Righteous Indignation

Our scripture reading this morning comes from the Gospel of John chapter two, verses 13 to 22. Hear these words.

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple, he found people selling cattle, sheeps and doves, and the moneychangers seated at their tables, making a whip of cords, He drove them out of the temple, Both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. He told all who were selling the doves; Take these things out of here. Stop making my father’s house a marketplace. And his disciples remembered that it was written Zeal for your house will consume me. Then the Jews said to him, what sign can you show us for doing this? Jesus answered them. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said, this temple has been under construction for 46 years. You will raise it up in three days? But he was speaking of the temple of his body. after he was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scriptures and the words that Jesus had spoken.

This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Okay. So, this morning might be a little bit more history. Connecting the dots across scripture then you’re used to. But stick with me because we’re going to see how it all leads to Jesus Flipping over some tables and running around with a whip. Always a fun story to get your attention, right. Okay. So they say, you know, you’re never really going to fully appreciate the New Testament until you understand the Old Testament, And so I think this background necessary for us to understand our passage today and possibly more importantly, understanding what drives Jesus to display this righteous indignation helps us understand how a passage like this should inform who we are as a church that desires to host the presence of God.

Okay, so do we have our first slide? trying to figure out where it’s going to appear? There it is. Can I see that? I can’t see that. So, I have to turn this way. All right, so this is the Temple Mount in the time of Jesus, right? It goes through several changes, but this is it, as Jesus… is what Herod comes in and builds. And it’s located on top of the bones of the old Jewish temple. Right. Okay, so this is this isn’t the original Jewish temple. It’s not even Solomon’s temple. But it’s the same spot. Okay. And so go to the next one, and we’re going to work our way from the inside out as I show you this. And so, we’re that big purple T is, that’s the temple. That’s where the original temple would have been, where it was. And then area built on top of this. That’s going to be where the holy place in the most holy place is. Place for the priest and the high priest. Okay. Next, we go out a little bit and we have a little pink w there. That is the court of women held about 6000 people. Both men and women are allowed in the court of women, but women are allowed no further. That’s why it’s called the Court of Women. And so, I don’t have it labeled here, but kind of in between the temple proper and the court of women would have been the court of men, and that’s where Jewish men were allowed to go. Some allowed to go a little bit further into the temple, some not. But that’s what’s going on there. Next, on our way out, black S, that is called the Soreg. You’re going to need to know that a little bit later. That is a low latticed screen. It’s a railing. It separates the temple court for the Jews, the men and the women and the priests and the court of the Gentiles. And so, if we go out just so even Herod himself is not allowed past the soaring Jews only, so go out just a little bit more, green G, we have the Court of the Gentiles. Right. All non-Jews are Gentiles, and they’re not allowed to go past that. Soreg. And this isn’t just any Gentile, any non-Jew, but these would people who they are there to inquire about, they are there to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. Maybe they want to be full Jews, maybe they want to convert in, or maybe they’re still kind of at a curious moment, but they’re at least they’re these aren’t just random non-Jews. Okay? In the New Testament, we call them God fearers, right? You might hear that term for those types of Gentiles. Now, in the New Testament, we have a different understanding about how foreigners, how outsiders of the faith are going to come to the church and come to Christ. So we’ll get to that in just a bit. But I just want to point out that that’s not just a New Testament concept that we got with Jesus, right? Even in the beginning, right?  even if it was only just the court of Gentiles, but even in the beginning, God had instructed his people to build a place of worship in a way that makes space for these outsiders of the faith, of the community of faith, to be able to draw near to the Lord in worship, to honor his name. Because all who wish to draw near to the Lord are welcome.

And so, as Passover approaches, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, He goes into this Temple Mount structure and he goes in and he sees this space of the court of the Gentiles being filled up with merchants and money changers, people selling all this stuff. And, you know, some Bible commentators, they point out that, well, that was a pretty large area. You know, they’re not taking up all of the space or taking up a corner here in a corner there. But even if that’s true, they are still taking up space. And I take up the first two rows. Well, there’s plenty of seats here, but it’s the first two rows. And think about it with me like it’s Passover. This is one of the most attended worship services of the year. Spots are going to fill up quickly. Have any of you been to an Easter or a Christmas service here at Trinity? None of you. You’ve really got to go to an Easter or a Christmas service here at Trinity. Now, typically held in the sanctuary. But if you don’t get there early, you’re definitely not going to get your seat right. And you might even get what you would consider a bad seat. Right. Or maybe if you sit in the balcony, some people like that, some people don’t like that. And so, you kind of maybe start to feel disgruntled about having to sit not in your normal spot or way in the back. And I don’t know if I can see, but, you know, it’s Christmas, it’s Easter. And so, you get over it. If you’re a good person, you get over it that somebody is in your seat at church. But imagine with me, you’re up in the back and I’ve got to sit in the back row of the back of the balcony, because that’s all that’s left. And well, okay, I’ll get over it because I’m just a nice person. But then you look down at where you would be sitting or where you normally sit. You were late because the kids couldn’t get ready and you see the popcorn vendor, the hot-dog vendor. you mad now? you’re all upset now? Somebody has taken that space away. And so, they weren’t just taking space away from people to worship these money changers, those selling the animals, collecting the sacrifice, they were making it virtually impossible for people to worship God because they were dealing with the sacrificial animals. So let me tell you what it looked like. Here’s how it would have happened Back in the day. So, you come to the temple, you come ready to worship, and you’ve got your sacrificial animal with you. You’ve brought that with you. And what they’re doing is, is you’ve got the temple sacrifice People at the gates going, yes, what a great secretary you’ve got. wait, no, no, no. There’s a spot right there on it. I’m sorry. There’s a spot, that’s going to be no good. It has to be a spotless sacrifice. But here. It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ve prepared for this. And just right over here, I’ve got one you can purchase. It’s three or four times the price. What you want me to do? It’s pass over, you know. Ooh, yeah, that one’s not going to work. But, hey, if you go over here, I’ve got some guaranteed to be accepted by God. three or four times the price. What are you going to do? It’s the first century. You’re on foot. You’re going to turn around and go home. No, you’re going to miss the celebration. You’re going to miss Passover. And so now you have to pay the exorbitant price, or you can’t worship God, you can’t sacrifice, can’t be forgiven of your sins. or maybe you just don’t have the money and now you’re definitely out. And so, as Jesus enters the temple and he looks around at what’s going on, he becomes filled with this righteous indignation as he approaches others who are hindering people’s ability to worship God.

Apparently, the purpose with which we enter this place of worship and the posture that we take while we are here matters the purpose with which we enter this place of worship and the posture we take while we are here matters. Apparently, our worship of God Almighty is not confined to the songs we sing and the offerings that we bring. That is it. But it’s not confined to that. Apparently, our worship of God Almighty includes how we interact with those around us. I wonder what would happen if we started to greet one another, not as an act of hospitality, but as an act of worship. What if we understood the act of making people feel welcomed in this place as an act of worship to the very same God who welcomes us into this place? Our passage this morning is one of those events that’s told in all four Gospels. But the Gospel of John is the only one where you have Jesus driving them out with a whip. and you know who they are as a bit curious, you’ve all seen the meme, right? Jesus gets angry and he drives people out with whips. I’m not saying it’s not a possibility. We’ve seen the meme, right? Well, depending on what translation you have, that could be. But you should read more than one translation, really. Right. And you know, some translations say he’s driving out the sheep and the cattle and also, he turns over the tables. So as much as we’d like to see Jesus, you know, whip some people out of the temple, people that deserve it, that’s not what he does. He uses the whip to move the animals out because it’s, you know, hard to herd animals. And he does, he flips over those tables in divine rage. Nobody’s going to argue with him at this point. He seems to be on one. But what I find interesting is that Jesus, as he’s driving everyone out, the only people he talks, to he addresses specifically are the ones selling the doves. John 2:16 Right. He told those who were selling the doves, Take these things out of here. Stop making my father’s house a marketplace. So out of all the animals, out of all the sellers, why does it specifically mention the doves? Do you think it’s because we want to make this into a John Woo film one day? Nobody knows who John Woo is, right? Have you seen the action movies? And then there’s doves everywhere. That’s John Woo. There’s never doves everywhere. Okay, follow me. You’re not. They’re not getting it. Never mind. Good Rabbi. That he is. Let’s bring this back in good rabbi. I think Jesus is trying to teach us something. I think he’s acting in such a way because he’s using his actions as a picture, as a lesson to take us deeper into what all this means. All right. So, follow me. Right. Okay. So, if we’re talking about sacrifice in worship at the Temple of Passover, the sacrifices for atonement of your sins are going to be huge during this time. And there were two that did that. The burnt offering and the sin offering. The burnt offerings were about making atonement, and they had an emphasis on prayer and praise before God. And the sin offering was about making atonement as well. And it emphasized forgiveness of sins and being cleansed by the blood. Now I’ll give you one guess which animal was the key animal for the burnt offering and the sin offering? The lamb, the sheep. Thank you, child. That knows the story of the Bible. the lamb, the sacrificial lambs Take away the sins of the world. But they also had a provision, both of these, had a provision that if you couldn’t afford a lamb, if a lamb was too much for your family, that you could offer two turtle doves or two pigeons instead. Doves and pigeons were God’s way of making sure even the poor could come to worship, to be forgiven of their sins and be cleansed. you know, and forget the fact that eight days after he’s born, Mary and Joseph go to the temple dedication to dedicate the child, and they have the LAMB of God. But they offer what? Doves. Maybe Jesus’s family didn’t have all that much money either. And so, by falsely telling people that the sacrificial animal that they brought with them was no good and then trying to hike up the price three or four times the amount, even for the doves, these money changers, they’re these sellers, they’re all but ensuring that a vast majority of the people, just like Jesus’s family, are going to have nothing to offer God.

So, their presence wasn’t just preventing the Gentiles from coming to worship, their attitudes and actions were preventing the Jews as well. Everybody knew it was wrong, but nobody had the power to do anything about it except one man. There was one among them who had a power that is not of this world. And through his death and resurrection, Jesus is going to raise up a new kind of temple and a system of worship where everyone’s going to have equal access to the presence of God. where each of us are going to be able to know the glory of God and fully partake in the promises of God Almighty. Now, watch how all this fits together. You’re going to love this next part. It’s almost like the Bible is one giant book and God’s got it all planned out. Watch what Paul says in Ephesians two. He says, Therefore, I remember that formally you, who are all Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision, remember that at the time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ, and that’s that sacrificial atonement of Christ on the cross, the perfect LAMB of God, taking away the sins of the world. Because when we are united in Christ, there is nothing on earth that can separate any of us from the love of God. Why? For He himself, verse 14 and Ephesians 2 is our peace. He has made the two groups one, he has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. and guess what Paul is referring to, and he is referring to that dividing wall of hostility that’s that Soreg that we saw a minute ago that kept the two groups separate. The Jews over here, the Gentiles over here. Paul says. It’s a dividing wall of hostility and it has been torn down in Christ. He has made the two groups one; he has covered your sins. He is the spotless lamb that was slain. It’s done. That’s what we rely on now. That’s how we approach God Now. Our bodies are going to be temples of the Holy Spirit, also done by Christ. But wait, there’s more. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew or Gentile. We’ve got that. There’s no slave, nor free, male nor female. Remember the court of the men and the women. That’s all gone too. You are all one in Christ Jesus. All the dividing walls are done. There is no separation among God’s people. There are no more levels. As Jesus dies on the cross and rises from the grave, all the barriers to God are gone. Those who are still far off are being called by the grace and mercy of God. Those who are already near are being sent out to plant seeds and collect the harvest.

So, I’ve really never understood the debate that some people have about who’s welcome in our churches, Christians, non-Christians, saints, sinners. From the very beginning, God made a way for those outside the community of faith to be able to approach God and worship his name. And now don’t get me wrong, right? The Jewish temple, the Christian church, it is first and foremost a place for the people of God. I am not suggesting that bringing in a bunch of non-believers will somehow make us a better church. It most certainly would have the opposite effect. But the House of God for the people of God, that’s what we’re going to do. There are going to be things that we’re going to do that are not appealing to someone who does not yet know God. And we’re not going to change that because it makes the unbelief. But welcome to come and join us in that. But I believe more importantly or more specifically, what’s going on is that inquiring minds have stayed away from the church because in the past it’s not just that they’re uncomfortable. Right. But in the past, hopefully not too much into the future, the church has been quick to issue pronouncements of someone’s worth and slow to identify the process through which God has brought them to our door. We don’t look like us. You don’t talk like us. You don’t think like you don’t worship God like us. And again, we’re going to do our thing. Be unapologetic about that. But has God brought you here? Does God want to show you something? Do you know the Christ that I know? So, if you look carefully at most faith stories that miraculous moment when someone’s meeting Jesus, is really more of a story of how God’s been working through that person’s life long before they were able to identify that. we’re here to help them identify that we’re here to help each other identify.

That point is this You don’t have to have it all figured out before you’re allowed to come into God’s house to worship his name, all who are willing to come and to learn more about who Jesus Christ is and what that means for my life. If that’s where you are, if that’s how you’re seeking, you’re welcome. And what’s funny is, you know, I’ve been out on the streets and I’m telling people that and, you know, I talk to people, they’re not all sure kind of what they believe about the church or what they believe about Jesus or where they’re at in the Christian faith. And as I talk to them, it’s really more, you know, they think because they’re not already a die hard Christian, whatever that means, that the church isn’t the place for them. That’s how they’re out there thinking and feeling today. And so, I remember talking to one guy by his own leading the conversation kind of turned to talking about God and the church. And so, the conversation gets around to me, inviting him to the church and to one of our worship services. And he says, you know, well, I’m not all that religious. And I said, what’s that got to do with coming to church? And he had a very confused look on his face, like, you have a very confused look on your face right now. And I must admit, I kind of I like saying stuff like that and watching the confusion set in.
See, this is the pastor being sneaky on you. Right. And I don’t know how sneaky it is if I’m telling you that I’m doing it, but I believe that if people come into this place and if you and I who are Christians are doing what we’re supposed to do about following the commands of loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourself. And if we’re being a place of worship that Jesus doesn’t have to come in and flip tables over on, then as inquiring minds walk among us, I think that they will see Jesus. And as they begin to see the truth of the Gospel, that they will begin to accept Jesus and reject all others. I think that’s why God has made a space for them, even from the beginning. in Christ’s name, all are welcome and come to receive a glimpse of his glory because the dividing wall between us and them has been torn down by Christ. And so, woe to anyone who would build another one in its place. It should give us great pause at this passage is the most physically violent that we’ve ever seen Jesus get in the Gospels. And again, he’s chasing the animals out, not the people with the whip, but it’s still kind of the most physically violent we have ever seen him get?  It’s not when they’re falsely accusing him. It’s not when they plot against him. It’s not when they string him up unjustly to die, but when the practice of our religion takes the place of God’s righteousness, Jesus becomes furious. So, as we continue our Lenten journey and examining where we need to make changes in our life, where we’re developing habits to become more Christ like in the world, I ask you to consider areas in your life where you are making it difficult for someone to come experience the glory of God.

Where have you acted and spoken in such a way that instead of showing people the love and the grace of Christ, actually driving them away from wanting to know anything at all? Where have you been so caught up in your own way of living that it blocked someone else from wanting to come worship God? And again, I’m. I’m with you just as much as you’re with me. We’re all in this together. And so, as we prepare ourselves to meet Christ this day and partake in Holy Communion, I want to invite you to bring that part of your life with you to the table and lay it down because of the cross of Christ. And may this not be a table that Christ has to slip on us. May it be a table where we can lay down our sins and pick up our Savior.