Misplaced Zeal (잘못된 열심)

John 2:13-22

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.” 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,[a] and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 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.

Last time we talked about faith based on Hebrews 11. Faith is not what we want to believe or hope for. We do not define what faith is, but rather it is defined by its object that is the promise for Christ and Christ himself. Therefore, the knowledge of the object of faith characterizes a person’s faith; your knowledge of God shapes your Christian life and piety. Enoch is an illustration about it. To live by faith, also, is like you walk without relying on the sight. The obedience of Abraham who went ahead not knowing where to go is the best example of faith illustrated in that regard. Hebrews 11 provides us with the numerous evidence and examples of faith so that we might be encouraged and learn from one another in the church. 

Today, I would like to get a little deeper with the object of faith, that is, who Jesus Christ is. And I choose John 2:13-22 for it. This passage is well-known to us for a rather uncharacteristic behavior of Jesus. He was mad when he saw the temple was being violated by the people. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned the tables. He made himself a whip and drove them out of the temple with the sheep and oxen. This so-called cleansing of the temple is recorded in all four gospels, but John’s recording is different and unique for several reasons. 

First, synoptic gospels (Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48) treat this incident after his messianic entry into Jerusalem, meaning toward the end of his earthly ministry. However, John records it in an early stage of his ministry right after the miracle at Cana in Galilee. As to who is right, it is not our primary interest, but the majority of the scholars support that the synoptic gospels are more historical. 

Second, the synoptic gospels are rather brief when they report on it, but John’s report is more detailed and coherent in story. It obviously reflects the narrator’s intention that is to be found out as the story itself unfolds. 

Third, the synoptic gospels quote Isaiah 56:7 (“my house shall be called a house of prayer”) and Jeremiah 7:11 (“you have made it a den of robbers”). It serves to indicate that Jesus takes the occasion as a religious controversy, and for the Jews it suffices to kill Jesus as a matter of days. In John the point is slightly different; Jesus addresses not the trade in the temple but himself. The way John records this incident is not to convince the readers of the severity of perversion in the temple practice in Jewish life but to divert the reader’s attention away from the temple to one person, namely, Jesus made a personal reference to the temple like “my Father’s house” (v. 16). Eventually, the diversion is further made when Jesus himself is reported to have meant himself not the temple, when he said to build it in three days (v. 19). John, long after the temple was gone, recalls that Jesus meant himself not the temple (v. 21). 

Thus far, we see at least five characters appearing in this narrative of the temple cleansing; Jesus, disciples, Jews, the narrator himself (John), and the intended readers (us). The narration proceeds in real time, as if the reader can see everything that Jesus sees. The narrator displays a craftmanship of writing; his primary objective is to introduce who Jesus is, namely, the Son of God. For that effect John focuses on the progress in the disciples’ faith; their slow but gradual change in their knowledge of the lord Jesus is a point to watch. The later audiences are to discover as well that Jesus is truly God just as the disciples did. The narrator kindly guides us through to follow how the disciples made progress in their knowledge of the object of faith.

To best catch the narrator’s intention, we may begin with v. 11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” The first sign at Cana, according to the narrator, brought the disciples closer to faith, particularly, about who the object of their faith was. Yet, we are hinted not long after that their faith still had a way to grow. The narrator illustrates how their faith was affected by the scandalous incident unfolding before their eyes. “His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me” (v. 17). The disciples through this incident “remembered” the Word and scripture, a progress hinted by the narrator compared to the previous account at Cana. He further demonstrates his artistry in literature by adding his later observation probably seasoned over at least a half century in time. “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” (v. 22). The disciples once again “remembered” what the Lord had said and now “believed” the scripture and the Word. The narrator meticulously knitted the pieces of story to convince the intended audience of today that Jesus is truly proven God through the change discovered in the faith of the disciples.

What strikes me the most personally in this incident is that the disciples remembered a verse from Psalm 69, as a consequential reaction to a very unlikely behavior from their master. “His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me” (v. 17). Somehow, the word “zeal” rang the bell for them. What zeal did the disciples see in this connection that had triggered the outrage of their master? They saw a zeal for worship from the Jews. In this incident zeal for the Jews was apparently identified with the temple.

Diaspora during the second temple (Zerubbabel temple) period, if they are a good Jew, made pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least once in their lifetime. So, the trade was a legitimate part of the temple practice, for those who travel a long distance could not obviously bring a sacrifice with them. In other words, it was their expression of zeal to make a visit and offer a sacrifice. Therefore, the trade at the temple court was not only necessary but also justified in the spirit of their zeal and fervor. Simply, it was a good thing in their eyes. What the narrator could not afford to fail to note, however, is that the disciples remembered “zeal” from the scripture (“For zeal for your house has consumed me,” Ps. 69:9) but not in a positive and glorifying way though. It was a misplaced zeal. 

In the Bible, roughly speaking, there are two kinds of zeal that can be contrasted, the zeal of Jehovah and the zeal of the Jews, or you might call it, holy zeal vs. misplaced zeal. The zeal of Jehovah fulfills his own righteousness by sending Messiah or brings back the remnants to the land of Israel. Many verses of the Bible evidence it. However, the zeal of the Jews is rebuked because their zeal is often after the Law and their religion. Rather, a failure for them is not being able to see because of their misplaced zeal what they had to see beyond their own Law and religion. The apostle Paul confesses of his own once misplaced zeal as well, “as to zeal, [I was] a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law” (Phil. 3:6). His misplaced zeal made him a proud persecutor of many Christians. He was first in killing Stephen (Acts 7:58). For the same zeal the Jews killed Jesus. The narrator carefully depicts what it signified for the disciples’ faith when they remembered what was written in the Bible. The misplaced zeal of the Jews occasioned the disciples to make progress in their knowledge that Jesus is truly God.

The misplaced zeal of the Jews is further illustrated through a dialogue between the Jew and Jesus. The Jews asked him for more signs as he had performed in Cana. Even Paul had rebuked the Jews about it, “for Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,” (1 Cor. 1:22). Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). The Jews took the words of Jesus literally and became so angry because they took so much pride in the temple. “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” (v. 20). You can tell that the Jews had so much pride in it. The temple was to them almost who they were. The Jews throughout the diaspora made pilgrimages at feast times. The temple was a potent symbol that bound them in a common identity. However, very sadly, they failed to see what the temple stood for. Jesus the Messiah! Of course, Jesus meant his body when he said he would raise it up again in three days. The narrator’s intention was for the readers to grasp it, as he kindly provides a footnote, “But he was speaking about the temple of his body” (v. 21). Jesus was not quibbling about maleficence or mismanagement but called for a complete dismantling of the entire system of the temple practice. The temple itself was no longer necessary. The signs that Jesus performed point to an aspect of who Jesus is that his believers need to recognize.

When the women at the well (John 4) inquired of Jesus where should be the proper place of worship, his answer most likely relied on this interpretation here of the temple incident. If the temple symbolizes the location and presence of God, Jesus was essentially saying to the Jewish leaders that he is the presence of God. For Israel the temple in Jerusalem was God’s permanent dwelling place, a sign of the covenantal promise of eternal presence. Now Immanuel has come for them and is with them. In light of John 4:20-23, as intended by the narrator, we see that the old temple will no longer matter to Christians.

The narrator quickly moves back to the disciples and demonstrates how their faith changed when they witnessed the resurrection of their master. At the moment of the incident the disciples did not quite understand the word of Jesus. However, they “remembered” this very incident of temple cleansing when their master resurrected and understood what this incident signified. And they “believed” the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken (v. 22). Their faith came to the terms with who Jesus is through this incident. The same effect is also intended for the later readers as well when the narrator made this comment much after the temple was long gone due to the siege of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70. 

Misplaced zeal, typically by the Jews and Paul at one time, misreads the scripture and therefore misunderstands who Jesus really is. They had zeal but had it misplaced. Their cases were the Law, the temple, and the religion. Their zeal made them to kill people including Jesus. The narrator contrasts the disciples to the Jews in that regard. The faith of the disciples grew as they understood the Word and scripture. When they remembered (scripture), they could believe (Jesus). Or they could believe Jesus with the help of scripture. Such understanding of both scripture and Lord is an unfolding process in this narrative. The “remembering” of scripture and Jesus’ own words is at the center of the lives of the disciples. They, according to the narrator, came to deeper realization of what it means to believe in Jesus. The cleansing of the temple elaborates Jesus’ identity for his disciples and for the later readers intended by John. It prompts disciples then and now toward on-going engagement with scripture.

May God bless your faith this year, as you strive to be faithful students of the Bible.