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Day 2: John 2/Psalm 2
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Thursday February 26, 2004
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When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up
to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep
and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So 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!"
His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house
will consume me."
John 2:13-22 (New International Version)
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Zeal for
Your House Will Consume Me
Jesus was a Radical;
he favored returning to the root of what the Temple was built for; a
House of prayer. Each year he had been brought to the temple since he
was twelve years old. I am sure that he had seen the moneychangers
before, but now He had begun His public ministry and He could no longer
keep quiet.
Why did He upset
the moneychanger’s tables? Outside of the temple, the doves needed for
the sacrifice cost the equivalent of just a few pennies, but inside,
the Priests and religious leaders were charging 30 times as much, and
not accepting sacrifices bought outside the Temple. The poor pilgrims
were finding it difficult even to afford to sacrifice a dove, let alone
the much more expensive lamb. The focus on devotion to God was being
lost and being replaced by a superficial show to line the pockets of
the religious leaders.
The Zeal of God
rose up within Jesus, and He was moved to action. He could not stand
passively by while the worshippers of God were being treated so
unfairly. Verse 17 talks of Jesus being consumed by Zeal for the House
of God. Those are strong words! What’s it like to be consumed with
Passion for God’s Glory?
"Jesus was
moved by love for God and His Glory, but also for His people. He knew
that ultimately this kind of activity in the Temple would result in
alienation from God, as people were prohibited from worshipping
together freely and instead would be sorted into the “ haves “and
“have- nots” (John 2:17, The Message). God’s heart never excludes
anyone from coming to Him.
Today’s prayer:
I thank God for the fervent love I see here, a love that will
ruthlessly remove anything that would get in the way of our
relationship with Him. My prayer is that I would be motivated by this
kind of powerful love--a love that would remove obstacles and clear the
way for people to have a relationship with our powerful and loving God.
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Memory Verse of the Week:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (New International Version)
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For a complete
listing of all the previous devotionals in this "50 Day
Experience," click here.
To read the chapter or psalm of the day online, click on one of the
following links:
o
John
2
o
Psalm
2
Keith Thomas, thomas@cincyvineyard.com,
Northwest Zone Pastor at VCC
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