John 2:12-25 “Can Jesus Upset Your Tables?”

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Turn with me again this morning to John's Gospel, second half of the second chapter.

Jesus has just announced the fullness of life that he brings as he turns water to wine at

a wedding feast.

But this morning, we find him not setting tables, but upsetting tables.

He's not celebrating.

He's angry.

This is the story of Jesus cleansing the temple.

You may think of it at the end of Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem on his way to the cross, and it's

certainly possible that John has taken that incident at the end of Jesus' life and moved

it up front in his account for theological reasons.

Could be.

I am in the minority who sees this likely as one of two similar instances when Jesus cleared

the temple.

This one at the beginning of his ministry.

Either way, as you listen to this passage this morning, I want to invite you to come in your

mind with me to Jerusalem, the week of the Passover feast.

Everyone's there.

You are a 10-year-old child.

Your legs are aching from the long trip.

You and your family have gone miles and miles, walking some of them, riding on a donkey some.

Then you had to get back down.

You're exhausted.

And you hit the city, and suddenly you're surrounded by millions of people.

Jews from all around the world have come in, and you're just amazed.

And you look up, and you see this huge, beautiful temple at the center of all of it.

All the hustle and bustle circling around the temple.

And as you squeeze your way into the temple, you start to smell the sacrifices that the priests

are making.

And you squeeze your dad's hand tight so you don't get lost in the crowd.

And you're struggling to hear his voice over the noise of sheep and oxen and pigeons over

there.

And people exchanging money.

And families looking for a place to stay for the night.

And merchants selling animals for sacrifice.

It's getting a bit overwhelming, isn't it?

And then all of a sudden, the animals start rushing towards you right there at the gate.

And here they all come, and you hear tables being flipped over and animals making noises

and people chasing after them.

And you look up, startled, to see the one man towering over all of them, driving them out.

Jesus has shown up.

John 2 at verse 12.

After this, Jesus went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples,

and they stayed there for a few days.

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

And in the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the

money changers sitting there 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.

And he told those who sold the pigeons, take these things away.

Do not make my father's house a house of trade.

And his disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house will consume me.

So the Jews said to him, what sign do you show us for doing these things?

Jesus answered them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

The Jews then said, it has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you will raise it

up in three days?

But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

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.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw

the signs that he was doing.

But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed

no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Pray with me.

Jesus, you know what's in us.

You know how easy it is for us to honor you with our lips, while our hearts are far from you.

We do not want that.

May that not be true for us this morning.

Would you, by your spirit, so help our hearts that we would hear your voice, that we would

be soft and heed your correction, that we would, above all else, love you more.

So work in us, Holy Spirit, for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

It's vital for us, as we consider this remarkable story, that when we hear temple, where all

this is taking place, we hear God's house.

This is where God lives among his people, right?

It's where they come to pray to him.

It's where they bring their sacrifices to him through the priest.

It's where they can't go in some of the rooms because the glory of God lives there.

You can't go in.

It's his house, right?

Kids, if you have seen the movie Peter Rabbit, it's a great classic movie.

You may have read the book, but you will probably remember the scene where the animals take over

the house and throw a party.

It looks kind of like this.

There are pigs swinging from chandeliers and rabbits dancing on mantles and deer and badgers

sliding down the dining room table.

They just take over the place, right?

It's quite funny, isn't it, kids?

Imagine, though, if that was your house, how funny it would be.

If you came home tired one day and needing the refuge of your bed or your favorite comfy chair

where you go to relax and there was a muddy pig in it and other crazy animals dancing around

all over the place, you would run them out as fast as you could, wouldn't you?

Because it is your house, not theirs.

Now, some of you may like your house to be a zoo or a circus.

I get that.

I don't, but you might.

The temple, though, is God's house.

Where he wants, what he wants to happen in his house is for his people to come meet with him.

Remember that he made us for relationship with him, that we would know him and love him.

So in his house, he wants us to talk with him, to consider the seriousness of our sins

and to rejoice in the provision of sacrifice for us so that we can be forgiven, so that we can know him.

But here when Jesus shows up in the temple, that's not what's happening.

The chaos of Passover week in Jerusalem has overtaken the house of God, hasn't it?

Jesus is not having it.

He has a zeal, a burning passion for his father's house,

that it be a place of refuge for anyone wanting to pray,

a place where sin and sacrifice and forgiveness are deeply contemplated,

a place where the importance of being near God is never overlooked or undervalued.

So the animals for sacrifice and the money for the temple tax are necessary.

Most Jews coming from long distances couldn't bring the sacrifice with them.

Many of them needed to exchange their coins to be able to pay properly in the temple.

Jesus does not tell them they're doing wrong things just in the wrong place.

Notice here that Jesus doesn't go into the dark alleyways of Jerusalem and start flipping over tables, does he?

He's in the temple.

God's people are making God's house a house of trade and emporium is the word, a marketplace.

But Jesus has come precisely so that the presence of God can be with his people.

So he cleanses God's house.

He cleanses the temple.

Take these things away.

Get them out.

With remarkable authority.

Can you imagine one person coming into this huge area?

He drives animals and people trying to make a buck out of the temple court.

And it's that authority that gets called into question, isn't it?

Hold on, the Jews say.

Who put you in charge of the temple?

Show us a sign to prove that you're in charge of the house of God.

Are you the owner?

Jesus responds, own the temple?

I am the temple.

He's not quite that direct.

He tells them what?

To destroy the temple and he will rebuild it in three days.

Now that would be quite a sign.

Can you imagine this huge building, bigger than this one, right?

That it would be wiped out and then he'd just bring it back in three days.

It takes longer than that for a lot of people.

John says Jesus means even more than that.

He means the temple of his body, which would be raised from the dead three days after being destroyed by these people.

Jesus is saying he is the new temple.

He is God's house, the place in which God lives among his people.

It's Jesus.

See, back in the garden, just a little history on God living with his people.

Back in the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, the whole thing was a temple, right?

Because God walked there with his people.

That's what makes it a temple.

God lives there with his people.

That is the glorious way that God designed it to be.

But we messed that up.

When we messed it up, we were separated from God because of our rebellion.

We were banished, kicked out.

We couldn't live like that near to God without being destroyed, right?

But God moved back toward his people who'd been sent far away from him.

He moved back toward them in the tabernacle where he lived while they traveled.

Then they settled in the promised land.

Jerusalem was established.

And King Solomon built the temple for God's house where he lived among his people.

It was the center of life for the Jews, the focus of everything.

And now, now, Jesus says, that's me.

I am the temple.

The word became flesh.

Remember chapter one?

And tabernacled among us.

He is where God is known.

What's he really like?

How do we know?

He's the one who shows how God is worshipped.

How do I live with him, come before him?

The temple's veil is ripped at Jesus' death.

So we come through him into the very presence of God.

So that in the new Jerusalem, we're told there is no temple.

Oh, no.

Oh, hold on.

No temple because its temple is God Almighty and the Lamb.

God no longer needs a house with rooms that you can't go into.

He lives himself right in the midst of us forever.

Amen?

Jesus makes that a reality.

Once again here, Jesus is making an exclusive claim that he's the one connecting us to God.

He's not only cleansing God's house, he does that.

But he's also saying, the way you know God is to know me.

I'm in charge of the temple and I am the new temple.

Now I want to stop there before we go into applying these things to our lives and start to meddle a little bit.

And I want to acknowledge that for some of you, that makes no sense.

It is an assumption for many in our society today.

You would even say it's just an obvious truth that every religion is equally valid.

That all roads lead to God.

That no one can claim to have the way to connect with the God.

So when you hear Jesus say, I am the temple.

The way to know God.

The place to live with him.

You may be saying this morning, no way.

You're the only way.

I mean, that's interesting.

It's spiritual sounding.

But I've got my own way.

There are other good ways to live.

Every sincere religion is equally valid.

Everybody knows that.

Now I want you to know that's quite an exclusive claim itself.

Because if that is true, that every religion is equally valid, then either God does not exist,

and therefore every way to him is equally useless.

Or if God does exist, he doesn't care how you know him, what you believe about him,

the way you live in relationship with him, how you worship him.

He just doesn't care.

And that is a very specific view of God.

It's a view of God that excludes not only the God of the Bible,

but also almost every Eastern view of God or traditional view of God.

It's a very narrow, very specific view of what God is like.

And I'm saying when you say that, you're asking everyone else

to assume that that very specific view of God is true.

I'm not saying this to prove you wrong, if you say that,

or to prove that Jesus is right when he claims to be the way to God,

but rather just to show that Jesus can't be dismissed merely for being exclusive

without the one dismissing him also being dismissed on the very same grounds.

Do you see?

Those are very exclusive statements.

And we actually get to deal with Jesus.

What does he say?

The one who turns water into wine and then turns over the tables of religious people

who are missing God in their self-serving busyness,

he's saying that you can know God through him.

So let's listen to him.

See what he's like.

See what he says.

Because God is telling us in stories like this that he exists

and that he does care deeply about how we know him,

how we worship him, how we live with him,

and most importantly, that Jesus is the way we know him.

So if that's true, if anything distracts you from Jesus,

take it away.

Get it out.

Turn over the tables.

Something's got to change if anything is keeping you from being near to Jesus.

That's where I want us to think about our own lives here for just a few minutes.

Jesus has authority to turn over tables in the temple.

Do we acknowledge his authority to turn over tables in our lives

so that we can draw near to God?

I'll be honest with you before we start,

because it does get a little bit pointed.

I prefer the Jesus who turns water to wine,

who provides all this fullness to meet my hunger,

who graciously satisfies me,

the Jesus that we talked about last week who's so graciously good.

I prefer that one to the Jesus who starts turning tables over.

But it's the same guy,

the same one who's coming so that we can know fullness of life

in relationship with our God,

so that we can taste and see that he is good,

so that we can live near him.

That's his heart in both of these cases.

But sometimes, because that's his heart,

it means driving out some distractions to us seeing him

and coming near to him.

And he loves us enough to do that.

I see three specific tables Jesus turns over in this passage.

If Jesus is turning tables over

because they're keeping people from being properly near to God

and connecting with him in his presence,

then I'll call these three paths away from God.

One last warning before we talk about them.

These are tables, remember, that belong to God's people.

They have lots of good religious things on them.

They look very nice to us.

So don't go pointing the finger outside.

Jesus is cleansing in here today.

Okay?

He's talking to us.

First one is our self-determination and control.

It's the very fact that these people want to treat God's house

as their house,

where they can use it for whatever they want.

Whatever is convenient or comfortable for them,

of course God would want that, right?

I mean, he may not have said it exactly this way,

but I mean, after all, he wants us to be comfortable.

Isn't that the heartbeat of our culture?

Doesn't that seem right to you?

I can do and be whatever I want.

Be who I want.

Don't restrict me.

21st century American Christians

prefer the gracious Jesus who meets our needs

to the holy Jesus who contradicts our preferences

because far be it from anybody

to contradict our preferences.

Amen?

Amen.

Thank you.

It's not an either or.

These aren't two different Jesuses.

I think many of us like that control, don't we?

Or at least the illusion of control.

I'll marry whomever I love

and I'll divorce her whenever I want

without asking what God's word would have me do

in either case.

I'll call myself a Christian,

but I'm not going to be found very often

in a church service

because there are a lot of ways, really,

to live as a follower of Jesus.

Lots of other ways to live with God

besides the ones he lays out in his word.

I want my church, when I do show up,

to have the music at just the right volume,

my coffee at just the right temperature,

and the sermon at just the right length,

and you're over it already.

And what's especially wrong, y'all,

this is the, it's not so much

that we just like our consumer Christianity.

It's that when those things don't happen,

I'll be frustrated enough

that I won't be able to worship God,

that I won't hear from him,

that I'll stop listening to his word

because it's not coming to me the way I want it.

I won't draw near to him.

Y'all, may that never be

that you're kept from God

by something you want your way.

He wants you near him.

I'll be a pastor

who's only excited about what God's doing

when it's my plan on my schedule.

God, forgive me.

Where in your life

are you refusing to give up control to God,

to let his priorities overrule your preferences?

Might Jesus be turning over a table in your heart today

as he is in mine?

Another table that keeps us from drawing near to God,

I think Jesus seems to be saying this

when he pours out the coins,

when he criticizes the house of trade

that the temple has become,

is a love of money and possessions.

Is there any chance that's keeping you

from nearness to Jesus?

I didn't say how much do you have.

I said, is there any chance

it's keeping you from being near Jesus?

Do you walk in here on a Sunday morning

or wake up every other morning

so consumed with your business

that you can't pray for a few minutes

or worship for an hour

without attending to that business,

at least in your mind?

It's always that.

Are you checking a lot of Christian boxes

like the rich young ruler?

But if Jesus asked you to sell your possessions

and give the money to the poor

and come follow him,

you'd walk the other way?

Sad?

Can I ask you about your heart?

This is hard.

I want to ask you

what you're excited and passionate about.

Do you find yourself sometimes

going through the motions with God,

just kind of,

here's the thing we do.

And what you really sense yourself

getting excited about,

it would be fair to say

you're consumed with zeal

for your next money-making adventure

or for your next shopping purchase.

Don't really have time,

pastor,

to consider loving my neighbor,

praying for him,

pointing her to Jesus,

but if I'm honest,

I always seem to have time

to shop for shoes online.

When we start depending on our resources,

when we start finding life and joy

in our possessions,

it is a pathway away from abiding in Jesus,

knowing him more deeply,

trusting him more fully.

What are you clinging to

that's keeping you from clinging to Jesus?

Take these things away,

Jesus says.

Nothing between you and me.

Get anything else out of the way.

One more that thankfully won't apply

to any of us.

A life of busyness and chaos.

I'll be quick because I know it's not you.

How often does this keep us

from real nearness to God?

Is your time booked with activities?

Your mind in every down moment

distracted by your phone?

Your heart so wearied from all of this

that it's actually resistant to rest anywhere,

especially in God?

Have you become so conditioned

to navigating chaos

that that's just the way of life?

So meditating on God's word,

listening to someone in your grace group

share what he's been teaching her,

regularly gathering to feast

on the body and blood of Jesus

as your source of life.

It just doesn't seem to happen.

Even though you keep saying you want it to

and you want it to feel different,

you want life to go at a different speed

and it just doesn't.

Could it be for some of us

that more church meetings,

teaching another class,

even giving of yourself

to love someone else

and spend time with them

is something you're using

to avoid actually experiencing

the love of God,

deeply savoring

the wonder of God's daily grace,

really connecting with him

in prayer.

It just doesn't seem productive enough.

I don't feel active.

Don't forget,

this passage shows us

that even right things

like those

at the wrong place

or the wrong time

can keep us

from God.

And when that's happening,

Jesus says,

get them out!

You can run a wonderful 501c3.

You can parent

and even foster children.

You can lead a Bible study

and all of those

without the sacrifice

of Jesus being necessary.

But for you to draw near to God,

for you to live in relationship

with him,

for you to know him

truly and personally,

Jesus had to die.

There was no other way.

He died

to give you

that relationship.

Don't neglect that gift.

I'm gonna trust

somewhere in your heart

Jesus is

turning over a table

this morning.

Yours may just be wobbling.

It may have crashed

a few minutes ago.

What do you do about that?

There's one path

back to God

for all three paths

leading us

away from him

in this passage.

Jesus turns over the tables,

drives out the things

distracting us

from being with God

and now we have two options.

Either we set them back up

and carry on with life

just as we were.

Please don't.

Don't be merely hearers

but not doers.

Don't see your heart

in the reflection

of God's word

and then just go on

living just the same way

moving on with your life.

Don't do that.

Or,

second option,

repent of them

and turn

to the new temple.

See,

the path back

near to God

from self-determination

and control

is not

deciding that

I'm going to stay

in control

but you know what?

I'll be a better Christian.

I'll just

choose to be

who God wants me

to be now.

The path back

near to God

from the love

of money

and possessions

is not striking

a bargain with him

to give 10% more

next year.

The path back

near to God

from a life

of busyness

and chaos

is not

piling up

good religious duties

so that you are

just as busy

and chaotic

as ever

maybe more

than before

but in six

Bible studies.

You read through

the Bible

every month

not every two years.

You listen to

Christian radio

while you wash dishes.

You sleep only

three hours a night

so you have

more time to pray.

It's not the path

back.

There's one path

back to God.

Repent.

Leave the table

down

where Jesus

turned it over.

and trust

Jesus.

The glory

of this passage

is that

as messed up

as the temple

has become

when Jesus

shows up

the solution

is not

a big repair

job

on the temple.

It is what?

A new temple.

The new temple

has come

right into the

midst of the old one

right here.

The risen Jesus

is with you

now inviting you

in relationship

with him

into the deepest

closest

most life-changing

encounter with God

that you can imagine.

He's saying

you find it in me.

And yes

as you enjoy

the goodness

of delighting in him

what will happen

in your heart

is you won't want

anything else

to distract you

from him.

He'll help you say

get out

to all sorts

of things

bad things

and good things

in the wrong place.

So over time

you likely will

end up

giving more money

away.

Reading more

of his word

even sacrificing

sleep at times

to pray

that'll happen

but don't think

all those things

are earning your way

back near to God.

No, no

the beauty

the glory

the grace

of this

is that God

comes near

to you

and then calls you

not to miss out

on that relationship

and all the ways

you can enjoy it

and savor it

and drink deeply

of him.

It's the fruit

of nearness

with him

as he comes

to you

and keeps

drawing you in.

Jesus has come

through his life

and especially

his death

and his resurrection

to bring you home

so that he

the new temple

God's house

is actually

your home

that's where

life is.

You actually

live day by day

moment by moment

where are you

at home?

I'm at home

with Jesus

walking with God

abiding in Jesus

led by his spirit

so I'm eager

to draw near to him

I'm confident

in his forgiving grace

when I mess up

I'm excited

to tell others

where life

is really lived

in the new

holy place

with Jesus.

Friends

it's time

to come home

you may be

realizing this

morning that

somewhere in

your life

you're a runaway

maybe you came

in this morning

on the run

you're stuck

on one of these

paths away

from God

a lot like

the prodigal son

who wanted to

do things

his own way

to have all

his money

and spend it

as he wanted

to fill his life

with everything

that he thought

would really

make him happy

and where

did he find

himself

distant from

his father

and from

everything that

he wanted

his life

to be

only to find

that as soon

as he looked up

and turned

to come home

there was

his father

not frowning

not waiting

running

to embrace

him

he's running

to you

this morning

Jesus

loves you

too much

to leave you

in the pigsty

far from

the father's

house

he loves you

too much

to leave

those tables

untouched

in your heart

that would keep

you from him

he is turning

them over

not to run

you off

but to

welcome you

home

it's time

to come

home

Jesus

will welcome

you into

the presence

of God

forever

he will show

you who you

were made

to be

he will provide

for you

what you

truly need

he will show

you how to

live with

great purpose

and deep

rest

come home

Jesus

help us

Jesus

forgive us

for the

things we've

welcomed

into our

lives

maybe

intentionally

seeking to

avoid you

maybe not

realizing how

they would

keep us

from you

but we

feel it

we know

what it's

like

to feel

distant

and to

know you

haven't

moved

thank you

that indeed

you have

moved

to chase

after us

God you've

sent your

son

that we

might be

welcomed

back

into your

family

to your

table

into relationship

with you

so help

us

Holy Spirit

up turn

the tables

and don't

let us put

them back

let us

cling to

Jesus

turn from

those things

and run

to rest

in him

thank you

for chasing

after us

we love you

for that

we worship

you

we ask

that our

lives would

be living

sacrifices

to praise

you for

what you

have done

in Jesus

name

amen

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information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org

I

love you