June 16, 2019 at First Presbyterian Church of Unionville
Sermon Text:
[Jhn 2:12-22 ESV]
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 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. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
INTRODUCTION
We last saw Jesus with his disciples and his mother in Cana of Galilee where he performed the first miraculous sign of his public ministry, the turning of water into wine. We pick up then in Verse 12 which tells us that he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. Capernaum (or as the local’s today say – KAP-ER-NUM) is literally “down” in altitude, down on the See of Galilee, and is the hometown of the apostle Matthew.
After going “down” to Capernaum, Jesus went “up” to Jerusalem, the city up on Mount Zion. The reason for his going to Jerusalem is that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus—to fulfill all righteousness—came to the celebration. It is here that we find the event recorded in our text; this is the first of two times that Jesus Cleanses the Temple.
I. Jesus Cleanses the Temple
We read,
14 “In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers setting there.”
The law required that sacrifices be made at the temple. Those who traveled a long way would have found it difficult to bring their animals with them. So there developed a marketplace for travelers to buy animals to be sacrificed. Originally this market is said to have been East of the temple in the Kidron Valley on the slopes Mount of Olives. But by the time of the present account the marketplace had shifted for convenience to the temple complex itself. Now, these animals were not in the very center of the temple, but in the outer courts. Still, this should be enough to anger a righteous Jew. The whole temple complex, including the outer courts, is to be a place set apart for worship to God.
We find that in the temple complex there are being sold oxen, sheep, and pigeons for sacrifice.
There are many requirements for animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. At various times and for various reasons each oxen, sheep, and pigeons are to be sacrificed. Oxen and sheep, for example, are sacrificed as peace offerings to the Lord. And pigeons are to be sacrificed, according to the book of Leviticus, for the cleansing of a leper and also after a woman has born a child.
Now, I noticed that in the ESV the text says “pigeons” but in every other translation I checked it says “doves.” And so I asked the internet and a local bird expert this question: “What is the difference between a pigeon and dove?” It turns out that they are the same thing! That is news to me. There are something like 310 species of birds in a certain family that are all considered pigeons or doves. The terms are interchangeable. While there is technically no difference, colloquially and commonly we think of pigeons as rather annoying and doves as something clean and beautiful that might be released at a wedding or pulled out of a magicians hat. So, anyways, you can think of what is being sold here in our text as either pigeons or doves; they are the same thing.
In addition to the animals being for sale at the temple, there is the business of the money-changers. As the animal-sellers were there to profit from the needs of the people to make sacrifices at the temple, the money-changers were there to profit from the needs of the people to pay the half-shekel temple tax. For all men 20 years of age and older, this was a yearly tax of about two-days wages paid for the upkeep and maintenance of the temple. When travelers would come to Jerusalem they would carry with them various currencies, but the temple tax could only be paid with coins of high-quality silver. At this time there were coins of various mints circulating in Palestine: Syrian coins, Tyrian (from Tyre in Lebanon), Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and Roman. But to pay the temple tax you had to convert these coins. Hence the money-changers. What rates they charged we are not told.
Both the animal-sellers and the money-changers then were providing a valuable service. And nowhere does Christ condemn them for making too much profit. The condemnation is purely that they are setting up shop IN THE TEMPLE.
When Jesus arrived, and it was Passover, there would have been more activity than usual. There would have been the noise and commotion of a marketplace. And imagine the stench of all the animals their droppings. And all this in the temple of the Lord! But the temple is not a place of merchandise.
We read,
15 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. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
So after making a whip of cords, Jesus does three things:
(1) He drives everyone out of the temple with the animals. This isn’t just driving the animals out, it is driving the people out! Then (2) He pours out the coins of the money-changers and overturns their tables. And (3) He tells those who sold pigeons to take them away. The pigeons couldn’t be driven out like the other animals since they were probably in cages or tied up in some way.
What Jesus had found in the temple was an abomination. His father’s house had been desecrated. And in his righteous anger he drove them out of the temple, overturned the tables, and told the pigeon-sellers to leave.
Why did he do this? [REPEAT: Why did he do this?]
The text tells us exactly. We read,
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
What the disciples remembered is from Psalm 69:9 – “For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.”
Zeal is enthusiasm, passion. If you are a fan of some sports team you likely have considerable zeal for them. Or if there is some game you like to play on your phone, you have zeal for it. I have zeal for chess, though my zeal tends to lessen each time I lose.
We find that Jesus’s righteous anger comes from his zeal, his enthusiasm, for the house of God. He has zeal because this is a place for worship of God, not a place for merchandizing. Jesus had zeal for pure worship. The zeal explains why he is anger.
The cleansing of the temple is Jesus’s first act in Jerusalem. And there is indifference from everyone else there. The merchants have encroached upon the worship of God, and nobody cares. [REPEAT: The merchants have encroached upon the worship of God, and nobody cares.]
But Jesus cares. He is zealous for the house of God. Jesus is angry that the people are disobeying the commandments of God. The third commandment says we are not to take the name of the Lord God in vain. God is to be respected; the name of God is to be revered. Everything associated with him and his worship is to be holy, set apart. But the temple is being treated just like any common marketplace.
Notice that when Jesus displayed his anger, the people didn’t resist Jesus. Perhaps they knew that he was right. The Lord’s house is not a house of trade, but of worship.
II. Raising up This Temple
There is now also a second part of the story. The first part of the story is the cleansing of the temple by driving out the merchants and their animals, and overturning the tables of the money-changers. The second part of the story is the dialogue that follows between the Jewish leaders and Jesus. They ask him for a sign to prove that he has the authority to do what he has just done.
This asking for a sign showed an unwillingness to admit guilt. They should have confessed their sins and thanked Jesus. Yes, we have sinned. Yes, we have turned this house of worship into a house of trade. And we are sorry. But no, they do not say this. They challenge Jesus to give a sign, not recognizing that the temple-cleansing itself was a sign.
The text reads,
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
The first temple built was called Solomon’s temple, but this was destroyed by the Babylonians. After the Persians conquered the Babylonians, King Cyrus they let the Israelites return from exile and rebuild the temple. Centuries later Herod the Great began an expansion of this temple. The expansion had been going on for forty-six years when Jesus drove out the animal-sellers and money-changers.
So when Jesus says “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” the Jews respond saying incredulously, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”
The Apostle John, the author of this account, explains that the Jews missed the meaning of Christ’s words. They believed he was literally saying that if they destroy Herod’s temple that He (Jesus) would rebuild it in 3 days. Considering this literally, they certainly thought this was preposterous. Now, we know that God can do anything. And if He wanted to rebuild the temple in 3 days he certainly could. He made the entire world in only 6 days. But as John tells us, Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body.
Jesus is referring to his pending death and resurrection.That is the primary reason for his assuming flesh, for his coming into the world. He is die for the sins of His people and rise on the third day in triumph over death. Turning water into wine, cleansing the temple; these signs point to Christ as the Messiah; they point to Christ as the Son of God. But his ultimate purpose awaits. He is to die and in three days rise again.
When Jesus says “Destroy this temple” he refers to the death of his body. When he says “and in three days I will raise it up” he refers to his resurrection on the third day, Sunday, resurrection day.
Jesus speaks in parables so that those who do not believe in Him will not understand. He says exactly this in Matthew 13:13 – “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand.”
But for the followers of Christ, the meaning of the parables are explained.
The disciples believe the words that Jesus had spoken and they believe the Scriptures.
This belief is again the result in this passage. And they believed. Remember, this was the result of the first miraculous sign. Jesus turned water into wine and the disciples believed. Now again, the disciples are said to believe. They believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken. They believed in Christ. These signs all point to Christ. He is truly what John the Baptist said of him – he is the lamb of God. He is truly what he said of himself – he is the Son of Man. He is truly what the first disciples said of him – He is the messiah, the Son of God, the King of Israel.
APPLICATIONS
1. KEEP HOLY THAT WHICH GOD HAS SET APART [REPEAT]
Did you know that that is what “holy” means? Holy means “to be set apart.” Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.
“Six days shall you labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, on rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
This day is to be set apart for worship, just as the temple in Jerusalem was set apart for worship. Business is to be conducted outside of the temple. Likewise, business is to be conducted outside of this day.
Now, we should be aware that there are exceptions to this rule. Some business of necessity must continue even on the Sabbath. But if you must work on Sunday, take the next day off. Set it apart as a day of worship to the Lord.
When you have a Sabbath rest you are to literally rest from those activities that are done on other days. And there are many great things you can do on this day of rest:
1. Read the Bible
2. Spend time with family
3. Go for a walk
4. Take a nap (my favorite)
5. Sing hymns
6. Get out in nature and just observe it.
These are just some of the types of activities to be done on this day set apart. Remember, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is good for you to have a day of rest!
Now, not only must this day (the Sabbath) be kept separate, but so also should be this place.
Nowhere in the New Testament do you see the church selling things. [REPEAT] The church is not a marketplace. Today it is common for a church to have a bookstore; it is common to find churches selling coffee and having yard sales. These things are not appropriate for the church. The church is to be supported with tithes and offerings. It is crucial that we tithe to the Lord. The church should not have to sell goods to exist. This is not the Biblical model. The church is to be for worship. It is to be a place separate from daily business.
2. OBEY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH ELDERS
When Jesus cleansed the temple, the reaction should have been “Woe to us, we have sinned. Lord forgive us.” Likewise, when your church elders come to you regarding a sin, let your reaction be “I have sinned. Lord forgive me.”
In our account the Jews in the temple “shoot the messenger.” Jesus is bringing to them the message of their sin, yet rather than obeying him they ask him for a sign.
What will your reaction be when your elders come to you and say that you have sinned? This is church discipline. All members of a Presbyterian church have agreed in their membership vows to come under the discipline of the elders. Now, if you have sinned, it is unlikely that the elders will have to come to your house and over-turn your tables. But that might get your attention!
CONCLUSION
But let us close by looking at the big picture. That is, what does this sign point to. Jesus cleanses the temple. What is this a sign of?
When Jesus is asked for another sign, he says “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” And John explains that he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Similarly, when Jesus cleanses the temple in Jerusalem, this is a sign pointing to that cleansing of his body—the church—which occurs in his death and resurrection.
Just as Jesus cleanses the temple, so he will cleanse the sins of all of His people, the body of believers.
The cleansing of our story points to the cleansing of God’s people.
Jesus doesn’t need to be cleansed. He is sinless! We need to be cleansed.
And Jesus cleanses the sins of His people through his death on the cross in which he takes upon the sins of his people, so that they in turn are seen as righteous in God’s sight. He takes the penalty we deserve and cleans away our sin. He drives sin out of our lives that we may be holy, a chosen people separate for the Lord.