Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Go Your Own Way" (Fleetwood Mac)

Hey there!!!  Thanks for joining us today at Tuesday's Musical Notes, where we attempt to answer the burning question...does anyone really know what time it is?  Sorry, Notes for another time, but we are here to explore a classic song and give it a contradistinctive twist.  Wasn't that a version of Chubby Checker's song?  Maybe not, be we do guarantee the opportunity to learn more about this favorite song and maybe, just maybe, a little bit more about ourselves in the process!  Are you ready? 

"Go Your Own Way" - from the February 4, 1977 album Rumours by Fleetwood Mac

For 52 years, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been playing in the band named after them,  Fleetwood Mac.  Over the course of that time, they have seen 8 guitar players and a basic "core" group come and go. 
Their commercial success is without question.  They are included on "Best of" lists all through popular music.   4 of the current 6 band members have been around for the most successful of Fleetwood Mac's albums, including Rumours, the Diamond certified (albums selling in excess of 10 million units, as of 2016 only 92 existed:  All 92 Diamond-Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take by Andrew Unterberger 9/29/2016 billboard.com) record that feature's today's 1976 smash hit, "Go Your Own Way".  Do you remember where your copy Rumours is?

"Go Your Own Way" was the first single from Rumours and was released just in time for the Christmas season of 1976.  The song's soaring up the charts prepared the way for the full album to go to #1 and see the release of 3 more singles.  "Dreams", "You Make Loving Fun" and "Don't Stop" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Don't Stop").  All 4 of Rumours' singles made the top ten and paved the way for Fleetwood Mac to dominate record sales and sell-out concert venues around the world in the late 70s and early 80s.

Like "Go Your Own Way" so many of the songs from Rumours are introspective of the turmoil that was going on in the personal lives of the band.  Lindsay Buckingham is said to have written "Go Your Own Way" as a way to seek revenge at Stevie Nicks for ending their relationship.  He had known her since he was 16 and upon their inclusion in the band on New Year's Eve in 1974 they were integral in reinventing the sound of Fleetwood Mac .  Buckingham has said that his ability to get over the breakup with Nicks was aided by writing songs about the breakup, including "Go Your Own Way" and some other songs from the Rumours album.  (Songexploder Episode 150: Fleetwood Mac)  

The results of Fleetwood Mac's relationship choices resulted in one of the most well-known albums in musical history.  What results can be attributed to some of your choices?  

Since the dawn of history, mankind has been going their own way.  Genesis 3 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel  This passage details Adam's choice between 2 trees.  God, who created everything including Adam, instructed Adam to not eat from 1 tree.  But alas, Adam decided to go his own way.  Based on what we continue to read in the Bible and throughout history, this wasn't the right thing to do.  But, bless his heart, Adam couldn't change the way he felt.  God was prepared to give Adam His world.  But Adam in his pride tried to take it from God.  As we have noted in previous Notes, the astounding part is that Adam chose the knowledge of good and evil over eternal life!

This isn't the only example of mankind going their own way.  After the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea on dry land and seen other miracles on their journey to their homeland, they decided to go their own way and not invade the land that God had told them He had already given to them.  A trip that should have only taken 2-3 weeks lasted 40 years because of this poor choice.  Numbers 13-14 NASB/The Message/KJV

The wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, wrote several things about going your own way:  

Proverbs 16:7 NASB/The Message/KJV

Proverbs 16:9 NASB/The Message/KJV

Proverbs 19:3 NASB/The Message/KJV

Proverbs 20:24 NASB/The Message/KJV

Proverbs 21:2 NASB/The Message/KJV

In reading these passages, and by reading the Bible in its entirety, it is easy to see that mankind should not be left to go their own way.  Jesus, as a portion of His sermon on the mount, taught about the way a man should go:  

The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple Matthew, chapter 7 NASB/The Message/KJV

For me, it isn't always easy to follow God's pathway, but it sure makes life much easier when I do.  I can't be left to my own devices.  That is why I must have a solid relationship with the God who created me and knows what is best for my life.  

Friend, you have a choice.  You can go your own way, you can call it another lonely day...  Or, you can surrender today.  

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)

Hello everybody!!!  Welcome to Tuesday and another edition of the most surprising blog on the internet, Tuesday's Musical Notes!  It is our pleasure each week to bring you information on your all-time favorite songs and perhaps spring a bit of information on you that you had never considered before! 

It is also our pleasure to welcome you if you've never been here to experience Tuesday's Musical Notes, we think you're in for a treat.  A cornucopia, (is it too early for fall symbolism?) of intelligence, right at your fingertips...well at your eyelids anyway.  It's all wrapped up and ready to go for you each Tuesday!!!  We hope you enjoy the excursion (yup, there's a good summertime metaphor!) and learn a little something about music and maybe, just maybe about yourself as well.   Welcome, oh welcome dear friend!

Have you ever had that time in your life where nothing seems to go the way you thought it should?  Have you ever been afraid of changing?  Ever wanted to climb a mountain and then turned around.  We have one sentence for you...YOU ARE NOT ALONE!  Everyone who has ever breathed has had moments of frustrations and disenchantment about their lives.  The key?  Don't let those emotions turn into a landslide that brings you down...

"Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac from the eponymous 1975 album also known as the "White Album"

As of 2017, today's featured single by Fleetwood Mac has sold over two million copies in the United States alone.  That's not too shabby considering the original 1975 single peaked at #51 upon its release, not even cracking the top 40.  

It is no wonder it has sold as many copies, as Fleetwood Mac has performed the song live in virtually every concert since the song's introduction in 1975, and Stevie Nicks has serenaded audiences with "Landslide" in the bulk of her solo shows.  

"Landslide" was written before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac.  The story goes, that Nicks was in the Aspen, Colorado area when the writing of the song occurred.  She and Buckingham had just been dropped by their previous label, Polydor Records, and were wondering about what the musical road had in store for them going forward.  They found themselves with a freshman album release, the aptly titled Buckingham Nicks, but no label for the follow-up.  About that same time, Mick Fleetwood, of Fleetwood Mac (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Go Your Own Way", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Little Lies",  Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Don't Stop")  was seeking a new lead guitarist.  Lindsey Buckingham agreed to the new gig as long as Stevie, his girlfriend at the time, was a part of the deal as a singer.  The rest, as they say, is music history as the most successful lineup of the band released the eponymous Fleetwood Mac would go to #1 in the US and set up their next album  Rumours, to be a landslide of a hit as well as the stuff of which individual record legends are made.

Fleetwood Mac has had its ups and downs since its beginnings in 1967.  54 years is a long time to keep up with the same crew and not have some "conversations" and breakups.  In fact, the current lineup does not include Lindsey Buckingham, as he was replaced by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Tuesday's Musical Notes' Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs)  guitarist, Mike Campbell and Crowded House guitarist Neil Finn in 2018.   Unfortunately, there is very little conversation about a new album or tour by the band.  It seems the landslide of Buckingham's firing and the consternation the band has for each other may have very well brought them down.   

"Landslide" has been covered by many groups, most famously by the Smashing Pumpkins, Miley Cyrus, and  The Chicks.  

For any group of people to have success and longevity whether they are rock-n-rollers or rulers, there has to be agreement, grace, and collaboration.  History is replete with nations that have risen to prominence and now cease to exist (are you listening United States of America?).  In fact, the nation of Israel has only been recognized as a nation in modern history since 1947.  It has certainly overcome several landslides in its history, but none so devastating as the one that Israel endured when it got that for which it asked.

1 Kings 12 - 2 Chronicles 36 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel

I don't know about you, but I tend to read linearly when I read a book.  What I mean by this is that the table of contents is the first thing that happens, the story then takes place one event after another, then the ending happens and you're done.  But the Bible is a different book.  You can't read it as the Council of Nicea dictated its books and chapters to be lined up.  The best bet is to get a chronological reading plan, app, or Bible, if you want a better idea of how the events happened.  Up to this point, the narrative of Israel has been linear.  At this point, however, we see that the books of Kings and Chronicles and many of the prophetic books should be read together.  For example, the book of Jonah should probably come in around the point of 2 Kings 14 and Chronicles 25.  Obadiah should be placed chronologically ahead of 2 Kings 1, and so on.  That being said, you must remember that the prophets of the time were attempting to minister to, advise, and return Israel and her leaders back to God.  Here is a good timeline that may make more sense:

 

As you can see, at the death of Solomon the avalanche begins as the nation is led by a series of kings who do not remember the ways of King David.  The situation becomes so bad that a civil war develops resulting in the once storied nation becoming 2 kingdoms.  The Northern Kingdom never had a chance as the rebel leaders who would eventually rule as kings continually bowed, worshiped, and sacrificed (sometimes even their children) to the gods of surrounding nations, including Baal and Ashtoreth.  In one of the most defiant acts, the northern king Jeroboam replicated the sin committed in the wilderness by the Israelite's forefathers (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Hard Habit to Break" (Chicago)) by setting up gold calf idols in the towns of Dan and Bethel.  This set the stage for a series of nothing but evil kings in the North.

The Southern Kingdom didn't fare much better as you can see in the chart.  There were very few godly kings in the Southern Kingdom.  In fact, many of them were either ambivalent about God or as evil as their Northern counterparts.  It seems that after Israel got what they wanted by having a king, they took God's love and they took it down...

All the while God's prophets were attempting to right the direction of the sinking ship.  The stories of Amos, Jonah, Isaiah, and others are littered across the devastation that becomes the nation.  

We'll discuss the result of both kingdom's rebellion against God and the prophets in future Musical Notes, just understand that when Israel got its way, instead of building their life around God, the resulting landslide brought them down to depths they had not experienced since being slaves in Egypt.  

So friend, don't be afraid of changing.  You can build your life around Him.  Time grows shorter, you're getting older, He's still waiting for you. When you see your reflection in the snow-covered hills and don't like what you see, don't wait for the landslide to take your love and take it down.  Turn away from the bad things, the sin, the things you see in that reflection that God's Word says is wrong and turn towards the One who can sail through ocean tides and handle every season of your life...you see, the landslide will bring you down...the Bible, however, has much hope as it says...But God...

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving You,

randy

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Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Little Lies" (Fleetwood Mac)

Good Tuesday to ya friend!!!  I hope this finds the sun shining brightly or the rain falling gently in your corner of the world!  Welcome to Tuesday and  Tuesday's Musical Notes, the place where music melds with The Message, tunes combine with The timeless story, and songs commingle with The Scriptures!  What better place to find yourself on a Tuesday!  Welcome!  Welcome!! Welcome!!!

Let's face it.  If you have been on earth for any length of time, you have been told a lie.  A variety of circumstances contributed to someone feeling like they could not come forward with truthful information so they defaulted to telling you a falsehood.  The fallout from the deceit also varies based on the severity of the lie.  The question arises, is there a "degree" of lying?  Are there levels of dishonesty that are ok as long as no one gets hurt?  Do we listen to the flattery that comes from others about ourselves even when we know what they are saying is not the truth?  Would we rather be told a falsehood than having our feelings hurt when we can't handle the truth?  (insert Jack Nicholson tirade from a Few Good Men)  Regardless of who is the perpetrator and who is the recipient, the truth always comes out...it's something you can't disguise...

"Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac from the 1987 album Tango In The Night

Lead singers in a popular music group usually wind up being the "face" of the group.  Such is the case for many of the bands that were a part of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  But singers come and go.  Do you know the name of the vocalist that replaced Steve Perry in Journey?  How about the guy who replaced Dennis DeYoung in Styx?  Peter Cetera in Chicago?  What these bands have in common is that most folks don't know who the current lead vocalist is in any of these great rock groups, all of which continue to tour (Arnel Pineda is Journey's lead vocalist.  Lawrence Gowan is the replacement for DeYoung in Styx.  Jason Scheff replaced Peter Cetera and was then replaced by Jeff Cofey in Chicago).  We don't even want to start the discussion on David Lee Roth vs. Sammy Hagar in Van Halen...

Fleetwood Mac (named from founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie) was founded in the late '60s.  They had some moderate success in their formative years until the early 70's when they changed their lead vocalists.  In 1974, Lindsay Buckingham and his girlfriend Stevie Nicks, joined Fleetwood and Mr. and Mrs. McVie (Christine McVie, John's wife of the time, joined the band in 1970). Fleetwood Mac continues to tour, is a staple of Rock-n-Roll radio and has sold over 100 million records worldwide.  The interaction between band members has been fodder for tabloids and inspired much of the writing that would eventually become Rumours, the band's breakout album.  Rumours stayed at #1 for 31 weeks and has sold over 40 million copies.  

Since 1974 when they came into their current lineup, the band has managed to have 3 principle lead vocalists and maintain their identity as a group.  Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Lindsay Buckingham have all provided the leads on Fleetwood Mac's hits as well as being the principle songwriters.  "Little Lies" was written by McVie (Tuesday's Musical Notes favorite of the 3) and she provides the lead vocals.  It was the last top 10 hit from Fleetwood Mac, peaking at #4.  It continues where Rumours left off in telling the story of the band's relationships. While their partnerships have been lucrative, the bands personal interactions  have at times been incredibly unstable.  "No more broken hearts, better off apart, let's give it a try..."

Deceit, fraud, chicanery, trickery, duplicity, and outright falsehoods have been a part of the Biblical narrative since the creation story.  In fact, deceit plays a huge role in the fall of mankind.  Please do not misunderstand, mankind made the decision to disobey.  While the enemy played a role in this downfall, he never MADE Adam or Eve defy God's mandate.  Hiding from God prolonged the inevitable fact of what the truth was.  The fall began a  scale of lying, if there is such a thing, that went from Abram's fraud regarding his relationship with Sarai (Genesis 12 New King James Version of the Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible parallel, Genesis 20 NKJV/The Message, just stretching the truth)  to Jacob deceiving Issac for Esau's birthright (Genesis 27 NKJV/The Message  a pretty big whopper) to Joseph's brother's untruthful account about Joseph's welfare (Genesis 37 NKJV/The Message out and out lying) to the ultimate treachery of Peter's denials and Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus (The Gospel of Jesus according to Dr. Luke chapter 22 NKJV/The Message).  So where does this leave us?  Is there any hope of truthfulness?

We live in a world of deceit.  From the lie that a baby is something other than a human being from conception, to the lie of the false religion of evolution and a billion year earth creation, to the lie that there is no God, we are surrounded by falsehoods and a meandering of just enough truth to make these "stories" seem palpable.  Navigating the sea of information can sometimes take time and energy to find the truth at the heart of the matter.

It is easy to decry "fake" news or the inconsistencies in the internet, but what about when the mirror is turned to face us?  Do we justify lying in the event that someone might get hurt by our telling of the truth?  Do we wait with "itching ears" ( The 2nd Letter to Timothy from the Apostle Paul chapter 4:1-4 NKJV/The Message) to hear what we want to hear whether it is factual or not?  Do we propagate deception when we repeat something that we haven't investigated fully or seen with our own eyes?  Oh, no, no you can't disguise...

The Word of God provides the standard:  In the Old Testament - Do Not Lie against your neighbor - Exodus 20:1-17 NKJV/The Message and in the New Testament - Be of God - The Gospel of Jesus according to the Disciple John chapter 8:42-47 When it comes to the truth, their is no room for debate.  This is black and white, absolutely no gray.  No other way of interpreting these passages of Scripture.  You are either a child of God, or a child of the enemy.  Children of God will make mistakes.  They will lie.  They will break many if not all of the other commandments just like children of the enemy.  But because of their believing that Jesus was who He said He was, they also have been forgiven.  The first Letter from the Disciple John chapter 1 NKJV/The Message  

Friend, you CAN turn the page, and you CAN rearrange the rest of your life, not just a day or two.  But you can't do either of these if you believe the lies, the sweet little lies...

"Lies" by Keith Green from the 1980 album So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt with an assist from youtube.com and ErgoKing

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Don't Stop" (Fleetwood Mac)

Welcome to Tuesday, November 1st!!!  Are you ready to gain some sleep?  

Don't forget that this weekend is the time change!   We've stated it on numerous 

occasions...why can't we just leave it alone?  While there is much bigger things

 that they should be focusing on, the first major political party that adopts 

repealing Daylight Savings Time gets my vote!!!  Speaking of voting, don't forget 

to go and do it.  Nope, we don't have great candidates in the top spot, however, 

when you look behind the curtain, there are some good people trying to make a 

difference.  Study God's Word about leadership and about Who should be our 

King and then go vote!!!  

Alas, we are for the time being stuck with the time change.  Time to fall back 

and get a redo on an hour of our lives.  Speaking of redo's, here is another 

Tuesday's Musical Note email flasback to September 6, 2011, before Tuesday's 

Musical Notes, the blog.  And you don't even have to lose or gain any sleep!!!

What a beautiful morning!!!  The Summer's grip of heat seems to be broken and

 Fall is right around the corner.  This is one of my favorite times of the year.  We 

truly are blessed to live in Arkansas, because we get a complete seasonal shift 

most years.  Tammy and I lived in Florida for a time and the change of the 

seasons was not nearly as pronounced as they are here.  Sure we fuss about the 

heat and humidity and occasionally about the cold and snow, but we wonder at 

the beauty that is Spring and Fall.  To me, enduring the Summer and Winter are 

usually worth it to have Spring and Fall, the seasons  which I look forward to the 

most.  With the Fall you get football, and in the Spring March Madness.    With 

the Fall you get God's paintbrush among the foliage and with the Spring, new life 

in the form of a multitude of "greens", as well as the wonderful celebration of 

Easter.  What more could anyone want?  There is something better.  Something 

that as Christians we will attain that is vastly superior to Spring or Fall.  A place 

in which our imaginations can only scratch the surface of the beauty we are to 

behold.  A place for which we long.  A place that causes us to ponder a  future 

tomorrow.  There are people who would tell you to not dream about tomorrow.  

They say that you should live for today.  Jesus even told us that we should not 

worry about tomorrow.  I agree.  We shouldn't WORRY about tomorrow, but when 

it comes to thinking about tomorrow......"Don't Stop".

July 6, 1977 was an ordinary day.  In fact, there are few history making facts 

about that day.  It was a year after the United States had celebrated the 

Bicentennial.  It was a couple of days after a holiday.  Pink Floyd had a huge 

concert in Montreal, Canada and France was doing nuclear testing.  Some of us 

had graduated 6th grade and were excited and scared about the prospects of 

high school might be for us.  But the release of a record from a 5 person band 

would change the musical landscape as well as the lives of each of the band 

members.  Heard any "Rumours" lately?  You could be one of over 40 million 

people worldwide to have purchased Fleetwood Mac's July 6, 1977 release.  The 

album has been certified 20x platinum in the United States by selling over 

20 million copies, making it the 6th best selling album of all time.    This is 

amazing considering the environment in which it was recorded.  Christine and 

John McVie had just divorced and weren't speaking, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay 

Buckingham were fighting over their relationship, and Mick Fleetwood had just 

discovered his wife was having an affair with his best friend.  One top of that, 

the band recorded in California amidst the excess of the drug culture.  Out of all 

of that turmoil came "Rumours".

      A critic said that one of the reasons for "Rumours" success is that it is 

completely full of likable songs. One of the most likable is written by keyboardist 

Christine McVie, keyboard player and the only classically trained musician in the 

band.  It evokes an enthusiasm for, and positive attitude towards the future.  

Time to get your smile on......

 "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac from the 1977 album Rumours

"If you wake up and don't want to smile
If it takes just a little while
Open your eyes and look at the day
You'll see things in a different way

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone"


     Does this contradict what Christ said in regards to thinking about tomorrow?  

Please remember the context in which Jesus was speaking.  He was talking about

 how our lives can get consumed by worry.  Jesus was reminding us that God is in 

control and we can't add anything to our lives by worrying about it.  I think Jesus 

was pointing us to what Paul would say about our future.

2 Corinthians 5

Awaiting the New Body

 ¹ For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building 

from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we 

groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when 

we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we 

groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed 

instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by 

life. ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has 

given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

 ⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in

 the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are 

confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the 

Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body 

or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so 

that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, 

whether good or bad. 

     Notice that Paul says we would "prefer to be away from the body and at home

 with the Lord".  That is a state of  being that awaits us in the future.  I once heard 

a speaker say, "Everybody has eternal life, the decision we have to make is where 

that eternity will be spent."  Friend, would you prefer to be away from the body and 

at home with the Lord?  We don't know the hour or the day when our eternity will 

begin.  Are you prepared to spend it in that indescribable place of beauty where the

Lord will reign forever?  If so, you can proclaim with confidence 

"Don't stop thinkin' about tomorrow, don't stop, it'll soon be here".......

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Disorder In The House" (Warren Zevon)

Every once in a while Tuesday's Musical Notes will take a deep dive into the depths of musical archeology (say... back to 2003) and come up with a find that must be revealed to the world or put on repeat so the world can rediscover it.  Today is such a day!  Welcome to Tuesday and another edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  What you will find here in our excavation of the lyrical and syncopated are nuggets of musical history and artifacts of wisdom that may be life-altering.

So grab your spade, pick, and brush away the dust carefully as some of these treasures, while important and cared for in their time, are very fragile today and have only been listened to in the deep confines of the most devoted excavator's preparation rituals. A word of caution as we begin.  If proper care is not followed, you could be restricted in your exploration or removed from the dig site alltogether.  Either situation would certainly result in...

"Disorder In The House" by Warren Zevon from the August 226, 2003 album The Wind

Best known for "Werewolves of London", a perennial favorite at Halloween, Warren Zevon became a staple in music circles as a songwriter in the mid to late 60s, eventually breaking out as a solo artist with the record Excitable Boy, the album on which "Werewolves" was released.  He was friends with many of the "classic" artists of the 70s, most notably Linda Ronstadt (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "When Will I Be Loved" (Linda Ronstadt)), all of the band members of Fleetwood Mac (Tuesday's Musical Notes search - "Fleetwood Mac") as well as a "who's who" of musical greats from that period. Many of those artists performed on his last studio album 2003's The Wind.    

The Wind was released two weeks before Warren Zevon died from mesothelioma in September 2003.  The album received good critical reviews and several accolades including being nominated for multiple Grammys.  It won that year's Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album as well as Best Rock Performance (Vocal or Group) for today's featured song, "Disorder In The House", a song describing the state of the world through Zevon's eyes as he approached his demise.  "...Disorder in the house There's a flaw in the system And the fly in the ointment's gonna bring the whole thing down..."  This characterization doesn't seem too far removed from our world situation today or for that matter the world's situation 2000 years ago...

The Gospel of Jesus according to the fisherman John, chapter 2, verses 13-25 New American Standard Bible, The Amplified Bible, English Standard Version of the Bible, King James Version of the Bible parallel

Today we adjust ever so slightly the chronology of the Biblical narrative as we encounter Scripture at an interesting point in Jesus' life where He observes His first Passover since beginning His ministry.  The last Passover that the Gospels attest to is when Jesus was 12 and Mary and Joseph had their "have you got Jesus? No, I thought you had Jesus" moment.  John tells us about Jesus going to the temple to observe Passover when all of a sudden Jesus had what we refer to in the south as a "fit". Jesus fashions a whip out of some cords and starts flogging the merchants in the temple courtyard.  He flings over the tables with money and demands those who are selling sacrifices to leave at once.  We've come a long way from Jesus not wanting much attention at the wedding in Cana to this point.  

Why is Jesus upset?  There are a couple of things to consider when trying to answer that question about this encounter.  First of all, John tells this story before any of the other Gospel writers.  John places this event shortly after Cana at the onset of His three years of teaching the disciples displaying John's focus being elsewhere other than the timeline of Jesus' life.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke all place a "cleansing" event as a part of Holy Week after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  This raises the question, did Jesus cleanse the temple twice?  The answer is no.  John's emphasis on the Gospel is not on chronology as much as it is on the message and mission of Jesus.  The other Gospels take a more accurate timeline approach and focus on different characteristics of Jesus and His ministry.

The point being made by John as well as the other Gospel writers is that the temple was for God-honoring worship and sacrifice, not profiteering.  What these merchants were doing was allowed under Mosaic law, but where and how they were doing it was not the manner that Moses prescribed.  They were charging exorbitant prices for sacrifices that they sold to Passover observers AND more importantly, they were profaning the temple by using it as a storefront, selling the sacrifices on the temple ground as opposed to selling outside of the temple mount. Ultimately, they were also profaning what Jesus would be doing by serving as the ultimate FREE sacrifice for all of man's sins, thus eliminating the need for animals at all.   

Secondly, Jesus uses his "righteous indignation" as an object lesson.  "...disorder in the house, time to duck and cover..."  The disciples, as well as the religious leaders of the day, were watching every move the relatively new teacher/rabbi was making.  Jesus takes this opportunity to be the fulfillment of Scripture with His zeal for the temple as well as a conversation starter to those around Him about His purpose on this earth. Psalm 69:9 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV 

Finally, the conversations that were swirling around Jesus at this point were regarding authority as well as prophecy.  The onlookers knew that Jesus was a carpenter from Nazareth.  They became quickly curious as to who had given Him the authority to rid the temple of this "service".  Jesus replied, "tear it down and I will build it back in three days".  The crowd was dumbstruck as it had taken 46 years for the construction of the temple (again theologians differ as to whether the temple was complete at the time of Jesus' cleansing of it). The disciples didn't even understand where Jesus was going with this as they couldn't think past the temporal.  This would have been one of the first times that Jesus begins to elaborate on what will happen in His future as He described His death and resurrection, not another destruction of the temple.  The onlookers, as well as the disciples, were perplexed as they could only see the physical manifestations of what Jesus was saying.

This passage from John is unusual in the fact that he usually writes from the perspective of Jesus' love. For John to show Jesus' wrath is interesting in comparison to the remainder of the narrative of Jesus' life as given to us by John.  We will soon see how Jesus' love informed even the "disorder in the house" as He prepares for the three years of ministry He has ahead.  

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by Loving You,

randy