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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to the gospel according to John. John's gospel, we're 
in chapter two. Last week, we can consider the 
wedding at Cana of Galilee in verses one to 12. This morning, 
we'll pick up the cleansing of the temple in verses 13 to 17, 
but I'll just read the chapter, set it in its larger context. 
So beginning in chapter two at verse one, on the third day, 
there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus 
was there. Now, both Jesus and his disciples 
were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, 
the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Jesus said 
to her, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My 
hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, 
whatever he says to you, do it. Now there were set there six 
water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification 
of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons a piece. Jesus said 
to them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them 
up to the brim. And he said to them, draw some 
out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. When the master of the feast 
had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where 
it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew, 
the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to 
him, every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when 
the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the 
good wine until now. This beginning of signs Jesus 
did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples 
believed in him. After this, he went down to Capernaum, 
he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and they did 
not stay there many days. Now the Passover of the Jews 
was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and he found in 
the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money 
changers doing business. When he had made a whip of cords, 
he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the 
oxen and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. 
And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house 
a house of merchandise. Then his disciples remembered 
that it was written, zeal for your house has eaten me up. So 
the Jews answered and said to him, What sign do you show to 
us since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, 
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then 
the Jews said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and 
will you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking of 
the temple of his body. Therefore, when he had risen 
from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this 
to them, and they believed the scripture and the word which 
Jesus had said. Now, when he was in Jerusalem 
at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when 
they saw the signs which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself 
to them, because he knew all men, and had no need that anyone 
should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
again, we thank you for the written word of the living and true God. 
We thank you for this gospel of our salvation, for the revelation 
of our Lord Jesus Christ and his life and death and resurrection. Give us ears to hear and hearts 
to receive your truth now. Guide us and lead us and direct 
us by your spirit, forgiving us of all sin and everything 
that darkens our understanding. And we pray in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, after a lengthy prologue 
in chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, where the apostle John goes behind 
the economy of redemption to demonstrate the relationship 
between the son and the father, there is then an introduction 
to his public ministry. That begins in chapter 1 at verse 
19, ends at the end of chapter 1. So John the Baptist declares 
the significance of our Lord Jesus. He makes early disciples 
there at the end of chapter 1. And now in chapter 2, he goes 
about his public ministry. In fact, beginning in chapter 
1 all the way to chapter 12, we see the public life of Jesus. Some have called this the book 
of signs, the several things that he does that shows forth 
that he is, in fact, the Word or the Son of God. Now last week 
we saw Jesus as a guest at the wedding at Cana of Galilee. Well 
this week he is not content to remain a guest. He is in his 
father's house and therefore he has the right and the authority 
to cleanse it, to purify it, and that is precisely what he 
does here in verses 13 to 17. We'll notice in the first place 
the setting of the cleansing in verse 13. Secondly, the problem 
that necessitated the cleansing in verse 14. Third, the method 
used in the cleansing, verses 15 to 16. And then finally, the 
justification for the cleansing in verse 17. Well, let's look 
first at the setting. Notice after a brief stay in 
Capernaum at verse 12, after this, he went down to Capernaum, 
he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and they did 
not stay there many days. So after the wedding at Cana 
of Galilee, they go to Capernaum and they are only there briefly. 
Now notice in verse 13, now the Passover of the Jews was at hand 
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. So this is in fact the beginning 
of Jesus' ministry. You'll notice in Matthew, Mark, 
and Luke, what we call the synoptic gospels, they record a cleansing 
of the temple as well. They locate it at the end of 
Jesus' ministry. There's no discrepancy. There's 
no contradiction. John knows how to read. He understood 
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But also we need to appreciate 
that this is a commentary on the religious state of Israel 
in the first century. There were two cleansings. Jesus 
cleanses the temple initially at the beginning of His ministry, 
and then He does so again when He comes into the Holy City at 
the beginning of the Passion Week toward the end of His ministry. The synoptic gospel writers, 
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, do not record the early Judean ministry 
of our Lord Jesus the way that John the Apostle does. So there's 
not a contradiction, there's no inconsistency. Jesus cleansed 
the temple initially at the outset of his ministry, and he does 
so again in the final days of his ministry. Now notice the 
particular occasion. The Passover of the Jews was 
at hand. The apostle John refers to Passover 
several times in his gospel narrative. It becomes sort of a structuring 
device and helps us to see that Jesus' ministry was in fact about 
three years. But I think as well it's theological 
in nature. Christ brings a new exodus. The Passover feast and the Old 
Covenant reflected upon and celebrated the redemptive work of Yahweh 
when he brought his people out of bondage. out of Egypt. Well, 
Christ engages in a new exodus. He brings his people out of bondage. 
What is typological in the Egyptian setting, with reference to the 
Israelites, is anti-typological in this new covenant era. The 
bondage we find ourselves in, the slavery that affects us, 
is to sin. And in the new exodus, under 
our Lord Jesus Christ, he brings redemption. As the apostle Peter 
says concerning the father, he calls us out of darkness into 
his marvelous light that we may proclaim his praises. As Paul 
celebrates in Ephesians chapter one, not only the sovereignty 
of God in terms of election and predestination, but there's acceptance 
in the beloved. And then Paul says, in whom we 
have redemption through his blood. And then of course, in first 
Corinthians five, the apostle Paul tells us that Christ is 
our Passover. So it's not only a structuring 
device to give us the nuts and bolts of Jesus' ministry, it's 
theological in nature. Christ brings hope, Christ brings 
life, Christ brings liberty, and Christ brings joy to His 
people. He says so in John 10, I came 
that they might have life and that they might have it abundantly. 
We were under the curse of sin. We were embroiled in that wickedness. We were wanting it. We engaged 
in it. We happily delighted in it. But 
God in His mercy has broken our hardened hearts. He has granted 
us the graces of faith and repentance such that now we've closed with 
Christ. We have been liberated. We have been freed. We have that 
blessed privilege of being the sons and daughters of God Most 
High through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus. That Exodus 
account shows forth what Christ would do in terms of His life 
and death and resurrection. It is most wondrous. It is most 
glorious. But as well, another aspect that 
is crucial for us in terms of justification. I don't want to 
spend a whole lot of time here, but you all know what justification 
is. It's an act of God's free grace, wherein He forgives us 
of all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only 
for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by 
faith alone. The way that we receive that 
imputed righteousness is because Christ fulfilled all righteousness. In other words, he did everything 
demanded of him. He says in the gospel narrative, 
my meat is to do the will of the Father who sent me. None 
of us say that. We would much prefer a steak. 
We would much prefer tacos. doing the will of the Father 
is not our meat. And that is precisely why Jesus 
comes, to fulfill all righteousness. Well, as a faithful Israelite, 
in accordance with the law of God, it was requisite that you 
go up to Jerusalem and hold to the feasts that were in Israel's 
calendar. Exodus 13 and Deuteronomy 16 
mandated this. So Jesus does this in obedience 
to the law. Jesus fulfills all righteousness. Now notice the location is up 
to Jerusalem. The feast was held at the temple 
of Jerusalem and they were required to attend the feast in Jerusalem. It wasn't enough to live stream 
it. It wasn't enough to zoom it. It wasn't enough to simply 
hear the report concerning it. You had to attend. Deuteronomy 
16, 5 and 6. You may not sacrifice the Passover 
within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you. 
But at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his 
name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at 
the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt." 
Well, that central sanctuary in Israel's life was the temple. It was in Jerusalem, and that's 
why Jesus goes. Now notice, secondly, the problem 
that necessitated the cleansing. Verse 14, he found in the temple 
those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers 
doing business. Now in terms of the practice, 
we need to be careful here because I think at times we miss the 
point of the passage. It wasn't unheard of for there 
to be money changers near the temple, and it wasn't unheard 
of for there to be sellers of animals near the temple. Let 
me explain that. They had to pay the temple tax 
in Tyrian coinage. They couldn't use Greek or Roman. So persons coming from a distance 
would need their money changed in order to present their tithes, 
in order to give to the temple and its precincts. As well, Deuteronomy 
14 makes the allowance, rather, for people that lived a long 
way from Jerusalem. They didn't necessarily have 
to bring their own animals, but rather they would bring money, 
and when they got to Jerusalem, they could purchase the animal 
and then present that to the priest as their sacrifice. So 
the fact that somebody was selling animals for sacrifice isn't necessarily 
the wicked thing. The fact that persons were changing 
money in order to accommodate persons with reference to coinage 
wasn't necessarily a wrong thing. But I think John tips his hand 
in verse 14 to tell us what the problem was. And he found in 
the temple, those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the 
money changers doing business. The selling of animals and the 
changing of money, though legitimate, should have been done off-site. 
In other words, you don't bring it into the foyer of the temple 
and engage in merchandise at that particular level. In fact, 
that's Jesus' complaint in verse 16. Notice what he says. Take 
these things away. Do not make my father's house 
a house of merchandise. So the particular offense was 
not the selling and the changing of money. The particular offense 
was that it happened in the temple. No, I should tell you there are 
others that say that wasn't even the problem. In the court of 
the Gentiles, it would have been appropriate to sell the animals 
and to change the money. But in the later cleansing, Jesus 
goes from don't make it a house of merchandise to you have made 
it a den of thieves. So whatever they're doing, whether 
it's the where or the how, Jesus makes clear what the problem 
is. You've turned my father's house into a house of merchandise. Instead of simply accommodating 
the weary traveler coming from afar, you have actually engaged 
in price gouging, you've actually engaged in commerce, you've actually 
engaged in merchandising in the very court of God Most High. So the nature of Christ's complaint 
is very clear in verse 16. Do not make my father's house 
a house of merchandise. But whatever we take it as, whether 
it was the where or the how, it reveals to us the badness, 
the apostasy, and the defection of Israel relative to temple 
worship. And that should cause us to approach 
this passage, not with questions like, wow, that seems out of 
character for our Lord. That seems to go against the 
common claim of gentle Jesus, meek and mild. As we move through 
the passage, we will notice that Jesus has something that we in 
the church need more of in our day. zeal for the house of God. That's the underlying principle 
that had been compromised relative to these worshipers when they 
come to the temple on the Sabbath day to engage in worship. Now, Jesus isn't alone. Read 
the prophet Malachi, Malachi chapters 1 and 2. The people 
of Israel had devolved to such a state that instead of the best 
of the animals that would function as a sacrifice, they'd look around 
the flock and find the blind one, they'd find the lame one, 
they'd find the loser in the barnyard fight, and they would 
bring that to the living and true God. And Yahweh says, give 
it up to your governor and see if he would accept it. They were 
under pagan rule at that particular time. They would have never thought 
to pay their taxes with something less than stellar. They would 
have never paid that tershatha with something that was bad. 
No, they would be demanded by law to give the very best. And 
Yahweh says, I'm a great king, where is my honor? But not only 
that, they were actually stealing sacrifices on their way to the 
temple in order to present it. So Malachi, the Lord Jesus, the 
prophet Jeremiah, that's where that passage comes from in the 
later cleansing, when he says, you've turned my father's house 
into a den of thieves. That's Jeremiah 7, that's the 
first temple sermon. Jeremiah says, what you're doing 
here is wrong. If you look back in the history 
of the church, and I use that term to include the professing 
people of God, you will see this zeal for the house of the Lord. 
You will see this desire that consumes the men of God relative 
to the purity of God's worship. That's what's in view here. Now 
notice thirdly, the method used in the cleansing. He engages 
in action and then he gives words. Notice his actions in verse 15, 
when he had made a whip of cords. Now brethren, I don't take this 
as that he whipped the men, that he whipped the actual money changers, 
but he used this to drive out the animals. Interestingly and 
curiously, he doesn't open the cages to the doves, most likely 
because he didn't want to deprive those merchants of their livelihood. The oxen and the sheep wouldn't 
escape. You can pretty much run down 
an oxen or a sheep in the outer court of the Gentiles, I would 
imagine. But with reference to the doves, if they fly off, then 
they are out of luck. And it was the doves that the 
poor utilized that they purchased in order to offer up to Yahweh. 
But with reference to this, he makes a whip of cords. Now, this 
isn't characteristic. He doesn't usually wander down 
the streets of Israel like Indiana Jones, cracking whip on every 
bad thing that he sees. That's not necessarily characteristic. But brethren, be advised against 
making the mistake of saying, well, something that is not characteristic 
is therefore impossible. Well, it's not characteristic 
when the situation calls for that kind of a response. The 
Lord Jesus comes with that kind of a response. So he makes a 
whip of cords. Notice, he then drove them all 
out of the temple and them all Again, it's not just the animals, 
but it's the merchants. It's the men who had prostituted 
the house of God and made it a den of thieves. It was them 
along with their animals. And this is consistent again 
with what we find in the Old Testament. The beasts and the 
people were forced to leave. They were driven out. They were 
expelled. That's the meaning of the verb. 
Now, back in redemptive history, there was a fellow called Hezekiah. 
And in 2 Chronicles 29.5, Hezekiah said to them, Hear me, Levites, 
now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of 
your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 
In other words, get it out of here. It doesn't belong here. 
Puppets, ponies, and programs don't belong in the house of 
the living and true God. False worship, therapy sessions, 
our realization, Our fulfillment, about 80% of what the professing 
church is doing today, probably doesn't belong in the house of 
God. Think Nadab and Abihu. Remember, they had received the 
laws concerning sacrifice in chapters 1 to 9 of the book of 
Leviticus. At the end of chapter 9, they 
offer up an acceptable offering, and the Lord God sends down fire 
and it consumes the sacrifice. So what do Nadab and Abihu, the 
sons of Aaron, decide? In Leviticus chapter 10, they 
reckon, we'll offer up strange fire. He'll be okay with this 
because after all, he's good. Oh, he is good, but he's not 
okay with transgression against the second commandment. So Nadab 
and Abihu offer up strange fire to the Lord. Fire comes down 
again from heaven, but it doesn't consume the offering. It rather 
consumes Nadab and Abihu. What's the abiding lesson that 
Israel is supposed to learn? By those who come to me, I must 
be regarded as holy. In the last hour, we considered 
that perfection of God, holiness. The prophet Isaiah stands before 
the throne of God in Isaiah 6. It was the year that King Uzziah 
died. And Isaiah is rehearsing his call to the prophetic ministry. 
And he saw Yahweh enthroned, lofty, high, lifted up. And then 
he heard the antiphonal praise of the angels, the seraphim. 
They have six wings. With two, they cover their feet. 
With two, they fly. And with two, they cover their 
faces, because God's holiness is such that they themselves 
can't look at it. But they cry out in praise, holy, 
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with 
his glory. And then we saw in Revelation 
chapter four, there's a variant reading where the saints or the 
angels before the throne, they don't just cry holy three times, 
they cry holy nine times. Most likely they never stopped 
crying holy. Those seraphim before the throne 
of God, guess what their job is? It is to praise God for His 
holiness. That's how they spend their existence. That's what they were created 
to do, was to engage in antiphonal praise, holy, holy, holy. So the Lord Jesus Christ, like 
"'These men prior forced out that which was wicked, "'Yahweh 
and Hosea 9.15. "'All their wickedness is in 
Gilgal. "'For there I hated them. "'Because 
of the evil of their deeds, "'I will drive them from my house. "'I will love them no more.'" 
What's the point? The point is simple, that when 
we treat God as a fellow, when we bring him from heaven to earth 
and we treat him as one of our own, then God is angry with that. That is not worship that is acceptable 
to Him, but rather it is that which provokes His wrath and 
His indignation. You see it in the life of the 
Savior. He pours out the changer's money 
and overturns the table. So he makes a whip of cords, 
he drives them all out of the temple, and he pours out the 
changers' money and overturned the tables. Again, the popular 
perception of Jesus Christ is what Dale Ralph Davis says, that 
he's this ancient Near Eastern fellow who comes to us reeking 
of hand cream. He's not the lion from the tribe 
of Judah. He is not the holy and righteous 
one. He is not the one before whom 
the apostle John on the island of Patmos falls down as a dead 
man before. No, we have domesticated Jesus. We've made him like a little 
house cat. The lion of the tribe of Judah, we have defanged him, 
we have declawed him, and we have made him such that he's 
unrecognizable with reference to what the scripture says concerning 
our blessed Christ. And again, Old Testament precedent. Go back to the post-exilic prophets, 
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Haggai chapter 2 prophesied concerning 
the second temple. And I think Haggai was looking 
past the very temple that was standing at that point. The whole 
point of our particular section is for Jesus to show us and to 
tell us that he's the anti-type of the temple. When he says, 
destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, he said, 
it's taken us 46 years to build this temple, and in three days 
you're gonna destroy it? What does John the theologian 
tell us? He's talking about the temple of his body. The temple 
existed in order to point people to Jesus. Once Jesus is here, 
we no longer need that structure. We no longer need Old Testament 
sacrifice. We no longer need that cultus. Rather, Christ is the reason 
for which the temple stood. And in Haggai 2.9, notice, the 
glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says 
the Lord of hosts. And in this place, I will give 
peace, says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 14, these are called 
post-exilic prophets because they come after the Babylonian 
captivity or exile, and they are speaking in terms of new 
covenant verity, new covenant truth. And in Zechariah 14, notice 
at verse 20, in that day, holiness to the Lord shall be engraved 
on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord's house 
shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yes, every pot in 
Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. 
Everyone whose sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in 
them. In that day, there shall be no 
longer a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. And then 
turn to the prophet Malachi, Malachi chapter three. Malachi 
chapter three, behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare 
the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will 
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant 
in whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the 
Lord of hosts. Let me just give you a bit of New Testament interpretation 
of this. Verse 1 is John the Baptist. 
He's the messenger that comes to announce the coming of the 
Lord. Verse 1b, and the Lord whom you 
see. They say they sought him, they 
say they wanted him, but are they ready to actually engage 
with him? Even the messenger of the covenant, 
this is Jesus, in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the 
Lord of hosts. Now notice the nature of the messianic ministry 
in the first century. But who can endure the day of 
his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like 
a refiner's fire and like launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner 
and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi 
and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord 
an offering in righteousness. In other words, if you had read 
the prophet Malachi, and then you watched Jesus make this whip 
of cords, and then drive the beasts and the people out of 
the temple, and then overturn the money changers' tables, you 
wouldn't be surprised. You would have a certain confident 
expectation. This would be the nature of his 
ministry. Yes, to come to weary sinners. Yes, to call sinners 
to believe on him. Yes, to confer redemptive benefit 
by grace through faith in him. but as well to purge, as well 
to judge, as well to chasten, as well to scourge, and bring 
that judgment of God upon an apostate nation. Notice in verse 
4, then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant 
to the Lord. as in the days of old, as in 
former years. And I will come near you for 
judgment. I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, 
against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and 
widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien. 
Because they do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts." So going 
back to John's gospel, the idea that Jesus does what he does, 
not just once, but two times, shouldn't surprise us. When the 
house of God has become a house of merchandise, or when the house 
of God has become a den of thieves, would to God Almighty that He'd 
raise up more men like Jesus, more men like Hezekiah, more 
men like Jeremiah, more men like Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi, 
such that they would say that what we are doing here is wrong. We need to cease and desist and 
engage in the proper worship and glory given to our blessed 
God. Now notice his words. He not 
only does those actions, but notice at verse 16, he said to 
those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's 
house a house of merchandise. Intriguing, isn't it? My father's 
house. Not by adoption. This is our 
Father's house, isn't it? But were His children by adoption? Christ is the only begotten Son. Remember the prologue, John 1, 
14 and 18? The Word became flesh and dwelt 
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten 
of the Father, full of grace and truth. He is God's son by 
nature. We are God's son by adoption. Judges are God's son by office. But with reference to Christ, 
this is important because he has the right and the authority 
to do this. He's not out of line. I mean, 
if somebody right now jumped up and flipped that piano over, 
I'd say, good for you. You're a strong individual. But 
I'd say, secondly, that's not your calling. That's not your 
job. There's persons that think that 
any musical instrumentation in the house of God is wrong. And 
in that light, they might just say, well, we're going to get 
rid of the piano. That's not your calling. That's not your 
vocation. Jesus wasn't some renegade maverick 
sort of person wandering around the streets of Jerusalem that 
had no authority. No, he had the right and the 
authority by virtue of the fact that he is the son of God. He 
says, my father's house has become a house or do not make my father's 
house a house of merchandise. Calvin cautions all of us. He 
says, at the same time, we must beware lest any man transgresses 
the bounds of his calling. All of us ought to have zeal 
in common with the Son of God, but all are not at liberty to 
seize a whip that we may correct vices with our hands. For we 
have not received the same power, nor have we been entrusted with 
the same commission. So just because there's problems 
in the house of God, that doesn't give us license to go visit those 
various places of worship and destroy them, or to make whips 
and drive out anything that offends. Christ had the right and authority 
by virtue of the fact that it was my Father's house. He's not 
a guest at the wedding at Cana of Galilee. He is the one along 
with his father who owns the house. In the latter cleansing, 
in Matthew's gospel, he refers to it as my house. It's used 
interchangeably. So notice the condemnation. Do 
not make my father's house a house of merchandise. It's a very simple 
principle, isn't it? We should use things for what 
they're supposed to be used for. The house of God is a means for 
us to go to God through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
That's the calling, that's the issue, that's the task, that's 
the job. It's not our job, it's not our 
task, it's not our calling to make the house of God something 
it isn't, to make merchandise out of the things of God, to 
make entertainment out of the house of God. Again, what's the 
purpose for the house of God? It's to worship God, not to entertain 
people, not to make them feel enriched, not to make them feel 
fulfilled. Not that I hope you're not fulfilled 
and not that I hope that you're not enriched, but that's not 
the primary significance for our gathering together. See, 
we do that. We think it's all about me. We 
define church in terms of my batteries getting recharged. 
Do we ever define church in terms of the glory of God? The honor 
and praise of the Father whose house it is? the preaching of 
the gospel of His Son, who actually saves to the uttermost all who 
come to God through Him. So Christ condemns their conduct, 
and herein He manifests something that is consistent with the man 
before, a zeal for the purity of worship. Now, this brings 
us finally to the justification of the cleansing. Rationale might 
be a better word, reason. Look at what it says in verse 
17. Then his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for 
your house has eaten me up. Zeal for your house has consumed 
me. So whatever the disciples know 
at this early stage, they know that Jesus is in fact the Son 
of God. You see that through the Baptist 
testimony in chapter 1 at verse 34. You see it in Nathanael's 
testimony in chapter 1 at verse 49. You are the Son of God. So they understood that, they 
knew that to be the case. Now their minds are starting 
to click. Now their minds are starting to move. Now their minds 
are starting to appeal to the Old Testament to explain the 
rationale for the conduct of the Messiah that is present among 
them. And they make this most wise 
observation. Then his disciples remembered 
that it was written, Zeal fear house has eaten me up. You can 
turn to that Psalm. It's Psalm 69. Psalm 69 is quoted 
a few times in the gospel record. Psalm 69 is quoted by the Apostle 
Paul in the book of Romans. And then there are several allusions 
to Psalm 69 throughout the New Testament. I'll just give you 
the outline of Psalm 69 so we can sort of navigate and see 
or feel our way into what these disciples were concluding concerning 
this Psalm. Notice in Psalm 69 verses one 
to four describe the condition of the sufferer. describes the 
condition of the sufferer. Now, David penned this psalm. 
It definitely has application to David. But David, remember, 
is a type. He functions typically. He foreshadows 
or alludes to something true of Messiah, his greater son. So the condition of the sufferer, 
verses 1 to 4. Notice, secondly, the reason 
for his suffering in verses 5 to 12. And here is our text. Look 
at verse 9. because zeal for your house has 
eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have 
fallen on me." How come, David, did this happen to you? How come, 
Jesus, did this happen to you? You've got to look at the bigger 
section. Look at verse 5. Oh God, you know my foolishness 
and my sins are not hidden from you. Let not those who wait for 
you, oh Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me. Let not 
those who seek you be confounded because of me, oh God of Israel. 
Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered 
my face. I have become a stranger to my 
brothers and an alien to my mother's children. Why? Because zeal for 
your house has eaten me up. You see the connection? If you 
actually are concerned about the church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, you can pretty much bet that the world, the flesh, and 
the devil are gonna rail against that. In other words, if you 
have a desire for the purity of worship, what will you hear 
even beyond the world, the flesh, and the devil? You'll sometimes 
hear it from within the professing church. Oh, that's so narrow. Oh, that's so fastidious. Oh, 
you're being a stickler for every detail. Again, brethren, look 
at the ashes of Nadab and Abihu and ask yourself the question, 
isn't it good to be a stickler for every detail relative to 
our approach to a thrice holy God? I'd say yes, and I'd say 
amen. So the psalmist understood the 
reproach of men, the psalmist understood alienation from his 
own brothers, from his mother's sons. Why? Because zeal for your 
house has consumed me. Zeal for your house has eaten 
me up. The psalm continues, verses 13 
to 18, he prays for his deliverance. Verses 19 to 20, he underscores 
the severity of his condition. Verses 22 to 28, he prays for 
his enemies. And the prayer for his enemies 
is not that which he prays on the cross. We're all mindful 
of his prayer for the enemies when he's on the cross. Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do. That's not how 
the prayer goes in this particular psalm. It is rather an imprecation. He's calling down God's wrath, 
God's judgment, God's justice upon the enemies of God, upon 
those who oppose him because he was seeking to glorify God. More on that in a few moments. 
And then he ends the psalm in verses 29 to 36 by an anticipation 
and praise for answered prayer. So going back to John's gospel, 
just in summary, we see the particular situation, we see what they were 
doing in terms of their abuse of that situation, and we see 
the Lord's response. And we understand because the 
disciples understood and because they put it in a concrete format 
in terms of Psalm 69, that it was zeal for the house of God 
that had consumed our Lord Jesus. That's why he does what he does. 
Again, he doesn't walk down the streets of Jerusalem with a whip. He doesn't walk down the streets 
of Jerusalem with a sign. He doesn't walk down the streets 
of Jerusalem typically driving people away, but rather in this 
instance, because the house of God had been changed into a house 
of merchandise, it evoked from him this response that again, 
contrary to popular perception is absolutely positively consistent 
with who the Lord of Glory is. Now, in conclusion, I have a 
few lessons and then we'll go. In the first place, the contextual 
issue in the temple. The contextual issue in the temple. When Jesus comes to Israel, as 
we learned in the prologue, he came to his own and his own received 
him not. So what does Jesus do? Jesus 
goes, he ministers, he seeks to win people to himself, to 
use the popular sort of language of the day. But Jesus tells them, 
very specifically, in what we call the Olivet Discourse, that 
their temple will be destroyed. It comes out very loudly and 
clearly in Luke 21. He says, when you see Jerusalem 
surrounded by her enemies, know that her desolation is near. 
What is happening in this is Matthew 21. Jesus says to the 
nation of Israel, I am taking the kingdom from you and I am 
going to give it to a nation that will bear fruits consistent 
with it. The Apostle Peter identifies 
that nation as the church in 1 Peter chapter 2. So you have 
the divorce of apostate or Old Covenant Israel and the marriage 
of the bride, the blessed ones who are included in Christ's 
redemptive work and find themselves in the church. So the first century 
context in the religious order in Israel was a mess. And so 
Jesus had much to be concerned for and zeal to be displayed 
relative to the purity of God's house. Now, secondly, the contemporary 
challenge we find ourselves in the church. I think it's helpful, 
not that we make this our only aim, but I think it's helpful 
for us to identify problems in the professing church. Perhaps 
you've driven to Sardis recently. Perhaps you've gone by Carmen 
United Church, and perhaps you've seen their sign. Their sign says, 
Every Child Matters. We're trying to live the apology. 
Whatever that means, that's what it says. I was curious how far 
or how extensive this Every Child Matters actually was. So I emailed, 
and I said, what's your position on abortion? And she replies, 
the Reverend, and says, well, that's a difficult situation. 
We don't take a stand against it. In fact, we see that it's 
okay in certain circumstances. So every child does matter or 
doesn't matter. Now you might say, low-hanging 
fruit, Pastor Butler. The United Church, most of us 
know they got their issues. They're called church. People 
out there don't understand the difference between Free Grace 
Baptist Church and the United Church. In other words, they're 
authorizing the abortion of babies in Jesus' name. Now, again, low-hanging fruit. Let's move to the better churches 
of our own generation. We talked last hour about the 
importance of theology proper, who God is, who God is, not what 
he does. We all know that, we all benefit. 
He makes the world and all things in it. He makes that burrito 
I'm gonna eat for lunch. He governs all His creatures 
and all their actions, and He engages in the redemption of 
His people by His Son, Jesus Christ. We know the what in terms 
of His works, but do we know the who? Do we know this one 
blessed, true, and living God? In this one divine being, there 
are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. Not three gods, one glorious 
God, three wondrous persons. This theology is defective today. This theology is lacking. In 
modern Christendom, there has been a departure from Nicaea. 
And on the one hand, yeah, apostate or United Church, low-hanging 
fruit. But on the other hand, there are men teaching in seminaries 
today, otherwise okay seminaries, that deny Nicaea. Brethren, in 
the times of the prophet Joel, Joel said, sound the alarm. Why? Because things weren't good 
in Zion. We need to get our own house 
in order relative to what we believe, whom we believe in. As well, and this is one of my 
pet things that I despise, I believe that wokeness is killing Western 
civilization. And I think that churches that 
imbibe wokeness are killing the church. Wokeness is contra Bible. We are not persons that are okay 
with the gross violation of the sixth commandment, murder, abortion. We are not persons that are okay 
with the jettisoning of the seventh commandment. It is not lawful. It is not right to engage in 
sexual perversion. It's just not. It will never 
be. God the Lord does not change. And when we kowtow to the culture 
and ape them with woke speak, we are defining ourselves in 
a way that is bad. Secondly, we must pursue purity 
in worship. Now, we're never going to have 
absolute purity. We're here, right? We're never 
going to have absolute perfection. We're here, right? but we need 
to pursue purity. The first commandment defines 
the God with whom we have to do. The second commandment prescribes 
the manner in which we come to that true and living God. See, 
both of those commandments are prohibitions against idolatry. 
You're not supposed to worship Baal and you are supposed to 
worship Yahweh, but you're not supposed to worship Yahweh the 
way that you worship Baal. You understand that? The church 
today looks like Baal worshipers. The church today at times looks 
like they're just governed by emotion and feeling and sensibility 
and what? Not sensibility in the right 
way. Sensation, I guess, would be the better word. It is not 
consistent with the word of the living and true God. Thirdly, 
we must exercise faithfulness in the execution of the church's 
mission. And when we ask the question, 
what is the church's mission? It's very simple. That's why 
I don't understand so many times we go from Dan to Beersheba trying 
to figure out what the church is supposed to be doing. I like 
the Belgic confession. Article 29 presents the marks 
of the church very simply. preaching the word, the administration 
of the sacraments, and the exercise of discipline. That's what we're 
supposed to do. That's it. What happens when 
we do everything else? We typically neglect those three 
things. Can we do other things? Sure 
we can, but we must not leave off the word of God, sacraments 
of the church, and the discipline that is necessary. And when you 
hear discipline, don't think, oh, these guys are gonna kick 
me out. No, it doesn't just mean corrective discipline. We're 
undergoing formative discipline right now whenever we come to 
the word of living and true God. And then as well, we must have 
zeal for the house of God. I know that seems odd, but we 
must have zeal for the house of God. This reflects Jesus. Right? Zeal for your house has 
eaten me up. The disciples saw it fleshed 
out through the whip, through the driving out of the people, 
and through the overturning of the changers' tables. That zeal 
will rightly reflect King David of Israel. Say what you will 
about David, and we can say some pretty grievous things. He committed 
adultery and he committed murder. He sure did. But he never ceased 
being a man after God's own heart. You know, the sin that David 
never committed was idolatry. You know, the sin that David 
never did was exchange the glory of the true and living God for 
something that was made in the image of man. As well, this zeal 
will likely involve scorn and reproach. This zeal is ultimately 
consistent with our salvation. Listen to the Apostle in Romans 
12. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable 
to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed 
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, 
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect 
will of God. Now understand that in the book 
of Romans, he unfolds the gospel of our salvation in chapters 
1 to 11. In other words, we're all sinners, 
chapters 1 to 3. We are all, in Christ, justified 
freely by grace through faith. Chapter 4, 5. Chapter 6, 7, and 
8. The believer's life relative 
to the various things that he faces. Chapter 9. Sovereignty, 
election, predestination. Chapter 10 and 11. The place 
of Israel in God's redemptive plan. And then Chapter 12. He 
comes to make very concrete and very practical in terms of application. 
And what does he say? Just kind of show up once in 
a while. Just kind of do your own thing. No, present your bodies 
as a living sacrifice. If you were paying attention 
to the opening hymn, Lord, I have loved the habitation of your 
house and the place where your glory dwells. Psalm 26, 8. Brethren, 
that's what it means to be a Christian. I have loved the habitation of 
your house and the place where your glory dwells. Do you think 
over the last 18 months the charge could be laid at the foot of 
every church that zeal for the house of God has consumed you? I haven't seen that, brethren. I have not witnessed that, and 
it is very grievous. Listen to what one man comments 
with reference to Psalm 26a. Indeed, we should love it so 
much that our zeal consumes us, so that if we notice anything 
amiss being done, we should try to eliminate it, no matter how 
dear to us those who are doing it, nor should we fear any evils 
that we might have to endure. As a result, what happened to 
those consequences? Do you know John Bunyan spent 
a lot of time in jail? Do you understand that? John 
Bunyan went to jail because he was a dissenter. He was not a 
man that held to the Church of England. As a Baptist, he spent 
time in jail. And he was called out on that. 
Well, you haven't submitted to the government. You haven't done 
what the government says. And he cites the Apostle Paul 
and he cites the Lord Jesus. He underscores the place, the 
privilege, the right, the role of civil government in terms 
of commanding as God's region. But he says there's two ways 
to obey. There's the active obedience when the government tells us 
something and we do it. Drive 55 on this posted road, 
you do it. That's active obedience. But 
he says there's a passivity involved. If we choose to disobey something 
that the government deems a good law and we see it as a bad law, 
then we still obey by taking the consequences that they dole 
out to us. That's why he went to prison, 
with a clear conscience, because while he couldn't actively obey 
and give up his Baptist principles for the Church of England, he 
passively obeyed by going to that jail and doing good time. There are sometimes, brethren, 
consequences associated with faithfulness. And finally, the 
conduct of Jesus Christ in this passage. In the first place, 
His action in the temple. Whatever He does here is not 
inconsistent with Jesus' description, or as Matthew's description, 
of Him being meek and mild. In fact, Davies and Ellison commenting 
on Matthew 21-12, This verse seemingly implies that whatever 
else Matthew took meek to mean, he did not believe it inconsistent 
with forceful behavior. Again, he didn't walk down the 
streets of Jerusalem with his whip, you know, cracking at everything 
he saw. But when there was occasion necessary, 
he responded that way. Check Revelation 19 sometimes, 
the sword that proceeds from his mouth. Think about what the 
psalmist says in Psalm 45, you ride prosperously because of 
truth, humility, and righteousness. The Lord Christ Most High is 
absolutely perfect and consistent here in his cleansing of the 
temple. Secondly, this is something that I think troubles people 
as well. I don't mean to be too upsetting, but Psalm 69 contains 
an imprecation. Many of the Psalms of David contain 
imprecation. Jeremiah prays an imprecatory 
prayer. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 
16 says, if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him 
be anathema. How do we make heads or tails 
of this with reference to our Lord Jesus? Alec Mottier makes 
this observation. He says, Jesus is the bridegroom 
who shuts the door so that his welcome guests are secure in 
his presence. But the same shut door excludes those who are dismissed 
as not known. He sees worldwide guests at his 
heavenly banquet, but others cast into outer darkness. As 
the Son of Man, all judgment has been committed to Him by 
the Father, and those bearing the marks of the beast will be 
tormented in the presence of the Lamb. In His judicial capacity, 
our Lord Jesus is the executor of the holy will of God and the 
enforcer of His Word. And Deuteronomy 19.19 teaches 
that the false accuser must receive what he planned unjustly to inflict. 
David could only pray for divine action. Jesus in judgment would 
take David's prayers and turn them into pronouncements of condemnation, 
merited sentences to be carried out. Now think about this. The 
Psalms of imprecation, the things voiced by David, the things voiced 
by the prophet Jeremiah actually come true in the lives of the 
godless, right? I'm not suggesting that every 
time a godless man falls on hard times in his life or ends up 
in hell, it is the direct response of God's response to a person's 
prayer. But unless we're willing to say 
that the hardships that the wicked fall upon, the hell that the 
wicked ultimately end up in, are unlucky, Your chance? It just didn't happen to go well? 
No, God's sovereign over all those things. And God does execute 
His wrath upon those who do not know Jesus Christ and on those 
who do not obey the gospel. And then finally, and this is 
the high point, the symbolism in the temple. the symbolism 
in the temple. Let us rejoice like we did last 
week at the wedding at Cana of Galilee. Remember, those water 
pots were filled with water. Why? For purification rites. We made the observation that 
that water was poured out. It gave way to the celebratory 
wine of the new covenant, through whom we have redemption, through 
his blood. We'll hear the animals are driven 
out. The apostle will later testify 
in the book of Hebrews that the blood of bulls and goats could 
never take away the sin of the world. The lamb of God has come. There is no longer need for these 
goats. There's no longer need for these 
bulls. There's no longer need for these doves. The lamb of God who takes away 
the sin of the world has come. The old covenant sacrificial 
system is fulfilled. in and through the Lord Jesus 
Christ because those animals pointed to Him. If you are not 
saved, the answer today is not fix up your approach to God in 
public worship. The answer is to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, to look unto Him, who is altogether lovely, 
him who is chief among 10,000, and him who bids sinners in the 
gospel, come to me, all you who are labor and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. This one who in John 7 says, 
if any man thirsts, let him come to me. Do not tarry, do not wait, 
do not stay, do not try to argue yourself out of it, but rather 
by God's grace, look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and 
you will live. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for the zeal of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. And God, give us that kind of 
zeal for Your house, for Your glory, for Your honour, for Your 
praise. We ask God that you would look with favor upon us. We ask 
God that you would give us the grace necessary to persevere, 
to stand as it were. The apostle says in Ephesians 
6, and may we just stand in awe at what a great and a glorious 
God you are. Go with us, help us to sanctify 
the day, help us to call it a delight, help us to encourage one another. 
And God, bring us together again that we may worship, that we 
may praise, and that we may glorify you. And we ask through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.