“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” (John 2:13-17)
God is not safe. He is not to be toyed with or used for personal gain as we see the sellers and dealers doing in the Temple. In Jesus’ ministry He had the most condemnation for religious hypocrites, the rulers of the Jews and their cronies such as those who did the buying and selling in the Temple. These not only led people astray, but they also used the things of God to line their pockets and make their own lives easier. Jesus’ response was to clear the Temple of those people who saw worship as an opportunity to make money or relied on worldly methods to worship God. They had no zeal for God, though they probably couched their sales as pious and devout attempts to facilitate the worship of the masses.
These days our culture finds such a zeal as Jesus manifested to be frightening. Many advocate zealously for social justice, abortion, and sexual rights to the point of violence, hate speech, and suppression of opinions and ideologies that differ from their own. Such zeal is thus vehemently directed against Christianity, at least that Christianity that maintains that Jesus is the only way to the Father, the only way to enter the heavenly Kingdom. Consequently, to avoid “offending people” many churches and Christians lack zeal for the Gospel so that they have compromised with the cultural norms and softened their position on sin. In addition many Christians have denied the uniqueness of faith in Christ, preferring to maintain that all religions are equal. They preach grace only, no law, thus depriving the gospel of basic structure, allowing sinners to wallow in their sinfulness thinking they have a clear path to heaven while they are bound for Hell.
However, zeal as expressed by Jesus manifests itself as intense hatred of sin in general and religious hypocrisy in particular. We do not help people by avoiding or ignoring sin. For certain the zeal of God is not safe for it will consume all sinners who do not repent and deny His nameand His Word. And yet His zeal will also consume those who repent and accept the grace of faith. Such zeal allows the faithful to place the things of God and His Kingdom first above material and personal gain or reward. Zeal will enable the Church to worship God purely, free from the ideas, ways and methods the world or the ego uses.