Wrath and Grace

 

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  --Romans 1:18

Sometimes the good is the enemy of perfection.  When we try to make something more convenient, especially in worship, the original meaning is lost.  Let me give you an example.  When God originally set up the system of animal sacrifice, He wanted people to bring from what they had.  Most of the ancient Israelites were shepherds, so it made sense for them to bring a sacrifice from their flocks.  They were to bring a perfect lamb, one without blemish, to the Temple to be sacrificed on their behalf.  For people too poor to have their own flock, they were allowed to sacrifice a pigeon.

As time went on, and Jewish life become more diversified, fewer and fewer of them were shepherds.  Some were bankers, or tradesmen who would have to buy a lamp for the sacrifice.  These people saw a need--tradesmen and skilled craftsmen needed to buy lambs, as well; so why not set up a booth and sell livestock to pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem for the high holy days?  Meanwhile, the priests were accepting tithes at the Temple, but as more and more Jews were living in foreign lands and traveling to the Temple with money from the countries that they lived in, the priests decided it was better to have a currency exchange, so that the tithes could be paid in the Temple coinage.  Bankers were involved in that enterprise, as well, as they could set up exchange rates for the foreign currencies being brought from all over the known world.

More time passed, and this convenience got closer and closer to the Temple, so that by the time of Jesus, the money changes and livestock traders were doing business on the actual Temple grounds, in what was called The Court Of The Gentiles.  This court was originally designed for non-Jews to come and worship the True God, but when Jesus arrived at the Temple on the Passover, the place was anything but worshipful.  There were birdcages, and sheep pens, and tables where currency was exchanged.  The sights, sounds, and smells were not what was originally intended when God first set up the Tabernacle and the system of blood sacrifice.

Let's read about it here:

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the Temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the Temple, with the sheep and oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of HIs body.  Therefore when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  --John 2:13-22

John's Gospel has just spoken of a very intimate, very private, very gracious event when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana.  John contrasts that with a very public, very boisterous, very harsh rebuke of the priests and businessmen who had made themselves comfortable, who were using the Court Of The Gentiles in the Temple of God as a profit center.

Now John puts this event near the beginning of Jesus's ministry, where the other Gospels (called the Synoptic Gospels, because they "see with one eye") describe a similar event later, near the time of His crucifixion.  Whether these were two separate events or the same event simply re-ordered in John's narrative to make a point, we don't know.  If you listen to a very literal pastor, he may truly believe that there were two separate Temple cleanings, because he takes the Bible literally, and the chronology of each Gospel writer literally.  If your pastor is less literal and more liberal minded, he may believe that this is the same event, but emphasized early in the book of John (rather than described later as it was in Matthew, Mark, and Luke) to make a point.

Whatever your thinking on this issue, John does give a striking contrast between the Temple cleansing and the Wedding at Cana.  Bible commentator David Guzik writes: 

The glory of Jesus is found in His compassion, and this was a miracle full of compassion. The wine was not an absolute necessity; no one would die drinking water. All at risk was the embarrassment, reputation, and perhaps the bank account of the bridal couple. Yet, Jesus — and His Father — counted that enough to do this first public miracle and sign.

Yet the second public event described by John has Jesus exhibiting the wrath of God, not His love or compassion.  The glory of God can certainly be seen in His wrath.  Ezekiel 25:17 says, "I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”  Any theology that emphasizes the love of God while downplaying the wrath of God is an incomplete Gospel, bordering on heresy.

We see in this passage that Jesus didn't just go berserk; He didn't have a moment where He lost His mind and lashed out recklessly.  There was forethought put into this, as He took the time to fashion a scourge or whip out of cords.  He did deliberately and with aforethought drive out the sheep and oxen.  He may have even used the scourge on the vendors and bankers there.  We do know He overturned the tables, and poured the money from the cash boxes, letting the different currencies fall on the ground and intermingle.  Jesus was no respecter of persons; when He saw a wrong being committed, He did whatever it took to make it right.

That's what makes his conversation with the priests so telling.  "By what authority do You do this?" they demanded.  "What sign can you give us?"  Jesus responded by pointing to Himself, and saying, "You want a sign?  I'll give you a sign.  Destroy this temple (meaning Himself) and in three days I will raise it up."  The Jews did not understand His reference, and scoffed at Him.  Herod's Temple had been under construction for 46 years to this point, and it would not be fully completed for another 18 years.  Who in their right mind would think that the entire campus could be destroyed and then restored in just three days?

The disciples' heads were spinning.  They remembered Psalm 69:9, which says about the Messiah, "Zeal for Your house has consumed me."  And after Jesus's resurrection they remembered this event and believed in Him all the more.  “Jesus’ technique of using a paradoxical statement to bewilder his enemies, which he subsequently explained for his disciples, frequently appears in John’s Gospel.” (Tenney)

To sum up, Jesus went to Jerusalem during the Feast of Passover, because many people were there to worship.   The activities of the tradesmen and money-changers was distracting from the worship of God; in fact, what had probably begun as an act of convenience for the faithful had turned into a chance to make a serious profit, which was not what the Temple or the system of blood sacrifice had intended at all.  When we go to worship, we should not be distracted.  We should not be concerned with business or profit or anything else other than glorifying God.  Sometimes glorifying God looks like loving people, and showing them mercy.  Sometimes glorifying God means confrontation and righteous condemnation (of practices, not people).  

We should not bow down to conveniences, like watching church services on television or online--you can't serve God from your couch.  We should not accommodate those who bring outside influences into the body of Christ.  Motivations matter.  How much better to be confronted by a pastor and a few godly church members, and to be given the chance to repent, rather than to meet an angry God at the final judgement?  Yes, God is merciful, but He is also vengeful.  We'd best not forget that.