DON’T GET HIM ANGRY!
John 2:12-25
S: Worship
Th: My Life as God’s Light
Pr: THE TEMPLE DEMANDS ATTENTION.
YOUR TEMPLE DEMANDS ATTENTION.
?: Why? Why do we do it?
KW: Issues
TS: Because the temple demands attention, we will find in John 2:12-25 three issues that must be dealt with.
The ____ issue to which we must give attention is…
I. ADORATION
II. AUTHORITY
III. AUTHENTICITY
RMBC 02/04/01 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. Has somebody ever made you angry?
ILL Notebook: Anger (irritation, anger, rage)
Two friends, Bill and Tom, were drinking coffee at an all-night café. They got into a discussion about the difference between irritation, anger, and rage. At about 1 A.M., Bill said, "Look, Tom, I’ll show you an example of irritation."
He went to the pay telephone, put in a coin, and dialed a number at random. The phone rang and rang and rang. Finally when a sleepy voice at the other end answered, Bill said, "I’d like to speak to Jones."
"There’s no one here named Jones," the disgruntled man replied as he hung up.
"That," Bill said to Tom, "is a man who is irritated."
An hour later, at 2 A.M., Bill said, "Now I’ll show you a man who is angry." He went to the phone, dialed the same number, and let it ring. Eventually, the same sleepy voice answered the phone.
Bill asked, "May I please speak with Jones?"
"There’s no one here named Jones," came the angry reply, this time louder. The man slammed down the receiver.
An hour later, at 3 A.M., Bill said, "Now I’ll show you an example of rage." He went to the phone, dialed the same number, and let it ring. When the sleepy man finally answered, Bill said, "Hi, this is Jones. Have there been any calls for me?"
That kind of gets to you, doesn’t it?
Have you ever said, “Don’t make me angry!”?
Most of us, probably, don’t like to be angry.
But, when you do get angry…
2. Are you ever able to keep your anger under control?
That’s a tough one, isn’t it?
TRANSITION:
In today’s text, we come across a very different Jesus than we studied last week.
Last week, we saw Jesus express compassion to a couple at their wedding feast by turning water into wine.
It saved them great embarrassment.
In the next event that John discloses to us, he shows us a different perspective.
John does this, I believe, because…
1. We need a balanced view of Jesus.
ILL Hughes, p. 65
There is a memorable passage in C. S. Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader that will help us understand our text today. Lucy and Edmund are engaged in their adventure when they come to a large grassy expanse. The sensuous green of the grass spreads off into the blue horizon except for a white spot in the middle of the green expanse. As Edmund and Lucy look at this spot intently, they have difficulty making out what it is. Being adventurous, they travel across the grass until finally the white spot comes into view. It is a lamb! The lamb, white and pure, is cooking a fish breakfast. The lamb gives Lucy and Edmund the most delicious breakfast they have ever had. After they have eaten, a wonderful conversation ensues as they talk about how to get to the land of Aslan—Heaven. As the lamb begins to explain the way, a marvelous thing happens. As Lewis records it, “His snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane.”
There is a great truth in this story that we need to remember.
It is simply this…
The Lamb is a Lion.
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
And the qualities that we consider lamb-like—gentleness, innocence—are indeed in Christ, but so are the qualities of the majesty and ferocity of a lion.
In our text today, we observe that…
2. Jesus demonstrates a fierce and jealous anger.
In Ephesians 4:26, it says:
“In your anger do not sin.”
We have often referred to this as righteous anger, but admittedly, it is very hard to do.
Jesus does show us an example of righteous anger and it is all about defilement.
ILL Personal: new car
I am willing to wager that most of us hold this in common. We love the smell of a new car. And at the same time, we are very protective of the car when it is new. We don’t want anybody to touch it, bump it or scratch it. We want to save the car from every possible defilement.
In a more significant way…
3. Jesus is offended at the obvious defilement of the temple.
He comes into Jerusalem and He sees that there is a real problem.
The very center of the spiritual life of the Jewish people, the temple, has been corrupted.
And…
4. THE TEMPLE DEMANDS ATTENTION.
So…
5. Because the temple demands attention, we will find in John 2:12-25 three issues that must be dealt with.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first issue, which we must deal with, is ADORATION (12-17).
(12) After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. (13) When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (14) In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. (15) So 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. (16) To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” (17) His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Once a year, it was expected that the Jewish believer would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover.
It was a week long festival.
The Passover was a one-day event, and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted the rest of the week.
This is the scenario that we observe at the beginning of the text.
It was regarded as the most important Jewish holiday, but Jesus didn’t like what He found.
For…
1. The temple was the place of God’s presence.
Yet, it didn’t seem as if anybody thought He was around.
It was at this time of the year that two important matters of worship occurred.
First, Jews and proselytes would pay the half-shekel temple tax as an offering to the Lord.
Second, a sacrifice would be offered for the atonement of sin.
These were good things, but there was a problem that had developed…it is called greed.
Greed has an awful effect on people, and it is proved even in these circumstances.
For…
2. The temple had become a place of profit.
Since the temple tax was to be in the coinage of the temple, foreign monies were unacceptable.
True believers that did not have the right kind of coinage were exploited.
The pilgrims were charged exorbitant prices to have their money changed into the coinage of the temple.
And, when it came to the sacrifices, each worshipper was allowed to bring to the temple an animal of his own selection, but let him try it!
In all likelihood, the judges would not approve it.
Some blemish or defect would be found, so that approved animals pre-arranged by the Jewish authorities would have to be used.
They were so considerate.
To save trouble and disappointment, the animals were conveniently brought right into the outer court.
Now…for 30 years Jesus had been to the temple and watched these men pollute the house of God.
It was nothing less than a religious circus.
Jesus had to be disgusted that the floor of the temple was carpeted with animal manure and the smell of urine.
He had to be disgusted that a place of worship had been turned into place of greed.
So…
3. Jesus demonstrated an unrestrained passion.
“This is my Father’s house!”
“This is my Father’s house!”
You know, you can tell how much somebody loves something by how much they hate its opposite.
Jesus has passion, for zeal is passion.
It is love on fire.
It is a consuming dedication to a purpose.
And Jesus has a passion that God’s place was not to be defiled.
It was to be a place of holiness, not sinfulness.
II. The second issue, which we must deal with, is AUTHORITY (18-22).
(18) Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” (19) Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (20) The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” (21) But the temple he had spoken of was his body. (22) After 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.
Imagine if I came down on the level down her and threw the money out of this offering plate.
And then I tipped over the communion table.
You would start wondering what is wrong with me.
You might even ask, “Who do you think you are?”
You know what I like about this passage?
1. Jesus didn’t ask for permission.
Jesus acted with authority.
Everybody moved out of the way.
No one presented a fight.
It was not so much physical force that kept them at bay, it was moral power.
He spoke; they moved.
ILL Notebook: Leadership (bus stops here)
Exiting the polls after they voted, Mary Hanna and her husband were amused by the sign prominently displayed in the unloading zone at Harry S Truman Elementary School: “The Bus Stops Here.”
This is the same type of attitude Jesus had.
“The bus stops here.”
“The buck stops here.”
But after the commotion settles down and the profiteers have been removed from the temple, another group comes to confront Jesus.
For…
2. The Jews presumed that they were in charge.
I enjoy their response, for they respond as though what he’s done is the act of a prophet.
Their challenge is not to what He has done, but, “Who do you think are?”
So they seek to examine Him without any self-examination, for how can they have allowed this to happen?
Nevertheless, they have the audacity to stand in authority over Him and demand a sign, even though His actions are already a sign to them.
But, He does agree.
He will give them a sign.
3. To establish His authority, Jesus gives a prophetic sign.
It is the ultimate sign.
And though they clearly are stuck on a literal translation of His sign, He is giving them one nonetheless.
They will know that He is who He says He is by His death and resurrection.
III. The third issue, which we must deal with, is AUTHENTICITY (23-25).
(23) Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. (24) But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. (25) He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.
1. Jesus perceived the difference between the believer and unbeliever.
In these concluding verses, John tells us that Jesus can’t trust everybody.
He can’t, because He knows hearts.
He knows that there were those that were already following that will abandon Him and call for His crucifixion.
ILL Notebook: Reality (ornaments)
Whenever the Drzals visited relatives in Pennsylvania, they took the turnpike. Visible from the highway was a pasture with a small flock of sheep, and they found the picturesque view soothing. One trip, they decided to take the exit nearest the farm to get a better view of their favorite piece of scenery. As they neared the field, a woman emerged from the house, picked up two of the sheep and placed them in a different section of the lawn. They were lawn ornaments.
This makes me ask this personal question…
Are you the real thing?
Or are you just pretty?
You see…
2. Jesus places trust in the person that is genuine.
Jesus was looking for genuine conversion, not just enthusiasm for the spectacular.
Many people were going to follow and fall away because they wanted to know what was in it for them.
Jesus placed His trust in those that followed Him for who He was.
APPLICATION:
To full 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 in a heart (I Corinthians 6:19).
Paul made this clear to us in I Corinthians 6:19 when he wrote:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
The temple we need to be concerned about is not in Jerusalem.
The temple we need to be concerned about is not this building or the plot of land we sit upon.
The temple is sacred, but it is not this room (although by the way we have described the ‘no running’ rule in the sanctuary, our kids may think so).
What is sacred is you.
Let that sink in for a moment.
You are the temple and wherever you go, the temple goes.
Just think…the God that created the world lives in you.
He is present in me and you.
And just as much as He loves you, to the same degree He hates sin.
He absolutely hates it.
He has been consistently communicating this all along.
He didn’t say to Adam and Eve that they had done a little messy-wessy in the Garden.
He didn’t tell Noah, “Noah, I am going to make everybody tread water for a couple of minutes.”
He didn’t just turn the heat in Sodom and Gomorrah to 120 degrees.
No, He didn’t do it like that.
He hates sin and He punishes sin.
Let me ask you a question…
What if Christ came in here, right now, right down that aisle?
Would it be the Lamb or the Lion that would meet you?
2. Does your heart need the attention of the Master Cleaner?
ILL Notebook: Cleansing (clean as a whistle)
While Beverly Popham was visiting her parents’ home, her 3-year-old daughter announced that she was finished with her supper when she saw the cookies come out for dessert. Since her plate still had food on it, her dad said, "You have to clean your plate in order to get dessert." Her daughter smiled her best smile and wiped her hand over the plate so that all the food went onto the table. "I’d like some cookies now," she said.
I liked that little story because we think the cleansing is going to be hard.
So we don’t do it.
And we miss out on the best God has to offer.
We miss out on the cookies.
The Lord needs to do an inspection today of your heart.
What is He going to find?
Is he going to find anger, bitterness, hatred, lust, immorality, unforgiveness, indulgence, or compromise?
You may think it is hidden, but your heart is not hidden from God?
Some of you need to clean up the temple, or better yet, let Jesus drive out the dirt and manure in your life.
Perhaps you have had a spiritual experience, but since then, its been back to R rated movies, music that denigrates your spiritual life, television that you know is inappropriate, and your heart is full of lust and pride.
You are polluted again and it is time for a cleaning.
Jesus needs to purify you and cleanse you.
Recognize this…He has no desire to leave you the way you are.
Just like He changed water into wine, He wants to change the clutter, compromise and corruption of the temple courts of your heart, so that your heart may be a proper residence.
Now…will He have to be a lamb to do it, or a lion?
COMMUNION:
Let’s take a moment of silent prayer and let God do the cleaning in the temple of our heart that He needs to do.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by , let us take a moment and thank Him for favoring us with his mercy, love and kindness.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
It’s time to get clean…so that your temple will be a proper place for worship; be pure and holy, as God is pure and holy.
It’s time to get clean…so that your temple will be a comfortable place that your Creator will find as His home; remember…He is your Lord and Savior and your heart is His proper residence.
It’s time to get clean…so that your life can be as it was designed---genuine and real---full of joy, just as God intended.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
