What's your favorite picture of Christ? Maybe it's a famous painting. Or maybe it's a favorite picture from a Sunday school leaflet you had as a little child. Or maybe it's a portrayal of Him hanging on your wall at home that has a special meaning behind it. What's your favorite picture of Christ and why?
Here are some that I brought along: Sallman's head of Christ. The face of the boy Jesus as “The Light of the World.” Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The first two I often think of because they hung in our home when I was a little boy and gave me a peaceful feeling. The one in Gethsemane is always a favorite. This one my grandmother painted. All are different, yet all portray Jesus in a similar way as the kind, gentle, thoughtful, or peaceful Savior.
Now, change that calm and gentle appearance that we like to see into this: put a whip in His hands, slashing, smashing, driving out cattle and sheep; show Him in righteous anger overturning tables and scattering coins all over the floor; portray him shoving bird cages into sellers' hands while sternly commanding, “Get them out of here. Don't you dare turn My Father's House into a store!” Now that's a picture you don't often think about, but one that leaves a lasting impression. How come we rarely see it?
Such a picture of the Lord Jesus is shocking and startling. We are more accustomed to the mild-mannered, tender-hearted, loving demeanor of the good teacher, the kind miracle worker, and the ever-watchful shepherd – pictures that show us His love. But love sometimes hurts. It sometimes calls for stern measures in which we are told in no uncertain terms what to do . Can Jesus Tell Us What to Do? Yes, He's got the right because…
I. He went about His Father's business with a burning desire to please Him when we haven't.
The Bible records four times when Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem. Each time He went was during the Passover. Do you remember the story the first time He was there?
Jerusalem was a city alive with activity during the Passover. Festival. People from all over the world crowded into it. They spoke different languages, rode strange kinds of animals, and brought exotic things with them. Thousands upon thousands streamed up to the temple. Soldiers in full shining armor were stationed on every corner. A holiday spirit, not too dissimilar from our Christmas season, pervaded the air everywhere. There was lots of merriment all around. Jerusalem during the days of Passover was just the place for a boy of twelve to have the time of his life.
It was the first time that the 12-year-old boy Jesus was there. So much to see, so much to hear, so much to do and experience! I know that at twelve, if I would have been there, I would have been drawn to all the attractions flowing around me. But for the 12-year-old Jesus there was one compelling attraction which drew stronger at His heart than all the rest. It was His Father's House, the temple, where He could be about His Father's business! So after the festival when everyone was gone and His earthly parents were frantically searching for Him, they found Him at the temple, “sitting among the teachers, listening and asking them questions” (Lk.2:46).
In our way of speaking today we might say that the boy Jesus had come in off the streets and gone to Bible class. He did that of His own accord after ignoring the countless attractions of the city around Him. He went straight to church because of a sense of divine necessity. When His earthly parents asked Him why He was there, He was astonished by their question and replied: “Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house, going about His business? He “had to” not because He was forced; He “had to” because He wanted to do nothing else. Nothing would drag Him away from going about His Father's business with a burning desire.
In our text it is now 18 years later, another Passover celebration, and that same burning desire to be about His Father's business radiates more strongly than ever. So He comes to the temple again to worship Him. After all didn't God say, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Is.56:7)?
But when Jesus and His disciples entered the temple yard, He was shocked. The place looked, smelled, and sounded like a cattle market. There was a lot of business going on, but not God's business. Cows, sheep and pigeons were sold for sacrifice; shouting, bargaining, and haggling over prices; money trading to exchange foreign currencies for Jewish coins. Such noise inside the temple yard made it impossible to worship God. And then there was the greed! It made the Lord Jesus very angry. So He drove them all out. When His disciples saw what took place, they remembered that the Bible said, “The love of God's house will burn like a fire in the Savior of God's people” (paraphrase of Ps.69:9).
Does the love of God's house or the Father's business burn like a fire within each of us – one that we cannot quench? Sad to say – not always. If that were the case nothing would ever keep us from worshiping God and in doing the things of His kingdom. Granted, you don't have to go to church in order to be a Christian. But it is also true if you are a Christian, you will go to church. Why? Because God Tells Us To Do It and a desire to do it would burn within our hearts. Nothing would stop it.
You heard Him tell us to do it in the Old Testament Lesson today. God commanded: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” To not go to church to worship or to be about the heavenly Father's business is misusing His name.
You see, we not only misuse God's name by cursing, falsely swearing, and the like. We also misuse His name by not making use of it for the purposes He has given it, like praying, praising and giving thanks. And then the Lord followed that by telling us how to do that: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” How often have we failed to burn with a desire to be in God's House doing what He tells us to do ? Jesus' zeal should be ours.
If we had such zeal it would drive us to express righteous anger like He did for those who abuse and misuse God's house. It would make us willing to put ourselves in mortal danger in the interest of God's cause. It would dwarf a desire to do other things by a zeal to study God's Word. You see, dear friends, the Lord is concerned with the hearts and behaviors of those who worship and lead it.
That's why we all needed Jesus to go to the temple that day with His holy zeal. Here He acted as our substitute for us when we fail to do what God tells us to do. The Lord Jesus went about His Father's business with a burning desire to please Him when we haven't. What a blessing! What a Savior!
II. He has the Father's authority to clean up the mess of our lives
But something still rankles us when Jesus Tells Us What to Do. It's hard to keep that sinful flesh within us from responding, “You can't tell me what to do. It's my life!” You see, the sinner
part within each of us hates being under authority. That's why the Jewish leaders questioned Jesus here: “What authority do you have to tell us to get out of here? Prove your authority by doing some great sign. Do you think, Jesus, You Can Tell Us What to Do? ”
Their question is like the story of some children who were playing in a city alley. While playing there they found some glass jars. So they set them up and began to throw rocks at them, breaking a number of them. A man heard the sound of breaking glass, came, and told them to stop. The boys asked why they had to do what he said. He wasn't their parent; he wasn't a policeman. But the man gave them two reasons. First, the jars were his. Second, he owned the property by the alley, and he would have to clean up the mess or someone might get hurt. He had two good reasons, so the kids stopped breaking the jars.
Sometimes we wonder why God has a right to tell us what to do. He tells us not to do things that hurt ourselves or others. He tells us not to lie, call other bad names, or hurt others in any way. We are also to help other people when they need it. Why can He tell us such things? Why could Jesus tell them here? He gave the answer that should satisfy both them and us.
He said, “Tear down this temple, and in three days I will build it again.” The people thought He was talking about the place where they had been selling animals. Only later did they realize that He was talking about Himself. He told them He had a right to tell them what to do because He was sent to clean up their mess. Sin would destroy His body, but in three days He would come back to life.
The Lord Jesus has the same reason for telling us not to sin. First we are His; He made us; we belong to Him. But because of our sin we have left Him. When we do wrong He has to clean up the mess of our lives. But not only did He die; He rose again to show His authority over our sin, an authority the Father gave Him to clean up the mess of our lives. That didn't convince the Jews, but in the days after Jesus rose from the dead it was a never ending source of encouragement for the disciples. He said it; He did it; and they would never doubt His authority to tell them what to do again. Neither should we.
What a Savior! This “startling” picture of Him allows us to find peace, comfort, and confidence in all the rest. See how He loves us even if His love sometimes hurts, it hurts for our eternal good. God grant us the faith to believe it; for Jesus' sake. Amen.