Zeal for True Worship

It is so easy to have a perspective of Jesus Christ that is good when He does something positive like be a good guy at a wedding who changes water into wine. But when He goes to Jerusalem and starts disrupting things in the temple, it is a different story. Everything John writes is designed to show us how he came to believe in Christ and have a special relationship with Jesus and to establish that in our lives as well. One of the things that did that for John was what happened right here.

I. The of the Passover (12-13)

• There are Passover festivals in the gospel of John, and they form the for tracking the three years of Jesus’ ministry.
• Jesus Christ’s first public act would take place in the capital, in the itself. The one who was declared to be “the of God” would attend the feast where the death of the lamb was celebrated.

II. The of the Temple (14)

• When Jesus arrives, the temple doesn’t look like a place of worship, it looks like a place of . 
• They were happy to your money for the temple money….for a small fee!
• It was nothing less than in the name of religion.

III. The of Jesus (15-25)

• He was but He was not out of control. This is not crazy rage, this is pure, righteous .  
• The headquarters of the Jewish religion is actually His house and He is cleaning house!

IV. The for Today

• The philosophy is “let’s make worship , not reverent.” 
• Religion creates an environment that, in essence, puts a on access to God – but it is not for sale.
• Perhaps Jesus is as up today as He was the day He went into Jerusalem.
• Sadly, our churches gather out of tradition and and it has disintegrated into more than a flea market for the business of God.
• Jesus knew that there were people who said they believed on Him, who really didn’t want a with Him.
• “Worship is with God.”
• In order to experience true worship, you have to turn from -worship or -worship.