ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME
John 2:12-25
Key Verse 2:17
17
His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."
First, “How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market?” (12-16). After having
recruited his first disciples in Judea, Jesus came to Cana in Galilee. There, he performed his first
miraculous sign, changing the foot-washing water to choice wine, and blessed the newly wedcouple. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, brothers and his disciples, and
stayed there for a few days. Then, when it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went
up to Jerusalem with his disciples. It was their first mission venture as Jesus’ disciples. There,
something unexpected happened. Look at verses 14 through 16. When they entered the temple
courts, Jesus found men selling cattle, sheep and doves. As he was entering the temple courts, he
must have expected to see people studying the word of God or praying or to hear beautiful
hymns praising God. But instead, he saw the temple crowded with merchants and animals. And
everywhere, he heard the animals making a lot of noise and the merchants shouting, “99 cents for
two doves!” Maybe, some other people were arguing to cut a better deal. The temple was like a
marketplace or a stock market. How did Jesus respond to this? He made a whip out of cords, and
drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money
changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here!
How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” Jesus burned with his holy anger, and
cleared the temple.
Why were there in the temple all these merchants and animals? In the Old Testament,
God commanded the Israel people to celebrate the seven feasts every year - the feast of Passover,
the feast of Unleavened Bread, the feast of Firstfruits, the feast of Weeks, the feast of Trumpets,
the day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacle. These feasts were Israel’s most important
national holidays. And God commanded the Israel people to keep three of them very specially –
the feast of Unleavened Bread, the feast of Weeks, also known as the Pentecost, and the feast of
Tabernacle. Every Jewish man should come to the temple in Jerusalem on these three feasts. And
God said to them, “No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must
bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deu 16:16-17) Based
on this command, every Jewish man should come to the temple in Jerusalem three times a year
with some offering. So in order to keep these three feasts, at the beginning of each year, they
checked out their calendar, marked the dates for these three feasts with thick red ink, and
arranged all other occasions such as business trip, vacation plan, family gathering or wedding
ceremony to make sure that they would be able to come and appear before God in the Jerusalem
temple. They set aside the dates for these three feasts, and those days were untouchable, solely
dedicated to God. Because of these three feasts, their yearly schedule became God-first, and
God-centered. Each feast usually lasted one week, so to the Jews from a distance, it required a
whole chunk of time – three days or ten days or even one month journey to Jerusalem, seven
days' feast, and then, go back home spending the same amount of time. In the eyes of the
unbelievers, the Jews looked stubborn and unwise. But the Jews remained as the Jews because
they were different in their practical lives like this. Every year, when these feasts came, all the
Jews made their journey to Jerusalem from every corner of the world; it was their holy
pilgrimage to the city of God. But there was a problem. If you live close to the temple, you have
no problem to bring your sheep or cattle as an offering to God. But if you live far away from the
temple, you are in big trouble to bring those animals to the temple. So, for this case, God
instructed the Jews to take their money, come and buy animals for sacrifices to God in
Jerusalem. So for these Jews coming from a distance, the Jews in Jerusalem held a market in the
outer court of the temple, called the court of the Gentiles. People exchanged the money, usually,
silver, for the Jewish currency, and bought animals for their sacrifices to God. This was the
reason why there were merchants, money-changers, cattle, sheep and doves in the temple.
Then, why was Jesus so angry with them? It was because their heart was spoiled. The
temple is the place where God chose to dwell and meet his people. The temple is the place where
people come, meet God, receive the forgiveness of their sins, and restore their relationship with
God. And it is the place people study the word of God and pray for all peoples on earth. But they
were utilizing the temple for their selfish gain. Jesus said to them, “How dare you turn my
Father’s house into a market!” In Luke’s gospel, Jesus said that they had turned the temple into a
den of robbers, indicating that these merchants and money-changers ripped off other fellow Jews
who came from a long distance to worship God in Jerusalem. Jesus was upset with them not
because the temple was noisy, but because they were utilizing the temple of God for their own
business purpose. Actually, they were making money using the name of God. God is not the One
we can use for our own benefit. Rather, He is the very One whom we must worship and dedicate
ourselves to. But these people’s heart was corrupt. They did not come to the temple to worship
God and pray, but to make money. Jesus did not allow any reason to spoil the temple. His heart
was burned with anger at these people who spoiled the temple.
People come to church for various reasons. I saw one brother whose mother encouraged
him to go to church to find a marriage partner; as a parent, I totally understand her intention - at
least, church goers are better than others. But church is not a dating office; she should have sent
her son to church to seek the truth and worship God. I remember a brother who went to church
because he was lonely; there, he found his sin partners; some people consider church as a good
customer base for their business. We remember that Jesus asked the two disciples when they
followed him, saying, "What do you want?" We must come to church to worship God, to serve
God and to have fellowship with God; we must come to church confessing our sins in Jesus so
that we may be restored to the fellowship with God. God says in Isaiah 56:7, “My house will be
called a house of prayer for all nations.” We must come to church to pray for the salvation of all
peoples on earth. Church is the gathering of people who have deep concern for the salvation of
all peoples on earth. For this, we must study the Bible and teach others the word of God
diligently.
Second, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (17-22). When Jesus burned with his
anger against the merchants in the temple and destroyed the whole market, the disciples were
shocked. They could not understand what Jesus was doing. Selling cattle, sheep and doves, and
exchanging money during the feasts in the temple court was biblical, and well-built religious
tradition. They had seen this market every year since they were young. Also, it was extremely
dangerous for any person to go against the religious authorities in the religious society. What
Jesus did at the temple was really shocking; it was revolutionary. Maybe, it was too much for the
disciples to understand. They might be embarrassed. But at that time, how did they respond to
Jesus’ action? Verse 17 says, “His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house
will consume me.” As they saw Jesus’ action, one word of God from the Old Testament flashed
through their minds – David’s confession of love for God. Instead of entertaining human
thoughts or complaining, they saw Jesus’ zeal for God’s house. Jesus’ outward action was very
tough, and even embarrassing, but they saw the reason why Jesus was doing so – his exceptional
zeal for God’s house.
“Zeal for your house will consume me.” This quotation is from Psalm 69, a psalm of
King David. In this psalm, David describes his struggle of how he sought God. He says, "For I
endure scorn for your sake and shame covers my face. I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to
my mother's own sons; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult
you fall on me." (Ps 69:7-9) Why did he become a stranger and alien to his own brothers? They
were all Israelites, having knowledge of God, and maintaining a certain form of God-worship;
everyone talked about God; they prayed before the meal in God's name; but to most of them, it
was not real, but simply, they had the culture of God-worship; they did not really seek God but
had pride that they believed in God. But David was different; he really had zeal for God - God's
house, God's kingdom, God's will and God's people; he was really seeking God's will upon his
life; he zealously sought God. As a result, when he talked with his own brothers about what he
wanted in his life, about what he was going to do and pursue, simply, they could not understand;
his value system, his way of thinking, his future desire and direction and his struggles - simply,
they could not understand. In their eyes, it seemed that David was too presumptuous, selfconceited. So, they ridiculed him, saying, "You are lunatic. You don't know the reality." And
they advised him to have balance between God and the world. He felt he was a stranger and alien
in his family because he was really different from them in his value system, life's purpose,
direction, and future hope. One time, David was angry at Goliath who had insulted God and
Israel for forty days - all Israel soldiers were afraid of him and just swallowed such humiliation
for forty days. But David was angry and said that he would go and kill this uncircumcised man
by the power of God. But When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men,
he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did
you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your
heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." (1Sam 17:28) His family never understood his
exceptional zeal for God. Because he had zeal for God, only because he sought God
wholeheartedly, he had to endure scorns and insults even from his own family members. But
that's not all. He says in Psalm 69, "When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; 11 when I put
on sackcloth, people make sport of me. 12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the
song of the drunkards. (Psa 69:10-12) Here, weeping, fasting and putting on sackcloth are the
expressions of true repentance and struggle for the real fellowship with God. other people, due to
their religious life, took everything for granted; once they attended worship service, they
considered that they were already good; when they offered some sacrifices, they assumed that
their sins were already forgiven. Then, when they saw David struggling hard to really repent of
his sins and to seek the real fellowship with God, weeping, fasting and putting on sackcloth, they
ridiculed him, saying that he was a lunatic, maniac. The leaders in the society such as priests
mocked him and losers such as the drunkards gossiped about him. Due to his sincere struggle to
seek God, he became a laughing stock in Israel. But David would not back out. He sought God
wholeheartedly. God loved him and established the kingdom of God in Israel through him.
When the disciples saw Jesus destroying market in the temple, going against the
authority, they could see Jesus' exceptional zeal for God's house, like that of David. This shows
that many people in Israel had a sense of problem about this market in the temple. But since it
had been a long tradition, and also, since it was operated by the authorities such as chief priests
in the temple, no one was willing to protest against it; they were afraid. But Jesus was different;
he had zeal for God's house; for the sake of God's house, Jesus was willing to be ridiculed,
mocked, and even was willing to die, so he fought against this corruption of the temple by
destroying the market. There were so many difficulties to do God's work in this God-believing
country Israel. But with exceptional zeal for God, Jesus strived to do God's work. Nothing could
stop him or slow him down from loving God and seeking God's kingdom. Eventually, Jesus
established God's kingdom powerfully in Israel even through his death on the cross.
When we think about David's zeal and Jesus' zeal for God's house, we can see how we
must seek God's kingdom in our generation. Today, like in the time of David, when you seek
God really as David did, you become aliens and strangers even to your own family members. In
the Old Testament, Hosea 9:7 shows that in Israel, the prophet was considered a fool, and if
anyone sought God wholeheartedly, they called him "maniac." In the New Testament, the apostle
Paul says, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
(2Ti 3:12) Today, we face the same challenge. I remember one mother who professed that she
was a believer - I don't know if she was a real believer or not. She left her son alone when he
lived a wild and self-destructive life in Hollywood. But when he repented and struggled to live a
holy and godly life, she was angry and persecuted him; she even hired two big guys to kidnap
him; they tied him hand and foot, put him in a car trunk, and took him to a deep mountain. When
you live a wild life, no one will bother you except demons. But when you live a godly life,
people will persecute you. Indeed, it is not easy for anyone to build the kingdom of God in this
society, because there are challenges, difficulties and dangers all the time. But when we have the
same zeal for God’s house like David, like Jesus, we can build the kingdom of God in all our
campuses.
Look at verse 18. This verse shows us the Jews' response to Jesus' action. They too, could
not understand what Jesus was doing. But they never tried to think about the word of God.
Instead, simply they opposed and challenged him to prove his authority to do so. At this Jesus
said to them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” Jesus was talking
about his death and resurrection. But it sounded like he was giving them a riddle only to confuse
them more. Again, they could not understand what he was talking about. So they challenged him
again, saying, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in
three days?”
But the disciples’ response was different. They too could not understand what Jesus was
talking about. But they did not reject his words only because they could not understand it.
Instead, they kept it in mind thinking that there must be deep meaning in his words. Then, later,
when Jesus rose again in three days, everything became clear, and they could see that Jesus had
known everything from the beginning, and everything happened according to the Scriptures.
Through this, their eyes were opened to Jesus and the Scriptures, and their faith became concrete
based on the word of God.
In this passage we see the two different responses to Jesus’ action and words. The Jews
challenged Jesus because what Jesus did or what he said was not what they could understand.
But the disciples did not reject or challenge Jesus only because what he said or what he did was
not what they could understand. Instead, they thought Jesus might have some reason to do so or
say so, which they could not understand yet. They tried to understand his action based on God's
words. They kept his words in mind instead of rejecting it. Then, when his word was fulfilled in
their eyes, they could understand what he meant, and they could grow up in faith continuously.
People say, “In the school of learning, attitude is everything.” When we judge the word of God
according to our own understanding or knowledge, we never grow up, because we accept what
we already know and reject what we don't understand. But when we have a humble learning
mind and follow the disciples’ good example, we can grow up continuously finding deep
spiritual secrets.
Third, "For he knew all men" (23-25). Look at verses 23 through 25. Let's read these
verses together:
23
Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous
signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them,
for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was
in a man.
This passage describes how Jesus' ministry was in Jerusalem. During the feast of
Passover, Jesus performed many miracles, and many people believed in him. When these people
saw Jesus performing miracles such as healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, and
driving out demons, they praised and thanked Jesus with many Amens. They were so excited.
Wherever Jesus went, a great number of crowd followed all the time. Based on the miraculous
signs, they believed in Jesus’ name. Here, the expression, "They believed in his name," means
that they accepted him as the promised Messiah; they professed their faith in Jesus, saying, "You
are the Christ." It seemed that his ministry was going very well in Jerusalem; it seemed that Jesus
should be happy and welcome them, saying, "Good job. Now you are saved." But Jesus didn't
welcome them at all. Verse 24 starts with a big, “But.” “But Jesus would not entrust himself to
them, for he knew all men.” Even though they professed their faith in him, he would not put his
trust in them; simply, they said, "I believe that you are the Christ," he didn't believe what they
said; he didn't give them any credit at all. Why? The author apostle John says in verse 24, “for he
knew all men.” “For he knew all men” This short sentence means that even though people
praised Jesus and believed in his name with many thanks and Amen, Jesus knew what kind of
person each of them truly was – outwardly, and with their lips, they looked like very good
believers, but actually, they were enjoying some amusement or quick benefits through his
miracles without any true repentance before God, and they did not have any interest in Jesus.
Jesus was not deceived by them, for he knew all of them. Verse 25 reads: “He did not need man's
testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.” At that time, many people believed in
Jesus with many Amens. But Jesus did not need any man to warn him about them saying that
their faith was a fake, because he knew what was in a man. When one person professed his faith
in him, saying, "I believe that you are the Son of God," the other person did not need to inform
Jesus about him, saying, “Jesus, do not be deceived. He is a liar,” for Jesus already knew what
was in a man.
"For he knew all men." "He knew what was in a man." What scary words these are for
those who do not truly love God. They may deceive others through their performance or motion
of worship, but Jesus sees them through. His eyes are like blazing fire, seeing through
everything, and all things are exposed to him naked. The apostle Paul warned the believers in
Galatia, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who
sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to pleas
the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Gal 6:7,8) At the same time, what comforting
words these are for those who truly love him and pursue him! They do not love anything in the
world - no compromise at all. Maybe, their performance is less than satisfactory. But their
conscience is free to sing and praise God; they are indeed blessed people. Let's be true to God
and love Him with all our heart and strength.
In conclusion, as the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our body is the house of God. Jesus has
zeal for the house of God. So he challenges us to get rid of all corruption and impurity from our
heart. May we prepare a room for God at the center of our heart. May we establish the kingdom
of God on all the campuses in California and America and in the whole world; it may be
challenging, but when we have real zeal for God, we can do it.
One Word: Zeal for Your House Will Consume Me