March 3, 2024
Pastor John Hering
John 2:13-22
John 2:13-22
13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at tables. 15 He made a whip of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves he said, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!”
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews responded, “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
20 The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! And you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said.
I’m sure you all know how to use the cleaning products here at church. If you are going to remove a stain from a blue chair you wouldn’t grab a dishwasher tab. If you are going to clean the windows, please don’t grab the toilet bowl cleaner. And if someone wants to clean the wax stains on the floor in front of the altar, I don’t think Fabuloso will work. Having the proper cleaning products is essential for the dirt and stains. Whether you are cleaning dishes, or laundry or your house, I bet you all have special cleaning supplies you cherish. How about for your soul? It is Sunday and I’m thinking everyone here isn’t very dirty. But, I bet we could find some stains on you if we could look closely at your heart. Today the Lord Jesus is coming to us to with a miraculous cleansing recorded by John from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus points us to the cleaning God does so we can enjoy a beautiful relationship with God. So, may the Holy Spirit put us in God’s washing machine as we
Cherish The Worship Service
His Service Exposes Our Sins
God has been in the cleaning business for a long time. Think of all the sacrifices his Old Testament people were required to offer to be cleansed from their sins. I would say one of his most famous soul cleaning sacrifices happened at the Passover. Every spring each family was to bring a sacrifice, according to what they could afford. The Lord commanded, “Your lamb must be unblemished, a year-old male. You may take it from the sheep or the goats” (Ex 12:5). Imagine bringing your sacrifice and when inspected by the temple priests they would reject it for a scratched nose or some other defect. So, to avoid this from happening most Passover pilgrims purchased their sacrificial animals right in Jerusalem. The religious leaders weren’t stupid. Cha-ching! That explains what Jesus found when he went to the temple. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at tables.
It would be very difficult to Cherish the Worship Service with so many distractions. You also noticed the money changers. That’s because it was necessary to pay the temple tax, but only a certain coin could be used. Visitors had to exchange their foreign currency for the local coins in order to pay the tax and purchase a sacrificial animal. They sat at their little tables, balancing the different coins in their scales. For each exchange they charged a nominal fee, which, of course, was inflated during Passover week so they could make a profit.
You’ve got the picture in your head when we read, 13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Jesus had great zeal going to his Father’s temple. Thousands of lambs had been brought here, and now “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) was entering the Temple to SERVE-US. Jesus was the promised Messiah who would offer his perfect blood for us all. Yet, sadly he had to walk through the stench, filth and noise of the courtyard. Do you think you could worship with your thoughts and prayers being drowned out by bleating sheep, clinking coins, and the haggling. It was time for Jesus To Expose Their Sins of corruption and false worship of form over substance.
15 He made a whip of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves he said, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!”
This isn’t the picture of Jesus we usually see. We’re used to Jesus calming the seas, or gently reminding Martha that making dinner is important but nourishing her soul is more important, or carefully guiding a Samaritan woman at the well to see her sin and him as Savior. Yet, seeing Jesus clean out the Temple makes the point! God hates sin. Mocking God by turning his place of worship into a place of business brings out God’s righteous anger. Yes, Jesus had great zeal to go to his Father’s house for worship. This Temple belonged to God Almighty and he Exposed Their Sin of horrible worship. Jesus hauled out the cleanser of God’s holiness as he exposed the sin-stained hearts and minds of the people. Please don’t think the main point is that we shouldn’t set up a table to sell books or have a silent auction for missionaries. The real problem was the attitude of the heart. They didn’t care that the stench and noise interfered with the worship service as long as sacrifices were being offered. In their opinion going through the motions of worship was good enough.
There it is. Do you see our problem? The primary purpose of coming to God’s House is to have our faith nourished through Word and Sacrament. However, we might be tempted to fall into the traps that reduce secondary purpose of worship to a check list of pious, outward efforts. Or even worse, we’ll try to go to church as long as it doesn’t interfere with my schedule or morning routine. Stop and think of Jesus’ zeal to go to his Father House for Worship! The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He was excited to go. There was effort to go from a heart on fire for his Almighty Father! Compare that to your attitude for attending worship. Is the devil using convenience or habit or a certain form of worship to keep you from coming to the Lord’s House of Prayer with zeal? Has the devil tricked you into thinking that as long as we say the liturgy and sing the hymns “the right way,” yet, without the words flowing from our hearts that this is worship acceptable to God? Jesus continues to Expose Our Sins of failing to offer the Lord God worship in spirit and in truth.
Like what sins? Have you ever fallen into the trap of low-level commitment Christianity, you know, where you come to church and expect a decent sermon, friendly people, uplifting music (we better sing the hymns I like). But don’t expect me to get involved. I’m a busy person and it’s not convenient for me to come to church especially since I can stay at home and watch livestream anyway. And don’t be talking to me about my offerings, even though Jesus talked about them all the time. Don’t expect me to introduce myself to guests or new members. If they want to fit it, they can introduce themselves to me. None of us would ever have thoughts or actions like that, would we? Yes, let us repent for the times our worship has been shameful before the Lord.
Then turn again to see who enters God’s Temple today. My friends, the same Savior who cleansed the temple is the same Savior who demands that the temple of our hearts be clean. Jesus, enter our hearts today and overturn our tables! Jesus, clean our spiritual house by rubbing the cleanser of your law. Jesus, shine your gospel with forgiveness so we can live in harmony with God. Help us to Cherish Your Worship where you SERVE US to Expose our Sin and point out the great need we have of a Savior. For then we will rejoice for
His Cleansing That Erases Our Sin-Stains
The chief priests and temple rulers hated to see their business driven out of the temple. How could they stop this Jesus? They couldn’t arrest him because the people would rally behind him for having eliminated those crooked and cheating money dealers. Instead, the leaders devised a plan to discredit Jesus in front of the people. They challenged Jesus by demanding that he give them evidence that he had authority. 18 So the Jews responded, “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?” Wasn’t cleansing the temple evidence enough? Didn’t they know enough Scripture to put two and two together? After Jesus rose from the dead, the Disciples did! 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The enemies of Jesus had Sin-Stained souls that were exposed and they didn’t want Jesus as their Messiah. Their demand for more evidence revealed their unbelief. They were looking for a Messiah who would tell them how great they were. But a Messiah who exposed their Sin-Stain Souls was out of the question.
Jesus met their challenge with a counter challenge. 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” They wanted evidence of his authority so he gave them it to them. But it was evidence unacceptable to their unbelieving eyes and ears. John explains what Jesus meant. 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. In other words Jesus was saying, “If you kill me, I will rise in three days.” That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? His fellow countrymen did destroy his body. But the One whom they crucified was not just a mere human, not some backwoods preacher, not some over-zealous prophet. His body did not remain in the grave. Triumphantly he rose on the third day. He had announced plainly and clearly, “When I rise, you will have unmistakable proof that I am the true Messiah, the only source of heart cleansing.” But, sadly, even after Jesus rose from the dead they rejected Christ.
Check out the different reactions. 20 The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! And you are going to raise it in three days?” The enemies pretended that they didn’t understand him. He had exposed their sin-stain, but they closed their eyes and pretended that those stains were not there. The reaction of the disciples was different. At the time they didn’t understand completely. It was hard to imagine that their leader, the Messiah, would have to die to reach glory. But they treasured his words, and John tells us, 22 When Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said. Through faith they received the cleansing forgiveness offered by Jesus. May we all join the disciples to praise Jesus since His Cleansing Erased All our Sin-Stains.
When it’s your turn to help clean God’s House you’ll be able to find all sorts of cleansers here to remove stains. When it comes to your heart and life the devil is going to do all he can to keep you away from God’s miracle cleaning power by hearing the Word of God. I pray that you would have the zeal of Jesus who couldn’t wait to come to his Father’s House (God’s spiritual washing machine) to worship in spirit and in truth. For here we get to take a serious look at all the sin-stains of our life. Then may we all pray with the Psalmist, “Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God!” Rejoice that Jesus has erased your sin-stains from God’s sight and love coming to the Worship Service. Amen.
