement of their sins. But there was a catch. Only one kind of currency could be used to pay the tax or buy an animal to sacrifice.
Since there were a lot of people from out of town and even some from other countries it was necessary for the people to exchange their foreign currency for the kind that could be used in the Temple. This was a necessary service but the moneychangers had allowed greed to get the best of them. They were taking advantage of people and getting rich in the process.
Not only were people required to pay the Temple tax, but they were also required to offer a Sacrifice for the Atonement of their sins. According to Jewish Law each family was to select a spotless or perfect lamb from their herd and bring it to the Temple to offer as a sacrifice. However, this presented a problem for some pilgrims, especially those who had to travel long distances.
So some enterprising individual came up with the idea of having animals available for these people to buy when they arrived in Jerusalem. Which wasn’t really a bad idea at first. But over time those in charge saw this as an opportunity to make money. They collaborated with the Priests who were in charge of the sacrifices to deceive and exploit the people. In time even if a family brought a spotless lamb to sacrifice the priests would find something wrong with it and force them to purchase another animal, which met the specific requirements.
According to the 14th verse all of this was taking place in the Temple courts. There were 3 different sections in the Temple for people who wanted to come and worship. The first was reserved for Jewish men. The Second one was for Jewish women, and the last was for God-Fearing Gentiles. This last section was known as the Court of the Gentiles, which was actually outside the Temple Gates. This was where the moneychangers and those selling animals for sacrifice had set up shop. So as Jesus made His way into the Temple to worship on this particular day he couldn’t believe what he saw and what he heard.
You might recall several weeks ago I shared the story of how Jesus went to Jerusalem and experienced Passover as a 12 year old boy. Without a doubt He must have been fascinated with the Temple, and how he stayed behind and talked with the Teachers of the Law while Mary and Joseph made their way back to Nazareth. You might also recall that when Mary and Joseph confronted him and ask him why he had done this he said, “You should have known I would be in my Father’s House.” Even at the age of 12 Jesus was aware of who He was, and He was also aware of the fact that the Temple in Jerusalem was “His Father’s House.” The Bible teaches that the Presence of God filled the Temple and that it was His dwelling place. With this in mind it’s easy to see why Jesus got so upset.
The Temple was supposed to be a place of prayer, but it had become a place bickering and bartering. It sounded more like the New York Stock Exchange than it did the Temple of God. To make matters worse it smelled more like a stockyard than a place of worship. I’ve never been to an auction at a stockyard but I’m sure some of you farmers have. Can you imagine trying to worship in that kind of atmosphere? The very idea made Jesus sick to his stomach. So according to the 15th verse he made himself a whip and drove the cattle, the sheep, and everyone else out of the Temple area.
Now as you might imagine this caused quite an uproar in Jerusalem, but notice that Jesus wasn’t arrested or anything like that. Verse 18 says that “the Jews came to him and demanded that He show them a sign to prove to them that He had the authority to do what He had just done.” I believe this refers to the Jewish Religious leaders, including the Pharisees and Chief Priests, after all the Priests were probably getting a kickback from the merchants who were selling the animals for sacrifice. They recognized that this was something that a prophet would do, but they wanted confirmation. Throughout Scripture Jesus never backs down from a confrontation, but at the same time He never gives in to the demands of Jews.
Notice how Jesus responded to their demand. He says, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.” Of course we know that He was referring to His body and the Resurrection. But the Jews thought He was talking about the Temple that had taken them 46 years to build, so they scoffed at Him and probably dismissed what he had done as the act of a lunatic.
The Gospel of Matthew records another encounter with the Jewish Religious leaders. In this particular case a group of Pharisees and Teachers of the Law come to Jesus and say, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” Jesus responded to them by saying, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Did you catch the similarity? In both instances Jesus referred to his resurrection. That would be the ultimate sign that He was the Messiah, but even that didn’t convince them.
In fact according to our text, it was only after the Resurrection that the Disciples recalled what Jesus had said. This helped them to believe and understand everything that He had taught them in a new light.
Most of the time we like to think of Jesus as a loving and caring person who went about doing good and ministering to everyone. As a result some people have difficulty understanding why Jesus turned the tables of the money changers over and ran everybody out of the Temple. I want us to spend a few minutes looking at this incident and try to apply it to our lives today.
“I. The first thing I want to say is that I believe Jesus is just as interested in what goes on in the Church today as He was the day He cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem.“
Jim Cymbala, the Pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and the author of the book, ““The Church God blesses“, would agree with that assessment. In his book he reminds us that Jesus dictated 7 letters to the Churches of Asia Minor to the Apostle John.
He praised them for their faithfulness, pointed out their weaknesses, and warned them of the consequences of disobeying Him. Cymbala writes, “It is evident that nothing is more important to the Lord than the spiritual state of the local churches that bear his name.”“
With that in mind I think the Lord looks at some churches today and says, “How dare you turn my Father’s house into a “Country Club” where some people are welcome and others are not. The church should be a place where everyone is welcome, a place that doesn’t discriminate against anyone, regardless of their race, or their position in society.
I think He looks at other churches and says, “How dare you turn my Father’s house into a Theatre or a place where people come to be entertained.” Now don’t misunderstand me, I don’t see anything wrong with enjoying yourself in church. I’m just afraid that some of our churches today are more concerned about entertaining people than they are about presenting the Gospel message and helping people grow in their relationship to God.
I believe the Lord looks at other churches and says, ““How dare you turn my Father’s house into a Soup Kitchen.” Now again there isn’t anything wrong with helping supply the physical needs of those who are needy, in fact the Bible encourages us to do that. But at the same time, we are supposed to be equally concerned about the spiritual needs of people, and I’m afraid some of our churches today have forgotten that.
“II. Next, not only is God interested in what goes on in the church, but He is also interested in what goes on in our lives.“
To fully understand the meaning of this text to us today, we need to recognize that…
“1. God’s presence is no longer centered in a building, but instead is in the heart of each and every Believer.
Paul made this clear to us in I Corinthians 6:19 when he said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?“
Therefore the Temple we need to be concerned about is not this building or this sanctuary that we are presently worshiping in. The temple is sacred, but the temple is not this sanctuary.
According to the Apostle Paul our bodies are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. So wherever we go, the Temple goes. Just think about it…the God that created the entire universe lives in each one of us.
One of the things that 21st Century Christians sometimes forget about God is that He never changes. He is the same today as He was the day He created the Universe. He will also be the same tomorrow as He is today. With this in mind God hates sin just as much today as He did the day Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit.
Not only does He hate sin, but He cannot just turn His back on it and pretend that it doesn’t exist. He must confront it and deal with it accordingly.
God didn’t give Adam and Eve a lecture and a slap on the hand and leave it at that. No He punished them for their sin and banished them from the Garden of Eden.
He didn’t tell Noah, “Noah, I’m a little upset with mankind, so I’m going to make it rain for a couple of weeks and then I’ll let the sun shine again.” He caused it to rain for 40 days and nights and every man, woman, and child were killed except for Noah and his family.
He didn’t just send a Heat wave on Sodom and Gomorrah for a few days and then send a nice breeze to cool them off. No, He showered fire and Brimstone down upon the city and completely destroyed everyone and everything in it.
God hates sin just as much today as He did then, and unfortunately many of us don’t understand how harmful unconfessed sin in our lives is on our relationship with God.
The Lord wants to inspect each one of our hearts this morning to see if he needs to “Cleanse our hearts the way He cleansed the Temple.”
My question to you this morning is this?
“What is Jesus going to find in your heart today? Is he going to find anger, bitterness, hatred, lust, immorality, unforgiveness, or a host of other sins? Or is he going to find a pure heart that is receptive to Him. A heart that is set on worshipping Him and doing what He wants you to do?
We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we can hide our sins from God, but nothing could be further from the truth. Some of you here this morning need to submit yourselves to the Lordship of Christ and let him cleanse your heart like he did the temple.
When Jesus saw those merchants in the temple He said, “How dare you turn My Father’s house into a market.” If you have unconfessed sin in your life that you have not yet repented of then Jesus has something He wants to say to you this morning. “How dare you turn My Father’s house into ______________.”
I can’t finish that line for you. But you can. Perhaps through this sermon you have heard the crack of the Lord’s whip. You have heard Jesus say in your heart, “Get these things out of my Temple!” I want you to know, it does not matter what you have done...God is ready and willing to forgive you of your sins and give you a new heart. He is ready and willing to renew his relationship with you. But unlike the story we read today, He won’t do it without permission. He wants you to give him permission this morning to cleanse your heart just as He cleansed the Temple some 2000 years ago. Why not let Him do what He wants to do in your life this morning?
