Jesus, The Zealot
John 2:12-22
Zeal – “Eagerness; enthusiasm; ardor; fervor”
Zealot – “One who is zealous, esp. to a fanatic degree.”
As we study the Biblical Jesus,
I have been excited to get to this text,
Because I believe it to show a side of Jesus that is not often shown.
This is a Jesus that no one ever really talked about to me.
I was always shown a controlled, saddened, pacifying Jesus.
I LIKED PAUL
But for some reason I had trouble with Jesus.
All that I had been told about Jesus
Didn’t match these new passions in my heart.
I was more like the Jesus I had been told about before I got saved.
I had a problem.
Until I started preaching through Matthew.
I noticed a Jesus I had never heard of.
I NOTICED JESUS, THE ZEALOT.
Tonight in our text we are going to look at this Jesus
So that you may see
That those passions in you may just be from God,
And that you do not have to sit back in apathy
Just because people frown on you for being fanatical.
There are three truths I want you to see about Jesus here,
And they are three truths that we will see about Jesus all throughout the gospels.
#1 JESUS SOUGHT OUT CONFRONTATION
John 2:12-14
Now you know the culture we live in.
If you seek out confrontation you are a trouble maker,
And you are frowned upon.
We have heard the statement
“Tolerance is our greatest virtue”
That is not true,
“Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions.”
But we are frowned upon for being confrontational.
People run their finger up our nose and say,
“You’re nothing like Jesus.”
Oh yeah, let’s see.
Verse 13 says, “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”
1) JOHN SHOWS THE CENTER OF JESUS MINISTRY AS JERUSALEM NOT GALILEE
2) JOHN PLACES THIS EVENT OUT OF ORDER
In our text, John is making a point about Jesus
That he will stick with throughout the remainder of his gospel.
He wants you to be familiar with this Jesus who did not shy away from confrontation, but who sought it out.
We know this because of what He does while in Jerusalem.
Verse 14, “He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.”
Allow me to quickly fill you in.
You brought two things with you to the Passover
1) An Unblemished Lamb
2) The Temple Tax
They were using God’s feast to take advantage of people.
Something needed to be done.
And look what happens.
“He found” them.
It wasn’t as though He got cheated and then started making a fuss.
He went and found them.
You say, “That’s still a little coincidental to say Jesus actually sought out controversy.”
Ok, look with me for a second at Mark’s gospel.
Mark 11:11-16 “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.”
This was a premeditated action by Jesus.
My point is Jesus sought out confrontation.
Preacher, “That’s just one story”
Luke 6:6-11 “On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.”
Luke 13:10-17 “And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, ” There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.”
Luke 14:1-6 “It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” And they could make no reply to this.”
John 5:8-10 “Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”
John 9:14 “Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.”
John 7:14 “But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.”
If He wasn’t confrontational, then why go to Jerusalem to teach?
If He wasn’t confrontational, then why not heal some other time than the Sabbath?
If He wasn’t confrontational, why did He go to His home town and confront them?
I’m telling you Jesus sought out confrontation.
HE COULDN’T LEAVE SIN UNCHALLENGED
He could not just allow hypocrisy to continue uncontested.
Jesus was a zealot.
He did not come to allow sin to remain.
He did not come to approve false religion.
He came to confront it and drive it out of the temple.
Don’t let someone tell you that you aren’t like Jesus
Simply because you confront sin.
Matthew 18:15-18 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Jesus was a zealot, He sought out confrontation.
#2 JESUS SIGNED UP FOR COMBAT
John 2:15-17
Once Jesus found these hypocrites in the temple, He did the unthinkable.
He didn’t just confront them, He went plum Holy on ‘em.
These three verses list 5 things Jesus did.
1) “He made a scourge of cords”
2) “drove them all out of the temple”
3) “He poured out the coins”
4) “and overturned their tables”
5) “He said, “Take these things away”
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?
What if a person did that in church today?
IS IT EVER ACCEPTABLE TO USE SUCH AN AGGRESSIVE DISPLAY IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR POINT?
JESUS DID
He saw what was going on, and He knew talking wouldn’t work.
They needed to get whipped.
(Illus. My dad kicked in a door)
Jesus not only sought confrontation He signed up for combat.
And by the way, it was prophesied that He would.
Verse 17, “His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
He didn’t just confront falsity, He fought it.
It wasn’t as though He was just refusing to stay quiet,
Jesus went on the offensive.
Matthew 11:20-24 “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon inthe day of judgment than for you. “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 15:1-9 “Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”
Luke 11:45-48 “One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.” But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. “So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs.”
John 8:43-47 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
And let’s not forget Matthew 23 where Jesus continually said, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…”
The point is Jesus signed up for combat.
He continually fought against heresy.
He continually fought against hypocrisy.
We are called to do the same.
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
We live in a day that thinks it is wrong
To confront or fight against anything.
If you tell someone they are wrong, then you are wrong for doing it.
Don’t think for a second that Jesus was passive.
He was active against sin,
And don’t allow people to use Jesus against you
When you stand for what is right and drive out what is wrong.
People say, “You shouldn’t use blunt, offensive speech when confronting heresy in the church.” I agree, “Jesus used a whip”.
Jesus sought out confrontation Jesus signed up for combat
#3 JESUS STIRRED UP CONTROVERSY
John 2:18-22
WE HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE HAVEN’T WE?
They asked John the Baptist the same thing.
What authority do you have for doing such aggressive and offensive things?
It is the same thing the world says to us today when we show our zeal.
They throw the old, “You shouldn’t do such things” in our face.
They questioned Jesus’ authority.
Most importantly they wanted to see a sign.
Now, Jesus could have done nothing…
He could have apologized…
He could have explained the biblical truth to the Passover…
He could have done a lot of things.
In stead He chose to stir the pot a little more.
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Now, the disciples learned that He meant His body,
But the Jews didn’t know that.
And Jesus offered no explanation.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE BUZZ WHEN HE LEFT?
We know they didn’t get over it,
For that was one of the charges they used against Him.
That was one of the charges they used against Stephen.
That place was different when He left.
In fact, Jesus left every place different when He left.
He started out to the country of the Gaderenes,
But He ended up casting a legion of demons into a heard of swine
And the people asked Him to leave.
He started out preaching in His hometown,
But the people tried to throw Him off a cliff.
His disciples go to town to buy bread
Jesus ends up talking to a Samaritan woman
The religious leaders bring a guarantee guilty adulteress
Jesus ends up taking her side
Jesus comes to town
And chooses to stay at the house of short little tax collector
Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke 15:1-7 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Luke 20:45-47 “And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
(he spoke very controversial to all the people)
John 7:25-31 “So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? “Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.” So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, ” When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
Jesus was controversial.
He didn’t do the things that were expected by the religious elite,
He did the things that were expected of Him by His Father.
That is our calling.
Where in the Bible do you find that we are to be politically correct?
Where in the Bible do you find that Christians should never be controversial?
Jesus is controversial.
If you try to cut out controversy,
You are going to have to cut out Jesus.
AND THERE WE HAVE IT
We are so afraid of confrontation
We painted a Jesus who would do no such thing.
We are so afraid of combat
We painted a Jesus who never offended anyone.
We are so afraid of controversy
We painted a Jesus who only does what is always expected.
I want you to know,
If you are ok to leave sin unchallenged…
If you have no problem allowing a falsity to remain…
If you just want to keep from stirring up controversy…
THEN DON’T CLAIM TO BE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS
If He was like that, they would have had no desire to kill Him.
Jesus was a zealot.
C.H. Spurgeon, “If you never have sleepless hours, if you never have weeping eyes, if your hearts never swell as if they would burst, you need not anticipate that you will be called zealous. You do not know the beginning of true zeal, for the foundation of Christian zeal lies in the heart. The heart must be heavy with grief and yet must beat high with holy ardor. The heart must be vehement in desire, panting continually for God’s glory, or else we shall never attain to anything like the zeal which God would have us know.”
JESUS WAS A ZEALOT, ARE YOU?
Are you ready to step up to sin, make a whip, a drive it out?
Are you ready to snatch from the flame your friends who are deceived in their sin and traveling the road t hell?
Are you ready to take up the cross of Jesus and command that men forsake themselves and join in the cause?
Are you ready to put on the zeal of the zealous One?
Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”
