“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 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.” vs13-15

Zeal produces results that men can’t handle or understand, but we must be zealous for the gospel - its purity as the only means of true worship. There is NO ACCESS to God apart from the gospel, so we must be zealous to maintain it. Gal 2:4-5, “Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”

This is the attitude of Paul, who said if anyone preached any other gospel, then they were to be accursed, and he stood against Peter. He was willing to get into trouble with men to defend the purity of the gospel, because without it, we have nothing.

The problem was not the sheep and the oxen. They were supposed to be there; it was the money changers and businessmen in the temple, making money off religion.

The problem is not giving; it is supposed to be there. The problem is those making money off the people. The problem is not the Bible; it is the twisting of it. The problem is not the instruments or the choir! The problem is no worship of God.

If Christ is there, then it is sanctified and in due order [1 Chron 15:13-15]: it is done to bring Him glory, according to the word and the spirit of the gospel.

Zeal causes us to do things that others may think are excessive. John 2:16-17

And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Zeal for the gospel CANNOT BE too much. Let it be in love, but let us “fight for every inch” of the gospel, even as NATO promises to defend its territory from Putin. We should be no less zealous about God’s glory than we are for national boundaries and autonomous state government. We must be unyielding and unflinching, demanding God to be worshiped the right way.

This zeal is good; it caused God to die on a cross, because He saw no other way to put away sin and make us holy. Isa 59:17, “For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.”

Secondly, the Jews were interested in miracles, and that is the problem today in Nigeria and much of Africa. John 2:18-21

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

People want to see signs and wonders, which they do not see, except the lying signs of mind manipulation [2 Thess 2:9-12]. They don’t see the dead raised or the sick miraculously healed. They don’t hear people speak in tongues. They have fake miracles to verify fake messages and false gospels, and it is heartbreaking.

No sign will be given but the resurrection from the dead, and we are signs and wonders who believe [Isa 8:18]. The greatest miracle in Nigeria is a person not looking for miracles but basking in the glory of Christ’s gospel.

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”

People don’t understand the SPIRITUAL NATURE of the kingdom. This is the fatal flaw. Many think of bread and miracles, but they don’t think of Christ the bread of life and the new birth! They want something for their earthly appetite, and like Esau, they reject the spiritual for a morsel of meat [Heb 12:16]! They want a gospel to make their lives better, but they don’t want to hear about eternal life. They want what they can do, like Israel at Sinai, and refuse to hear God from Zion. The gospel is despised and carnality takes its place. The pastor becomes an MC, making sure the festivities go smoothly, rather than being a messenger of God. It is religion for worldlings, but it has nothing to do with faith, love, and good works; it is humanism masquerading as godliness!

We must be brought to see the interpretation of the text is Christ crucified - His sufferings and the glory that should follow, which are not the things of this world [2 Cor 4:18]. No where in the new testament are we promised wealth or health, or we’d have them.

Finally,true believers understand. vs20-21

“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.”

True disciples see the beauty and wonder of spiritual things. They are not in it for money but for ministry to their souls. Like Peter, they say, “You have the words of eternal life.” They hear the gospel and praise God with spiritual understanding, because the Spirit has been given to them, and God is gracious, having mercy on whom He will!

Oh, how refreshing it is to know that God is in charge by the gospel. He can simply speak, and men will hearken, no matter how rebellious their nature. He has power to change hearts and open eyes, so that the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead are raised. He makes worshippers out of murmurers and doubters. He takes the self-centered and transforms us to zealous pursuers of His glory. He removes the scales, so that we see Christ in the Scriptures and worship Him. He transforms Saul of Tarsus into Paul the Apostle. We simply OBTAIN MERCY.