John 2:13-17
Verse 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”
Though they had all been to Passover before, this was the first time the disciples would be seeing it from the perspective of the Messiah’s side. They would have experienced what it was like to go to the festival in a caravan just as Jesus had growing up. They were used to the same sounds and smells of the festival as He was, but this year would change the festival for them.
As they entered the city they may have seen friends they had made through the years but even though some may have brought families with them (we know Peter was married so it makes perfect sense his wife would join him for the celebration), they would have been especially focused on Jesus since He was the teacher they were following.
When Jesus entered the Temple courts and started flipping tables the men following Him may have stopped short and watched the scene play out. They had seen those merchants in the Temple courts for years and had never given much thought to them. They may have understood, at least in part, what was upsetting Jesus about the sellers but they could have been taken aback by what He was doing about it. This seemed so aggressive.
It is this aggressive approach to the market in the Temple which have some people saying Jesus let His anger get out of control. We know He never sinned and so this showing of anger wasn’t a sin. Of course this doesn’t mean we can go around flipping tables, scattering change, and cracking whips thinking we are fine to show our anger in such a way. Jesus was not angry because He felt personally slighted, He was angry with righteous anger, a glimpse of His godly wrath at God being pushed aside for the love of money.
It was this zeal for the house of the Lord which confirmed in the disciples’ minds Jesus wasn’t just another teacher. They had witnessed the water becoming wine. They had tasted the wine and knew how good it was. Seeing His passion in restoring the holiness of the Temple reminded them of the prophecy about the Messiah’s passion. And if He had this passion for a building how much more His passion for the people of Israel. They may not yet have understood what His being the Messiah meant, but He was showing them how serious God is about keeping pure all that is His. They would learn that includes His people.
Making It Personal
Is anger a problem for you? Are there things which make you upset because they make God upset? What do you do to fight against them?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you get upset often? What types of things do you get upset about? What kinds of things make Jesus mad?
Closing Prayer
Father, we know there is no sin in anger itself but not everything is worth being angry about. Please give us a heart which gets angry about what makes You angry and help us learn not to get angry about the things that don’t matter in life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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