October 4, 2015
Series: “Money” 1 of 8
“What is Money?”
(John 2:13-22)
Introduction
Money. Everybody wants it, and almost everybody wants more of it. But what is it; and why does it matter so much? Sure, money matters in the physical world; ours is not a pure barter economy; we need cash to do commerce. As kids we learn that money is an instrument of exchange. The quarter under our pillow the morning after we lose a tooth is an acceptable exchange for a tooth—lose a tooth/ get a quarter. Lose your tooth fairy quarter in a gumball machine, get a gumball. That gumball in-turn helps you lose more teeth and get more quarters. Lose a few hours doing chores, get a few bucks allowance. Lose some hard-earned money, get a movie and popcorn, a car, a house, etc. Money has value, but not intrinsic value. The piece of paper we call a dollar bill is probably worth less than a penny. A penny isn’t even a penny’s worth of copper, but the U.S. Treasury’s stamp makes it worth a penny. Money has no real value apart from a recognized authority saying it has value. Take out a bill of any denomination and on the front you’ll find the magic words (in very small print): “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” That’s why Wendy’s will take this piece of paper in exchange for a small Frostee—because our government says (and Wendy’s agrees) that this piece of paper is roughly as valuable as a small Frostee.
Money matters in the physical world, but it also matters in the spiritual realm. Why? It’s because debt and payment are not foreign concepts to God. Far from it! Debt and payment are central to the Christian faith; so as Christians we ought to take our attitude toward and our use of money very seriously; and that of course means we need to understand and use money biblically. That’s the aim of this sermon series.
Why Does the Bible Say So Much about Money?
I could’ve gone so many places to begin this series—the Bible has so much to say about money. The Bible says more about money than all kinds of moral or spiritual topics: adultery, lying, murder, hell, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, etc. From Abraham insisting on buying a burial plot for his dead wife Sarah when the Hittites wanted to just give him a tomb, to Jesus’ famous statement: “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven,” all the way to the apostle Paul’s praise for the Macedonian Christians who gave cheerfully out of their own poverty to aid the starving church in Jerusalem, why does the Bible say so much about money?
I believe it’s because money is neutral. In the Bible’s most often-quoted (and misquoted) money statement, (1 Tim 6:10: “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”) Paul isn’t saying money is evil or even that money is at the root of all kinds of evil. No, he wants Timothy to warn the church at Ephesus about the heart and the heart’s affections—it’s the heart that’s evil. A parked car isn’t itself dangerous, but if it’s left in neutral it becomes very dangerous when set in motion by other forces like gravity or a bump from another car. You say, But it’s not that dangerous if it’s parked on level ground. True, but the human heart isn’t level ground! The human heart is inclined to sin and selfishness. Even new, Holy Spirit-indwelt hearts of Christians—if not actively pursuing God and the things of God—can and will fall prey to worldly affections and careen dangerously toward unholy cravings that money—even though it’s neutral—can help gratify.
Jesus Cleansing the Temple
The story in today’s text illustrates the danger of neutral money set in motion by the selfish cravings of non-level, sin-inclined human hearts. All four gospels tell of Jesus cleansing (or purging) the Temple. Matthew, Mark and Luke put the story late in Jesus’ ministry, right after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem a few days before His crucifixion. But John puts the story early in Jesus’ ministry, right after His first miracle of turning water into wine in Galilee, and prior to His return to Galilee via Samaria and His encounter with the woman at the well in John 4. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have Jesus quoting Isaiah 56:7, “‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” John simply has Jesus saying in v. 16, “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” Matt-hew, Mark and Luke say nothing about Jesus making a whip or, more importantly, His declaring to the Jewish leaders, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” a statement pointing to His coming resurrection.
To me, these differences indicate not one but two separate occasions in which Jesus, filled with zeal for pure worship, clears the Temple of the exchange of goods and money. And today, as we look at this first Temple cleansing, we need to ask the obvious question: Why is Jesus is so upset by what He finds in the tem-ple? and an application question: Would He be upset by what He finds among us?
Why is Jesus so upset about this exchange?
Why is Jesus upset? Well, it’s Passover, the highest festival of the Jewish year. Animals and birds for sacrifices and Passover meals are being bought and sold. Is this why Jesus is upset? No. He’s upset about the location of the buying and selling. Notice the first three words of v. 14: “In the temple he found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and pigeons.” The animals are acceptable; buying and selling them is acceptable; it’s the fact that the trade had moved from the streets and market places into the very temple courtyard that angers Jesus. Jesus knew that not every Jew raised oxen, sheep, or pigeons; He knew these Jews would need to purchase them from those who did in order to celebrate Passover. He’s not opposed to the sellers making a living, as long as they do it honestly—which they didn’t in this situation; and I’ll get to that in a minute. He was opposed to turning His Father’s house (a house of worship and prayer) into a house of trade.
But before we get to money in this story, we can’t overlook the enormous theological significance of Jesus’ words here. He makes three huge claims about Himself. First, He claims in v. 16 to be the owner of the Temple. He exerts His ownership by telling the pigeon sellers, “Take these things away.” That’s what good owners do: they clean things out of their houses that don’t belong.
Exerting Himself as the temple’s owner is a bold move. But even more bold is how Jesus establishes His ownership of the temple with His second claim of being the temple owner’s son: “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” Whoa! If Jesus’ claim of temple ownership isn’t enough, the Jews have got to be bowled-over by His claim of divine sonship.
So the Jews ask Him in v. 18: “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Wait a minute: “for doing these things?” Why not, “What sign do you show us for saying these things?” Anybody can knock tables over, but only a crazy person says the things Jesus says. The Jews are more upset by what Jesus did than by what He said. They’re more upset by His driving the sellers and animals out with a whip and spilling the money than by His claims of temple ownership and divine sonship. You wanna come in here and mess with our system, prove you’ve got a right to do it. Jesus had to be thinking, Guys, I proved My right to do what I just did by what I just said. This is My house because I’m the Son of the Owner.
But Jesus doesn’t say that. He knows what they want: they want Him to make it thunder, make angels appear, heal somebody, or pull a pigeon out of a hat. But if claiming temple ownership by claiming divine sonship doesn’t get their attention, He knows another miracle won’t change their hearts. So the sign He gives is His boldest claim of all—a claim which sails over the crowds’ heads but lodges deep in the disciples’ hearts—in v. 19: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He not only claims temple ownership; He not only claims divine Sonship; Jesus cryptically claims Himself to be the center of worship!
This scene shows us what routine religion void of a vital relationship with God does. It hardens the heart, numbs the mind, and turns our focus self-ward to the point that we miss God entirely. All the sellers can think about is their ran-sacked animal market. We had a good thing going here; it was efficient, we had good product-placement right here in the temple. All the buyers can think about is, Where’s my sheep? where’s my ox? where’s my pigeon? This was a nice, conven-ient set-up ‘til this joker came along! All the religious leaders can think about is how proud they are of their temple. Hey Wacko, a little history lesson for you: it took 46 years to build this temple; no way you’re building it back in three days! And all the skimming money-changers are thinking is, Oh great, there’s a brawl comin’ when this guy leaves, and I’ll be lucky to get outta here in one piece!
This is a sermon on money; so where’s the money? It’s lying motionless, all over the ground at Jesus’ feet. The crowd’s not scuffling for it yet; it’s neutral. But before Jesus showed up, it was moving from buyer to money-changer, back to buyer, to seller, and finally to the temple officials who had to get their cut—it was being pushed around, set in motion by the self-serving hearts of religious people.
So what happens to the money? Do Jesus and the disciples pick it up and take it with them? No. Jesus isn’t a thief. Was there a brawl for the money when Jesus left? Maybe. But, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever happened to the money, the scene closes with Jesus standing there having claimed temple ownership, div-ine Sonship, and centrality in worship. He doesn’t speak further in this story, but I have to wonder if, as He stood looking at the hard-hearted crowd, His thoughts ran something like this: You don’t know it, but I’m all the currency you need. You don’t need sheep, oxen, or pigeons, stone temples or ritualstic religion. You don’t need money; all you need is Me. You have a sin debt that you can’t pay; My loving Father is the Purchaser; and I’m the Payment. Just believe that I’m who I say I am and you’ll find peace with God.
The crowd didn’t get this message that day, but the disciples started to. That’s still how it is today. Jesus is heartbroken by the hard-hearts of the self-seeking crowd; but He still loves the crowd. Why? Because in that crowd are people His Father has purchased with the payment of His Son’s blood. As the Father’s purchased children, and as Jesus’ disciples, it’s our business to love who Jesus and the Father love. And it’s our business to see every dollar we have as resource not to be spent satisfying carnal cravings from hearts inclined to selfishness but to be set in motion by hearts inclined by the Holy Spirit to the ongoing redemptive work of our Savior in this world.