Sermon Theme: Jesus disrupts our sinful lives so we can have eternal life in our Father’s house. Text: John 2:13–22 (23–25)
Other Lessons: Exodus 20:1–17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 Goal: That we may be strengthened in knowing and believing that Jesus will stop at nothing to save us from our sins.
Rev. Josemon Hoem, Associate Pastor,
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Sermon: In our Gospel for today, Jesus seems to be rather disruptive. Listen to our text: “In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables” (vv 14–16).
Today we see a different side of Jesus. We don’t see a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger. He is not a young boy in the temple asking deep theological questions. He is not turning water into wine, healing the blind, caring for the lepers, or raising anyone from the dead. We don’t see him teaching his disciples with winsome parables. No, today we see a Jesus who is all business, making a whip of cords and turning over tables and driving out the money-changers.
Now, you and I probably don’t like this Jesus. We prefer the one that goes after the one lost sheep. We are used to a gentle, soft-spoken Jesus, who calmly confronts sinners while outwitting his enemies. But that is not what we get in our reading for today. Instead, we see a Jesus who goes full bore while holding nothing back.
You might be thinking: Did Jesus lose his cool? Is this really our loving Savior who willingly took our sins to the cross? What happened to the command to love your neighbor as yourself? What about the Jesus that welcomes sinners and eats with them? Aren’t we supposed to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us?
Yes, all of that is true. However, it is important to note that this is not a different Jesus, nor is he really acting out of character. This is our patient, merciful Jesus acting out of love and compassion for his people.
Was Jesus upset? I am sure of it. Was he angry? Probably. I am confident that these actions, especially when Jesus is referring to us, do not mesh too well with our precious views of Jesus as teacher, healer, comforter, and friend.
This is our disruptive Jesus. A Jesus who loves his enemies enough to disrupt them from their sinful life. He knows that their sins are not good for them, and that the wages of sin is death. I want to remind you that the same goes for you. Jesus comes in and disrupts the sinful things in your life and loves you enough to hold you accountable for your sins.
Jesus disrupts the chaos of our world and gives us his peace that surpasses all understanding.
This is the disruptive Jesus that loves us enough to disrupt our sinful lives in exchange for his holy life. That’s ultimately what he wanted to do for the money-changers in the temple. They thought Jesus was losing his cool, when in fact Jesus was staying cool enough to seek to save them from eternal damnation.
The same goes for me when I am dealing with you. As your pastor, I hold you responsible for your sins out of love for your soul. I know that when you sin, it is not good for you, and you align yourselves with the devil.
The easiest thing, for Jesus or your pastor, would be to say nothing and let all sinners go to hell. Instead, Jesus not only says something, but he also does something about our sin. He does this out of love, because he wants each one of us with him in heaven.
“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ ” (vv 19–20).
He was not speaking of the physical building made with stones. No, he is referring to the temple of his body (v 21; see also 1 Cor 6:19).
Jesus goes to the cross and is raised in three days for our salvation. He comes in and disrupts all things that would keep you and me from the loving arms of his heavenly Father. He understands that this is his Father’s house, and he loves his Father. He wants each one of us to respect his Father’s house so that we, too, can be in the Father’s house in heaven forever.
Overturning tables and disrupting life is how our loving and gracious Lord works. Jesus disrupts our everyday life and calls us out on our sins. He commands us to stop listening to the lies of the devil and start doing things the Jesus way.
In the waters of Holy Baptism, Jesus comes to interrupt the evil plans of the devil and claims us as his own. Then, after he has washed us in the font, he feeds us with his very body and blood to sustain and nurture us in the one true faith.
So, before we get too excited about Jesus turning the tables, maybe we ought to check our own tables. Sure, your sins and my sins are different than those in our story for today, but we, too, have been unfaithful to God in a different way.
You and I confess one truth but live another. We say sorry in one breath, all the while holding tight to our favorite pet sins. Perhaps we try to dictate our relationship with God, instead of letting God’s love and forgiveness have his way in our lives.
So here is your one takeaway: Jesus is here today to do a little Lenten housecleaning by overturning the tables of our sinful nature.
Jesus knows there are sinful tables in our lives that need overturning. There are things in our sinful hearts and minds that must be driven out. There are things in our world that interfere with worshiping faithfully in our Father’s house. There are sinful things in our lives that Jesus needs to take a whip to. So that he can forgive them by his cross!
When Jesus disrupts our lives, he is doing it out of divine love and mercy without any merit or worthiness in us. He does this “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:29).
Jesus Disrupts Our Sinful Lives
So We Can Have Eternal Life in Our Father’s House.
Praise be to our disruptive Jesus who stops at nothing to save us.
In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.