A PASSION FOR MY FATHERS HOUSE

John 2:13-22

 

God is very particular, and not in a negative way. Throughout the Scriptures we see over and over again God’s plans, purposes, and commands for worship He gives to those who truly are His. In the Old Testament... We see the particular instructions how He wanted the Tabernacle built. We see particular instructions about how He wanted the Temple to built. We see how particular instructions when it comes to genuine worship. The Psalms are filled with directives in how we are to worship. “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:1-5

 

We see the requirements of genuine worship and God’s plan and desire for His bride throughout the ages. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom 12:1-2

 

Unfortunately, we are about to see the same problem with man-centered worship being repeating again by so many churches across Canada and the United States, and now is reaching to other countries. Many churches continue in this way because they misuse, and prostitute, the church with no passion, reverence and awe for God.

 

What do I mean by this? Many churches today try so hard to impress unsaved people with secular means, this is only misleads them into believing in doctrines of demons. Many try to make the church hipper and cooler; by dumbing down the message so that they can understand it like watching a movie. But what this is doing, is treating future generations with contempt, disrespect for the ability to understand the severity of the gospel message. And also, the ability to truly study the Scriptures for themselves. We even see this happening more and more in the church age, individuals who are lazy in studying His word for themselves. The church isn’t doing these people any favours…it’s only crippling them under our lack of what we call “worship.” They have a form of worship but it’s not the worship that God is seeking because its self focused and man-centered.

 

What is wrong with the church today? Secular ideas, entertainment, and flashy theatrics, have taken over the house of God. The message has been watered down to a 10-minute eisegesis that has nothing to do with the text of Scripture. Eisegesis is the process of interpreting text in such a way as to introduce one's own presuppositions, agendas or biases. (This is the wrong way to interpret Scripture.) Where the correct way to interpret Scripture is through Exegesis. 

Exegesis is the exposition or explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word, ”exegesis” literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text. This is why Paul told Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 12 Tim 2:15. An honest student of the Bible will interpret through exegesis, allowing the text to speak for itself. Eisegesis easily lends itself to error, as the would-be interpreter attempts to align the text with his own preconceived notions. Exegesis allows us to agree with the Bible; where eisegesis seeks to force the Bible to agree with us.

 

Now, getting back to what is wrong with the church….

 

There is no mention of repentance or a turning away from sin out of fear of offending someone. Heavy hand of legalism and bondage, are the set standards by certain men in the church. They only care to reach the surface of the flesh, and never get to the core issue of man’s depravity. They are filled with the images of men and women, and not of God. It’s a lifeless religion, filled with carnality and carnal living, that leaves a person lacking as they stand in judgment before a holy God. Jesus exposed the religious leaders many times for this. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.” Matt 23:27

 

What is Jesus say? These men have no real, or genuine passion and zeal for God’s house and God’s people. But they thought they were genuinely saved, but only deceived by their own hearts. David felt the same way as so many worshipped wrong in his era and that seemed to have cared into the time of Christ and I would say into our present age. “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck……Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.” Psalm 69:1-13

 

David had a passion for God’s house and his passion was so evident that it became a reproach to his family and his friends. It was a passion that ate at his soul continually throughout his life and the same passion should be said of you and me. Sundays shouldn’t all you need, its daily walking and communion with Him, but also with the family of God throughout the rest of the week.

Why was David so passionate

about God’s house?

 

He knew who he loved, the God of the bible. A God who is very particular! Especially when it came to worshipping in His house. Which brings us to our portion of John’s letter this morning. What is happening? (v13) Jesus exposes religious pretension and replaces it with Himself. Jesus going to Jerusalem, the center of religious and political life. This is Jesus in the spotlight for the first time in the Gospel of John. It’s time of Passover where the Jews prepare, sacrifice and commemorated Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt. It was celebrated annually on the fourteenth day of Nisan [March/April]. It was to take place on that day between 3:00pm and 6:00pm. Lambs were slaughtered and the Passover meal was to be eaten.

 

So, in obedience Jesus went to Jerusalem. He went to observe the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread which immediately followed like all other Jews did. So, there is nothing unusual, or uncommon here that we see from the opening remarks of John’s gospel. Why? Passover would have attracted thousands, if not millions of Jews scattered around the region to come to this feast. So, picture for yourself thousands of people scattering around trying to prepare for one of the biggest celebrations in a sense to the Jewish nation. But something was terribly wrong with what Jesus was seeing; as He enters the court yard to the Temple. (v14) “in the temple”

 

Let’s stop here for a moment! What’s wrong? What’s causing Jesus to be upset at this Passover celebration? Every person required a sacrifice [an animal] ok I get that! Men were selling animals to mostly people who lived far away, which made sense to get one in Jerusalem, instead of bringing one yourself from a far away land. Not only that, there was also a Temple Tax that was required at this time. Money changers were set up so people could exchange their funds for the currency that was required at that time. And at this time silver was the Pharisee’s desired chose of currency because of its weight.

 

Ok, you’re probably thinking to yourself

what’s the big deal?

 

They were providing animals for the sacrifice and money changers were there to exchange currency. NO, the problem was these men were robbing and extorting money from poor families and travellers that came a great distance to celebrate their freedom. The Pharisee’s and the merchants were robbing people of their hard-earned money. This was the center of everything: of worship and music, politics and society. It was the place where Israel’s God had promised to live in the middle of his people. This was ground zero for the Jews for worship, this was the main focal point of the nation. We see Jesus choosing one of the most important times: Passover, the holiest and most important religious celebration commemorating when God delivered the nation of Israel from captivity in Egypt. The merchants sold them the animals required for the sacrifices at greatly inflated prices. They did this to make a buck for themselves, and to top it off they were doing in an area that the bible declared to be “holy ground.”

 

Why do I say this? (v15-v16)

 

Jesus said, “Don’t make My Father’s house a business place.” Think about what Jesus is saying here publicly for the first time. “My Father is being dishonored by what you are doing.” “My Father” that is a powerful statement. The Jews didn’t say that about God, that would be presumptuous. We know that be true otherwise we wouldn’t read this in John 5:18, “For this reason the Jews were seeking to kill Him because He not only was breaking the Sabbath but was calling God His own Father. And they said, “If You call God Your Father, You make Yourself equal with God.” That’s My authority for doing this, He says. “I’m one with God, and You’re desecrating God.” What this reveal is that Jesus couldn’t stomach what they had done to the temple by these invasions on the worship of God. Jesus had a “zeal for His Father’s house” as David did when he wrote his Psalm of adoration. Go outside the court yard in the merchant areas and do this ……. not here in my Father’s house. The Temple environment had become a marketplace, rather than a place of worship. This was the place that the LORD God established for His people to worship and pray to Him in.

 

This was a place where the presence of the Lord was, a place where the Holy of Holies resided.

Just as the church today is the established place where we come together to in genuine worship and praise God through the gospel confession. Remember what the Pre-Incarnate Christ said to Moses. “When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." Exodus 3:4-5. It wasn’t the ground that was holy it was the essence and presence of God that was holy. This place we come together and worship is to be treated in the same manner. The church is God’s institution, a place where God has sanctified, and set her apart, for His glory through corporate worship of His saved ones.

 

Think about for a moment. Do you know how hard it must have been for those who faithfully came to the temple to pray and worship? Especially, when you have the sounds of animals being slaughtered in the background by the Priests. This was going on in the background as some people were trying to worship God. And we need to understand! The temple was RESERVED for worship ONLY! God’s temple, His church is to be a place where we can find rest and peace as we [individually] prepare our hearts to worship.

 

But don’t miss the importance of this section of Scripture. The condition of the temple was a vivid indication of the spiritual condition of the nation. And that is also vividly clear more so today, with some of the many antics that churches do and declare authentic worship.

Jesus was extremely upset about how they were mistreating His Father’s house and He had to do something. (v15) What Jesus is saying here is this, “I have to do what I do because I feel the pain when You’re dishonored. That’s what that means, “My passion for Your house consumes me. The reproaches that fall on You, fall on me.” When somebody criticizes God, when somebody dishonors God, I feel the pain. This religious event, this wickedness, was no different than Eli’s sons who were treating the LORD’S house in the same manner for their own personal pleasure and gain. “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD.” 1 Sam 2:12. And in Samuels letter it goes on to say “Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” 1 Sam 2:17

I truly believe the church of Jesus Christ is being used as a business, or worse as a prostitute, in these last days by the devil and his schemes. If you don’t believe me, think about this statement by J. C. Ryle, in 1858. “The devil, that malicious spirit, is unwearied in his efforts to do us harm. He is ever watching for our stumbling, and seeking occasion to destroy our souls. But nowhere perhaps is the devil so active as in a congregation of Gospel hearers. Nowhere does he labour so hard to stop the progress of that which is good, and to prevent men and women being saved. From him come wandering thoughts; drifting imaginations; listless minds; dull memories; sleepy eyes; restless nerves; weary ears; and distracted attention. In all these things Satan has a great hand. People wonder where they come from, and marvel how it is that they find sermons so dull, and remember them so badly! They forget the devil. Let us take heed that we are not wayside hearers. Let us beware of the devil. We shall always find him at Church! He never stays away from public ordinances. Let us remember this, and be upon our guard.”

 

My question for us to think about is…….. Would Jesus take a whip to the churches around the globe today? Sadly, I think we all know the answer to that question! The church in general is not treating His house as a place of worship, instead they have turned it into a house of entertainment to appease the sinner’s conscience. The church has turned His house into the local community center, that is not Gospel centered that hold to a biblical worldview. The church has turned His house into a place that would put Canada’s Wonderland to shame. The church has turned His house into a place that really doesn`t know or demonstrate what they truly believe.

 

See! God is very particular about how we are to worship Him in this place. This is holy ground in a sense, set up for our adoration and praise towards a holy God, who is worthy of all our adoration and praise. This is our [My] Father’s house, this is the house that God ordained for His worship through the Word. This struck a chord with His disciples! (v17) as they remembered David’s psalm and passion for God. Zeal means: “Jealousy or to be hot” it could be said that Jesus was “eaten up, consumed with pure anger for God’s house. It’s an extraordinary concern for the temple of God; passionate concern that the worship there should be pure, and such as God would approve. Jesus had a righteous indignation which stems from a commitment to God’s holiness. This is not Jesus just losing his temper or having a hissy fit. Jesus does not need an anger management course.

 

To dismiss this as the impulsive act of someone with a temper problem would be to miss the whole point of what is happening in this passage. There is anger here, but it is a righteous anger, not an impulsive one. Jesus’ suffering here as a result of personally feeling the pain when His Father was dishonoured. Jesus had a zeal for pure worship....and this is a great concern for me in the church of Jesus Christ.

Why did Jesus display hostility towards

these men and the temple?

 

The motives of these people were more about what they could get from the Temple, rather than responding in grateful joy to what God has done. Religion like this, is always a way of avoiding Jesus. Jesus hates religious posing. This passage is not just about Jesus hating religious posers. Its about exposing and replacing religious pretension with something far better. You see this in (v18-v22) How is this possible they asked since the temple wasn’t finished, a temple that was started in 20BC and it wasn’t finished until 64AD. Jesus was speaking about His ultimate sacrifice and resurrection from the dead. Not the physical Temple that was still under construction. Jesus reveals His zeal for the Father’s house by giving His life and He conveys this by using the image of the temple. His death was the ultimate sacrifice which would render [supersede] the Jerusalem temple obsolete. His resurrection as triumphant Lord would lay down the new spiritual Temple in its place namely, the church. Where our true worship begins and ends with! The sinless Lamb of God who takes away our sins.

 

 

What Jesus is saying, “The legal system has ended, and truth and grace have come through Jesus Christ, I AM, the “New sacrifice” I AM the “New Temple.” We know this is true later in John’s gospel, “The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

John 4:19-24

What would Jesus find if He opened

the doors of our church?

 

Would He find? Religious men and women in reference to it’s something we are to do on Sunday’s. Deception by looking to cheat others at any cost. Ritual, as we follow the tradition of men, because it’s what our parents did and its all we know. Personal gain, what’s in it for me because that’s all I care about. Prosperity and health, my love for money and how can I profit from this.

 

Or would He find…. A heart that desires to glorify God and to magnify His precious Name.

  A heart that desires to elevate Jesus to the highest level of worship that is above everything else. A heart that desires to fall passionately in love with the God of the Scriptures more and more each day. A heart that is grieved by the misuses of His church daily from those who claim Jesus as Lord. A heart that desires to use His house as a place of reverence, worship and edification as I live my life for His glory and my good. A heart that makes themselves available to serve one another, because we want to serve the Kingdom of God. A heart who desires to pray not just for themselves but for one another. A heart who shares the good news of the Gospel with those who have not heard this good news. A heart that desires nothing more than to embrace the fallen world system with a heart of humility, gentleness, patience, forbearing, with eagerness to glorify God as a body saved by sovereign grace. 

Jesus exposes our misunderstanding and disobedience and replaces it with something better. Himself!

 

Let’s come to him and cast ourselves upon Him today as we come into a fresh New Year. A refreshed passion for my Father’s house; because this is His will for me and you.