Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 2:17
And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
17. remembered ] Then and there. Who could know this but a disciple? Who would think of inventing it? See above on Joh 2:11.
was written ] Better, is written; in the Greek it is the perf. part. pass. with the auxiliary, which S. John almost always uses in quotations, while the Synoptists commonly use the perf. pass. Comp. Joh 6:31; Joh 6:45, Joh 10:34, Joh 12:14 (Joh 19:19).
hath eaten me up ] Rather, will devour, or consume me, i.e. wear me out. Psa 69:9, a psalm referred to again Joh 15:25 and Joh 19:28.
It is difficult to believe that this cleansing of the Temple is identical with the one placed by the Synoptists at the last Passover in Christ’s ministry; difficult also to see what is gained by the identification. If they are the same event, either S. John or the Synoptists have made a gross blunder in chronology. Could S. John, who was with our Lord at both Passovers, make such a mistake? Could S. Matthew, who was with Him at the last Passover, transfer to it an event which took place at the first Passover, a year before his conversion? When we consider the immense differences which distinguish the last Passover from the first in Christ’s ministry, it seems incredible that anyone who had contemporary evidence could through any lapse of memory transfer a very remarkable incident indeed from one to the other. On the other hand the difficulty of believing that the Temple was twice cleansed is very slight. Was Christ’s preaching so universally successful that one cleansing would be certain to suffice? And if two years later He found that the evil had returned, would He not be certain to drive it out once more? Differences in the details of the narratives corroborate this view.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
It was written … – This is recorded in Psa 69:9. Its meaning is, that he was affected with great zeal or concern for the pure worship of God.
The zeal of thine house – Zeal is intense ardor in reference to any object. The zeal of thine house means extraordinary concern for the temple of God; intense solicitude that the worship there should be pure, and such as God would approve.
Hath eaten me up – Hath absorbed me, or engaged my entire attention and affection; hath surpassed all other feelings, so that it may be said to be the one great absorbing affection and desire of the mind. Here is an example set for ministers and for all Christians. In Jesus this was the great commanding sentiment of his life. In us it should be also. In this manifestation of zeal he began and ended his ministry. In this we should begin and end our lives. We learn, also, that ministers of religion should aim to purify the church of God. Wicked men, conscience-smitten, will tremble when they see proper zeal in the ministers of Jesus Christ; and there is no combination of wicked men, and no form of depravity, that can stand before the faithful, zealous, pure preaching of the gospel. The preaching of every minister should be such that wicked men will feel that they must either become Christians or leave the house of God, or spend their lives there in the consciousness of guilt and the fear of hell.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 2:17
The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up
I.
ZEAL FOR THE STRUCTURE OF THE HOUSE.
1. It is the duty of the Church to provide convenient places for the public worship of God. Over-building is a lamentable waste of strength; but under-building is a sin. The Church who neglects to provide proper accommodation for the fast growing population of the country, is guilty of a grievous breach of Christian trust.
2. The house of God should be in consonance with the most chastened taste. Beauty is as cheap as ugliness. The fiat roof was prevalent in antiquity, but Christianity, elevating the human mind, has given us the dome and the spire. Our conscience, like Davids, should smite us when our house is better than Gods.
3. The same zeal which prompts us to build and beautify should prompt us to pay, and not leave a burden of debt to coming generations; but those who inherit the burdens should believe in the strength of God and remove them. Many have been obliged to go through the bankruptcy court because of too much liberality in the cause of the devil; none through over liberality in the cause of God.
II. ZEAL FOR THE ORDINANCES OF THE HOUSE.
1. The means of grace, the ordinary services; if we neglect the means we shall not have the grace. God promised to be a small sanctuary to the Babylonish exiles; so He will be to those who are in sore captivity through affliction. But if in health, God expects you to be in the assembly of His people. The social character of Christianity must be thus maintained.
2. Two institutions in particular go under the name of ordinances. About these there has been much controversy. Extremes are to be avoided
(1) That they are miracles.
(2) That they are empty ceremonies. True zeal shuns both extremes.
3. There must be zeal not only for but in ordinances. Warmth is always attractive and contagious. One of the objects of the gospel is to warm mans natural frigidity. Fervour in the pulpit, in the prayer-meeting, etc., imperative. But it is not respectable! God preserve us from respectability, then. But there is enthusiasm enough in political and social gatherings and in business.
III. FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF THE HOUSE.
1. Wickedness should be rebuked. Purity must be maintained at all costs. Some churches need the scourge of small cords to drive out the men who, by their negligence or immorality, disgrace the altars of God.
2. Virtue should be fortified. In the family and the Church, discipline should aim at the development of goodness, so that the doctrine of God our Saviour may be adorned in all things.
3. Our interest in the holiness of the Church should be all aflame with sacred zeal. In proportion as we are zealous for God, He will bless our efforts at evangelization.
IV. FOR THE DOCTRINES OF THE HOUSE. It is the Church s vocation, not that of the ministry as an official order to defend the faith.
1. Zeal for the doctrine implies mental hostility to error. The tendency of to-day is to tolerate not only heretics, which is right, but heresy, which is wrong.
2. Whilst opposing heresy, our chief concern should be the vindication and exposition of truth. Zeal not for sect and party, but for the truth–particularly the cardinal truth of the cross. (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
Christs zeal
I. ITS SPHERE. We cannot confine it to the temple or any other ecclesiastical structure.
1. The universe, in all the glory of its interminable spreadings, is the house of God. There is not a lonely spot which is not full of Deity.
2. And when we divide this universe into sections we know that there is some scene hououred above others with the Almightys presence–where angels cluster, and where the Creator may be said more emphatically to dwell.
3. The whole company of the faithful upon earth constitute the house of God–builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
4. Nay, there is not a solitary individual, over whom the great change has passed, who is not tenanted by the High and Lofty One.
II. CHRISTS ZEAL WORKING IN THIS SPHERE. Zeal devoured the spirit of our Saviour, and in driving out the traffickers from the temple we can recognize the workings of the principle, but we cannot limit it to this. We gather from the expression
1. That Jesus was consumed with a lofty desire to benefit the denizens of the universe.
2. Over the inhabitants of heaven Christ poured His amazing solicitudes.
3. An ardent longing to rescue this world from its degradation, and to build up its desecrated fragments into s temple of the living God, throbbed in the heart of Jesus of Nazareth. Confined, as it might have seemed, to a single race, its effect branched out into every quarter of the house of God, and orders of intelligence which needed not to be brought to the Saviour might have been confirmed and sustained by that which put man within the circles of acceptance.
4. Viewing Gods house as including the believing remnants of Adams descendants, we see Him entering on His course as the sun enters on his march in the firmament. His soul yearned over those who had destroyed themselves. He entered into the nature on which rested the awful curse; and when the race He had come to redeem rejected Him, the zeal of Gods house kept Him fast on His pathway of pain. (H. Melvill.)
Christs zeal
I. The OBJECT of zeal–Thy house. The Jewish temple as symbolizing
1. The Old Testament Church.
2. The world of sinners.
3. Corrupted Christian communities.
II. The NATURE of zeal. True and godly zeal, says Bp. Jewell, eateth and devoureth up the heart, even as the thing that is eaten is turned into the substance of him that eateth it; and as iron, while iris burning hot, is turned into the nature of the fire, so great and just is the grief that they which have this zeal conceive when they see Gods house spoiled, or His holy name dishonoured.
III. The MANIFESTATION of the zeal.
1. In rigidly expelling the defiling and the false.
2. In replacing and building up the pure and the true.
The zeal of Christ
It is said that sometimes when a crowd see a vessel that is going to pieces, and hear the cries of the drowning men, they seem as if they were all seized with madness, because, not being able to give vent to their kindness toward the perishing ones by any practical activity, they know not what to do, and are ready to sacrifice their lives if they might but do something to save others. Men feel that they must work in the presence of so dreadful a need. And Christ saw this world of ours quivering over the pit. He saw it floating, as it were, in an atmosphere of fire, and he wished to quench those flames and make the world rejoice, and therefore He must work to that end. He could not rest and be quiet. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The zeal of our Lord to be imitated
Let the zeal of the house of God ever eat thee. For example: seest thou a brother running to the theatre? stop him, warn him, be grieved for him, if the zeal of Gods house hath now eaten thee. Seest thou others running and wanting to drink themselves drunk? Stop whom thou canst, hold whom thou canst, frighten whom thou canst; whom thou canst, win in gentleness: do not in any wise sit still and do nothing. (Augustine.)
Commendable zeal
The most remarkable examples of zeal are found in the records of the early itinerant ministers. Richard Nolley, one of these, came upon the fresh trail of an emigrant in the wilderness, and followed it till he overtook the family. When the emigrant saw him he said, What? a Methodist preacher! I quit Virginia to be out of the way of them; but in my settlement in Georgia I thought I should be beyond their reach. There they were; and they got my wife and daughter into their church. Then I come here to Chocktaw Corner, find a piece of land, feel sure that I shall have some peace from the preachers; and here is one before I have unloaded my waggon! The preacher exhorted him to make his peace with God, that he might not be troubled by the everywhere present Methodist preachers.
Christian zeal necessary
A young Brahman put this question to the Rev. E. Lewis, of Bellary–Do the Christian people of England really believe that it would be a good thing for the people of India to become Christians? Why, yes, to be sure they do, he replied. What I mean is this, continued the Brahman, do they in their hearts believe that the Hindoos would be better and happier if they were converted to Christianity? Certainly they do, said Mr. Lewis. Why, then, do they act in such a strange way? Why do they send so few to preach their religion? When there are vacancies in the Civil Service, there are numerous applicants at once; when there is a military expedition, a hundred officers volunteer for it; in commercial enterprises, also, you are full of activity, and always have a strong staff. But it is different with your religion. I see one missionary with his wife here, and one hundred and fifty miles away is another, and one hundred miles in another direction is a third. How can the Christians of England expect to convert the people of India from their hoary faith with so little effort on their part? (Chronicle of London Missionary Society.)
Consuming zeal
When Baxter came to Kidderminster there was about one family in a street which worshipped God at home. When he went away there were some streets in which there was not more than one family on a side that did not do it; and this was the case even with inns and public-houses. While some Divines were wrangling about the Divine right of Episcopacy or Presbytery, or splitting hairs about reprobation and free-will, Baxter was always visiting from house to house, and beseeching men, for Christs sake, to be reconciled to God and flee from the wrath to come. (Bp. Ryle.)
Zealous, but not furious
It is in the matter of religion as with the tending of a still; if we put in too much fire it burns, if too little, it works not: a middle temper must be kept. A heat there must be, but a moderate one. We may not be like a drowsy judge upon a Grecian bench, who is fain to bite upon beans, to keep himself from sleeping; neither may we be like that Grecian player, who acted mad Ajax on the stage; but we must be soberly fervent and discreetly active. St. Pauls spirit was stirred within him at Athens because of its idolatry, and it breaks out of his mouth in a grave reproof: I do not see him put his hand furiously to demolish them. And if a Juventius and Maximinian, in the heat of zeal, shall rail on wicked Julian at a feast, he justly casts their death, not on their religion, but on their petulancy. It was a well-made decree in the council of Eliberis, that if any man did take upon him to break down idols, and were slain, he should not be reckoned amongst the martyrs. There must then be two moderators of zeal, discretion and charity, without either and both of which it is no other than a wild distemper; and with them, it is no less than the very life-blood of the Christian. (Bp. Hall.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. The zeal of thine house] See Ps 59:10. Zeal to promote thy glory, and to keep thy worship pure.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The disciples, as well as the rest of the people there present, could not but be astonished at this so strange a thing, to see a single person, and he in no repute but as a private person, to make a whip, and with authority drive the buyers and sellers out of the temple, and nobody to oppose him; but they remembered the words of David, Psa 69:9. Some think that John here reports what they did after Christs resurrection; and, indeed, whoso considereth the following part of the gospel history, would think that it were so; for they did not seem so early to have had a persuasion of Christs Divine nature, nor that he was the Messiah; or if they at this time remembered it, and apprehended that Christ was the Son of David, the impression seems to have worn off. It is a greater question whether Psa 69:1-36 (from whence this quotation is) is to be understood of Christ, properly and literally, or merely as the Antitype to David, of whom that Psalm is literally to be understood? Some of the Lutherans think that Psalm primarily concerned Christ. Mr. Calvin and others think it only concerned Christ as Davids Antitype. The former, for their opinion, take notice of the frequent quotation of it in the New Testament, Mat 27:48; Joh 19:28; Act 1:20; Rom 15:3. The other urge that there are some things in that Psalm which cannot agree to Christ. The matter is not much. Zeal is nothing but a warmth of love and anger. It is good to be zealous, yea, swallowed up with zeal, in a good cause; but men must take heed of the Pharisaical zeal, not according to knowledge. Christ was zealous, but the cause was good.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. eaten me upa gloriousfeature in the predicted character of the suffering Messiah (Ps69:9), and rising high even in some not worthy to loose thelatchet of His shoes. (Ex 32:19,&c.).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And his disciples remembered that it was written,…. In
Ps 69:9, which Psalm belongs to the Messiah, as is manifest from the citations out of it in the New Testament, and the application of them to Christ, as in Joh 15:25, compared with
Ps 69:4. Christ is represented in it, as suffering for the sins of his people; for he himself was innocent; and was hated without a cause; but having the sins of his people imputed to him, he made satisfaction for them, and so restored what he took not away. His sufferings are spoken of in it as very great; and from it we learn, that they are fitly called, by himself, a baptism, which he desired to be baptized with, Lu 12:50, since the waters are said to come into his soul, and he to be in deep waters, where the floods overflowed him; so that he was as one immersed in them: it is not only prophesied of him in it, that he should be the object of the scorn and contempt of the Jewish nation, and be rejected by them, and treated with the utmost indignity, and loaded with reproaches; but it foretold, that they should give him gall to eat, and vinegar to drink, which were literally fulfilled in him: and even the Jews themselves seem to be under some conviction, that the Psalm has respect to him; for Aben Ezra, a noted commentator of theirs, on the last words of the Psalm, has this note;
“the sense is, they and their children shall inherit it in the days of David, or in the days of the Messiah.”
It appears from hence, that the disciples of Christ were acquainted with the sacred writings, and had diligently read them, and searched into them, and had made them their study; and upon this wonderful action of Christ, called to mind, and reflected upon the following passage of Scripture, which they judged very proper and pertinent to him:
the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. This passage, so far as it is cited, agrees exactly, word for word, with the original text in
Ps 69:9, wherefore it is very strange that Surenhusius f should remark a difference, and give himself a good deal of trouble to reconcile it: he observes, that in the Hebrew text, it is read,
, “the zeal of the Lord”, in the third person; whereas it is there, , “the zeal of thine house”, as here, in the second person: indeed, the word , “for”, is left out, as he remarks, there being no need of it in the citation; the evangelist only historically relating the accommodation of it to Christ, by the disciples; whereas in the original text, the words contain a reason of the reproach and shame which Christ endured, and was put to by the Jews on account of his zeal for the house, honour, and worship of God; and the latter part of the text is not produced at all, being not for the present purpose, though very applicable to Christ; and is cited, and applied to him by the apostle, in Ro 15:3. Such was Christ’s regard to his Father’s house, and which was typical of the church of God; and such his concern for his honour, ordinances, and worship, that when he saw the merchandise that was carried on in the temple, his zeal, which was a true and hearty affection for God, and was according to knowledge, was stirred up in him, and to such a degree, that it was like a consuming fire within him, that ate up his spirits; so that he could not forbear giving it vent, and expressing it in the manner he did, by driving those traders out of it. Phinehas and Elias were in their zeal, as well as other things, types of Christ; and in the Spirit and power of the latter he came; and Christ not only expressed a zeal for the house of God, the place of religious worship, but for the church and people of God, whose salvation he most earnestly desired, and most zealously pursued: he showed his strong, and affectionate regard to it, by his suretyship engagements for them, by his assumption of their nature, by his ardent desire to accomplish it, and by his voluntary and cheerful submission to death on account of it. And such was his zeal for it, that it eat him up, it inflamed his Spirit and affections, consumed his time and strength, and, at last, his life: and he also showed a zeal for the discipline of God’s house, by his severe reflections on human traditions; by asserting the spirituality of worship; by commanding a strict regard to divine institutions; and by sharply inveighing against the sins of professors of religion: and he discovered a warm zeal for the truths of the Gospel, by a lively and powerful preaching of them; by his constancy and assiduity in it; by the many fatiguing journeys he took for that purpose; by the dangers he exposed himself to by it; and by the care he took to free the Gospel from prejudice and calumnies: and it becomes us, in imitation of our great master, to be zealous for his truths and ordinances, and for the discipline of his house, and not bear with either the erroneous principles, or the bad practices of wicked men.
f Biblos Katallages, p. 347.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Remembered (). First aorist passive indicative of , to remind, “were reminded.” Westcott notes the double effect of this act as is true of Christ’s words and deeds all through John’s Gospel. The disciples are helped, the traders are angered.
That it is written ( ). Periphrastic perfect passive indicative of retained in indirect discourse (assertion).
The zeal of thine house ( ). Objective genitive. “The zeal for thy house.”
Shall eat me up ( ). Future middle indicative of , defective verb, to eat down (“up” we say), perfective use of –. This future is from the second aorist . It is a quotation from Ps 69:9, frequently quoted in the N.T.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
It was written [ ] . Literally, it stands written. This form of the phrase, the participle with the substantive verb, is peculiar to John in place of the more common gegraptai. For a similar construction see Joh 3:21.
The zeal of thine house. Jealousy for the honor of God ‘s house. Zeal, zhlov, from zew, to boil. See on Jas 3:14.
Hath eaten me up [ ] . So the Sept., Psalms 68 (A. V., 69 9). But the best texts read katafagetai, shall eat up. So Rev., Wyc., “The fervor of love of thine house hath eaten me.”
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And his disciples remembered,” (emnesthesan hoi mathetai autou) “His disciples (then) remembered,” or recalled from their memory of a prophetic Psalm.
2) “That it was written,” (hoti gegrammenon estin) “That it is having been written,” and might be found in Psa 69:1-36.
3) “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” (ho zelos tou oikou sou kataphagetai me) “The zeal of your house will consume me.” It was this zeal that would not permit Him to stand by His Father’s house, and “sin by silence,” in condoning without protest, such sins at the door of the temple, Psa 69:9; Mar 11:17-18; For this, the jealous scribes and administrative priests sought ways to take and kill Him.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
17. And his disciples remembered. It is to no purpose that some people tease themselves with the inquiry how the disciples remembered a passage of Scripture, with the meaning of which they were hitherto unacquainted. For we must not understand that this passage of Scripture came to their remembrance at that time; but afterwards, when, having been taught by God, they considered with themselves what was the meaning of this action of Christ, by the direction of the Holy Spirit this passage of Scripture occurred to them. And, indeed, it does not always happen that the reason of God’s works is immediately perceived by us, but afterwards, in process of time, He makes known to us his purpose. And this is a bridle exceedingly well adapted to restrain our presumption, that we may not murmur against God, if at any time our judgment does not entirely approve of what he does. We are at the same time reminded, that when God holds us as it were in suspense, it is our duty to wait for the time of more abundant knowledge, and to restrain the excessive haste which is natural to us; for the reason why God delays the full manifestation of his works is, that he may keep us humble.
The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. The meaning is, that the disciples at length came to know, that the zeal for the house of God, with which Christ burned, excited him to drive out of it those profanations. By a figure of speech, in which a part is taken for the whole, David employs the name of the temple to denote the whole worship of God; for the entire verse runs thus:
the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them who reproached thee have fallen on me, (Psa 69:9.)
The second clause corresponds to the first, or rather it is nothing else than a repetition explaining what had been said. The amount of both clauses is, that David’s anxiety about maintaining the worship of God was so intense, that he cheerfully laid down his head to receive all the reproaches which wicked men threw against God; and that he burned with such zeal, that this single feeling swallowed up every other. He tells us that he himself had such feelings; but there can be no doubt that he described in his own person what strictly belonged to the Messiah.
Accordingly, the Evangelist says, that this was one of the marks by which the disciples knew that it was Jesus who protected and restored the kingdom of God. Now observe that they followed the guidance of Scripture, in order to form such an opinion concerning Christ as they ought to entertain; and, indeed, no man will ever learn what Christ is, or the object of what he did and suffered, unless he has been taught and guided by Scripture. So far, then, as each of us shall desire to make progress in the knowledge of Christ, it will be necessary that Scripture shall be the subject of our diligent and constant meditation. Igor is it without a good reason that David mentions the house of God, when the divine glory is concerned; for though God is sufficient for himself, and needs not the services of any, yet he wishes that his glory should be displayed in the Church. In this way he gives a remarkable proof of his love towards us, because he unites his glory — as it were, by an indissoluble link — with our salvation.
Now as Paul informs us that, in the example of the head, a general doctrine is presented to the whole body, (Rom 15:3,) let each of us apply to the invitation of Christ, that — so far as lies in our power — we may not permit the temple of God to be in any way polluted. But, at the same time, we must beware lest any man transgress the bounds of his calling. All of us ought to have zeal in common with the Son of God; but all are not at liberty to seize a whip, that we may correct vices with our hands; for we have not received the same power, nor have we been entrusted with the same commission.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) Was written . . . hath eaten me up .More literally, is written . . . shall eat me up. The verse is full of interest in many ways. It gives us the thought of the disciples at the time (comp. Joh. 2:22) which could be known only to one of their number. It shows us what we too seldom realise in reading the New Testament, that the Jewish mind was filled to overflowing with thoughts of the Old Testament. The child was taught to say by heart large portions of the Law and Psalms and Prophets, and they formed the very texture of the mind, ready to pass into conscious thought whenever occasion suggested. With the exception of the 22nd Psalm, no part of the Old Testament is so frequently referred to in the New as the psalm from which these words are taken (Psa. 69:9), and yet that psalm could not have been in its historic meaning Messianic (see, e.g., Joh. 2:5; Joh. 2:22-25). This reference to it gives us, then, their method of interpretation. Every human life is typical. The persecution without reason, the wrong heaped upon the innocent, the appeal to and trust in Jehovah, the song of thanksgiving from him whose parched throat was weary of callingall this was true of some representative sufferer of earlier days, and we may hear in it almost certainly the voice of Jeremiah; but it was true of him in that he was a forerunner of the representative sufferer. The darker features of the psalm belong to the individual; the Life which sustains in all, and the Light which illumines in all, was even then in the world, though men knew Him not. The words of Jeremiah are Messianic, because his lifelike every noble, self-forgetting, others sorrow bearing, man and God loving lifewas itself Messianic.
The change of tense, from the past of the Psalmist to the future here, is itself significant. The words were true of the inner burning which consumed the prophet-priest. They come to the heart as true, with a fuller truth, of Christs spirit burning with righteous indignation, and cast down by deepest sorrow; but shrinking not from the painful task, which leaves its mark falling on that face as the shadow of a deeper darkness. They are to be, in a deeper sense, truer still.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. His disciples Only, as yet, the five from Bethsaida. See notes on Joh 2:2, and Joh 1:40-51. Among these was John himself, and therefore a witness of this cleansing.
Remembered As at Joh 2:22, afterward. But it called to mind the psalm at the time.
Written In Psa 69:9. This Psalm, though written in the person of David, was applied even by the ancient Jews to the Messiah. Aben Ezra has on the last verse of that psalm this note: “The sense is, they and their children shall inherit, not in the days of David, but in the days of the Messiah.”
Zeal of thine house Rather, zeal for thy house.
Eaten me up A figure in all ages to express the consuming, emaciating effects of care and passion.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your House will eat into me’.’
The words cited here by John come from Psa 69:9 and there it is also in a context where insults are being offered to God, just as they were here. We are not told when the disciples remembered the words, probably it was at the time, but it confirms to them and the readers that here is One Who fulfils the Scriptures and takes worship seriously, and is willing to be unpopular in order to purify it.
John possibly also sees in the incident a picture of rejection of the sacrificial system which Jesus has come to replace, but that is not apparent from Jesus’ words, although hinted at in what follows. But certainly it was a sign that the old waters of Judaism needed transforming and changing into something better.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 2:17. And his disciples remembered, &c. In the apprehension of the disciples, their Lord exposed himself to great danger by turning out a body of factious and interested men, whom the priests and rulers supported. On this occasion, therefore, they called to mind that text in the Psalms, where it is said, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; imputing their Master’s actions to such a concern for the purity of God’s worship, as that by which David, his great type, was animated. See on Psa 69:9.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 2:17 . ] At the very time of the occurrence, and not (as Olshausen asserts) after the resurrection, a circumstance which has to be stated in Joh 2:22 (comp. Joh 12:16 ).
The text quoted is Psa 69:10 ; the theocratic sufferer in this psalm, a psalm written during the exile, is a type of the Messiah; see Joh 15:25 , Joh 19:28 ff. Comp. Rom 15:3 ; Rom 11:9 ; Act 1:20
] will devour or consume me , is to be understood of a power which wears one out internally , Psa 119:139 , not to be referred to the death of Jesus (Bengel, Olshausen, Hofmann, Weissag. u. Erf . p. 111; Luthardt, comp. Brckner), for the disciples could at that time have thought of anything but His death; comp. Joh 2:22 . In this wrathful zeal, which they saw had taken hold of Jesus, they thought they saw the Messianic fulfilment of that word in the psalm, wherein the speaker declares his great zeal for God’s house, which was yet to wear him out. The fulfilment relates to the , whereof the indicates only the violence and permanence; and there is therefore no ground for imagining already any gloomy forebodings on the part of the disciples (Lange). For and , used of consuming emotions (as in Aristophanes, Vesp . 287), see Jacobs, ad Anthol . VI. 280; Del. epigr . p. 257. As to the future , which belongs to the LXX. and Apocrypha, see Lobeck, ad Phryn . p. 327; like the classical , it never stands as present (against Tholuck, Hengstenberg, Godet, and others).
Note .
If there was but one cleansing of the temple, then either John or the Synoptics have given an erroneous narrative. But if it happened twice , [140] first at the beginning, and then at the end of the Messianic ministry of Jesus, a supposition which in itself corresponds too well to the significance of the act (in so far as its repetition was occasioned by the state of disorder remaining unchanged after so long an interval had elapsed) to be inconceivable (as has been asserted by some), or even merely to pass the limits of probability, it is then, on the one hand, conceivable that the Synoptics do not contain the first cleansing, because Christ’s early labours in Jerusalem do not belong to the range of events which they generally narrate; and, on the other hand, that John passes over the second cleansing, because he had already recorded the Messianic of the same kind. We are not therefore to suppose that the one account is true, and the other false, but to assume that the act was repeated . See on Mat 21:12-13 . So the Fathers and most subsequent writers; also Schleiermacher, Tholuck, Olshausen, B. Crusius, Maier, Ebrard, Luthardt, Riggenbach, Lange, Baumgarten, Hengstenberg, Godet, etc. Others , on the contrary, admitting only one temple-cleansing, decide in favour, some of the synoptical account (Strauss, Weisse, Baur, Hilgenfeld, Scholten, Schenkel [141] ), and some in favour of John’s (Lcke, De Wette, Ammon, Krabbe, Brckner, Ewald, Weizscker, and many others; Bumlein hesitatingly). The latter would be the correct view, because John was an eye-witness; although we are not to suppose, as Baur, in keeping with his view of the fourth Gospel, thinks, that John derived the facts from the Synoptics, but fixed the time of the transaction independently, in consistency with the idea of reformatory procedure. See also Hilgenfeld, who traces here the “idiosyncrasy of John,” who, with reference at least to the knowledge of the disciples and the relations of Jesus to the Jews, begins where the Synoptics leave off; and thus his narrative is merely a peculiar development of synoptical materials. Besides, upon the supposition of two distinct cleansings of the temple, any essential difference between the two acts themselves is not to be discovered. Luthardt, indeed, following Hofmann (comp. Lichtenstein, p. 156), thinks that, in the synoptical account, Jesus as prophet protects the place of divine worship , but that in John’s He as Son exercises His authority over the house ; but the of the Synoptics, as the declaration of God, exactly corresponds with in John as the word of Christ. The distinction, moreover, that the first cleansing was the announcement of reformation , and the second that of judgment (Hengstenberg), cannot be made good, separates what is clearly connected, and attaches too much importance to collateral minutiae. This remark in answer to Godet, who regards the first cleansing as “ un appel ,” the second as “ une protestation .” The essential element of difference in John’s account lies in the very striking declaration of Jesus about the temple of His body, Joh 2:19 , of which the Synoptics have not a word, and which possesses great prophetic significance as uttered at the very outset of His Messianic ministry, but has no special fitness at the end of it. Jesus accordingly did not utter it again at the second cleansing, but only at the first, though upon that second cleansing also, occasion was given for so doing (Mat 21:23 ). It is this very declaration, however, which marks unmistakeably the Messianic character of the appearance of Jesus in Jerusalem from the very first (against Weizscker, Evang. Gesch . p. 260). Chap. Joh 7:3 is not the first place which treats of that Messianic appearance.
[140] “Whether it took place before or after, once or twice, it takes nothing from our faith.” LUTHER.
[141] Comp. also Luther: “It seems to me that John here skips over the three first years.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1606
BUYERS AND SELLERS DRIVEN OUT
Joh 2:17. And his Disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
WE are apt to think that we receive no benefit from what we read or hear, unless it produce an immediate effect upon us: but the word, like seed, often springs up long after it has been sown. God often brings it to our minds by some great and singular occurrence: and then we see a beauty and importance in it which we never saw before. The Apostles themselves forgat many things which were spoken to them by our Lord, till the Holy Spirit brought them to their remembrance. They had often heard the Psalms read in their synagogues; but probably never reflected on the passage before us, till our Lords conduct suggested it to their minds, and cast the true light upon it.
We shall consider,
I.
The circumstances which brought these words to their remembrance
Our Lord, for the first time after his entrance on his public character, went up to Jerusalem at the Passover. There he found that the temple of God was scandalously profaned; and he immediately set himself to rectify the abuses that were there tolerated
[The outer court of the temple was appropriated to the use of the Gentiles: but many of the Jews had rendered it a place of merchandize. There they exposed for sale the cattle that were proper to be offered in sacrifice, and stationed themselves with tables of money for the accommodation of the strangers who might want to exchange their foreign coin [Note: Every one had occasion for a half shekel for the service of the temple, Exo 3:13-16.]. Thus they insulted the Gentiles and greatly dishonoured God. To correct this evil, our Lord exerted his divine authority. He drove out the cattle, and ordered the doves to be removed. He overturned the tables of money, and commanded all the traders to depart; nor did any of the people dare to oppose his sovereign command.]
This act of his could not fail of attracting universal notice:
It discovered,
1.
His holy indignation against sin
[Such a profanation of the temple was indeed a grievous sin: nor could his righteous soul behold it without the utmost abhorrence. His anger was justly excited by the indignity offered to his Father. To have felt it less, would have been a crime; and to have refrained from manifesting it, a mark of cowardice. We indeed are not called to manifest our displeasure in the same authoritative way; but we should never behold sin but with pain and grief; nor can our indignation be ever sinful, provided it be directed against sin as its object, and be felt only in proportion to the malignity of the offence committed. We can never err, if we follow the example of those eminent saints [Note: Psa 119:53; Psa 119:136; Psa 119:158. Jer 9:1.].]
2.
His courageous zeal for God
[The priests themselves were accessary to the dishonour done to God: if they did not encourage it for gain, they at least promoted it by connivance. Thus they, no less than the traders, were interested in maintaining the abuse, and, no doubt, would be forward to uphold it with all their power; but Jesus feared not the face of men, though all should combine against him. He resolutely determined to suppress these gross abominations, and, without any regard to consequences, set himself to perform his duty. Thus should we move undaunted in the way of duty; nor ever be deterred from it by the dictates of carnal policy [Note: Jer 1:17.].]
3.
A miraculous power over the minds of men
[What but this could prevent their rising against him? He detected their hypocrisy, reproved their impiety, mortified their pride, opposed their interests, and loaded them with disgrace. He did this singly, unarmed, unsupported, and in opposition to the existing authorities: yet, behold, they were all constrained to yield submission to his will. We cannot doubt but that he miraculously overawed their minds: nor was this a less exertion of omnipotence than any other of the miracles which he wrought.]
The sight of these things particularly affected his immediate followers, and brought to their recollection a portion of Scripture which they had never before noticed,
II.
The words themselves
The words were justly quoted in reference to Christ
[In their primary sense indeed they had their accomplishment in David. David elsewhere expresses in very strong terms his zeal for God [Note: Psa 101:3-8.]: nor can we forget how he manifested it when he danced before the ark [Note: 2Sa 6:14.]. But David confessedly personates the Messiah: some parts are applicable to himself, and some to Christ, alone [Note: Psa 69:5. cannot well be applied to any but David; nor can ver. 21. to any but Christ. It is thus that the literal and prophetical parts of scripture are continually intermixed.]. The words before us may very properly be applied to both; indeed the strength of the terms would almost lead us to confine them to Christ. His holy soul was inflamed with incessant zeal for Gods honour; nor did he ever suffer one opportunity of promoting his glory to pass unimproved. The occasion now before us called forth the strongest exertions of his zeal, and manifested the full accomplishment of this prophecy in his person.]
They are also replete with useful instruction to us
They reprove the shameful want of zeal amongst his followers
[God is greatly dishonoured by men on every side: his name is blasphemed, his word despised, his authority rejected. Does it become his people to behold these things with indifference? Should they not resemble Paul when he beheld the idolaters at Athens [Note: Act 17:16.]? Should they not imitate John [Note: Mar 6:18.], and adopt the words of Jeremiah [Note: Jer 13:17.]? Should they not reprove sin in others as well as abstain from it themselves [Note: Eph 5:11.]? But how miserably defective are even good people in this particular! How often do fear or shame restrain them from bearing their testimony for God! Alas! what a sad contrast does our conduct form with that of our Lord! Have we not reason then to be ashamed, and mourn for our neglect? But many, so far from rebuking sin in others, indulge it in themselves: even in the very house of God they harbour worldly and carnal thoughts; nor are at all concerned to have their hearts purified from vile affections. Surely this cannot but be most offensive to the heart-searching God. Let us remember the solemn caution given us by the Apostle [Note: 1Co 3:17.]. With respect to others, let us never presume to use the petulant language of Cain [Note: Gen 4:9.], but rather endeavour to obey the injunction which God has given us [Note: Lev 19:17.]; and, with respect to ourselves, let us seek in all things that conformity to Christ which is required of us [Note: 1Jn 2:6.].]
They afford us a proper example for our imitation
[Phinehas of old was called to execute the judgment he inflicted on Zimri [Note: He was a ruler himself, and acted by the command of the chief magistrate. Compare 1Ch 9:20. Num 25:5; Num 25:7-8.]. Thus Jesus, as the Prophet of the Most High, was called to vindicate Gods honour. In the same manner we should do whatever our place and station require: we must not all take on ourselves the office of magistrates, or assume the authority which does not belong to our situation and circumstances. Our zeal must be regulated by the word of God. It must be in a good cause; and in support of truth and virtue [Note: Rom 10:2.]: it must be pure; and free from bigotry, ostentation, or wrath [Note: 2Ki 10:16.]: it must be discreet, not precipitating us into unbecoming conduct [Note: Jude, ver. 22, 23.]: it must be proportioned, in a measure, to the occasion that excites it; and it must be uniform, opposing sin in ourselves, as much as in others [Note: Rev 3:19.]. Such a zeal as this cannot be too vigorously maintained [Note: Rom 12:11.]. An intemperate zeal will injure the cause it attempts to serve; but that which is duly tempered with meekness and wisdom, will be productive of much good [Note: Gal 4:18.]. Let us then check the unhallowed zeal that would call fire from heaven [Note: Luk 9:54.], and cherish that which is meek, humble, pious and benevolent [Note: Jam 3:17.]. Thus shall we approve ourselves to be Gods peculiar people [Note: Tit 2:14.]; and, while we please our God, shall be a blessing to all around us.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Ver. 17. The zeal of thine house ] Apostates, on the other side, eat up their zeal of God’s house. But as in falling forward is nothing so much danger as backward; so the zealot, though not so discreet, is better than the apostate: howbeit, zeal should eat us up (saith Mr Vines), but not eat up our wisdom, nor should pride eat up our zeal. Mr Greenham had this saying of David often in his mouth, and well he might. He also usually prayed that he might keep up his young zeal with his old discretion.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17. ] , at the time , not afterwards, which would have been expressed, as in Joh 2:22 . But the very remembrance itself was prophetic. The spoken of in that passion-Psalm, was the marring and wasting of the Saviour’s frame by His zeal for God and God’s Church, which resulted in the buffeting, the scourging, the Cross.
is a well-known future, contracted from : see reff. and cf. the prophecy, 4 Kings Joh 9:36 , .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
it was written = it is (or standeth) written. Compare Joh 6:31, Joh 6:45; Joh 8:17; Joh 10:34; Joh 12:14. The zeal, &c. Quoted from Psa 69:9. See the rest of the verse in Rom 15:3, and other parts of the Psa. in Joh 15:25 (Joh 2:4); Joh 19:28 (Joh 2:21). Rom 11:9, Rom 11:10 (Joh 2:22). Act 1:20 (Joh 2:25). See App-107. of. Genitive of’ Relation. App-17. Compare Joh 3:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
17.] , at the time, not afterwards, which would have been expressed, as in Joh 2:22. But the very remembrance itself was prophetic. The spoken of in that passion-Psalm, was the marring and wasting of the Saviours frame by His zeal for God and Gods Church, which resulted in the buffeting, the scourging, the Cross.
is a well-known future, contracted from : see reff. and cf. the prophecy, 4 Kings Joh 9:36, .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 2:17. , they remembered) Comp. Joh 2:22, ch. Joh 12:16 [His triumphant entry into Jerusalem], These things understood not His disciples at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of Him. Concerning the time of remembrance, also ch. Joh 14:26, The Holy Ghost shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.- – , Zeal-shall eat Me up[46]) So Septuagint, Psa 69:10. In truth, His enemies afterwards killed Jesus on account of His zeal for His Fathers house.-, house) See Joh 2:16.
[46] So ABP, the best authorities, read; but the old Latin Versions abc Vulg., and the Rec. Text, read , hath eaten Me up.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 2:17
Joh 2:17
His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for thy house shall eat me up.-This zeal for his house was predicted in Psa 69:9, and is a little difficult to understand, but seems to apply this consuming zeal for the house of God to Jesus. He desired it kept pure and holy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The zeal: Psa 69:9, Psa 119:139
Reciprocal: Num 25:13 – zealous 1Sa 4:22 – The glory 2Sa 7:2 – the ark 1Ki 19:10 – very jealous 2Ki 19:31 – the zeal Psa 122:9 – the house Isa 59:17 – with zeal Luk 2:49 – my Joh 2:22 – his 2Co 7:11 – zeal 2Co 11:29 – and I burn Gal 4:18 – it is Rev 3:19 – be
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
The saying referred to is recorded in Psa 69:9. See my comments on that verse in volume 3 of the Old Testament Commentary.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 2:17. His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house shall eat me up. Clearly (from the contrast with Joh 2:22) they remembered this scripture at that time. The quotation is from Psalms 69, a psalm which is several times referred to in the New Testament. See Rom 15:3; Rom 11:9-10; Act 1:20 (perhaps Joh 15:25); and comp. Psa 69:21 with the accounts of the crucifixion. We have no record of the interpretation of this psalm by Jewish writers in a Messianic sense, but New Testament usage can leave no doubt that such an application of many verses is both allowable and necessary. What was true of the devout and afflicted Israelite who wrote the words was true in the fullest sense of the Servant of Jehovah, of whom all such faithful servants were imperfect types. The exact meaning of the words here quoted will best appear if we take the whole verse: The zeal of Thine house consumed me: and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell on me. The parallelism of the lines shows that the chief antithesis lies in the pronouns. Dishonour shown to God has been felt by the psalmist as a cruel wrong to himself. Zealous indignation for Thine house, inspired by the sight or news of unworthy treatment of Thine house, consumed me,so to say, destroyed my very life. The quotation is not exact; what in the psalm is past is here future: shall eat me up. An examination of other passages will show that, where John uses the words it is written, he does not necessarily imply that the quotation is made with literal exactness. Had we the past, consumed, we might be led to think of the inward consuming of holy zeal from which resulted this act of indignation; the future, will eat me up, brings us nearer to what we have seen to be the meaning of the passage in the psalm. His zeal for His Fathers house will devour His very life-will bring destruction in its train.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The disciples upon this occasion called to remembrance the words of David, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up: Psa 69:9 which was verified in Christ as well as in David.
Where observe, 1. The grace described, zeal, which is the ardour of the affections, carrying forth a man to the utmost for God’s glory, and his church’s good. Zeal is not so much one affection, as the intense degree of all the affections.
Observe, 2. The object about which our Saviour’s zeal was conversant, God’s house, that is, all things relating to the worship of God, temple, tabernacle, ark, &c. which were the pledges of God’s presence.
Observe, 3. The effect of this, it hath eaten me up, like fire that eats up and devours that whereon it lights. What was said of St. Peter, That he was a man made up all of fire; and of St. Paul in respect of his sufferings, that he was a spark of fire burning in the midst of the sea, may much more truly be said of Christ, when he was engaged in the work of church-reformation.
Learn, That as Christ was, so Christians ought to be, very zealous for the glory of God, the honour of his house, and the purity of his worship. The zeal of thine house, that is, for the honour of thine house, hath eaten me up, &c.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Vv. 17-22.
The effect is described in Joh 2:17-22. We meet here a fact, which will repeat itself at every manifestation of the Lord’s glory; a twofold impression is produced, according to the moral predisposition of the witnesses; some find in the act of Jesus nourishment for their faith; for others the same act becomes a subject of offense. It is the pre-existing moral sympathy or antipathy that determines the impression.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 17
Hath eaten me up; consumed me; meaning that he was wholly absorbed in zeal for the honor of the house of God.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The {g} zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
(g) “Zeal” in this place is taken for a wrathful indignation and displeasure of the mind, brought about when someone deals wickedly and evilly towards those whom we love well.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The outstanding impression that Jesus’ acts presented to His disciples was one of zeal for the proper use of the temple and ultimately for God’s glory. They may have recalled Psa 69:9 then, or they may have thought of it later. John’s description does not make this clear. This is the third most frequently quoted Psalm in the New Testament (cf. Joh 7:3-5; Joh 15:25; Mat 27:34; Mat 27:48; Rom 11:9-10; Rom 15:3). [Note: Cf. Bernard, 1:91.] In Psa 69:9 David meant that zeal for the building of the temple had dominated his thoughts and actions, and he implied that others had criticized him for it. John changed the quotation from the past to the future tense implying that it was a prophecy concerning David’s great Son. He undoubtedly saw it as such. However, was he not misquoting the verse?
The Hebrew language does not have past, present, and future tenses as English does. It has a perfect tense indicating complete action and an imperfect tense indicating incomplete action. In Psa 69:9 the tense of the Hebrew verb is perfect. One can translate a Hebrew perfect tense with an English past, present, or future tense depending on the context. Here an English past tense was appropriate for David’s statement about himself, but the Hebrew also permits an English future tense that is appropriate for Messiah, the so-called prophetic perfect tense.
"We should not miss the way this incident fits in with John’s aim of showing Jesus to be the Messiah. All his actions imply a special relationship with God. They proceed from his messianic vocation. The citation from Scripture is important from another point of view, for it accords with another habit of this Evangelist. While John does not quote the Old Testament as frequently as do some other New Testament writers, it is still the case, as Richard Morgan says, that ’the Old Testament is present at every crucial moment in the Gospel.’ It is one of John’s great themes that in Jesus God is working his purposes out. Every critical moment sees the fulfillment of Scripture in which those purposes are set forth." [Note: Morris, p. 172.]
"When Jesus cleansed the temple, He ’declared war’ on the hypocritical religious leaders (Matthew 23), and this ultimately led to His death. Indeed, His zeal for God’s house did eat Him up!" [Note: Wiersbe, 1:292-93.]