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The Zeal of the LordBy: Joseph H. Murray“Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me” (Ps. 69:7–9). “Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and 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 a house of merchandise. And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (John 2:13–17). “And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when His friends [or kindred] heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils” (Mark 3:20–22). “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye Him?” (John 10:18–20). Of the Apostle Paul, they said, “He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18). Paul, himself, said of us all, “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised” (1Cor. 4:10). “For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause” (2Cor. 5:13). |
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