To be jealous for God is to be burdened when other nations praise and worship false gods. To be jealous for God is to see men exalted and to be filled with holy zeal. To be jealous for God is to want to bring in the atheist nations so that they can give God the glory due His name. Jealousy for God drives us to reach out to a lost world to bring them back to reality.

I magine Jesus for a moment: Standing. Breathing hard. Whip in hand. Tables and money turned and spilt on the floor. The temple quiet. The Pharisees seething. The heart of Christ burning with zeal for His Father’s house. Jesus begins to explain Himself: “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17). Can you see it? Do you also hear what is on His mind? He has missions on His mind: “for all the nations.” And it is fueled by a deep jealousy.

The Jealous One

Jealousy? Yes. Jesus is showing us another example of how He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature (Heb 1:3). Jesus is displaying God’s righteous jealousy for His glory. “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deut 4:24). He warns His people multiple times not to worship other gods, “for I the LORD your God am a jealous God” (Deut 5:9). God is the only One worthy of worship. He is the only One who truly deserves praise. God’s perfect, sinless jealousy is appropriate. He alone is worthy of glory, and He will share it with no other (Isa 42:8). Jesus knows that. Jesus feels that. Jesus is jealous for the glory of God.

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