John 2:13-17 --- Jesus Cleanses the Temple -- 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 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. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
As we continue our adventure in John, we go from Jesus performing a quiet, behind the scenes miracle, to the passionate, thought-out action of cleansing the temple.
There is so much here, but today the main thing that jumped out it me was verse seventeen.
John 2:17 -- His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Jesus' actions that day did a lot of things. It definitely made His ministry public. It cleared the area of the temple designated for gentile worshippers. It made more than a few folks upset. However, for his disciples, for those who were there for Jesus, who were walking with Him, who followed Him, it did something else….
It pointed them to the scriptures. To the Old Testament. To the Word of God. It says, his disciples remembered what was written. They saw Him, not in a rage, not acting from anger, but from zeal for His Father's house.
Here is what Zeal means:
1. In Hebrew the word is קִנְאַת or qin'â (pronounced kin-aw'). It means ardour or ardour of zeal, of men for the house of God. The Hebrew spelling is with the following letters and each letter carries a general meaning within itself. Qof - Back of head, behind. Noon - Action, life. Alef - Strong, first. Chet - Fence, separate.
2. In Greek the word is zēlos (pronounced dzay'-los). It means zeal (in a favorable sense), ardor in embracing, pursuing, defending anything, zeal in behalf of, for a person or thing.
3. In English the word is zeal. It means eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something : FERVOR.
3a. In English but from Webster's 1828 dictionary. Zeal is a noun [Gr., Latin ] Passionate ardor in the pursuit of any thing. In general, zeal is an eagerness of desire to accomplish or obtain some object, and it may be manifested either in favor of any person or thing, or in opposition to it, and in a good or bad cause.
Yeah, yeah, I know… too many words, too much dictionary stuff, you're practically smelling the old earthy scent of the library as you search for volume Z of the Encyclopedia Britannica! LOL!
Well, the point is Jesus saw something very wrong. It struck His heart deeply and ignited His zeal for His Father's House. He doesn't immediately freak out and go Incredible Hulk on them. He goes and works through making an instrument to help him clean things up. Because He didn't act out of emotion or feeling and instead his zeal and passion were anchored in scripture, in His relationship with His Father, His action draws His disciples back to God's Word.
I could keep on typing as there is so much the Lord walked me through today in these verses, but the main point that was on me is this:
Christian, is your zeal and passion filtered through the Living Holy Word of God, through your daily walk with Him, through His Truth, so that when you act, when you move, people can see Jesus, they can see it leads to Him, that it's rooted in the Word?
OR is your zeal and passion filtered through your feelings and emotions, so when you act people see you or worse it pushes them away from Jesus or the Word?
Just something to think about today. You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone. Reach out if you need prayer or to talk!
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