John chapter 2.
And we know that sometimes that can be a little bit tricky.
There's sheets for little ones.
But we rejoice.
I don't want you to feel kind of uncomfortable
if your little one's a little bit grisly.
If your child is kind of losing it,
which does happen, isn't it?
And the parent is losing it too.
And there is a creche where you can go to.
There's also a room out there.
Please do feel free to take your little ones out there.
We recognise that all of us have a bad week sometimes, don't we?
Yeah.
Okay, John 2.
And we saw two weeks ago the wedding in Cana of Galilee.
John 2, it's a chapter of two halves, isn't it?
The first half recounts the wedding in Cana of Galilee.
There's great joy.
The joy of the Father gathered there.
He rescues the Lord Jesus, the occasion,
from being a social disaster.
And then he brings to them this overwhelming sense of his power and life.
He transforms it.
He's the author of life.
And he gives this first miraculous sign.
And we're told, aren't we, that the disciples saw this sign,
saw the life, the new life that Christ brought.
And they are brought to faith in a new way in the Lord Jesus.
But the second incident happens just a few days after.
And it's shocking, isn't it?
One of the most shocking incidents in the Temple of Jerusalem.
We call it, tamely, the cleansing of the temple.
But I think it would be more accurate to really call it an earthquake hits the place.
There's never been another day like this in the court of the temple court.
Think of the chaos that's there.
Think of the noise alone.
As Jesus drove the sheep and the oxen and their owners out of the house of God.
Think of the scramble as the money changes.
Grop around on the floor for their coins.
Think of the paralysed shock as he cries out over the din.
Get out.
Get out of my father's house.
This place is a place for prayer.
And you've polluted it.
You see, the Lord has suddenly come to his temple, hasn't he?
And I think it's hard for us to grasp this morning
just how dramatic an occasion it is.
Jesus has gone up to Jerusalem in the Passover season
with great crowds of Jews from various parts of the Middle East.
And when he arrives in the temple,
what he sees first of all fills him with dismay.
And then with indignation.
And then eventually into clearly, openly expressed anger.
And it's a very important thing for you and I to grasp
what it was that produced this response in Jesus.
Because you seldom find Jesus like this
as you read about him in the Gospels.
Here is Jesus appearing to be a kind of raging inferno
in the temple.
Driving people out.
Turning over tables.
It's so unlike him, isn't it?
It's so unlike him.
Let me fill in a little bit of the background
to this temple building.
From the earliest days, the people of God,
when the people of Israel were called out of Egypt,
and God made his people, Israel,
his distinctive home,
that God owned them as his own,
he began to lead them through the wilderness.
And there was a place,
there was a place that God made
where they would be able to go and meet him.
The tabernacle,
its whole purpose and significance of this place
would be to remind them
that the living God was dwelling
at the heart of his people.
And later on,
when they ceased to be a nomadic people
and they became a settled people in Jerusalem,
God permitted them in the days of Solomon
to build a temple,
which God clearly described and ordered.
And as they built it,
like the tabernacle in the wilderness,
that temple had one solitary function.
That temple was to remind them
that the living God,
the God of Israel,
dwelt amongst his people.
And as they entered that temple,
they would be reminded afresh
of the kind of God he was.
And at the heart and the centre of the temple
was this place called the Holy of Holies,
where God's presence was especially known.
There God dwelt in symbolic form in the temple.
People weren't allowed to go in.
Once a year,
the high priest was allowed to go in,
into this sacred area.
But the whole temple
had a special characteristic.
Over nearly every detail
was written,
holy unto the Lord.
There was something peculiarly
set apart for God
about the whole building.
But here in Jesus' day,
corruption has entered
the life of God's people.
Corruption began to display itself
in almost open and shocking
and astonishing ways
with the way that people dealt with this building.
You'll remember,
some of you who know your Bibles,
that it was in the temple of the Lord
that Isaiah went.
And Isaiah saw the Lord high
and exalted and lifted up.
And the Lord's train filled the temple.
And the angelic beings,
they cried to one another,
he is holy,
Lord of hosts.
And the whole earth
is full of his glory.
But here at this particular time,
the decline and the decay
of God's people
are shown in the way
that they used the temple.
What was happening was this,
sacrifices were offered in the temple.
And there was an inspection
that was held
so that every animal
to be sacrificed
had to be inspected
by one of the temple guards.
one of the temple priests,
officials.
The problem became
that that guard,
those officials
became so crooked
that when worshippers
came to the temple,
the only animal
that would pass as acceptable
were animals
that had been bought
from themselves.
They copyrighted
the sacrifices.
And so you could only
buy an acceptable sacrifice
from the temple courts,
from the temple officials.
There was a tax
that had to be paid
in the temple.
Every male Jew
had to go up
to the temple in Jerusalem
and pay a certain tax.
But the significant thing was
you couldn't pay the tax
in any currency.
You couldn't go with your euros.
You couldn't go with your pounds.
You couldn't go with your slotties.
You could only pay the currency
that was acceptable
in the temple.
It's a bit like
when you go to the arcade,
isn't it?
You know when you go to the arcade?
I hope children,
your parents take you
to the arcade
or the funfair.
When you go to the arcade
or the funfair,
you can't just pay
in pounds, do you?
You have to go
to this little booth
and you give them the pound
and then they give you
the tokens
which you can use
on the funfair
or the arcade.
They rip you off terribly.
And it's a bit like that here.
You have to buy
the temple currency.
And so it was
in the temple
when Jesus comes.
They would exchange it.
They'd exchange your currency
but they would do it
at an extortionate rate.
It's like exchanging money
at the airport.
You'd never do that,
would you?
Because you know
they'll just rip you off
because you're cornered there.
And the temple
would charge
extortionate commission
in order to change money
into the currency.
And even if you would change
they would tax you
on the change
so they made money
even on that.
Ordinary animals
like the doves
in verse 16
where Jesus says
get out of you.
The doves could be bought
outside of the temple
let's say for 10 pence.
But if you wanted a dove
for sacrificial purposes
the only one
that could pass muster
were the official ones.
They would be the ones
that you buy
inside the temple courtyard
and then they would be
I don't know
5 pounds, 10 pounds.
The word Jesus uses
is the word emporium.
There's a little booth
there's a little kind of
run of shops
called the emporium
in Ealing Broadway.
They're not the kind of shops
you normally go into really.
But it's just a booth
it's a market.
Jesus says
you've made my father's house
into an emporium.
You've made it
into a marketplace.
And here you would come
to one of the stalls
and they'd be selling
the doves.
The ones that you could
buy for 10 pence
over the road
you could buy
for 10 pounds there.
And so corrupt
had the life
of the temple become
it was a place
for racketeers.
A place where there was
absolutely no barriers
or standards
about behaviour.
The only thing
that mattered
was making
quick money.
Self-interest.
Enhancing the temple
coffers no doubt
but not for the glory
of God
nor for the benefit
of his cause
but for the benefit
of the officials.
So there's dishonesty
extortion
sacrilege
blasphemy
of every description
taking place
in the temple.
And Jesus arrives
and it brings forth
his undiluted
anger.
We read
don't we
verse 13
the Passover
of the Jews
was at hand.
It was almost time
for the Jewish Passover
and Jesus went
up to Jerusalem
and in the temple
court
he found
men
selling
cattle
sheep
and doves.
He found others
sitting at a table
exchanging money.
And so Jesus
makes a whip
out of cords
and it's at this point
Jesus begins
to express
his indignation
and wrath
against these people.
And some people
just cannot cope
with it
can they?
They say
it seems so
unlike Jesus.
We can scarcely
imagine Jesus
doing that.
And that is
because we have
formed a view
of Jesus
in the modern church
which is
contrary to
the Bible's
picture of who
Jesus is.
the New Testament
has absolutely
no problem
combining his love
and his grace
and his tenderness
and his readiness
to draw about him
sinners
with a holy anger
and a wrath
that burns
against this kind
of dishonesty
and sacrilege
and hypocrisy.
it's a really
interesting thing
isn't it
when you come
to the last book
of the Bible
the book of
Revelation
where in many
ways you get
the fullest
revelation
of who Jesus
is in the
New Testament
and you discover
this remarkable
phrase
where these two
qualities are
brought together
do you remember?
It speaks
doesn't it
of the wrath
of the Lamb
of the wrath
of the Lamb
Now why was
Jesus so angry?
There is a certain
distress
isn't there
still
about the
breaking of
traditions
you still find
that
I don't know
if you remember
in the summertime
when the Australian
cricketers
had stumped
the English
batsmen
and there was
another incident
where the Australian
cricketers are
walking through
the long room
at Lord's Cricket
Ground
and these MCC
members
they start shouting
and we found out
this week didn't we
they've been banned
for life
they've been banned
for life
because it was
sacrilege
that they would
shout in that room
we know that
happens in
religious gatherings
someone walks
into the
Orthodox synagogue
in Finchley
not wearing
the right thing
it would be a scene
a woman
walks in the
wrong door
of the mosque
I promise you
there'd be a scene
it happens in
religious gatherings
tradition
broken
but we need
to look really
carefully this
morning
and see
that what
produced the
indignation
in Jesus
was not
merely that
they were
just breaking
a tradition
that isn't
the issue
that isn't
the deal
it wasn't
that these
money changers
and tradesmen
and sellers
were not supposed
to be there
although they
weren't
it's something
far far deeper
so two areas
where Jesus
is profoundly
angered
Jesus is
profoundly
angered
first of all
because the
people were
careless
first of the
honour
of God's
name
that's the
first point
they were
careless
of the
honour
of God's
name
they were
careless
about God's
glory
and they were
careless about
God's holiness
and since the
Lord Jesus
had a burning
zeal for
these things
since as the
disciples remember
it was written
in Psalm 69
isn't it
that for your
house zeal
has consumed
me
and since
Jesus lived
for the
glory and
honour of
his father
and he could
not bear
that anything
should stain
that
he finds
himself
when people
are careless
of God's
glory
rising up
in anger
against what's
happening before
his eyes
you see
they were
sweeping aside
weren't they
everything that
this temple
was built
to remind
them of
it was
Herod's
temple
it had not
been completed
but a great
deal of work
had been done
and what it
was standing
for primarily
is that
God the
Lord is a
holy God
and when
men and
women
come to
him
and they
recognise
his holiness
to preserve
the glory
of his
name
to live
in the
light
of that
so that
every part
of their
lives
was touched
by it
and that
is especially
what they'd
be professing
as they
approached
him
they should
have had
that at
the forefront
of all
their thinking
and the
terrible thing
was that
these people
were so
distorting
what this
temple had
been built
for
that they
were turning
the service
of God
to their
own ends
what were
their primary
ends
personal
advantage
aggrandisement
their own
glory
their own
exaltation
and so they
took the name
of the Lord
God almighty
and they
cast it
into the
gutter
and they
used
this holy
place
these holy
things for
crooked
trading
and that
is the
primary
thing
that brought
forth
the wrath
of the Lord
Jesus
and it
always does
of course
you can
never
ever
be careless
about the
holiness of
God
and the
honour
and the
glory
of his
name
without
bringing
down the
anger
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
do you
believe
that
you can
never be
careless
about the
holiness
of God
and the
honour
of God
and the
glory
of his
name
without
bringing
down the
anger
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
that's
the
first
thing
here's
the
second
thing
they're
not only
careless
about the
holiness
of God
they're
careless
about the
souls of
men and
women
they're
careless
about the
souls of
men and
women
and boys
and girls
let me
explain to
you
it seems
99%
certain that
where this
happened
the particular
area where
this took
place
in the
temple
was the
court of
the Gentiles
that's the
non-Jews
all the
trading
all the
cheating
all the
dishonesty
was going
on
where the
place was
being polluted
by all
sorts of
misdemeanour
that court
was the
court of
the Gentiles
it was the
place where
the Gentiles
the non-Jews
the nations
were to
come
it was the
place established
by God
as a place
where the
world could
come
and meet
with God
the
Jewish
nation
had
glorious
privileges
they had
been given
a revelation
that God
gave himself
and he had
promised to
them that he
would be
their God
and they
would be
his people
and why
did God
do that
why did
God choose
the Jewish
nation
so that
they would
be a light
to the
nations
that was
his whole
purpose
that God's
people
that from
them
people
would
see
the
wonder
and the
God
of
Israel
so you
find
quoted
again
and again
in the
New Testament
that God
chose the
Jewish nation
as his
people
he
covenanted
with them
he chose
them
he privileged
them
beyond all
measure
but he
didn't do
it for
their
own
sake
he did
it that
they might
be a
light to
the
nations
so that
the glory
of God
would spread
around the
globe
in other
words he
made them
his people
in order
that they
might become
his missionaries
to the
Gentiles
and the
court of the
Gentiles
was to be
the very
place where
the Gentiles
might come
like Cornelius
in the book
of Acts
did
and that
they would
become
God
fearers
that's how
Cornelius
is described
do you
remember
that
that's
what the
court of
Gentiles
was for
that they
might come
near
that those
who far
off
might come
and pray
and that
they might
become
fearers
of God
and the
amazing
thing that
has happened
is not
only have
they deserted
their
glorious
calling
but they've
changed the
court of the
Gentiles
into a
marketplace
and why
why have
they done
that
because they
did not
care about
the souls
of men
and women
and boys
and girls
and so
in Mark
11
Jesus says
is it not
written that
my house
should be
called a
house of
prayer for
all nations
but you've
made it
into a
den of
thieves
and because
they were
careless of
the souls
of men
and women
and boys
and girls
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
was angry
with them
it
displeased
him
profoundly
and he
drove them
out
because they
defiled the
Lord's
temple
as they
did so
as
Jesus
drives them
out
they asked
don't they
in verse 18
for a sign
it's never a
good sign
verse 18
the Jews
said to him
what sign
do you show
for us
for doing
these things
who do you
think you
are
show us
a sign
to show
your authority
and Jesus
answer in
verse 19
is highly
significant
even though
they misunderstood
it
he says
doesn't he
verse 19
destroy this
temple
and in
three days
I will
rise it up
of course
immediately
they think
of the
temple all
around them
they think
how on
earth
can that
happen
Jesus
says
destroy
this
temple
and I
will
raise
it
again
in
three
days
verse 20
it's
taken
46
years
to build
this
temple
and will
you
raise
it up
in
three
days
but he
was
speaking
about
the
temple
of
his
body
when
therefore
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
his
disciples
remembered
that
he
said
this
and
they
believed
the
scripture
and
the
word
that
Jesus
had
spoken
of course
the sign
that Jesus
is speaking
about
is the
sign
of his
resurrection
that he
was crucified
on Good
Friday
and he
was raised
again
on Easter
Sunday
that God
is planning
to raise
up a
new
temple
and Jesus
is going
to bring
in
a new
temple
where the
holiness
of God
will be
demonstrated
and that
temple
is not
only his
body
but here's
the thing
you need
to understand
this morning
it's not
only his
body
but the
body of
all of
those
who will
be raised
with him
you and
me
we've
died
with
Christ
we've
been
made
alive
with
Christ
we are
raised
with
Christ
and as
the
church
of Jesus
Christ
we are
the
temple
of the
Lord
and that
is the
sign that
Jesus
is giving
to them
and so
if you
were to
meet
the
apostle
Paul
over
coffee
this
morning
and you
said
to the
apostle
Paul
where is
the
temple
of
God
he would
say to
you
are you
in
Christ
because
if you
are
you are
the
temple
of
God
do
you
not
know
he
would
say
that
the
spirit
of
God
dwells
in
those
whose
temple
you
are
and
it
is
the
resurrection
of
Jesus
which
is
the
sign
of
the
beginning
of
that
gracious
purpose
of
God
to
build
a
new
temple
now
one of
the
lessons
we can
learn
for
this
let me
point out
two
the first
lesson
of the
cleansing
of the
temple
is this
Jesus
Christ
has a
zeal
for his
father's
glory
Jesus
Christ
has a
zeal
for his
father's
glory
and for
his father's
honour
and that is
what the
disciples
remembered
when they
thought of
this
incident
zeal
for your
house
will
consume
me
that's
a
quote
from
psalm
69
and the
whole
of that
psalm
speaks of
the
messiah's
coming
and of
his
ministry
and the
point of
it is
this
that
Jesus
the
messiah
has a
zeal
for his
father's
glory
and honour
and wherever
he dwells
he will
therefore
express
that
zeal
and desire
to exalt
his
father
now
wherever
he comes
to a
temple
that is
what the
lord
jesus
christ
is
concerned
with
on the
cross
what is
he
concerned
about
he is
consumed
with
zeal
for his
father's
honour
and for
his
father's
glory
father
glorify
your
son
that
your
son
will
glorify
you
that
is
his
whole
aim
and
concern
the
lord
jesus
christ
greatest
desire
was
for
the
glory
and
honour
of
his
father
and
when
he
comes
to
dwell
in
his
temple
when
he
comes
to
dwell
in
the
living
temples
which
are
his
people
that
he
has
raised
up
when
he
comes
to
dwell
in
your
life
and
mine
the
lord
!
Jesus
Christ
has
a
consuming
!
zeal
When
he
comes
to
make
us
his
temple
he
has
her
fervor
a
zealous
concern
for the
glory
and
honour
of
his
father
and
so
if
you
seek
to
use
the
temple
of
God
which
is
your
body
for
your
own
glory
or
for
any
other
glory
than
the
glory
of
the
father
you
will
have
a
major
controversy
with
the
Lord
Jesus
can
you
see
that
if
you
are
the
temple
of
the
Lord
which
the
apostle
Paul
says
you
are
the
dwelling
place
of
God
and
if
you
will
use
your
body
for
your
own
glory
for
the
glory
of
any
other
than
the
glory
of
the
!
you
will
have
a
glory
and
that
is
the
principle
that
we
need
to
grasp
that
with
divine
fervor
the
Lord
Jesus
is
seeking
his
father's
honour
and
his
father's
glory
and
when
he
comes
to
dwell
within
you
by
faith
when
he
sees
that
he
polluted
the
temple
of
God
and
abused
the
temple
of
God
and
defiled
it
and
brought
alien
things
into
it
he
comes
with
his
rod
he
comes
with
his
wrath
and
that
is
something
isn't
it
of
a
really
uncomfortable
truth
and
yet
we
need
to
take
it
on
board
Christ
has
a
zeal
for
his
father's
glory
and
for
his
father's
honour
the
second
permanent
principle
as I
finish
is
this
Christ
has
a
zeal
to
purify
the
temple
in
which
he
dwells
and
that's
the
glorious
paradox
of the
gospel
isn't
it
you
cannot
go
anywhere
in
the
gospel
without
seeing
the
kind
of
people
that
Jesus
draws
to
himself
it's
an
amazing
thing
is that
Jesus
draws
to
himself
all
kinds
of
different
people
all
kinds
of
people
that
know
that
they're
sinful
know
that
they're
dirty
he
urges
those
who are
sinners
to come
to him
he doesn't
say
wait
until
you've
cleaned
yourself
up
and
then
come
to
me
he
says
no
come
to
me
now
come
to
me
this
morning
don't
improve
yourselves
but
prostitutes
sinners
tax
collectors
he
urges
them
to
come
to
him
porn
addicts
adulterers
tax
fiddlers
come
to
me
Jesus
says
just
as
you
are
and
he's
urged
us
to
come
to
him
just
as
we
are
but
the
one
thing
that
we
must
never
misunderstand
is
this
we
must
never
imagine
that
the
Lord
Jesus
will
leave
us
as
we
are
because
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
has
a
consuming
zeal
doesn't
he
to
purge
and
purify
the
temple
in
which
he
dwells
what
sign
do you
give us
they
ask
the
sign
of
the
resurrection
here's
the
glorious
thing
even
though
we've
defiled
the
temple
of
God
and
polluted
it
Jesus
wonderfully
says
destroy
it
it's
almost
like
a
challenge
destroy
this
temple
and I
will
raise
up a
new
temple
in
three
days
he
says
that
by
his
divine
power
and the
glorious
thing
that we
may
discover
that
however
defiled
however
we've
defiled
however
we've
despoiled
the
temple
of the
Lord
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
who
has
a
zeal
for
his
father's
glory
is
able
to
raise
up
a
new
temple
he's
able
this
morning
to
recreate
you
to
rebuild
to
reform
you
in
order
that
his
glory
may
dwell
within
that's
the
power
of the
Christian
gospel
that's
the
sign
that
Jesus
gave
them
they
remembered
after
he was
raised
from the
dead
what
he'd
said
the
power
of
his
resurrection
is
this
glorious
abiding
permanent
hope
that
this
cleansing
leaves
with
us
Paul
says
to
you
this
morning
if
you've
trusted
in
Christ
you
are
the
temple
of
God
that
is
a
glorious
promise
but
it
has
implications
which
are
very
far
reaching
for
the
one
who
dwells
in
his
temple
is
the
one
who
cleanses
whatever
he
inhabits
and
he
is
ready
to
raise
up
a
new
temple
in
which
his
glory
may
dwell
let's
pray
together
!
go!
to
go!
to
go!
to
go!
to
go!
to