DESTROY THIS TEMPLE...
Sermontelling John 2:13-25 (NL 422)
BIBLETELLING
Below is the Narrative Lectionary passage for the coming week. It is followed by Bruce’s notes on the text which aim at a general understanding of the text and some notes on the structures and techniques used by the Biblical storytellers.
It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover,1 and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple those who were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as those involved in exchanging currency sitting there.2 He made a whip from ropes and chased them all out of the temple, including the cattle and the sheep.3 He scattered the coins and overturned the tables of those who exchanged currency.4 He said to the dove sellers, “Get these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place of business.”5 His disciples remembered that it is written, Passion for your house consumes me.6
Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? What miraculous sign will you show us?”7
Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple and in three days I’ll raise it up.”8
The Jewish leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple,9 and you will raise it up in three days?” But the temple Jesus was talking about was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered what he had said, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.10
While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, many believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs that he did. But Jesus didn’t trust himself to them because he knew all people. He didn’t need anyone to tell him about human nature, for he knew what human nature was.11
John 2:13-25 [CEB]
THREE STORIES
The following three stories pair well with the Narrative Lectionary passage for the coming week. They are followed by Danny’s sermontelling footnotes which explore the stories’ theological connection to the passage as well as insights into craft and performance. Our advice is to read the story first before digging into the footnotes.
AGAPITÓS
It was the Lord’s day and the house church in Ephesus was packed.12 Around every table in the large room were men and women, Jews and gentiles, free and slave, eating together as they did every week. A young educated man named Ioannis13 was eating there too. Ioannis had attended this church ever since he was a small child. And now his formal Greek training and his interest in neoplatonist philosophy hadn’t managed to dislodge his faith in Christ from his heart. That seed had been planted too early and too deep. These were Ioannis’ people and he loved them.
Now, as the meal was beginning to wind down, an elderly man stood up and everyone in the house fell silent. The man who stood up, everyone knew. His name was Agapitós. At least that’s what everyone called him. Agapitós was Greek for beloved. And Agapitós claimed to be one of Jesus’ most beloved disciples.
Ioannis was excited. The whole Ephesian church was excited but Ioannis, especially. Agapitós was going to tell a story about Jesus. Or as Agapitós liked to call it: testify! If he was asked to tell a story he would say, “I don’t tell stories, I testify to things I have seen and heard!”
Then, whenever he would finish telling his story about Jesus, he would always say, “I, Agapitós, testify to these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
And the rest of the church would respond, “And we know your testimony is true!”14
Ioannis didn’t know how and when that got started but he had grown up with it and he loved it.
Lately, Agapitós had been testifying less because he was getting older and it was becoming more difficult. Especially, since his stories— excuse me, testimonies! —were quite lengthy and he always insisted on standing. But today was one of those special days he had the strength and everyone was excited to hear him speak.
Agapitós began. “Dear friends, you have heard me testify so many times over the years. I’m not sure I have anything new to say. And yet I can’t help but feel that even the most well worn story about Jesus bears repeating. What testimony shall I give you today?”
The room was silent for a moment, then Ioannis heard himself blurting out, “Tell us about the temple!”
Agapitós smiled. “What about the temple? I forget you youngsters never saw it before it fell! Shall I tell you how big it was? Shall I tell you of its strange customs? Shall I describe the lamb’s sacrifice?”
Now everyone was looking at Ioannis. “No,” he said, “Tell us about the time Jesus entered the temple and drove out those buying and selling.”
“Here is my testimony, regarding the temple… It was the week before passover…”
“The week Jesus died?” someone asked.
“No. Who told you that? No. It was the first of three passovers we spent with Jesus. This was at the very beginning of his ministry. We had just spent the week in Cana for the wedding of one of his cousins and Jesus decided to go down to Jerusalem and celebrate the passover. The thing you have to understand about Jesus is he loved all the old Judean festivals we had before the temple fell. Jesus loved the temple. He was in the temple any chance he got.”
“Even as a boy, right?” someone said. “I heard when he was a boy he ran away from his parents to go be in the temple…”15
“That may be so,” said Agapitós, “There are more stories about Jesus than there are books in the world but I can only testify to what I know and what I have seen. Now where was I?”
“Jesus loved the temple,” Ioannis said.
“Yes! That, you must understand. Jesus loved the temple. Just as he loved the world. He never came to condemn but to save. But you have to understand: towards the end, after the renovations and expansion under King Herod, the temple was very different than it had been. The temple was once a humble building dedicated solely to the worship of God, but in its last days it had become something else entirely. By the end of its almost 50 year renovation it had become a money-making juggernaut. People were coming from all over the world to gawk at it. And, while there had always been a few tables set up so people could convert their money into temple currency and so that people who had traveled could buy animals to sacrifice, now the court was full of tables. They were all over the place! See, the court was the area around the temple where anybody was welcome. People used to come there to sit and listen to teaching. There, outsiders who couldn’t go inside to offer sacrifices could quietly reflect on Israel’s God. Also, the poor, blind, and lame could set up their mats in the court and beg for alms. But the renovations had changed all that. Now, you walked in the courts and it was indistinguishable from a noisy marketplace. See. Jesus loved the temple. It was his love for what the temple was supposed to be that made him do it!
He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’”
Agapitós thought for a second. “See, there’s this old scripture, Psalm 69, it’s one of those psalms of lament. David is asking God to save him from danger. It’s, you know: the water is up to my neck, my throat is parched, all my enemies hate me— typical Psalm stuff! —but then it says:
Lord, the LORD Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother's children;
for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.I always wonder if David, in the Holy Spirit, was speaking about Jesus.16 After all, Jesus endured shame and insults. Jesus was stranger to his own people. And, as I said, he loved the temple. He was zealous for it!
See, the Judeans knew that it was a prophetic act to clear the temple so they asked for Jesus for some sort of prophetic sign. Maybe they’d heard rumors about him turning water to wine and wanted him to do something like that. Jesus told them what the sign would be but they didn’t understand. He said, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’
Now this may seem clear to you because you grew up hearing our testimonies but what you have to understand is: no one understood what Jesus was saying! It sounded like he was saying that he would rebuild the Jerusalem temple after its destruction. Many will still claim this is an unfulfilled prophecy! But it was only later, after he had been raised from the dead that we remembered and understood. The temple he was talking about was Jesus’ body! He is the true temple!”
Ioannis had heard Agapitós tell this story many times but this time felt different. Somewhere in his heart he knew that it might be one of Agapitós last times telling it. To stand and speak, which he had once done with such boldness and fervor, now seemed to be a labor. He was taking long pauses between his sentences to remember the next one. Ioannis knew that his beloved shepherd, Agapitós’ own temple was soon to fall. Many in the Church believed it wouldn't happen. They had convinced themselves that Christ would return first. There was a rumor that Jesus had even promised Agapitós as much. But Ioannis knew that’s not what Jesus had actually said.
Ioannis knew in his bones that, in a few years, the Ephesian church, which had been started by the Apostle Paul and had been lovingly shepherded all these years by Agapitós, would be looking for new leadership. But where would they be without any witnesses to the Resurrection? They could continue to read Paul’s letters out loud but who would tell Agapitós’ stories? How would they be remembered?
Suddenly, Ioannis felt something deep within him prompt his heart. Agapitós called it the Advocate. Others called it the Holy Spirit. It was the presence of the Resurrected Christ in his heart. Suddenly, Ioannis understood that his whole life had led up to this moment: his scribal training, his reading of philosophy, his lifelong commitment to the faith of his mother. His very presence here in Ephesus answered his own question!
Ioannis would begin that night. He would begin composing a new Gospel that told the stories the others missed. This Gospel would tell the stories the way Agapitós had told them. But it would also preserve Agapitós’ wise teaching about the stories. This Gospel would be less about what Jesus did and more about who he was and what his actions meant. It would be the book of Agapitós’ testimony. In this way, his words would live on even after his earthly temple had ceased to be.
As Ioannis began to discern this calling on his life, he started to feel free and light. Finally, like Peter before him, he understood that loving Jesus meant feeding his lambs. And the thought of it filled Ioannis with unspeakable joy.
After a long pause, Agapitós continued, “‘Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.’ Friends, this promise, you know, was not just for Jesus’ body but for all our bodies. Each of us who believe in Christ and have faith in his name become children of God. Then we are born from above. Not of water but of the Spirit! We experience abundant life now and in the age to come! Have faith, then, that when your own earthly temples fall, he will rebuild them on the last day. And… And…”17
Aagpitós was now weeping. So was Ioannis.
“And love one another as he has loved us.”
Aagpitós looked fondly upon the church he had loved and served for so many years.18 People from all walks of life abiding in Christ’s love together. Agapitós knew that this gathering was the temple Jesus loved most of all. After a long pause, he smiled and said, “I, Agapitós, testify to these things so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
All responded, “And we know your testimony is true!”
~ Retelling of John 2:13-25
JOHN THE IDOL SMASHER
In a far away country there were a people called the Tridites.19 Once a week, the Tridites would gather in their temple and they would worship their three gods who were represented by three statues on three podiums.20
On one podium was a statue of Fekla. She wore a crown of barley and carried a sickle in one hand and grapes in the other. Fekla was the goddess of the harvest and fertility. And each week, when the Tridites entered the Temple, they would bring her gifts of grain and wine, to ensure that she provided a good harvest and many children.
On another podium was a statue of Zingu.21 He wore a crown of gold and carried scales in one hand and a lightning bolt in the other. Zingu was the god of justice and weather. And each week, the Tridites would take their seats and when a gong was struck, they would bow before the statue of Zingu, trembling and crying out, begging him to spare their lives and visit destruction on their enemies. Then they would sing hymns praising Zingu for his justice.
On the last podium was a statue of Bosh. It wore a crown of teeth and horns. It carried a skull in one hand a sword in the other. Bosh was the god of war and death. Before leaving the temple each week, the Tridites would cut their hands and smear their blood on the statue of Bosh to ensure they would be protected from all enemies material and immaterial.
One day,22 the Tridites were gathered in their temple. They were in the middle of singing hymns to Zingu when a voice came from the back of the temple, calling out, “Myths! Lies! You’re all slaves to myths and lies!”
They turned and there was a humble looking man with a long beard, carrying a great big hammer. Someone in the crowd called out, “Who are you? Why are you disturbing our worship?”
“I am John the Idol Smasher. I am a prophet of the True God and I have come to set you free!”
John the Idol Smasher went to the statue of Feckla, and facing the crowd, said, “Week after week, you bring gifts of grain and wine to this stone idol who can neither eat nor drink and your priests grow fat while your poor starve! The True God needs no bribe to bless his children. He desires that you share what blessings you have with neighbors who have less. And through human generosity you will know God’s kindness!”
Then John took his hammer and smashed the statue of Feckla while crying out, “Myths! Lies! Be free from myths and lies!”
The people gasped and expected the gods to retaliate but nothing happened.
Then John the idol smasher went to the statue of Zingu. Facing the crowd he said, “Week after week, you bow and sing before this statue that can neither see nor hear and you leave this place with dread for yourselves and hate for your enemies! The True God created and loves you just as he created and loves all people on earth. He desires that you seek to be good and that you recognize the goodness in others. And through human goodness you will experience the love of God.”
Then John took his hammer and smashed the statue of Zingu while crying out, “Myths! Lies! Be free from myths and lies!”
The people gasped and expected the gods to retaliate but nothing happened.
Then John went to the statue of Bosh and said, “Week after week, you shed your own blood for this statue which can neither breathe nor bleed, and you leave here relying on superstitious magic to protect you from things you do not understand. The True God gave you minds and imaginations. He desires that you put them to work inventing technologies and medicines that will improve the quality of your lives and the lives of those around you. And through human drive and exploration you will experience the creative power of God.”
And at last John took his hammer and smashed the statue of Bosh while crying out, “Myths and Lies! Be free from myths and lies!”
The people gasped and expected the gods to retaliate but nothing happened.
Then John the idol smasher faced the people once more and said, “You have now been set free by the True God! Use that freedom to be a source of kindness, goodness, and imagination to the world.”
Then he set down his great big hammer. “I will leave you this hammer to remind you when you are tempted to enslave yourselves to gods of stone, that the True God has set you free.”
The people responded, “Myths! Lies! We are free from myths and lies!”
That was many ages ago, but the Tridites have never forgotten. In fact, they call themselves the Johnites now, after their founder, John the Idol Smasher.
Once a week they gather to revere his memory in that former temple. There, the Hammer of John has been put up on a pedestal. When the Johnites enter for their gatherings, they bring gifts of grain and wine, and leave them before the hammer to thank John for freeing them from the priests of Feckla. After the gatherers sit, a gong is sounded, and they face the hammer and bow to the True God of John and cry out for forgiveness for their past enslavement to idols. Then they ask the True God to punish those who are still enslaved to them and they sing hymns praising the True God for his kindness, goodness, and imagination. Finally, at the end of their gathering they approach the hammer one by one, cut their hands and smear their blood on it. And each swears an oath, saying, “Myths! Lies! I will be free from myths and lies!”23
~ Original Parable
THE $10,000 CROSS
Clarence Jordan24 is best known and loved for his retelling of the Gospels set in the Deep South called, “THE COTTON PATCH GOSPEL.”25 He lived an amazing life. He was a pastor in Georgia during the time of segregation and was one of the few southern white pastors who was outspoken against it. He founded a Christian community called Koinonia Farms which sought to live out the early church’s vision of equality and simplicity. One of their many ministries to the poor and disadvantaged was an initiative to provide affordable housing which would eventually become HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. Despite Jordan’s activism, his Cotton Patch series and his folksy wit made him a sought after speaker even in churches that might disagree with some of his leanings.
Once, Clarence Jordan was invited to speak at a large mega church. Before the service, the pastor was taking him and showing him around. He wanted to impress Jordan with the large facility and how much money the congregation had raised and spent. The pastor took Jordan through this state of the art sanctuary with all the latest gizmos. Jordan didn’t seem impressed.
Then he showed Jordan a huge gym where they held sporting events. He smiled but the pastor could tell he was bored.
Finally, the pastor took Clarence Jordan outside and pointed to this beautiful lit up cross that could be seen from the interstate. It truly was breathtaking. The pastor told him, “Why this cross alone cost us 10,000 dollars…”
“You got cheated,” Jordan said, “Time was when a Christian could get one of them for free.”26
~ Anecdote
From the Archives: THE HOLY ONE MOURNS
After the destruction of the second temple, the Holy One summoned his ministering angels to his throne. He asked his angels, “When a king of flesh and blood loses a dear one and he wishes to mourn, what is customary for him to do?”
The angels replied, “He hangs sackcloth over his door.”
God said, “I will do likewise.”
So it was that on the day the second temple fell, darkness covered the land. Hence it is written: “I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth its covering.”
SERMONTELLING NOTES:
Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem in John’s gospel. His appearance in Jerusalem at the annual Jewish feasts is a feature of John’s gospel account. Altogether, Jesus visits Jerusalem during an annual feast on five different occasions. Of these, two were Passover visits—the first and last. A third Passover is mentioned in conjunction with the feeding of the 5000 in John 6:1-15. These three Passovers are the primary evidence we have for the length of Jesus’ public ministry.
John places this story of the “cleansing of the Temple” very early in his telling of the gospel narrative. The other three gospel writers include it much later in the narrative, as part of the passion week. Some scholars suggest that two very similar events took place at two different times. In either case, the decision on where to place the story seems very deliberate on the part of the storytellers. John uses the story to introduce the theme of Jesus’ relationship to the Temple, a relationship already hinted at by Temple language used in his prologue (John 1:14).
The practice of buying and selling animals and changing money in the Temple courts is well attested outside the gospels. The purpose was to make it easier for worshipers traveling great distances to have access to the proper coinage and pre-inspected animals for their offerings and sacrifices.
The Mishnah includes references to the abuse of this process by the Temple priests, who charged exorbitant fees for these services. At some point, the Jewish authorities decided to remove these practices from the Temple courts.
Careful attention to the text suggests that Jesus used the whip only to drive the animals, and not on the sellers or moneychangers, as sometimes portrayed.
The sellers and moneychangers were so much a part of the Temple experience in Jesus’ time that E.P. Sanders suggests the overturning of the tables in this event will almost certainly have been understood as a prophetic act of judgement against the Temple, a prediction of its coming destruction.
John reports a somewhat different utterance here than the other gospel writers, who all quote the prophets: “My house will be a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of thieves.” John’s version confronts the actions of the sellers and moneychangers without implying (as the other gospel writers do) that their activity has polluted the Temple itself and destined it for destruction.
Jesus’ disciples later connect his activity in this moment to their reading of Psalm 69:9. This psalm is a prayer for God to bring judgement against those who are persecuting his anointed king because of the king’s desire to offer up genuine worship.
The response of the authorities here is telling. They do not view Jesus’ actions as mere vandalism, but as some sort of prophetic act. Rather than immediately arresting him, they seek explanation for his activity. “By what authority do you do these things?”
In order to verify that Jesus had “authority” to perform his prophetic acts in the Temple courts, the Jew’s request that he show a miraculous sign. Jesus suggests that they destroy “this Temple” and he will rebuild it in three days.
“Forty-six years” is problematic, here. The original construction of the Second Temple is narrated in the book of Ezra, and took a little under twenty years. Herod undertook a massive renovation of the Temple during his reign. This construction began in 19 BCE and, according to Josephus, lasted just around ten yeans. Some scholars suggest, though, that Herod continued to make more modest upgrades to the Temple over the years, perhaps accounting for the forty-six years referred to in this passage.
Jesus’ disciples will later come to understand that his promise to raise up a new Temple in three days was a reference to his own resurrection. The Resurrection is, of course, the ultimate miraculous sign of Jesus’ authority.
The real payoff here, though, is Jesus equating his own person with the Temple. Jesus (and subsequently his followers) has become the dwelling place for God’s glory and presence.
John intimates here that Jesus performed miraculous signs during this particular trip to Jerusalem. In response to these signs, some had come to faith. However, he does not perform a sign when requested to do so by the Temple authorities. John tells us that this refusal is because Jesus knows what was in their hearts. No sign he performed would move these particular individuals towards faith. Rebellion against God was in their very nature. This hypothesis required no experiment on his part.
For those who choose to believe, no sign is necessary. For those who refuse to believe, no sign is sufficient.
AGAPITÓS
John’s Gospel is the only one which internally claims to be based on eyewitness testimony. It also shows signs of being written rather late (late first or early second century, depending on who you ask) by an urbane and educated hand (read: not an illiterate fisherman from Galilee). It’s not as simple as preferring one explanation over the other. There are clues in the book that it was written by a member of the community, based on the testimony of the beloved disciple. An analysis of this is far beyond the scope of this footnote but one representative example will suffice.
John 21:24 says, in an epilogue, apparently appended to John after the Beloved Disciple’s death:
This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
The we points to an acknowledgment that though the Gospel represents the Beloved disciple’s testimony, it is written by his community towards the end of his life. I imagine this being carried out by a young sophisticate with a love for neoplatonist philosophy.
Anyway, this story seeks to give a more historically plausible picture of how the Gospels were written than the popular image of disciples following Jesus around with the 1st Century equivalent of legal pads. My hope is that providing this in the form of a story will help cement this idea in the mind of the hearer and help them appreciate how John’s telling of the story, which differs from the synoptics, is shaped by his own memory and belief.
Ioannis is the Greek word for ‘John.’ I have given the anonymous writer of John’s Gospel the name he will be known by through the ages.
This call and response are, of course, a play on the two endings of the Gospel: John 20:30-31 and John 21:24-25. I like the idea that this is how Agapitós ended all his testimonies.
It’s my habit in this newsletter to give you the more spun out versions of my stories (this one is nearly sermon length). I imagine it is easier to edit them down for your use than to expand them. If I were editing down, I would start with these asides.
I do not personally believe that David wrote Psalm 69 or that the Psalms are inspired prophecy. But this is how early Christians thought about the Psalms (and how Jesus himself seemed to).
I believe any sermon-length story should embed some kind of Christian teaching and the proclamation of the Good News. Here it comes from the mouth of Agapitós. This is a story about remembrance and grief. But it is also a story about hope in what God is doing through Jesus Christ.
Hopefully you can say this while looking fondly at your own congregation. A feature of oral storytelling is worth discussing at this moment. Oral storytelling actually doesn’t contain a lot of dialogue. Dialogue is hard for audiences to keep up with. Special techniques can be employed, such as change of voice and stature, to help the hearer keep track of who's talking, but often it’s best to sum up dialogue. On the flip side, oral storytelling loves lengthy speeches. In the midst of a lengthy speech, the storyteller and the character become one. In this case, Agapitós testimony becomes our testimony and his teaching becomes our teaching.
Of course written works are opposite. Novel readers love dialogue and often find long speeches tedious. I say this to point out that what seems dry on the page may spring to life in oral performance. There is a real opportunity here to have a moment with your congregation.
JOHN THE IDOL SMASHER
One of the breakthroughs I’ve had since starting this newsletter last year is that there have been times when I’ve had a clear vision in my mind of a story that must exist to make a certain point and I look through all my sources and can’t find it. This has led to me creating a lot of parables on my own. The following parable is just such an example. I had a clear idea in my head that there must be a parable about someone who smashes idols with a hammer and then the worshippers turn around and worship the hammer. After finding that no such parable exists, I wrote this one.
The Tridites, like all good storytellers, adhered to the rule of threes.
Not to be confused with Zeus. This is Zingu.
My formula for starting a story is as follows:
Somewhere…
Someone…
Everyday…
One day…
The beginning of a story should establish a setting, a key character (often the protagonist), the pattern of life that is about to be obstructed, and then move to the fateful day in which the inciting event occurs.
Depending on the needs of the story, one of these stages may take more elaboration than the others. In the case of this story, the somewhere and someone are dispensed with in the first sentence: In a far away country there were a people called the Tridites. That’s all you need to know. It’s the everyday that requires elaboration. We need to be introduced to the deities and worshipping practices that are going to be smashed one by one. Since this is a story that is all about disrupting a pattern (and that pattern stubbornly persisting) it makes sense that this section should receive the most attention.
This story meshes with our passage on the level of imagery. It’s a story about a disturbance in a temple. John the Idol Smasher, like Jesus, is cleansing the temple and calling its adherents back to true faith. But it’s this ending that has the true message for modern Christians. Often we read the Gospels and we assume its critique of religion has little to do with us. Those first century Jews were the ones who lost sight of what was important; we worship in spirit and truth. We say things like “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship” as if all religions aren’t about helping human beings be in relationship with the divine. The temple itself was a symbol of and a means of mediating Israel’s relationship with God. In declaring that his body is the new temple, Jesus is taking that role upon himself but Christians aren’t as special as we’d like to believe when it comes to our desire to be in relationship with God. And we aren’t immune to having our religion coopted by things which distract from its true purpose. Just like the market atmosphere in the temple made it harder, not easier, for people to be in relationship with Israel’s God, so there are practices and habits of mind in the modern Church that make it harder for people to know Jesus.
Just like the people at the end of this parable, we run the risk of assuming we’re somehow more enlightened than those that have come before when in truth we do many of the same things.
We do well to ask: What idols do we need smashed? What tables do we need turned over?
THE $10,000 CROSS
Everyone should know who Clarence Jordan is. Unfortunately not many people do these days. I always find it helpful to give a short bio about a figure before giving an anecdote. If you would like to learn more about Clarence Jordan, this is a good bio on Koinonia Farm’s website.
THE COTTONPATCH GOSPEL is certainly of its time and yet it holds up reasonably well. I recommend it to all storytellers as inspiration. It might help you think about ways you can indigenize the Gospel to your own context.
There’s two ways to read: Zeal for your house will consume me. One is the sense that Jesus was consumed with zeal when he drove the moneychangers out of the temple. The other, is to see the event as starting the spark that would eventually consume Jesus (in John’s Gospel, two Passovers later). Jesus would get his cross for free and many of his followers would receive their own as well.
Clarence Jordan’s wry observation is prophetic. The true end of discipleship is not found on a $10,000 cross. It’s found on a free one of rough hewn wood. O how we get it backwards when it comes to glory.