Did Jesus Throw a Fit?

Whenever we speak about Christ we do it with a fear and a reverence that is due His great name. So when I ask did Jesus throw a fit in the cleansing of the temple it is not a sinful fit. It is a righteous fit of anger. The word fit simply means a time of getting angry and flying into a rage. This is how I would describe Jesus' actions and when you understand the context you will see that it is perfectly justified.

The passage

John 2:13-16 (NKJV) 

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!

There it is; the showcase of righteous anger. Jesus comes in does not like what He sees and reacts. Lets look at why He reacts so passionately and what we can learn about Him from this account. 

Some context

The cleansing of the temple takes place directly after palm Sunday. This can be seen in Matthew 21. Jesus was famous at this point. The city had just declared Him their Savior (Hosanna to the Son of David) and they believed that He was really there to save them from Roman occupation. That was the Messianic understanding at the time. So Christ just gets back from being called future King and He marches directly to the Temple to deal with the sin therein. It is interesting that He chooses to point out sin in the people rather than point to glory in Himself which He easily could have done. 

Jesus in the Temple

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 

When Jesus walks in He is immediately frustrated with two business taking place. The animal sellers and the money changers. The animal sellers were notorious for taking advantage of people. It is a convenience to purchase an animal at the temple and therefore the convenience was passed along in profit of the animal sellers. It is Passover, that means there are millions in Jerusalem at the time because all the Jews in surrounding ares made the trek there to have their annual animal sacrifice. It is easier to take money than to drag a cow all the way to Jerusalem. The animal sellers were also sinning when selling doves to very poor at often inflated prices. Those Jews had little choice but to buy them in order to honor God. Charity should have been the name of this game instead of profit.

The money changers were no better. There were many forms of currency at the time and several coins bore the image of a pagan idol. This money was not accepted at the temple and had to be changed out. The money changers would do this but for a hefty fee, again a charge of convenience. The powers-that-be were making a great deal of money off the worship of God by His people. It was not supposed to be this way. 

And all of this was taking place inside the walls of the temple, specifically in the outer court. All business was supposed to be done outside of the temple making the building itself a place dedicated to prayer and worship. Matthew 21:13 says, "He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Notice Jesus' desire for His people to pray a the temple.

Lets move on. 

15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 

 No injury is reported in these accounts by Jesus. The whip of cords may have been mostly a visual threat but the real pain came in the form of the money falling on the ground, the cattle being driven out to the streets of Jerusalem and the business being lost for the day. Jesus was essentially saying "Stop caring about money. Get out of the temple and stop ruining the holy image of My house." He had the attitude that the Pharisees were supposed to have, being concerned about that which the Father is concerned with. 

So why was He so zealous then?

Was Christ simply mad about sin? No. Was Christ simply concerned that the Temple should be holy? No, well yes, but there is so much more to the story than that. Jesus was fervently zealous over the Temple because of one primary thing; His Name.  

The temple was incredibly important to Christ. Zechariah 6:12-13 gives us some more insight into the Messiah's relationship with the Temple. 

"Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! (This is Jesus) From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the Lord; Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’"

Jesus will build a glorious Temple at the second advent. He will reign over the whole earth from His throne on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It will be a glorious time of never ending praise to th
e King, both by the angels and His human children. When Jesus was here the first time He was looking forward to His glorious Temple with the beauty of His praises from His children ringing in His ears. And He is completely worthy of it. So when He sees the Temple not as a place of prayer but as a place of business He has the Holy right and divine authority to drive out those responsible. 

What can we learn here?

Let's try to always keep Christ in the proper perspective knowing His eternal power and majesty. When you address Him in prayer think of Him on His glorious throne in Heaven which He will soon bring to earth. Secondly, lets always be careful that the love of money never drives us to sin, keeping the love of  His holiness constantly before your eyes.

What is a Living Sacrifice

We serve an awesome God. What a simplistic statement, right? However, it is a gross understatement. We serve and unbelievably awe-inspiring, infinitely loving, perfectly powerful Creator that is so concerned with us that there is no end to what He would do to win us, including the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. Wow! Let that sink in. His love for us is beyond comprehension. And it was shown to us on the cross.


Jesus is the epitome of sacrifice. He gave up His life and went to the cross willingly. Jesus is God and knew exactly what He was in for before His death took place. He knew every ounce of pain He would endure. He knew every sinew and muscle of His that would be damaged, pierced or bruised. And yet He willingly went. "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:8.


Everything about our salvation hinges on a sacrifice at mount Calvary.


Follow my logic here: 1) Christ was asked by the Father to be sacrificed for us. 2) we are followers of Christ, therefore, we sacrifice what is asked of us by the Lord.


This is simple logic that enables God to work through us to impact the world for Christ. Now lets look at Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Powerful verse. Lets make some observations.


Observation #1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God" The word beseech means to appeal to. Paul says, I appeal to you by the mercies of God. In other words what ever follows this phrase is in light of and based upon the mercies of God. Mercy means not getting the punishment you deserve. The punishment we deserve is to be the target of God's wrath against our sin. God made Christ on the cross the target and spared us the Fathers wrath. This is overwhelming mercy especially when you consider how much God hates sin. That is an eternal kindness that only God can accomplish. Remember, what ever is next we accept in the shadow of God's mercy.


Observation #2 "that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God" A sacrifice in the biblical sense is an animal that is slain upon the alter and burned up. The smoke reaches heaven and is seen as a gift to the Lord. No longer is it on earth but now it is given to God. Therefore, a living sacrifice is a living person that is completely given to the Lord. They are dead to their former way of  selfish life. And all of them is given as a gift to God in the same manner that all of Jesus was given as a gift to us. They are to be Holy which is acceptable to God. Proverbs 3:6 tells us "In all your ways acknowledge Him." That is what is being requested here, to systematically give every corner of your life and heart to God.


Observation #3 "which is your reasonable service" This is the nail in the coffin of making the case for Christian obedience. Why should you give everything to God? Why should we become a living sacrifice? Because it is only reasonable. He gave everything to us on the cross, so we give everything to Him in this life. I used to say in my preaching. Can't you give a little to God because He gave so much to you? I don't say it anymore because it is unreasonable. It is unreasonable to give a little bit to God. A better thing to say is. He gave you everything therefore, give Him everything. It is only reasonable. It is only sensible.


Remember the base of the appeal, the mercies of God? "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God" Think upon this;we should be burning to a crisp as we speak, but instead we are given breath. We are given a good life with people we love. We are given salvation. We are given the best gift we can ever hope to receive, a relationship with God. Remember everyday to say to yourself. I don't deserve this. I should be in the lake of fire if it were not for Him. Remember you are in His debt.


A prisoner dreams of what he will do when he gets out. When he is finally released he gets the best looking burger money can buy. He enjoys it and orders another. In light of his incarceration he lives differently and loves life more. We have to remember that we are always in His debt. We should be experiencing His wrath in hell right now. Therefore, we live our lives as living sacrifices.


Conclusion: No longer live "conformed to this world" Don't live following the lusts and sins of our society. But live in a way that allows God to transform you. By changing your mind about areas in your life that need to be made holy. Give your life over to Him one issue at a time as God lays it heavy on your heart. That is what it means to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind"

What an awesome God we serve. And we can be an awesome instrument for Him.

The New Morality

         If you ever struggle as a Christian knowing how to identify and counter the worlds backwards logic Todd Friel gives some great insight. Todd Friel of Wretched TV is a fantastic commentator as well as television personality. If you have never seen him before check out his youtube channel . Anyway, Friel did a segment on the new morality in America. Fantastic stuff that was well articulated. He gives a list of ten rules of the new morality

 The new morality- Todd Friel Some of the comments between rules are my own insights.

10. Vulgarity is no longer vulgar.

Ever noticed how all tv now uses bad language? Even kid and teen shows. And if you personally don't swear your the strange one. Your the odd duck. The Bible says new creatures don’t speak in course ways. James says a man that doesn't keep a tight reign on his tongue has a useless religion (James 1:26)

9. Divorce is not only acceptable but frequently advisable.

Do you feel like you have fallen out of love? Better get a divorce. Commitment not love is the glue that keeps marriages together. Is it uncommon to know someone who has had 3 or 4 marriages? What would have happened 50 years ago if someone did that? The Bible says:

Malachi 2:16  “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

8. All war is bad.

There has been a large shift since 9/11 in our attitude towards war. Now the younger generation especially says no to war regardless of context. Christians used to believe that there is such thing as a just war.

What about Hitler? What if that happened today? Would we get involved?

7. Capitalism is bad.

I don't know exactly where Friel is going with this one. But it is clear these days that the ones at the top of CEO chains are seen as rich tyrants that want to hold the middle class down regardless of how hard they worked to get there. 

6. Feminism at all costs.

It doesn't matter what the consequences are as long as we are all equal. Woman in war? Sure! send them to the front line. The Bible says it is shameful for woman to go to battle:

Judges 4:9 "Certainly I will go with you," said Deborah. "But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.

Look at co-ed dorms. All major universities have co-ed dorms and terrible things end up happening.  Putting your children into the co ed dorm right out of high school without any adult supervision is begging for trouble. That's why there is a Planned Parenthood on every university campus. Thanks Obama!

5. Take from the rich and redistribute to the poor.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money." -Alexander Tyler

4. Racial issues triumph every traditional evil. 

What if Nelson Mandela did evil as a politician? Would his civil rights achievements over rule it? Mandela legalized abortion, pornography, gambling, and gay marriage all of which are traditional evils. MLK did not believe that Scripture should be taken literally. Is even mentioning their moral failings some how blasphemous to their memory? If the answer is yes, then you have to admit we are living in a new morality. 

3. Sexual immorality, pornography and polygamy are permissible.

The world says, "If you give yourself to pornography or multiple partners well then you deserve to be happy, so good for you." A Utah judge just said that its not legal for the government to say a person cannot have multiple marriages. Wow, what a victory for the sister wives family.

2. Abortion is good.

 It is now seen as a right of every couple to kill their babies in the womb. A couple recently won a $50,000,000 dollar lawsuit for not having an abortion.The following is an excerpt form a news article on the story.

Oliver was born on July 12, 2008, with “unbalanced chromosomal translocation,” a condition in which the child inherits mismatched chromosomes from his parents, resulting in extra or missing genetic material. He cannot walk and has an IQ of less than 70, according to the Seattle Times.

The Wuths said, had they known, they would have had their child aborted. A jury in King County decided last Tuesday Valley Medical had to pay for the family's lifelong inconvenience, awarding the couple $50 million.

“What is most troubling to me is not that the test results were inaccurate, but that the purpose of the test itself was so that the parents could decide whether or not to kill their own child,” Father Shenan Boquet, president of Human Life International, told LifeSiteNews.com. “This case, and those like it where ‘wrongful birth’ is used as justification for a lawsuit, really exposes the eugenic mindset which has crept into our culture that some lives are not worthy of life.”

"Those who hate God love death" -Proverbs 8:36

1.  All truth is valid truth.

Do you personally believe that you are the messiah? Thats ok today as long as it works for you. No one will tell you your wrong. Unless your a Christian then your a judgmental, narrow minded bigot and you have to stop pushing your beliefs down everyone's throat.