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--color-end: var(--bgcolor-content-end);" ><div class="content"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #96445a; --color-end: #6f637e;">Question</div> <div class="sponsor-sidebar"><div class="desktop-show" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder"></div></div></div> <h1><span itemprop="name headline" property="og:title">What does it mean that “zeal for your house will consume me” in John 2:17?</span></h1> <div class="actions-wrap"><div class="actions"> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="INTL/zeal-for-your-house-will-consume-me.html" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'intl'});"><img src="img/translate-icon.svg" alt="translate"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://printer.gotquestions.net/GeneratePF?articleId=54964" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'print'});"><img src="img/print.svg" class="questionInteract" alt="zeal for your house will consume me"></a> </div></div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #29a699; --color-end: #749c5a;">Answer</div><br><br> The declaration “zeal for your house consumes me” is originally found in the Psalms:<br><br> “For I endure scorn for your sake,<br> and shame covers my face.<br> I am a foreigner to my own family,<br> a stranger to my own mother’s children;<br> for zeal for your house consumes me,<br> and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.<br> When I weep and fast,<br> I must endure scorn;<br> when I put on sackcloth,<br> people make sport of me.<br> Those who sit at the gate mock me,<br> and I am the song of the drunkards” (Psalm 69:7–12).<br><br> This is a psalm of David. We do not know what event or series of events caused him to write Psalm 69, and we do not know if it was before or after he became king, but it seems that his dedication to God caused other people to scorn, ostracize, mock, insult, and reject him. As with many psalms of David, this one can be applied to the <a href="Jesus-son-of-David.html">Son of David</a> as well.<br><br> The description of being consumed by zeal for God’s house is applied to Jesus in John 2. Jesus had just proved Himself to be very zealous for the house (or temple) of the Lord. He had <a href="temple-cleanse.html">“cleansed” the temple</a> of the wicked men who were extorting and cheating worshipers: “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:13–16). Upon seeing Jesus’ actions in the temple, “His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’” (verse 17).<br><br> It is quite possible that others had felt “uncomfortable” about what was going on in the temple. However, Jesus was the only one on record who actually did something about it. In this case, “consuming zeal” may have a bit of a double meaning. Not only was Jesus’ zeal consuming in that it caused Him to take radical action, but it set Him on a collision course with the Jewish leadership that eventually ended in their delivering Him to Pilate for crucifixion.<br><br> The New Testament writers see many parallels between Jesus and David. Jesus’ zealous actions were rejected by His countrymen. David was also rejected, scorned, and mocked because of His zeal for God. This is simply one more line of evidence that Jesus really is the rightful heir of David—David’s Greater Son. Likewise, those who follow in the steps of Jesus may now face the same kind of rejection if they prove to be zealous for the things of God.<br><br> </div> <section class="homepage-sponsor desktop-hide"> <div class="desktop-hide" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder-mobile"></div></div> </section> <div class="related resources"><h4>For Further Study</h4> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'amazon'});" href="https://amzn.to/4j1mxs5">God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ by Stephen Wellum</a><br><br> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'logos'});" href="https://www.logos.com/?utm_campaign=logossubxlaunch-phase1&utm_source=gotquestions&utm_medium=advertising_display&utm_content=logossubxlaunch-phase1-gtlink">More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free!</a> </div> <div class="related topics"><h4>Related Articles</h4> <a href="destroy-this-temple.html">What did Jesus mean by, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19)?</a><br><br> <a href="my-Fathers-house.html">Why did Jesus refer to the temple as “my Father’s house” (John 2:16)?</a><br><br> <a href="money-changers-in-the-Bible.html">Who were the money changers in the Bible?</a><br><br> <a href="house-prayer-den-thieves.html">What does it mean that the house of prayer had been turned into a den of thieves?</a><br><br> <a href="Jesus-overturns-tables.html">What does it mean that Jesus overturns tables (John 2:15)?</a> </div> <center><strong class="return">Return to:<br><br> <a class="button-link box-shadow" href="questions-about-John.html">Questions about John</a><br><br> What does it mean that “zeal for your house will consume me” in John 2:17?</strong></center> </div> </section> <section class="subscribe gradient-to-br" style="--color-start: #153c59; --color-end: #1b537c"> <div class="grid"> <div class="gradient-to-br box-shadow" style="--color-start: #2c6482; --color-end: #64547b"> <h5>Subscribe to the</h5> <h3>Question of the Week</h3> <p>Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox!</p> <iframe src="scommon/qotw.htm" title="question of the week" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%"></iframe> </div></div> </section> </main> <footer-element></footer-element> <center> <div itemprop="dateModified" content="2024-09-17">This page last updated: September 17, 2024</div></center> <script src="scripts-2025.js"></script> <div style="display: none;" itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><meta itemprop="name" content="GotQuestions.org"><div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img src="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="width" content="400"><meta itemprop="height" content="79"> </div></div> </body> </html>