Zeal for Your House will Consume Me...

    As I recorded over the second chapter of the Gospel of John, the passage about Jesus driving out the tradesmen from the temple stood out to me, and I was reminded of what Ray Vander Laan said in his 'That the World May Know' teachings. His opinion of the incident was very different than what I had grown up hearing: Most people teach that there was a lot of deceit in the trades. That tradesmen were deceiving people in the trading of the money exchanges because people brought different kinds of money and had to get it converted. (Just as we do when we visit other countries.) They suggest this is why Jesus drove them all out.

     Ray Vander Laan, however, has an entirely different opinion, and he bases it on his mutual studies with Jewish authorities and historians. RVL not only has a Master's in Divinity, but he has spent years studying and learning Jewish history, customs, and practices, as well as other cultures of Biblical times. He studies with modern Jews, and he leads 'on-site' teachings in Israel and Egypt.

     In his research he found that, according to the Mosaic Law given by God, that, even though they followed Yahweh, the non-Jews could not enter the inner courts of the temple for worship. They had to remain in the outer courts.
 
    When Herod the Great rebuilt the temple, he made the outer courts larger than the temple itself. So the Jewish leaders decided that was where they would have their trade for travelers to buy animals for sacrifice. According to the Jewish history, it was in the outer courts where the tradesmen set up.

    Anyone who's been in a trade market, and heard the bellowing of oxen and sheep and cooing of birds knows what a loud racket that can be. It was extremely disruptive for the Gentile's worship. RVL suggested that it wasn't necessarily because false trade and profit was being made in the temple, but rather Jesus was outraged because of the disrespect the Jewish people were showing to the Gentile believers.

    My own research has revealed that RVL is not the first person to believe this, nor to teach it. (Below I will provide some links for you to read. I encourage you to further your own research.) It does not mean there was not dishonest trade going on, but what Jesus was so angry about was that the Gentiles did not have a proper place to worship. (We all know how hard it is to truly meditate and worship in a loud and distracting place.)

    If this is true, then I can actually understand how He felt.

    Throughout the years I have attended and visited many churches. I have been in some that show great reverence and respect in the church building, and I have been in some where there have been different levels of respect (or lack there of). These things are most noticeable if you sit towards the back of the room, or just outside in the entryway.

    Just a few Sunday's ago, I visited a church, and because I had a bad cough, I choose to sit out in the entry room and listen to the service from the speakers. (I didn't want to disrupt the service if I had another coughing fit.) There was a glass wall, so I could see the pastor speaking as well. You expect that sometimes people come in late (I have), and that people will get up to use the restroom (I have), but what you would not expect, is people to decide to have a social hour during the service. (By this I do not refer to just the singing, but when the pastor is preaching.)

    I remember sitting out there with my cough drops and water bottle, and my Bible was in my lap open to the scripture the pastor was teaching on. There was another couple with a little girl and baby sitting out there two, along with a deacon and children's leader. I knew the deacon was on welcoming duty, and he sat out there to welcome any newcomers and offer any needed assistance. The children's leader was there to go notify the Sunday school teachers when service was close to an end, so they could wrap up the lesson and have the children ready for their parents to get them. I supposed the family sat outside because of the baby.

    As I listened to the pastor's teaching, a little girl came out to use the restroom, and then went back in. She was respectful and quiet. A moment later, an elderly gentleman came out to use the restroom. He noticed the family and waved to them. When he came out of the restroom he approached them, and they all began to engage in conversation. Between the three adults talking it became very difficult for me to hear what the pastor was saying from where I sat. I kept hoping they would remember where they were and be quiet, but they continued to talk for about 5-10 minutes. And as they were talking on my left side, another woman came from the back rooms, and began whispering with the children's leader on my right. It became clear very soon that their conversation was not of any immediate importance. They were laughing and joking.

    By this point, I was simmering in my mind with anger and frustration. I kept pleading in my head for them to all show respect to the pastor and the deacon and myself, by holding off their conversations until after the service. But they did not. Finally the elderly gentleman returned to the main room, but the two ladies on my right continued to visit. And when the pastor was coming to the invitation, several people began to get up and leave the church. Several of them stopped in the entry way and started visiting while the pastor was praying. About ten people were now in the entryway visiting and laughing with each other.

    Men and women stood out in the entry way, talking while service was still in order. New people had just asked to join the church, and those on the outside were not even aware of it. Special people were given recognition, and some prayer requests where spoken, but those in the entryway were completely oblivious to it. And I was having trouble hearing, even when I tried to move away from the crowd. (The deacon finally went into the main room.) I remember even thinking about how the glass wall was clearly see-through, and not fully soundproof. People on the inside could see this, and some could even hear it.

    I had to spend a lot of time in prayer and bite my tongue because I was so frustrated. This was not the first time I had experienced this before. Years ago, in another church, I had finally convinced someone to go to church with me with the offer that we could sit outside the main room. In this other church, years ago, people came out of the main room, past the glass doors, and poured themselves some coffee and began visiting DURING the service. Needless to say, the person who came with me was not impressed, and never came with me again. And I have been in other churches, when I sit towards the back, and witnessed people visiting and laughing at the back of the room while the pastor, or guest speaker, is teaching God's Word up front.

    Now, I want to clarify that none of these churches I have spoken of were/are not bad churches. Nor are the people who were visiting bad people. I do not credit what happened in that way. I credit it to the fact that Christian's have lost their sense of reverence and respect when the Word of God is being spoken. And I know that many people would say it was my own fault for sitting towards the back or out in the entryway. If we didn't want to be distracted from hearing God's Word we should have been in the main room.

    -But I want to remind you that sometimes people sit on the outside in order to show respect to those on the inside (because they're running late or have a cough), or perhaps they are not yet comfortable in the main room (like my guest), or perhaps it is their turn to serve on the welcoming committee (like the deacon). Truly, the entire church building should be a place where brothers and sisters in Christ are demonstrating a quiet reverence for the teachings going on everywhere in the building. It shouldn't matter where I was, or where anyone is. People are supposed to come to [what we call] the church in order to join together as one body in worshiping the Lord and learning His Word.

    We need to be honoring our pastors and church leaders, and showing them respect when they are teaching. There is no need to visit with each other during service. We can do that after service. And there is no need for people to get up to leave during invitation. We need to be in prayer for those who are struggling with going up. We need to be aware when new people join and get in the welcoming line to offer our friendship and support. I know that it's a popular custom to go out to eat after church, but when did getting ahead of the lunch crowd become more important than praying over someone's salvation and/or decision to join the church body?

    I could easily understand Jesus' anger with the Jews at the temple. It made a certain sense to provide animals for sacrifice at the temple. Many of the people traveled for many miles to celebrate Passover. It was easier for them to make the journey without having to bring the animal with them. It was simply a matter of convenience for the Jewish people that was offered, but not really a necessity.

    Now, if there was dishonest trade going on, of course that was wrong. And I'm sure Jesus was not pleased. BUT, no one said the people had to do it this way. They liked this convenience. It might be considered the difference of eating out verses cooking at home. Of course you pay ridiculous prices because the company wants to make a profit. But if you feel that it is wrong, you need to start preparing meals at home, including Sunday meals.

    *There might have been deceit going on for the few ignorant, but when I really consider it, these people all dealt in farms and were familiar with many different cultures and trade. Any time they went to market they had to deal in bargaining. They didn't put price tags on stuff and sell for 'priced as marked.' They bargained with each other. Could they have really been so ignorant of money conversion that they were being cheated? Was Jesus angry cause the temple leaders allowed tradesmen to make profits on sacrificial animals for Passover?

    Or did Jesus feel rage when He saw the Gentile people straining to hear the teachers of the Law reading from the Scriptures? Did He see people on their knees trying hard to concentrate on their prayers in the midst of trade commotion? Did He look around at all the people shouting and hear the loud bellows of oxen and sheep, while Gentile followers were trying hard to show reverence to God? Was it trade in God's temple that provoked Him to anger, or was it disrespect for God, and God's people, that angered Jesus?

    I think that it may have been the issue of disrespect.

    By interrupting the prayer and worship times of others, you are not only showing disrespect to them, but to God as well. It doesn't mean that the people were bad, but that the leaders had allowed something bad to take place in the outer courts. It is important for church leaders, and other members, to speak up about showing proper respect and reverence when God's Word is being spoken.

    It is no small wonder children today don't understand how to show respect in church, nor to their teachers in school, nor to their parents at home. How could they? It wasn't children who were visiting in the entryway at church those Sunday's. It was adults. And they didn't visit with each other because they didn't notice I was there. They visited with each other because it simply didn't occur to them that they were interrupting the service for me, and not showing respect and honor to the pastor, or God.

    Should I have said something?

    I'm saying something now.

    For all those who read this, I am not expecting your gratitude, nor desire your praise. And I am not condemning the churches I spoke of, nor am I condemning the people who visited during service.  I am simply speaking up on an issue in the church that I have noticed for years. We need to start taking the Word and teachings of God seriously. We, adults, need to start showing the proper respect to our spiritual leaders and to other members of our church families.

    -If beating the lunch crowd on Sunday's has become so important you start rushing out before church service is concluded, then perhaps you should consider STOP eating out on Sunday's altogether. If you don't want to rush to cook, prepare a meal the day before that can be warmed up, or buy a crock pot.

    -If you are hoping to visit with someone before they leave the church, make it a point to communicate it to them before service, and ask them to wait.

    -If there are matters that need to be discussed with another church official immediately, pull them quietly aside and speak low the need. After the issue has been reconciled, cease the conversation. There is no need to continue visiting at that point.

    -If you are running late for service, and the deacon welcomes you, speak quietly and respectfully in case there are others in the entryway who might be disturbed by your talking.

    -If you are demanding of your children to show you, and other adults, respect, then be an example to your children by demonstrating how to behave and honor others. -Not just in the 'brick and mortar' church building, but in every area of life.

    Remember, Isaiah said of Jesus, "Zeal for Your house will consume Me." We know that we, Christian's, are each a temple dwelling of Christ. Christ is within us, and Philippians 2:5 says that we are to have the 'mind of Christ.' His zeal for righteousness and purification should consume us as it did Him. And we need to become passionate about not only hearing His Word, but also revering His Word. In doing this, we become a light to the nations, and an example to the generations that follow us.

Remember, we receive respect because we give it. And has God not proven Himself worthy or ours?


*Reference link to theories about the reason Jesus cleansed the temple.  

http://www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=5446&view=post&articleid=64842
https://jdstone.org/cr/files/jesuscleansingthetemple.html
https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/