MAIN IDEA
The zeal of Christ for us makes our worship real. 

THE ZEAL OF CHRIST IS FOR ALL
We can think of this in two ways. First, the zeal of  Christ is for everyone, not just some people. There are some who believe that Jesus did not go to  the cross for everyone, but just for those who will be saved. It seems more straightforward to say  that Jesus came for all people (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4-6). Second, if Jesus died for all, then  Jesus also died for all nations, and that is the specific reason why Jesus cleared the temple. The  Jewish authorities set up the market in the court of the Gentiles, the outermost court. Not only that, they were blocking the Gentiles from coming into the presence of God (which is what the  temple represented) and worshiping Him. By doing that, they were making the temple unclean.  But God’s plan all along, as revealed in the Bible from beginning to end, is to fill the earth with  His glory in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God=loving  communities and families, the church. Our zeal should be for all nations too. 

THE ZEAL OF CHRIST IS FOR THE LOST
If God is righteous, just, and holy, there is no  room in His kingdom for sin, and there is no room in His house for sinners! And outside of His  house, there will only be eternal suffering and pain—eternal dying. But the zeal of Christ led  Him to the cross, where He would suffer the full wrath of God by taking upon Himself all the  sins of the world. He received the penalty that was due to all of us. But if Jesus died for all, then  why can’t God just accept everyone into heaven? First, this is God’s world. He created it. What  choice do we have but to live according to God’s economy? Second, if God just let everyone into  heaven, wouldn’t heaven be filled with people who still would not believe in Him, and who still  would have no interest in obeying Him? We should not assume that we would all just be changed  with a snap of God’s finger into believing and obeying. Because He could do that here in this  life. But God is not some Grand Puppet-master. He gave us the choice to be in His house or not. And that choice rests on one decision and one decision alone—faith in Jesus Christ, and the  decision to follow Him as Lord over our lives. And so, we are all lost. But thank God! He sent  His one and only Son to rescue us because there is absolutely no way that we can rescue  ourselves from the coming wrath! And so if the zeal of Christ is to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), we also should have that same zeal to seek and to save the lost. 

THE ZEAL OF CHRIST IS FOR US
Jesus cleared the temple to make a prophetic  statement. First, worship at the temple in Jerusalem would be replaced by worship everywhere  through faith in Him. Second, the presence of God would no longer be symbolized by the  temple, but the presence and glory of God would actually be found in Him. Jesus was saying that  He is the new Temple of God. That means, then, that we are “God’s temple and that God’s Spirit  dwells in us” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Jewish authorities sacrificed the holiness of the temple for convenience. They never repented, and so the temple was destroyed one generation later in  70AD and has never been rebuilt. Basically, the Spirit of God left His people. And so we must  take heed! Because we are the temple of the Living God, and the devil wants to destroy us, too  (John 10:10). And the only way we can fight the devil is with faith! Faith takes sacrifice. Faith  takes work. And faith brings zeal for Christ and zeal for His church. The One who has so much  zeal for us is worthy of our zeal. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION
What has been the greatest zeal of your life? Believers: Have you ever had a  great zeal for Christ? If so, please share that experience.