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❖ Audio (Message)
Jesus’ Sorrow and Anger
John 2:13-25
Mari Ikeda
Today we continue to read John’s Gospel. Today’s passage is the second half of chapter 2. I’d like to divide it into three parts, but the main part is the first two parts, as the last part, which is v.23-25, is like a side note. Let’s start with reading the first half, v.13-17.
A. Jesus’ anger (13-17)
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 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.”
1. John’s Theology
This passage is commonly called as the passage of “cleansing of the temple,” and often read in the church during Passion Week as the event that took place right before Jesus’ arrest. It might be just the right time for us to read it today, as it will be Passion Week next week.
This episode is the only episode in the Bible that records the scene when Jesus showed his anger openly and acted violently. It is said, “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.” We can almost hear the cries of sheep and cattle, the cries of angry people, the sound of coins scattered and tables overturned. There must have been a great confusion by the sudden appearance of an autocratic man. Because we usually imagine Jesus as a gentle person, which I believe is right, we get disturbed by Jesus in this scene as He is so violent. However, He acted like this because His sorrow and anger were so deep. I’d like to dig into it later, but now I want to talk about a different thing.
As you may know, John’s Gospel is very different from other three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, in both its contents and its order of the records of events. The main reason why is that while the three Gospels were written based on a common source, John had its own unique source. But at the same time, each Gospel has its own perspective and purpose of writing, and speaks its own truth. Therefore, it is meaningless to argue which Gospel is the most accurate. We need to remember that each Gospel has its own theology that it wants its readers to understand.
Now, regarding the episode we are reading today, as I said earlier, it is often read in Passion Week. It’s because it’s clear that Matthew, Mark and Luke record this episode as what happened in the final phase of Jesus’ ministry, right before His arrest. However, as we all know, John’s Gospel has only just started, and Jesus’ public ministry has just started at this point. His arrest is still a long way to go in this Gospel.
To interpret this contradiction, some scholars claim that Jesus did this “cleansing of the temple” twice, first in the beginning of his ministry, second in the end, but these scholars are few. A different group of scholars argue that Jesus only did the “cleansing of the temple” only once in the beginning of his ministry as John records here, and so they consider that Matthew, Mark and Luke are wrong, while John is right. But many scholars conclude that it was indeed right before he was arrested in Jerusalem that Jesus did the “cleansing of the temple,” which they believe triggered to ignite the fury of the Jewish religious leaders against him. I also feel this is the most convincing view. If that is true, we have only one choice but believe that John deliberately ignored the order of events and place this event at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry on purpose according to his own theology.
Then, what was John’s intention to do so? I suppose he placed this episode of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in the very beginning, because it was an important event that symbolized the whole ministry of Jesus, just as the previous story of Jesus’ turning of water into wine did.
Now, what made this episode so important? It is because, as I said earlier, this story is the best in illustrating Jesus’ sorrow and anger. His sorrow and anger was God’s sorrow and anger for us, and was the very reason why Jesus came to this world. What made Jesus so angry and sad, to the point where he became violent? Let’s now focus on the content of the passage today.
2. What made Jesus angry?
The scene of this passage took place in the temple of Jerusalem. The temple of Jerusalem was first built during the era of King Solomon in the Old Testament, later destroyed along with the fall of the kingdom, but its reconstruction started about 20 years before Jesus’ birth. By the time when this scene took place, which was almost 50 years after the reconstruction started, the temple was so famous for its splendor that made some historians record about it, although the construction was not yet complete. However, we should remember that the construction of the temple itself was not what God wanted, but rather it was just a result of people’s weakness and arrogance.
In the temple courts, merchants took it for granted that they do their business. Animals were sold to be used as sacrifices to God. There were cattle, sheep, and doves, because people were allowed to choose the size of animals to sacrifice according to how rich or poor they were. There were money changers because people had to convert the Roman currency to the Jewish currency that was the only currency accepted as offerings to the temple. These trades were all very convenient and helpful, and indeed reasonable, for the pilgrims who came from far.
However, Jesus got them all out violently and said, “Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” He calls the temple as “my Father’s house.” Although the temple was a product of human beings’ egoism, it had at least the role of being the place for people to worship God. It should be the place to give thanks to God, remembering His mercy of forgiving our sin. Nonetheless, the reality was that people turned their worship into a formality and even commercialized it. People were satisfied only by going to the place and offering some animal sacrifice and some money. They mistook such performance for worship as if they were righteous persons as long as they did it. That was in fact only satisfying to themselves and was a blasphemy. Jesus knew it, which deeply disturbed him and made him sad and angry. Jesus got angry, not because people did not worship God, but because their worship was superficial and empty.
Now, what is the true worship that Jesus wants us from? Let’s read the next part, v. 18-22.
B. Jesus’ love
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.
1. The “temple” that we must destroy
The true worship that Jesus wants us from, I believe, starts with destroying the “temple” that we have built up in order to cover up our own weakness. The “temple” we have built is our arrogance and hypocrisy by which we pretended not to see our own weakness and mistakes. To destroy it means to accept our weakness and mistakes and stop covering them up. And if we can go and stand before God just the way we are, that is our true worship.
In fact, this is what the prophets of the Old Testament repeatedly said. Psalm 51 says,
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart / you, God, will not despise.
Among those people of Old Testament who built the temple of Jerusalem and made the custom of sacrificing animals for every festival, there were some who understood what was important was not the act of making sacrifices itself. They knew that the true sacrifice God wants is our “broken and contrite spirit.”
If God were merciless and condemn our sin and weakness, none of us will be forgiven by Him, and no one can make animal sacrifices enough to be forgiven. But thankfully God did not ask us to become blameless and perfect and strong, but rather He desired that we seek Him while we remain weak and still live in sin. Indeed we can do nothing other than that.
2. Jesus’ death and resurrection as the “sign”
After Jesus drove out the merchants from the temple courts, people asked him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” The “sign” they requested meant some miraculous works by a supernatural force such as healing of sickness and driving out of the evil spirit. However, Jesus knew well that those who wanted such a supernatural power from him were neither truly seeking God nor really believing in him. Let’s read v.23-25.
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
To believe in Jesus just by seeing his supernatural power is only based on one’s selfish desire to be protected by such a power and profit from it. That is neither a true faith nor a true worship.
On the contrary, the “sign” Jesus did show was a story that sounded foolish and was hard to believe for many people. He said,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
John adds his explanation about this word of Jesus, saying, “the temple he had spoken of was his body.” And he continues, “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.” The “sign” Jesus gave us was his death on the cross and his resurrection. He was the one who died on the cross and rose again from death three days later, all for our sake and to take our place. His death and resurrection is the testimony of God’s love and mercy to forgive our sin.
When we are broken in our sin and weakness and just seek God’s help, we get to understand Jesus love of the cross. We get to understand through his cross that God has already forgiven us and always loves us. And we are given a new life to live in God’s love, instead of dying in our own sin, just as Jesus rose again from death. This is the way God is, god whom we worship. Let each of us discard arrogance and hypocrisy and face our sin and weakness with no fear. God will only rejoice when we offer our whole heart to Him and rely on him for all of our life decisions. That is the worship we should make.
(Prayer) Dear Lord Jesus, search our heart. Please pour your spirit on us so that we may understand your love more. Help us reveal our hypocrisy and arrogance. Let us not hide our mistakes from you. Help us understand the magnitude of the sacrifice you made on the cross and of the compassion that you poured out on us freely. Let us know if there is anything that hinders us from giving a true worship to you. Dear Lord Jesus, we give thanks to you and pray in your name, Amen.
Summary
God never punishes us out of His anger against our weakness and mistakes. However, He openly shows His sorrow and anger when we hide our weakness and mistakes and live hypocritically and arrogantly as if we are righteous. Let us reflect on ourselves from time to time to see whether our lives are truly based on our sincere worship to God or our worship is just a formality for the sake of our convenience.
For Discussion
1. What made Jesus angry the most?
2. What is the “temple” that we must destroy?