What’s Eating You?
(John 2:13-17)
I. The Context
A. Preceding events
1. Wedding in Cana
2. Visit with His family
B. Approaching Passover in Jerusalem
II. An Appalling Scene
A. Enters the Temple area—Court of the Gentiles
B. Saw total disregard for the sanctity of the place
III. A Righteous Response
A. Fashions a scourge to drive out money changers
B. Declares His relationship to the Father
C. Fulfills prophecy
IV. God’s Message to Us
A. God desires people who are consumed with passion for Him and His purposes
B. God has made His residence in us—we are His temple
C. God reminds us that the world is making inferences about Himself based on how we live
[NOTE: Although this is the full text of the sermon, there is some intentional "sketchiness" to it. I left holes in order to leave room for the Holy Spirit to speak in the moment. This is especially true of the conclusion which is almost completely void of substance.]
Introduction
I would imagine that most of us are acquainted with the phrase, “What’s eating you?” We have probably heard it or we may have even used in the course of an encounter with someone. Generally, it carries a negative connotation. It is employed at best as a means of validating one’s perceptions concerning the emotional state of an individual being observed, or at worst merely as a means of venting one’s frustrations toward another.
For example, let’s say I was watching (Victor) as he came into church this morning and from what I was able to see, he appeared to be a little agitated. I noticed that he’s not wearing his normal cheery face, he just passed right by me without saying anything or even punching me in the arm, he’s pretty much keeping to himself and sitting in a corner. This is all just fictitious, of course, but just to continue with the illustration, I might, out of a sense of concern go up to him and ask, “Hey, what’s eating you today?” The purpose of my inquiry would be that I would want to know what is bothering him in order to enter into his struggle and help him find a solution. That’s the best case scenario.
On the other hand, I might be having a rough day myself when I observed (Victor’s) actions. And due to my own personal problems, I might walk up to him and say, “Hey, what’s eating you today?” and then quickly walk away. In this instance I’m not at all concerned about (Victor), I’m just looking for a place to vent and (Victor) seemed like an easy target.
Our experience with that phrase, as either the transmitter or receiver, usually has fallen somewhere between the two extremes. But I want you to consider that there is another sense in which this phrase can be understood—having a positive connotation and ramifications. I ask you to leave yourselves open to the possibility of being “eaten” by the things of God.
This morning we are going to take a look at the account of the first time that Jesus cleansed the Temple. As we give consideration to this incident in the life and ministry of Jesus, I encourage you to be listening to what the Spirit has to teach us from this passage. I believe that this passage has much to say to us about our need to be diligent and intentional about the upkeep of our lives. Please open your Bibles with me to John 2:13-17 (p. 790).
The Context
Before we get into the heart of today’s message, I want to briefly describe the context in which this event in the life and ministry of Jesus takes place.
Preceding Events
John describes two important incidents that occur as the backdrop of the occasion we will consider this morning.
Wedding in Cana
The first took place in Cana of Galilee a small town west of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had come to this place because He had been invited to attend a wedding along with His mother, Mary, and His disciples. During the course of the celebration, Mary informed Jesus that there was a problem—they had run out of wine. After a brief discussion on the matter, Jesus instructed the servants to fill the six stone jars that stood nearby with water. We are told that each of these jars held between 20-30 gallons. After filling the stone jars, Jesus simply instructed the servants to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. As a result of their obedience to Jesus’ command, they were surprised to discover that the water had been transformed into wine—not just any wine, but the best wine. This was Jesus’ first miracle.
Visit with His Family
After the wedding, John tells us that Jesus spent some time with his family in the neighboring town of Capernaum located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Kent Hughes writes in his commentary, “Capernaum was about twenty miles from Cana, so it was not much of a journey to get there. It was probably a very delightful journey since it was then spring in Palestine. As they approached Capernaum, they saw low, rising hills, the deep blue of the Sea of Galilee, and finally beautiful Capernaum situated on the shore, sprawling back into the hills and framed from behind by the snowcapped majesty of Mt. Hermon” (PTW-WS). I imagine that this time spent with His family served as an opportunity for Jesus to catch up on some much needed rest before embarking on His next trip.
Approaching Passover in Jerusalem
In contrast to the brevity of his journey from Cana to Capernaum, the trip from Capernaum to Jerusalem was nearly 100 miles. Most likely, Jesus and His companions would make the trek on foot. That is why the text tells us in v. 13, When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. It would take several days for them to reach their destination.
An Appalling Scene
Upon entering the Temple area, Jesus encountered an ap-palling scene.
Enters the Temple Area—Court of the Gentiles
In order for us to make sense out of what is happening in this event, it is important that we have an understanding of the layout of the temple. “The temple sat on the top of Mt. Zion, and it is thought to have covered about thirty acres of land. The temple consisted of two parts, the temple building itself and the temple precincts or courtyards. The Greek language has two different words to distinguish which is meant” (POSB-WS). The word used for temple in v. 14 clearly refers to the temple precincts as reflected in the NIV translation as temple court.
The temple precincts were made up of “four courtyards that surrounded the temple building, each decreasing in their importance to the Jewish mind. It is important to know that great walls separated the courts from each other… First, there was the Court of the Priests. Only the priests were allowed to enter this court… Second, there was the Court of the Israelites. This was a huge courtyard where Jewish worshippers met together for joint services on the great feast days. It was also where worshippers handed over their sacrifices to the priests. Third, there was the Court of the Women. Women were usually limited to this area except for joint worship with men. They could, however, enter the Court of the Israelites when they came to make a sacrifice or worship in a joint assembly on a great feast day. Last was the Court of the Gentiles. It covered a vast space, surrounding all the other courtyards, and was the place of worship for all Gentile converts to Judaism.
“Two facts need to be noted about the Court of the Gentiles. [First, it] was the courtyard farthest removed from the center of worship, the Holy of Holies, which represented God’s very presence… [Second, a] high wall separated the Court of the Gentiles from the other courts, disallowing any Gentile a closer approach into God’s presence. In fact, there were tablets hanging all around the wall threatening death to any Gentile who went beyond their own courtyard or center of worship” (POSB-WS). It is in this Court of the Gentiles that Jesus becomes incensed by what He sees and is moved by the Spirit to cleanse His Father’s house.
I want you to see what Jesus saw as He entered the Temple area. As He came into the Court of the Gentiles, He saw two distinct and contradictory groups of people. The first group is not mentioned specifically by John, but we can safely assume their attendance nonetheless. This group was the spiritually hungry Gentiles who had converted to Judaism and had made the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. These were people, to use Paul’s words, who were naturally excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Everything was seemingly against them as they came. They were of the wrong nationality. They lacked a clear revelation from God. Nor could they make any claim as to belonging to Him. They even had reminders in “their” area of the Temple that they were not exactly welcome. Yet none of these facts hindered them as they made their way to the Temple in order to come as close to God as they could.
As Jesus looked upon these people, He saw their desire to find true meaning in life and their passion for drawing near to God. He saw people who were willing to endure abuse, prejudice and rejection from their fellow countrymen and the majority of the Jews all with the simple hope of meeting with the true God. I’m certain that His heart was en-deared to them, for He recognized that they sought God with honesty and humility. He probably smiled at them and greeted them warmly. (Who knows, maybe He even exchanged some “high fives” with some of them.) As He looked at these Gentiles, perhaps He could hear the words of His Father ringing in His ears,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:3-6).
Saw Total Disregard for the Sanctity of the Place
In stark contrast to the earnest, seeking Gentiles, Jesus saw another group—the animal merchants and money changers.
I want you to try to forget for a moment that you already know the outcome of this story. Use your imagination and attempt to view this situation “for the first time.” You’re a visitor in Jerusalem during the Passover celebration. You’ve come from a distant land and you want to be a full participant in all that Passover means. One of the requirements would have been to offer up an animal sacrifice of the purest quality. It would have been extremely difficult to transport an animal for that purpose in addition to all of the other travel necessities. So these merchants and money changers were serving a real need for the people. And I believe that at the beginning, this practice of selling animals and exchanging money in the Temple area was benevolent in nature.
But over time, the motive behind the selling and exchanging shifted dramatically. No longer was the chief concern for the welfare of the worshiper, but greed became the driving force behind the practice. We can see this even in the meaning of term money changer = “one who exchanges large money into small” (R&R, pp. 222-223).
Listen to one commentator’s description of the scene in the Temple courtyard: “From the Lord’s point of view, what he saw in the temple was an outrage! The money changers claimed their business was a necessity — changing foreign currency into Jewish currency because foreign money was not acceptable for offerings in the temple. Authorities tell us that the money changers charged as much as two hours of a working man’s wage to change a half shekel. They charged the same amount again for every half shekel they gave in return for a larger coin. So if a man came in with a two-shekel piece, he would have had to pay an entire day’s wage just to change his money! This brought a lot of money into the temple. In fact, some years before, when a man came in and ravaged the temple, he took close to $20 million and did not come close to depleting the treasury of the temple!
“Furthermore, the sellers and inspectors in the temple sold all the sacrifices. Rabbinical literature tells us that inspectors spent eighteen months on a farm to learn to distinguish between clean and unclean animals. They even learned to identify an animal that would one day become unclean, even if it was clean at the time! The inspectors had a good thing going. If they did not approve an animal, it would not be approved. Extortion was common in the temple confines. To make things worse, Annas, the high priest, was behind the whole thing! Sarcastic commentators in those days dubbed the temple the ‘Bazaars of Annas.’ They knew the high priest actually sold franchises for money-changing booths and animal sales.
“So when our Lord came to the temple, he found a religious circus! As his eyes scanned the great Court of the Gentiles, he saw sheep, oxen, fowl, and everything that goes with them. There was huckstering, bartering, and haggling over the weight of a coin. The commotion that must have been within the temple is almost beyond our imagination. It was certainly unacceptable to our Lord!” (PTW-WS).
Unlike the Gentiles who came to the Temple seeking to be near God and entreat His favor, these Jewish merchants and money changers were completely callous and/or oblivious to the fact that they were in the house of God. Their actions in the Temple precincts indicate that their hearts were not set on God. They had no fear or respect for His holiness. They had no concern for God’s purposes. They had no regard for the sanctity of the Temple. Their sole affection was for money, and their method was to take advantage of the weary traveler whose heart was after God.
For many of the Gentiles, this was their first impression of God. And they were drawing inferences about Him from what they observed in the lives of these Jewish merchants and money changers. They were forming their beliefs concerning who God was, what He thought about them, and how His people ought to conduct themselves. In effect, these Jewish businessmen were guilty of proclaiming a false message about the person and character of God.
A Righteous Response
Because of the actions of the money changers and the impact it was having upon the belief system of the Gentiles, Jesus went into action with a righteous response. His response consisted of three components.
Fashions a Scourge to Drive out Money Changers
The first is found in v. 15…
Jesus fashions a scourge out of some cords he finds lying around and drives out the merchants, money changers and animals. This is not the common image of Jesus that we usually have in our minds—no “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” this day.
There are some commentators who try to play down this fierce act by Jesus. I suppose they fear that it will cast a bad light upon Him or something. Those of this persuasion contend that the scourge that Jesus wielded was made of nothing more than rushes or stalks of dried plants twisted together—kind of a symbolic scourge, posing no real threat. Yet it is interesting to note that the only other place where this word for cords is used in the NT (Acts 27:32), it is used to describe ropes used on a ship to secure the lifeboats. I personally believe that the cords that Jesus picked up were probably some that had been discarded or set aside by the merchants—ropes they used to lead the animals around or to hold them captive.
Whether the scourge was potentially harmful or not, what is clear in this incident is that “it was not so much the physical force as the moral power [Jesus] employed that emptied the courts” (NICNT, John, p. 194). They quickly recognized His authority and submitted to His will.
Declares His Relationship to the Father
The second part of Jesus’ righteous response is found in His command to those selling doves in v. 16, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
Jesus declares His relationship to His Father—God. This is the first time in John’s Gospel that Jesus publicly asserts to be the Son of God. He is enraged at the attitude of these merchants. They acted as if they had no clue or flat out did not care as to where they were conducting their business. So Jesus reprimanded them and reminded them that the Temple was not to be treated as an open market, rather it was a place specially set apart by God Himself to be that unique geographical location where He would manifest His presence on earth. It was a place that was to be regarded as holy because God Himself is holy. Jesus was angry because He understood that their attitude and actions toward the temple were a direct reflection of their attitude toward God.
Fulfills Prophecy
The third part of Jesus’ righteous response is seen through the eyes of His disciples. Look at v. 17…
Jesus fulfills the prophecy found in Psalm 69:9.
*There is a response from the audience—but we don’t have time to consider that today
God’s Message to Us
What is God’s message to us? I believe that there are at least three things that God is saying to us this morning.
God Desires People Who Are Consumed with Passion for Him and His Purposes
Do we love the things God loves? Do we hate the things God hates? Are we concerned about His holiness and the fulfillment of His purposes? Or are we consumed with our personal passions and quests in life?
God Has Made His Residence in Us—We Are His Temple
We are the earthly abode of God. Because of His indwelling presence, we carry around the glory and holiness of God in our very being. What is the condition of our tem-ples today? Are we treating them as holy and set apart for the purposes of God? Or are we guilty of showing contempt toward God by the way we use His temple?
God Reminds Us that the World Is Making Inferences about Himself Based on How We Live
What inferences is the world making about God based on the way we live? Are we giving them reasons to want to come to God and accept His gift of eternal life? Are we allowing the radiance of Jesus to clearly shine out through us? Or are we giving the world more reasons to turn their backs on God and to profane His holy name? Are we demonstrating by the way that we live that God loves the whole world and sent His Son to redeem the whole world? Or are they left with the impression that the gospel is only for some and that they need not waste their time seeking after God because He is always going to keep them at arms length?
Conclusion
I believe that it is more than coincidental that Jesus began and ended His public ministry by cleansing the Temple.
“Hey, what’s eating you today?”
