BIG IDEA:
PASSION FOR TRUE SPIRITUAL WORSHIP LEADS TO INTENSE CONFLICT WITH MATERIALISTIC OPPORTUNISM
(:12) INTRODUCTION – THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM:
“After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples; and there they stayed a few days.”
What is the connection between the story of the wedding and the temple purging? Both point to the deficiencies of the existing Jewish religion (here, its sacrificial system)
We are going to see growing opposition and a number of important conflicts between Jesus and the religious leaders
Capernaum = home of John and James, the sons of Zebedee and Salome
Galilean headquarters for ministry of Jesus
Deffinbaugh: Several things catch my attention in these two verses. The first is that this Messianic Psalm speaks of the alienation of the Messiah from his “mother’s children.” Could this be part of the reason for John’s mention of the brief family gathering in Capernaum (John 2:12)? Our Lord’s mother is not mentioned again until the cross, and the reference to our Lord’s “brothers” in John 7:3-5 reveals their skepticism about Jesus and His ministry. Has Jesus already begun to feel alienated from His own brothers?
Deffinbaugh: If one accepts the accounts of the Gospels at face value, there are obviously two temple cleansings. The first occurred at the outset of our Lord’s earthly ministry and is described by John. The second takes place at the end of our Lord’s public ministry, and it is the incident which appears to precipitate His death by crucifixion.
Stedman: A close look at the other gospel accounts reveals that there is a considerable difference in these events. A different Scripture is referred to; there is no mention of a whip; and our Lord makes a different claim for himself in that cleansing of the temple at the end of his ministry. On that final occasion our Lord made a great and final pronouncement in regard to the nation of Israel. Standing in the temple, having for the second time driven out the merchants and the money-changers, he spoke these dramatic words: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. You shall not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,'” {Matt 23:38-39, Luke 13:34-35}. Then he went out to the mount of Olives, and from there to the upper room, to the betrayal and the crucifixion the next day. Here in John’s gospel, however, is an account of violent action and of evident anger on the part of Jesus at the beginning.
Tasker: His zeal for purity of worship was one of the necessary reasons for His death. His zeal for God’s house was bound to lead to His own destruction.”
I. (:13-17) PASSION FOR TRUE SPIRITUAL WORSHIP SPARKS INDIGNANT REBUKE OF MATERIALISTIC OPPORTUNISM
A. (:13) Expectation of True Spiritual Worship = Occasion of the Passover
“And the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”
Probably speaking of the entire one week festival (Num 28:16-25 animals offered in sacrifice)
Jesus probably kept the Passover during his early years as well; but now that He was entering upon His public ministry, He took a higher level of responsibility. (Matthew Henry)
B. (:14) Discovery of Blatant Materialistic Opportunism
“And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers seated.”
What type of merchandising takes place in Christianity?
– TV evangelism
– music ministries
Matthew Henry: “Great corruptions in the church owe their rise to the love of money, 1 Tim. 6:5, 10.”
Hendriksen: “The money-changers would charge a certain fee for every exchange-transaction. Here, too, there were abundant opportunities for deception and abuse. And in view of these conditions the Holy Temple, intended as a house of prayer for all people, had become a den of robbers (cf. Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11; Mark 11:17).”
C. (:15-16) Response of Righteous Indignation = Indignant Rebuke
1. (:15a) Cracking the Whip to Cleanse from Defilement = Affront to God’s Holiness
“And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen” (cf. Mal.3:1-3)
Why was Jesus so indignant over this merchandising — Wasn’t it a convenience for sacrificial animals to be available for the travelers?
Not an impulsive act by Christ since He took time to make the scourge of cords
Pretty violent display by Christ; why didn’t anyone stop Him?
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very powerful figure; no wimp
2. (:15b) Attacking the Money = Affront to God’s Kingdom Agenda
“and He poured out the coins of the moneychangers, and overturned their tables”
document the type of exploitation and greed —
cf. the moneychangers setting the exchange rate for giving the half shekel needed for the temple tax
Matthew Henry: “In pouring out the money, he showed his contempt of it; he threw it to the ground, to the earth as it was. In overthrowing the tables, he showed his displeasure against those that make religion a matter of worldly gain.”
3. (:16) Verbal Rebuke = Affront to Spiritual Ministry
“and to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a house of merchandise”
note compassion of Christ and His regard for private property in that He did not drive away the doves as He did the other animals since He did not want to deprive the owners of their property
strong statement of Deity — “My Father’s House” — not “Our’s” or “Your’s”
D. (:17) Reminder from OT Prophecy = Psalm 69
“His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Thy house willconsume me.”
II. (:18-22) THE SIGN OF THE RESURRECTION VALIDATES THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS (AS MESSIAH) TO REBUKE MATERIALISM AND REGULATE THE SPIRITUAL WORSHIP OF GOD
A. (:18) Challenge of Jesus’ Authority
“The Jews therefore answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?’”
Think of other similar occasions (Mat.12) when the Jews asked for a sign — note how they always took Christ too literally
Hendriksen: “The majestic manner in which Jesus performed this task, so that none, seeing him, even dared to resist, was proof sufficient that the Messiah had entered the temple and was purging it, as had been predicted. What additional sign could one ask for”
Morris: “In the temple cleansing the Jews discerned a messianic claim … and they demanded accordingly that He authenticate Himself by a sign.”
Smokescreen – deflecting attention away from their guilt for covetousness and greed and exploitation
B. (:19) Cryptic Sign of the Resurrection
“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’”
Hendriksen: We have here another mashel; that is, a paradoxical saying, a veiled and pointed remark, often in the form of a riddle.
C. (:20) Confusion of the Jews (who could not see past the physical temple structure)
“The Jews therefore said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’”
Incredulous question … How can you say that?
D. (21) Clarification
“But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”
E. (:22) Confirmation
“When therefore 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.”
disciples had good knowledge of OT prophecy — even though they did not fully understand about death and resurrection until after the events
“the Scripture” is here equated with “the word which Jesus had spoken”
(:23-25) CONCLUSION / TRANSITION – INADEQUACY OF SUPERFICIAL FAITH —
NOT ALL VERBAL PROFESSION OF FAITH IS HEARTFELT SAVING FAITH
Tasker: “It is clear, however, from the sequel that to these believers the miracles were not signs indicative of the true nature of Jesus. He did not therefore ‘trust himself to them’. With His unique insight into human nature, emphasized by the evangelist, we may surmise that He regarded all belief in Him as superficial which does not have as its most essential elements the consciousness of the need for forgiveness and the conviction that He alone is the Mediator of that forgiveness.”
Morris: “He looked for genuine conversion, not enthusiasm for the spectacular.”