Sermon Tone Analysis

This week we are able to move away from the more sensitive issues of the role of women and wine and alcohol, nothing controversial this week, or is there?

Well, we will no doubt visit controversial subjects again for that is the nature of going through Scripture systematically whether it is going through the gospels chronologically or a New Testament letter, sooner or later we are going to broach subjects on which we do not all agree.

I hope that despite differences we can each hold each other in grace and love and have robust debates about what God says rather than our own closely guarded opinions.

None of us have yet got all of doctrine right but we seek God out of sincerity of heart.

Back to today’s passage: Capernaum is 80 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies.

Well, we know that roads are not as the crow flies especially this one where we find Jesus this week.

This was no quick journey for He and the disciples would have walked and it would have taken 4 days.

How things have changed!

This is a journey that now takes 2.5 hours to drive.

We found out last week that Cana is 67 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies.

Well, we know that the roads are not straight all the way to Jerusalem where we find Jesus this week.

This was no quick journey for He would have walked and would have taken several days.

During this passage and the meeting with Nicodemus afterwards we have no sight of any of Jesus’ disciples so He was possibly on His own.

Have you thought about what it says in

What a prophecy that has come true in our times: knowledge has exploded as well as the very fast way we travel - getting to Australia in less than a day - you could literally get there and back covering 22,000 miles before Jesus could cover 80 miles of travel back then.

Well, Passover is one of three mandatory festivals where all Jewish men were expected to go up to Jerusalem to the Temple and so went off Jesus probably with His brothers and disciples as they get mentioned in verse 12. Remember Galilee is in the north and so had to go down to Jerusalem, but here it says go up: The language used is purposeful: Jerusalem is on a mountain, you go literally have to go up to Jerusalem and the Temple and so it became a thing with pilgrimages that you go up to the Lord for He is above all.

We heard about the Passover two weeks ago when John the Baptist spoke of Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

It was important for Jesus to be there not only as a Jew but as the One who is saviour of the world.

John uses unusual language: instead of the Lord’s Passover as it is called in Exodus it is here called the Jews’ Passover.

No longer was the Lord Lord of this festival.

Religion had taken over, it was now just ritual but here was Jesus was coming.

But He was in shock when He arrived, it was not how it was when He was there as a 12-yr child.

Now in the place which He had said was the place He was expected to be going about the Father’s business there was a giant marketplace.

An altogether different kind of business.

It is not that surprising seeing how many people were there at the time: Josephus.

the Jewish historian of the time, reckons there were 2.7 million people there for the festival as records showed that 255,000 animals were slaughtered.

If you ever have been to the old cattle markets this must have been how it felt but on a grander scale.

Yes, the people had come to sacrifice, they needed to buy animals, especially sheep for the Passover but the Temple had now become a barn.

They were not supposed to be selling their produce inside the temple but outside of it.

Not only that but they were fleecing the people by making the only currency acceptable the Temple money having to exchange their ordinary money for a price before they could buy for the sacrifice.

The priests must have got incredibly rich of the back of the traders and the people.

Then there is the noise of all this which must have been tremendous and hardly conducive for worship or prayer or quiet reflection.

Be still and know that I am God was just not possible.

Well, this was just not right.

Some people talk about the red mist of anger descending and destruction ensuing with the lives of others potentially in danger as a result but is this how we would characterise how Jesus was?

I think that there is a difference.

Those who speak of anger arising in such a way find that they are not in control of their emotions or their physical outbursts.

The anger of Jesus was controlled and ordered though it certainly disrupted what was going on in the Temple.

Jesus made a whip, the kind used to move flocks, and then went to work.

Again He was going about His Father’s business, His Father’s work.

I can’t imagine what the people made of this.

Suddenly all their wares were on the floor, money flying everywhere and animals on the loose and on the run and they too were suddenly on the run out the door.

I mean you wouldn’t stay either it you were face to face with fleeing animals and someone who had a whip.

To those who were selling doves to the poor, for it was only the poor who would buy doves He was saying get out and take your stuff with you.

How dare you make my Father’s house a shop.

This is where this verse from comes into play.

He was zealous for His Father’s house.

And wouldn’t you be?

I don’t think anyone here would turn their home into a shop, especially not one that sells animals and birds.

But this would be worse if someone else set up shop in your house.

This is exactly how Jesus felt about all this.

When we look at the Ministry of Jesus we see that twice he cleared the Temple: once at the beginning of His ministry and once at the start of Holy Week; the week that led to His crucifixion.

Isa

When we look at the Ministry of Jesus we see that twice he cleared the Temple: once at the beginning and once at the start of Holy Week, the week that led to His crucifixion.

My Dad once said that Jesus was a sinner for being angry.

So this begs the question, right?

Is he right?

Is being angry a sin?

We believe that Jesus was sinless so we have the answer to the question already.

No one said to Jesus - hey you sinner! as surely as they would have in those days…no, they do not accuse Him of anything except to ask what right he has to do these things.

So, being angry is not sinful, right?

Well, again this is not the whole story.

My Dad once said that Jesus was a sinner for He was once angry.

So this begs the question, right?

Is being angry a sin?

We believe that Jesus was sinless so we have the answer to the question already.

No one said to Jesus - hey you sinner! as surely as they would have in those days…no, they do not accuse Him of anything except to ask what right he has to do these things.

So, being angry is not sinful, right?

Well, again this is not the whole story.

We probably know the verse, for we should as we read it very recently in:

But what kind of anger is being spoken of here?

Is it the kind that is angry at someone for cutting you up on the road or the anger of seeing the working conditions of Bangladeshis or of sex trafficking?

There is a patent difference.

One is self-indignant, the other indignant at the injustice done to others.

One self-righteous, the other godly outrage.

Clearly the self-indignant and self-righteous anger is to be avoided.

If it is anger because you have been slighted then we are called to forgiveness:

There are both unrighteous forms of anger:

Again from

Nations can be angry at the wrong things too...

And then there is a righteous anger which is perfectly allowed and which Jesus showed on a number of occasions: These people had a thing about working on the Sabbath and healing, calling that work;

And then there is a righteous anger which is perfectly allowed and which Jesus showed on a number of occassions as well as in the Old Testametn

Mark as well as in the Old Testametn

Indeed, we saw a couple of weeks ago, that God gets angry - is He sinning by being so?

Of course not!

Then the Jews ask a very odd thing: show us a sign that you are right to do these things.

Either it was right or wrong, surely.

Do you need a sign for this?

They had come so far down the road that they did not think that what they were doing was wrong- and who are you to tell us anyway!