Profiting from the kingdom of god? (John 2:12-17)

Scripture reading:
12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So 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. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

17His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."


Background:
For those who are unaware, a little background into the concept of a ‘Passover’ may help in understanding this passage.

The ‘Passover’ feast originated during the time of Moses. Shortly before leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, god had inflicted a range of plagues on the Egyptians. During the final such plague, god struck down and killed the firstborn of every Egyptian household.

Israelite households were spared these calamities. On the night in question the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb. The doors on their households were to be marked with the blood.

In addition, they were to roast and eat the lamb for supper.

The blood on the doorway distinguished Israelite households from the Egyptians.
Egyptian households bore the full force of the plague, but Israelite-marked households were spared any impact. The plague literally ‘passed over’ Israelite households in a completely discriminate fashion.

The Passover was a demonstration that god had set the Israelites apart. They were chosen to be his people – part of the kingdom of god – separate from the Egyptians.

Subsequently, according to the lord’s decree, a Passover feast was to be celebrated by the Israelites as a lasting ordinance. At such feasts, the Israelites were required to bring an animal, which was to be sacrificed (killed) in honor of the lord’s act of mercy at the original Passover.


Observations:
I think there are three key observations that we can make:


(1) God must not be used for profit.

When the time for the festival came, the Israelites needed animals for sacrifice in order to correctly fulfill the requirements of the celebration (refer ‘background’ above). Accordingly, those who did not have a suitable animal had no choice but to purchase one.

This created a market for traders who, with little care about the meaning of the festival, were able to exploit the needs of god’s chosen people for their own profit.

This practice was an insult to god, as are all forms of viewing Christianity as a means to profit.
I am not saying here that Christians should never gain financially from service to the god’s kingdom. Pastors, church leaders or others who work in a church related role are entitled to have their material needs met.

The key factor here is motivation. In the case of those who work in church related roles, their primary motivation (usually) is furthering the kingdom of the lord. There is no problem with them receiving some form of financial reward. God looks into their hearts. If their hearts are set on honoring the kingdom of heaven, then he will be pleased.

Nor is it a problem for business to profit from religion in cases where such a profit is merely incidental to their regular business operations. For example, there is nothing wrong with a book publisher who profits from the sale of Christian books in addition to other books.

What is a problem, however, is the practice of viewing god simply as a means of profit, as in the case of the traders above. They did not care about the Passover festival, or about what its meaning. They cared only about the prospect of financial gain.

The disgust of Jesus demonstrates how god feels about such practices.

Men led by Satan ask how they can profit from the lord. Men led by the lord ask how they can serve, honor and glorify their magnificent creator.


(2) Jesus is not just a gentleman often imagined.

When you picture Jesus, how do you imagine him? What images spring to your mind?

Before I came to Christ, the image I used to have was that of a kind, serving gentleman - a good man, who would never hurt a fly. I pictured Jesus as being gentle and caring – always peaceful, never aggressive. A truly nice guy.

That picture is partially misleading.

True, Jesus had a pure servant heart. He was caring and he was a gentleman. But he was not always simply a ‘nice guy.’ He did not beat around the bush, nor was he afraid to rock the boat.

Jesus did not politely ask the men to kindly fold up their tables. He flew into a rage, and left no doubt whatsoever that their actions were completely unacceptable.

An interesting parallel may be drawn with the actions of god the father. The original Passover came about because the Egyptians persecuted the Israelites. God the father responded with a brutal act of destruction.

At this particular Passover festival, the sellers were exploiting god’s people. Jesus the son did not responded with an act of brutality. Not destruction, this time – but brutality none the less.

This demonstrates an important point about god’s character – he does not tolerate acts against himself or his people.

To be sure, god is full of mercy. He provided his son as a sacrifice for our sins.

But, for those who mock, exploit or persecute god or his people, his patience will run out.

And you don’t want to be on his wrong side when that happens.


(3) Jesus has extreme passion for the house of god.

The last part of the passage reads “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Why did Jesus fly into a rage? What was it about this action in particular which set Jesus off?

The response of Jesus demonstrates his pure passion for the house of god. Jesus is part of the holy trinity. As such, the kingdom of god is like his family home or household. It’s his home. It’s where he belongs – a sacred place. There is nothing he cares about more.

It is worth noting here that the house of god is not a physical building on earth. Maybe, there is a physical house in heaven, I don’t know. But the ‘house’ of god here refers to the kingdom of god, which in a spiritual sense, consists of the holy trinity and all of god’s chosen people.

When the traders used the festival for profit, figuratively speaking, they ransacked its entire meaning. It was like vandals coming in and destroying a holy place.The magnitude of Jesus response shows just how much the house of god means to him.


Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,

Lord, let us never view any part of you or your kingdom as a source of profit.

The day we see your kingdom as a means for profit, is the day we insult you. Your kingdom is so much more. Your kingdom is about life – it is the source of life.

Let us serve and honor you and only you. Let our hearts be set only upon your kingdom. Rather than devising profit schemes, let us meditate upon your great mercy - the mercy in which you have shown fully to us through the death of your son on the cross.

Lord, you show us a great example of your passion for your kingdom. Let us worship your great kingdom with reverence. Let us love the great kingdom you have created.

And let us worship and adore you who made that great kingdom.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our lord.

Amen.