The Third Sunday of Lent - March 11, 2012
John 2:17 "Zeal for your house will consume me." Those who observed Jesus' actions in the Temple -- what we call the "cleansing of the Temple" -- used this verse from Psalm 69:9 to describe his motivation for upsetting the Temple (John 2:13 - 25, which is the entire lesson for today). They interpreted his actions as "zeal." "Zeal" and "consume" are the old words, used in the King James Version, and followed by most of the older translations. The more contemporary Bible translations use "love," "strong love," or "passion" instead of zeal, and they use the image of that love burning or being on fire instead of "consume". "My love for your house burns in me like a fire" (CEV). The cultural way to think about zeal and passion is that everyone needs a little bit, that if you're not at least a little passionate about something you're not really living. But we have such a b...