John 2:17

“His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’”

            In the last passage we saw Jesus’s reaction to the money changer and the sellers who made a home in the temple ground. His response was that they had made His father’s house into a den of trade. In this verse we see the disciple’s response to what Jesus did which is important because it shows two things: what kind of people Jesus chose and the reason John put this story into his gospel.

            The disciples’ response was really telling here. They did not wonder why Jesus was doing what He was doing; instead they instantly went to the Old Testament and connected this to a prophecy from the Psalms of David. They were not freaked out by what He was doing but embrace Jesus’s actions as confirmation that He is not just a man but also God. This is evidence that this happened later in the ministry of Jesus—closer to His death—as this was something Jesus had been teaching them to see and now has come to fruition in what He was doing in Jerusalem.

            John was using this to show how the disciples have learned that Jesus’s focus was not just about platitudes but about true reconciliation where people can worship God in spirit and truth. He was pointing towards the truth of not just a fake love but love that has zeal attached to it. Jesus was motivated by love for God when He drove out the sellers and moneychangers. He was shown by John in chapter one as not just a man but God, and He makes the right decisions in every situation. What may be considered too aggressive in our day, if that zeal—that passion, devotion—comes from God, is righteous.

            What does this mean for Christians? Are we called to overturn tables and make whips to drive people away? What John is telling us through the example of our savior is that people’s comfort should not get in the way of your love for God. Sometimes our own comfort or concern for how we might be seen gets in the way of reaching someone for Christ. We must never be concerned about doing God’s will just because it may interfere with man’s will. This is what it means to truly love God; His priorities become the most important thing in our lives not just at the top of our lists but the very basis of those lists. It cannot just be lip service, though. By accepting God, He will come into your life and make Himself the priority of everything in your life just as the disciples noticed the zeal that Jesus had for God consumed Him. This is what it means to be a Christ follower—to have the focus for your whole life change to what God wants.

            For those who are not Christians. God loves you but God is also a God of justice, requiring the correct penalty to be paid for a crime. Thank God that Jesus paid that price if you are just willing to accept it. He never lies about what is required, it is our whole lives, but in exchange He gives meaning that we cannot have without Him.