Spring Cleaning with Jesus John 2:13-22 030815M

Spring Cleaning with Jesus John 2:13-22 030815M Have you started any spring cleaning yet? Lot's of people do. It's a god time to air out the house, get rid of clutter, and prepare for the warmer weather. Even at church we're planning to clean our church for Easter. But the Lord's actions in our lesson indicate that a more essential kind of cleaning is necessary. It's necessary in his churches on earth, and it's necessary in our hearts and lives as members of his Church on earth. So today let's do: Spring Cleaning with Jesus 1. So his house is one of prayer. 2. So his saving work predominates. 1. The incident in our lesson actually happened in the early part of Jesus' ministry, around the time of his first miracle of changing water into wine at Cana. He did do the same thing near the end of his ministry. That shows us that, first of all, not much had changed in three years, and secondly, Jesus was adamant about what he was doing and why he did it. Thus, we're spring cleaning with Jesus even now So his house is one of prayer.

The temple in Jerusalem was a central worship place that signified God's presence in the midst of his people. The worship there with all its animal sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice of the promised Savior, the "Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world." Especially during the Passover, the temple was important, though the Passover itself was celebrated in people's homes. It was still a time of pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the offering of sacrifice. Jesus himself went up to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover: 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. The Passover was the meal of the Old Covenant that pointed back to God's deliverance of his people Israel from slavery in Egypt. It also pointed ahead to the deliverance from sin and death the coming Savior would bring. That's why at one point Paul announced, For Christ, our Passover lamb , has been sacrificed (1 Co 5:7). People came to the temple to pray and offer sacrifices of various kinds: sin and guilt offerings, whole burnt offerings, peace offerings and wave offerings; each had its own purpose. Jews scattered all over the Roman empire gathered at Jerusalem at the time of the Passover feast. It would have been difficult to travel with the animals they intended to sacrifice. In addition, they would have needed to exchange money for the kind used to pay the temple tax.

So, as most things do, what was going on in the temple probably started with a very good intention: offer animals for sale right on site so people didn't have to bring them along, or obtain them somewhere else, and then figure out what to do with them until they were sacrificed. Offer banking services right on site so people didn't have to run around trying to exchange money. It was convenient. And it gave temple attendants and merchants an opportunity to make a little money too. So they set up shop not in the innermost part of the temple, but in the Courtyard of the Gentiles around the temple core. This is what Jesus found when he approached the temple: 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. Of course there were some problems with this. Human nature being what it is, as with tourist areas to this day, merchants used it as an opportunity to fleece their customers; what choice did they have? And the impression you would have gotten in approaching the temple was not that it was a place of worship, but a place of business. Jesus didn't remain silent: 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” Yes, ordinarily Jesus was very gentle and mild- mannered. But not this time. His just anger showed. Anyone approaching that temple would never have known it was supposed to be a place of prayer and sacrifice, focusing on the Savior from sin. You would have thought it was a marketplace or a county fair of some kind. They had lost God's focus of sin and grace, repentance and forgiveness in the blood of his Lamb. What was going on in the temple was just a microcosm of what had happened in the hearts of God's people. What was going on was important to Jesus: 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

We no longer observe the temple worship; it's been abrogated or rendered obsolete by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Remember how the temple veil was torn in two when he died, signifying the way to God was opened by his death on the cross. Now rejoicing in that fact and proclaiming that fact is the work of the Lord's Church on earth. That Church is his temple, made up of living stones: all believers in Jesus. We are also his church when we gather as believers to worship him and proclaim his sacrifice to the world. So places where Christians gather are still to be houses of prayer, places of proclaiming God's amazing sacrifice of his Son. But today, too, churches can lose their purpose and focus. Often it can be in doing things that aren't wrong in and of themselves; perhaps they're even good and beneficial. I'm talking about things like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food pantries and the like that help out those in need. I'm talking about festivals, bake sales, rummage sales, and bingo games that raise money to do the church's work. I'm talking about block parties, pot lucks, fellowship meals and childcare events. None of these things is wrong or bad in and of itself. They may even be done with a good purpose in mind, like reaching out, promoting fellowship, or serving the community. BUT...if they drown out and supersede the main reason the church exists--proclaiming Christ--would Jesus not come in and start overturning food tables and dumping out cash drawers? If the focus of his church becomes a business plan, and the bottom line dictates ministry, wouldn't he react the same way he did in our lesson? This is a time to evaluate and re-evaluate everything we do and why we do it. It's an opportunity to look at our personal lives as members of his Church whose bodies are his temples to ask, "What am I doing that distracts me from Christ, or pollutes this body and mind with things that don't belong there?" And it's a time for spring cleaning: get rid of what doesn't belong or glorify Christ. 2. But that means a return to him and his redeeming work, the focus of true worship. Let's do spring cleaning with Jesus So his saving work predominates.

Of course, the Jewish leaders noticed what Jesus did, and questioned his authority to do it. Who was this guy anyway?18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus had called the temple his "Father's" house, meaning that he was God's Son. If so, he should be able to do some miracle to prove that's who he was. Never mind that he had already turned water into wine, and the inspired record tells us he was performing other miracles as well. But the Jewish leaders were always looking for visible, tangible evidence; there was no room for faith in Jesus' words. And even when he did do miracles, they still didn't believe.

So Jesus pointed to a miracle that would prove his authority as God once and for all. He would rise from the dead: 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. The Jewish leaders had destroyed God's brick and mortar temple by the activities they allowed in it, and they would destroy the Temple that brick and mortar temple pointed to, namely, Jesus' body. That happened when the Jews had Jesus crucified. But they would not succeed ultimately, because he would arise from the dead. Notice how clearly Jesus predicted this--even the three day timeframe after his death. Of course, Jesus' enemies didn't understand what he was talking about and assumed he was still talking about the brick-and-mortar temple. Jesus' disciples didn't really get it either, until after it happened: 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

This temple is important for you and me too. Our sins DID destroy that temple. It was our neglect and our preoccupation with earthly things, our lethargy and inattention in worship--all those things made it necessary for Jesus to die on a cross. Jesus never lacked focus on his mission, or dedication to the will of his Father. He was our substitute in living life, and he was our substitute under God's wrath in his death. He arose from death to prove he rescued us from sin, death and punishment. And that's why his life, death and resurrection are our focus as his Church, who are members of Christ's body. Our own bodies are his temples in which he lives by his Spirit. And these temples will arise as well when he returns on the Last Day. And we will be one with him forever.

So it IS a good time for spring cleaning--not just of our houses and our church building. It's a good time for spring cleaning as we consider what we do in and with this church building, and what we do as part of the Lord's Church wherever we go. By Jesus' death and resurrection, you and I HAVE been cleansed of sin; may we live that way as we live in Christ every day! Amen. John 2:13-22 Spring Cleaning with Jesus 1. So his house is one of prayer. 2. So his saving work predominates.

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

For Christ, our Passover lamb , has been sacrificed (1 Co 5:7).

14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.