Zeal For Your House Will Consume Me

A study of John 2:13–17

“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.””
‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Passover: “pascha”, “πάσχα”; neuter noun — the paschal festival, the feast of Passover, extending from the fourteenth to the twentieth day of the month of Nisan.

-At Hand: “engys”, “ἐγγύς”; adverb — of time; concerning things imminent and soon to come to pass.

-Went Up: “anabainō”, “ἀναβαίνω”; verb — ascend, to go up. (Jerusalem is on a hill so Jesus “went up” to Jerusalem).

-He Found: “heuriskō”, “εὑρίσκω”; verb — without previous search, to find, to fall in with.

-Temple: “hieron”, “ἱερόν”; neuter noun — used of the temple at Jerusalem.

-Were Selling: “pōleō”, “πωλέω”; verb — to barter, to sell.

-Oxen: “bous”, “βοῦς”, masculine noun — an ox, a cow.

-Sheep: “probaton”, “πρόβατον”; neuter noun — a sheep, and so always in the NT.

-Pigeons: “peristera”, “περιστερά”; feminine noun — a dove.

-Money Changers (v.14): “kermatistēs”, “κερματιστής”; masculine noun — a money-changer; money-broker; in the temple at Jerusalem were the seats of those who sold such animals for sacrifice as had been selected, examined, and approved, together with incense, oil, and other things needed in making offerings and in worship; and the magnitude of this traffic had introduced the banker’s or broker’s business.

-A Whip (Scourge): “phragellion”, “φραγέλλιον”; neuter noun — a scourge or whip.

-Cords: “schoinion”, “σχοινίον”; neuter noun — a cord or rope made of rushes; universally, a rope.

-He Drove: “ekballō”, “ἐκβάλλω”; verb — to drive out, cast out, a person.

-He Poured Out: “ekcheō”, “ἐκχέω”; verb — used of things usually guarded with care which are poured forth or cast out: of money.

-Money Changers (v.15): “kollybistēs”, “κολλυβιστής”; masculine noun — a money-changer, a banker.

-Overturned: “anatrepō”, “ἀνατρέπω”; verb — to overthrow, overturn, destroy.

-Take: “airō”, “αἴρω”; verb — to move from its place.

-House: “oikos”, “οἶκος”; masculine noun — any building whatever; the house where God was regarded as present; of the temple in Jerusalem.

-Of Trade (Business): “emporion”, “ἐμπόριον”; neuter noun — a place where trade is carried on, especially a seaport; a mart, emporium, a market house.

-Remembered: “mimnēskomai”, “μιμνῄσκομαι”; verb — to be recalled to mind, to remember for good.

-Zeal: “zēlos”, “ζῆλος”; masculine/neuter noun — zeal, ardor in embracing, pursuing, defending anything; zeal in behalf of, for a person or thing.

-Will Consume: “katesthiō”, “κατεσθίω”; verb — of the consumption of the strength of the body and mind by strong emotions.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After a brief stay with His mother and siblings in Capernaum, Jesus went to Jerusalem because the Passover was beginning soon. When He went to the temple He saw that the area meant for Gentiles to come and worship Yahweh had been filled with money changers and people selling animals to sacrifice. This went beyond mere convenience for people to be able to buy sacrifices and was the result of greedy people seeking to profit off of those who came to worship God. And their setting of all this up in the area meant for Gentiles to worship the Lord made our Lord angry. Jesus, in His righteous zeal, made a whip of rope, and drove these greedy merchants out along with their livestock, and overturned the tables containing all of their ill gotten wealth. He also spoke to those who sold pigeons or doves and commanded them to take “these things” away, and not to make His Father’s house, which was meant to be a place of worship, into a house of business. As His disciples saw this, they remembered Psalm 69:9 which says, “zeal for your house will consume me.”

Implication (what does this mean to us):

As the time to celebrate Passover approached, Jesus went to Jerusalem. Jerusalem would have been especially crowded at this time as the population of the city swelled by thousands and thousands of people who also came to celebrate Passover. In fact, according to the Scottish theologian William Barclay, as many as 2.25 million Jews could gather in Jerusalem for Passover. In the midst of the chaos, Jesus saw people buying and selling in the temple. This would have been egregious at the best of times, but with the crowds of Passover it would have been absolute pandemonium. There was even enough business taking place for money changers, or bankers to be involved. But it was not only the sheer volume of business that necessitated the use of moneychangers. Everyone had to pay a temple tax, which was about 2 days wages, and it had to be paid in the specific temple coin. This requirement created an entire industry of currency exchange for people to profit on.

Greed may not have been the motivation for implementing this rule though. There are plenty of commentators who say foreign coins were not allowed because they often depicted foreign deities or the weight and metallic content of the coin could not be trusted. This rule apparently did not apply to all coinage though. According to certain other ancient sources, coinage from Tyre was accepted. So, it seems the primary concern was over the content and weight of the coins, not the pagan symbols on it. What we are supposed to make note of though, is that the outer court of the temple, a place of worship, had been turned into a market to make money off of people who were coming to worship God. People, especially those traveling from far away, did need a place to purchase animals to sacrifice and pay their temple tax, but that should not have been done in the temple. This market was not set up for practical or altruistic purposes.

Jesus saw all of this, but He did not react in impulsive anger. He found what was going on, and He took the time to make a whip out of “cords,” or in other words, lengths of rope. After doing this He drove the people and the livestock they were selling out of the temple, and overturned the tables, scattering the coins of the money changers. This was not so much a display of violent anger, the text does not tell us Jesus was angry, although there may have been a measure of righteous anger. It is more of a display of Jesus’ righteous authority. This is His Father’s temple, a place made for people to worship Him, and these people should have known better than to seek selfish gain here. This is the first account of Jesus cleansing the temple, and the other gospel writers record another cleansing of the temple when Jesus later returns to Jerusalem shortly before His arrest and crucifixion.

Looking at both instances of Jesus cleansing the temple may help provide us with a better understanding of what happened here. As Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel account of the second temple cleansing event in Matt. 21:13, “He said to them, ‘It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.’” After this, we also see in Matthew’s account, Jesus healed the blind and lame who came to see Him there, and from Mark and Luke’s gospel accounts we also learn that Jesus taught the people in the temple after the second cleansing. So, Jesus came to the temple to teach and heal people, but He found the outer court filled to the brim with people trying to profit off the people coming to worship God. Jesus drove these greedy people out to make room for people to come worship, be taught and receive healing. His intentions, as in all things, were good and pure.

Interestingly we also read that while He “drove out” the money changers and those selling oxen and sheep, overturned tables and poured out their ill gotten coins, He “told” the people selling pigeons, also translated as “doves,” to take them away. I do not think there is particular significance here, this is simply a practical eyewitness detail. Doves or pigeons kept in cages cannot be driven the same way as cattle; so Jesus told the people selling pigeons to take them out. Some think that because doves or pigeons were the sacrifices purchased by the poor, Jesus was more gentle with those who sold them, but I do not think that is true. These were not the poor people who bought pigeons. These were the merchants profiting off the poor people who bought pigeons. They were included in those who had made the Lord’s house into a “house of trade” as John records or a “den of robbers” as the other gospels record. Both descriptions are true. This place of worship and prayer had been turned into a market where no doubt greedy merchants and money changers engaged in less than honest business practices. If they had no problem profaning the Lord’s temple, we can assume they would have had no problem cheating the people who came to worship there.

Significantly, this all took place in the area of the temple specifically made for Gentiles (non-Jews) to worship God. This cleansing is significant because of the timing. Passover was celebrated with a focus on the cleansing of sin. Bread was made without any leaven in it at the time of Passover to symbolize purity. This place, made for non-Jewish people to worship God, and by faith be cleansed of their sin, had been trampled on by the leaders who allowed it to become a market, and by all the greedy merchants who set up the market. God’s heart is not only for the Jews, but also for all peoples of the world.

Lastly, as the disciples saw this they remembered the words of Psalm 69:9 which says, “…zeal for your house has consumed me…”. They saw the righteous zeal and fervor of Jesus for the house of God in His cleansing of the temple. In John chapter 1 we read of many conversions as the disciples began to follow Him. In the beginning of John chapter 2, we read of Jesus’ conversion of water into wine. And now, we read of Jesus cleansing the temple. This illustrates the pattern of Jesus’ work in all of our lives. Jesus first converts a person and then cleanses them. We do not do anything to come to Jesus. We do not need to “get it together” or clean up our life first. The fact is we cannot do so without Him. We need Him and His cleansing power, but we must first come to Him by faith.

From 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, we learn that as Christians our bodies are now temples to God. When Jesus converts us to follow Him, He enters into the temple court of our hearts, and begins the process of cleansing us of our sin that interferes with and blocks our worship. Our lives are meant to be lived as acts of worship, as we do everything as unto the Lord. Our sin stifles our worship and it can only be driven out by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. So we should not read this and think, “Oh man, look at these greedy people.” We should read this and consider if we have allowed money changers and greedy merchants to set up shop in our hearts. Where are we allowing sin of any kind to reside and poison our worship of and relationship with God? We need to ask Jesus to cleanse our hearts by the power of His Spirit in us, so that we can enjoy unobstructed fellowship with and worship of Him.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

As Christians, because our bodies are now temples to God, we should think about the things we have allowed to set up shop in our hearts. This passage should cause us to take action first by coming to Jesus in prayer to ask Him to open our eyes to see the sin which still resides in the temple court of our hearts, and ask Him to cleanse us by the power of His Holy Spirit within us. We should also take action, in reliance on Christ’s strength and enabling, to willingly obey and submit to the correction and cleansing of the Holy Spirit. We cannot cleanse ourselves of sin. Jesus saves us instantaneously when we repent and confess Him as Lord, but then begins a process called sanctification, where day by day He makes us more and more like Him.

While salvation is instantaneous, sanctification is a process. We will battle against sin until the day we die, but praise God that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Jesus does not storm into our hearts with a whip to drive us out. He storms in, in love, to drive out our sin so we can receive teaching, healing and salvation. He is good and loving, and His love is seen in His gracious conversion and cleansing of our souls. We should crave and welcome this righteous cleansing in our hearts. Jesus is our good and gracious King who gives the immeasurably good and gracious gifts of conversion from death to life, and cleansing of sin unto righteousness.

Self Reflection:

Do I make a daily habit of asking Jesus to cleanse me of sin and also to repent of any known sin in my heart?

Do I understand that as a Christian my body is a temple to the living God?

Do I understand the cleansing of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit is a gift to be desired and invited in; and that is for my good and God’s eternal glory?

#worship #cleansing #JesusChristisLord #Zeal #TempleOfGod