By Ndubuisi Samuel Okoro
INTRODUCTION
There is an inner drive that must be functional to get us accomplish anything in this life. It is called zeal. There is no body without zeal, the difference between persons is on what each person’s zeal is directed at. Zeal entails the release of great energy, passion or enthusiasm by someone towards the attainment of a cause or an objective. Even when there is a visible and laudable defined objective, it will still be a dream without zeal. Normally, between intention and fulfilment, there exists a gap which must be filled by zeal if there will ever be accomplishment. Zeal is stronger than fear. It emboldens a man to do what others are afraid to confront. If the zeal is directed at right things, it brings about a change or positive transformation. But if the zeal is directed at a wrong cause, then it brings about destruction. Naturally, zeal is most expressive in young people because of the tremendous vigour they possess. Its peak is at the youthful stage of life and it normally diminishes with increasing age. Zeal is what is required to bring about revolution or transformation in any life or society. Even God himself also expresses zeal to get certain things accomplished (Isaiah 9:7, 37:32). But God’s zeal is always directed at flushing out evil and establishing what is right. While on earth, Jesus, who is the image of God demonstrated God’s kind of zeal at the temple of Jerusalem (John 2: 13 – 22). We need to examine Jesus’ zeal in this instance in order to draw lessons for our own lives
JESUS’ ZEAL FOR GOD’s HOUSE
“And (Jesus) found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (John 2:14-17 – KJV).
The temple at Jerusalem was conceived by David and Solomon to be a place where God’s presence was to be located. Prayers would be regularly offered in this temple and God would answer. It was a place to teach God’s people his precepts and also offer sacrifices and thanks giving to God. Over a period, the priests and other custodians of the temple began to misuse the temple for purposes that it wasn’t meant for. It became a ground for buying and selling. The decay caused God to quietly withdraw his presence from the temple, but sadly the people filled up the vacuum with empty ceremonies and rituals that had no spiritual impact on their lives. There was no record that anyone confronted this decay in the temple until Jesus came. It is possible some people noticed how wrong things had gone in the temple, but never arose to confront it. Some might have come close to doing somethings, but stopped at the stage of expressing sympathy. Like the Levite in Lk 10: 30 – 32, they could have lamented about the state of the temple, but at the end, they lacked the zeal to confront what they cried about; hence, they could not bring about transformation.
Jesus though the Son of God was well acquainted with what was written in the volume of the Scriptures because he studied it (Heb 10: 5- 9). He has come across the Scripture that “My house shall be called an house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7). But here on ground, God’s house has been turned to a market. Something in Him grieved and swung into action. That thing is called zeal. It made Him make a scourge and drove out the sellers and money changers in the temple and over threw their tables without minding the likely reaction to his action. His zeal resulted in the creation of space in the temple where the blind and the lame could come to be healed. That is how Jesus’ zeal challenged the wrong in God’s house and changed it for good.
WHAT WE FIND IN OUR OWN TEMPLES
Just like the temple of Solomon was misused in the time of Jesus, so are the temples of worship today. Rather than being a place of prayer, it has been turned to fashion houses, business advert/promotion platforms, entertainment theatres etc. This is misuse of the purpose of the temple. If Jesus were here, his zeal would have flared up. He would stand against it with all he has.
But the true temple of God is our bodies. It is meant to be a house of prayer. But there are thieves who want to hijack it and misuse it for food, fornication, lies and other evils. That hijacker is Mr Self. Self will take over the temple of our bodies except we become ruthless with it. We need zeal to deal with self. If you notice that self has taken over any portion of your temple, then you need to call on Jesus and grant him free access to handle self the way he chooses. Self is our “son”. Which means we could be affectionately tied to it and often unwilling to give him up to Jesus. To attempt chasing out the hijacker alone is to continue failing and elongating the victory that would have been yours. There are times when your personal confession on your knees alone over a sinful habit that has mastered you will not give you victory. You will need to involve others. Jesus is zealous to cleanse his temple and reclaim ownership. All he is asking for is to be allowed. Allow him to express his zeal and chase out the intruders. It is only when he has reclaimed his rightful ownership of my body that he can work from there to clear other temples.
CONCLUSION
Zeal is a fire that burns within. It is a driver that propels things to be done. Without zeal knowledge profits little. Everyone shows zeal for something. Where is your zeal? Is it for football, worldly movies, internet games, money, sin and worldly pleasures or for God and his kingdom? Whoever you give your zeal will use it to propel his course. For Jesus, his zeal was for his Father’s house. He couldn’t have rest until he saw the robbers who have hijacked God’s temple chased out so that healing, praise, prayers, thanksgiving and sacrifices for atonement of sin was restored in the temple. The choice is yours.