John 2:12-25

Jesus cleanses the temple and speaks of His resurrection. What can we learn about this in our personal lives and churches?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Turn in your Bibles if you would to John chapter 2, where we look at verses 13 through 25. The Bible says, And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting there. 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 changer's money, and overthrew the tables, and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence, make not my father's house and house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What signs showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did, but Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. I want you to look at this section, the cleansing of the temple and the mention of the resurrection. And again, this is verses 13 through 25 of John chapter 2. And first, of course, we're going to look at the cleansing of the temple in verses 13 through 17. I want you to notice what he removed in verses 13 through 16. He removed those that sold. Of course, that means to trade, to barter as a peddler, uh, to sell whatever is sold. And you can imagine a place like the peddler's mall uh in the Lord's house. Could you imagine that? And really, to be honest with you, there are places like that uh today. They have uh coffee shops and different things like that within uh the church, and and uh certainly kind of put an emphasis on um those things, and and some people even probably looking for a church or looking for things like that, looking for entertainment and and all those things, and and that's not what the church is about. The church is a place where we get edified, it's a place where we get built up uh in the Lord and all those things, and this temple that was uh in this day, this was uh to be a house of prayer. And so uh he removed these things, those that sold, the oxen and sheep, he drove them out. Uh no doubt there were people coming and wheeling and dealing and trying to get their conscience soothed, uh, some even thinking that the money that they paid was how they got forgiveness. You know, the Bible tells us in Isaiah 1.11, to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he goats. And of course, in that day and age, the law did teach that they were to bring sacrifices and uh and uh for their sin and offerings and different things like that, and they would use animals and sacrifice those things. But listen, those things were not what gave them forgiveness. You understand? Those things pointed to the one that gives forgiveness, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you study through the book of Leviticus and the different offerings and sacrifices that the priests were to make and the people were to bring, um, all those things were pictures and types of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, I believe in the last episode, uh, the things that we look back to, we look back to the cross of Christ and the work that he's already done and that he's finished, uh, that he already died, that he already was buried and raised the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father. But the sacrifices that they uh gave and offerings that they gave and different things and in that day, those things pointed to what Christ would do in the future. But the point and the emphasis is that it all points to Christ, and he is the one uh that we get forgiveness from. But they were using this to, there were some people using this to their advantage, and they were selling things, and uh, and and um it was it was for profit. The emphasis was taken away from Christ and uh it being a house of prayer, and it had been turned into as what the Lord Jesus Christ here calls a den of thieves. In 1 Samuel 15, 22, Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. And so God desires our obedience. It's not that we can't come to him for forgiveness and all those things, but uh it'd be much better if we just obeyed him and did what he desired for us to do. First Peter 1 18 says, For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. And so uh, you know, we learned in our history class that that uh the Catholic Church, for instance, over uh the years, over in uh through history, uh there were times that they sold what was called indulgences, I believe it was. And this these were things that they sold that the priest would give the people uh that would say, Well, okay, because you paid this money, then you now have a right to heaven. Or they would uh do certain things to what they believed would get their loved ones out of uh purgatory and make them not have to go to hell and all those things. And listen, that is not, that is not, absolutely not what the Bible teaches. And so uh there's not any amount of money or anything that we can do or give that can redeem our souls. But he saw the changers of money sitting. Uh, that word changers is a handler of coins, a money broker. Colossians 3 5 says, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And there was uh literally idolatry going on in the temple uh of the Lord in that day. Uh the changers, uh, they were the Rome, they changed uh the Roman money into Jewish money in which the temple dues had to be paid. And so it it became a big business, you understand? And the emphasis was not put upon being a house of prayer or being a place where uh that pointed people to the Lord Jesus Christ or anything like that. Now I want you to notice how he removed it, and uh this is uh this is a little different than uh some of the paintings and the pictures that people uh have of the Lord Jesus Christ, you know that he was always um going around and just uh very meek and mild and all those things. Hey, listen, he got upset about this. And listen, there was nothing sinful, nothing wrong. Uh the Bible says that he knew no sin, uh, but yet he became sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So uh he he was without sin. We know that this is not a sinful thing. And I but I want you to look at what he did in verse 15. 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 changer's money and overthrew the tables. You understand? He he he got in there and he started cracking the whip, literally. Uh that word scourge, it means a whip. Uh Roman lash is public punishment. And so he he drove them all out. Uh that word drove, it means to eject, to bring forth, to cast out, to expel, to thrust out. And uh listen, the Lord Jesus said in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 19, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent. And listen, so he got stirred up about this, and uh, and listen, he he came in and he cleaned out the house. And it says that he poured out the changer's money and overthrew the tables. Uh, you know, so you can imagine if you could just picture somebody coming in and and turning, you know, taking their hands and lifting the tables and throwing them up and the money going all over the place and the sheep running all over the place, and he takes a whip and starts uh cracking that whip and saying, Get out of here. Listen, he cleaned that place out. And we're gonna see here in just a minute, and I'm I may get a little bit ahead of myself, but listen, uh our temple needs to be cleaned out, our churches need to be cleaned out. Uh the churches that are in the United States of America need to be cleaned out. But he said, Take these things hence. Make not my father's house and house of merchandise. Uh that word merchandise is a mart, an emporium, uh, a wholesale. Uh Lord help us not to let the house of God become a Walmart. And uh, listen, there's sometimes at Walmarts you get no service. It's all self-checkout. You got to take care of yourself, no Holy Spirit. Uh, you know, could you imagine? No Holy Spirit in the in the services, no presence of God in the services, uh, bare shelves. That would be a lack of the preaching of God's word. And it's sad. We actually have people that are coming to our church now that have had to look for a church that preaches the Bible. There's churches that some have gone to that they don't even open up the scriptures, they don't even expound the scriptures and preach and teach the word of God anymore. Uh, could you imagine no gospel being welcome? Uh, people not wanting to hear about the preaching against sin and that Christ died, not wanting to hear about the blood of Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection. Uh, listen, Walmart has bad music on the sound system. And there's many churches today that have things uh that are playing that are ungodly and music that is just not honoring to the Lord. Uh there's uh contaminated product. Uh back when I was uh studying these messages, there was a salmonella outbreak in the peanut butter, and uh people were getting sick and all those things. And hey, listen, that's just like a tampered with Bible. Uh there's Bibles. Uh matter of fact, I was uh reading a missionary letter not long ago about uh they were changing Bibles in China uh that uh they wanted to take out the things that were not uh for their government and the things that their government teaches, and basic basically taking out things that would be against communist teaching and all those things. And and listen, that this is an adding things that would go more along with their culture. And and listen, that that's that's what people are looking for. You know, Paul talked about how that uh there would come a day and age when people would have itching ears, uh, that in other words, they would turn away their ears from the truth, but they would uh be turned unto fables and all those things. And and listen, it's so sad, it's heartbreaking, but but that's the day and age that we're living in. People turn away their ears from truth. You know, to be honest with you, that's that's why some people do get out of church. The churches that preach and teach the word of God, they don't want to hear about their sin. They don't want to hear about the things that they're doing wrong. Uh, we live in that all-inclusive day and age where, you know, everybody's supposed to accept everything, but listen, the Bible is not always accepted, uh, no doubt. And so, listen, this is uh, you know, uh another thing that uh the house of God had become and has become this day, unfriendly service, uh people not knowing how to help or where to point you to. You know, sometimes you go into Walmart and you say, you know, hey, could you could you please show me where such and such is? And and they don't even know where it's at. And what what a sad thing that if someone was looking for a church today that didn't preach and teach the truth, that someone may go to that place and say, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And and uh they not even know how to take the scriptures and show someone how and how to lead someone to Christ or anything like that. What an awful thing. But I want you to notice he removed, he removed the money changers. He he took these things out of uh the house of God that he was not pleased with. And I want you to notice why he removed. Look in verse 17. The Bible says, and his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Hey, listen, he was eaten up with it. He was eaten up with it, and we ought to get eaten up with it as well. That was a quote from Psalm 69 and verse 9. It says, This the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. That word zeal, it means heat to be hot, to boil uh liquids or to glow of solids, uh, to be fervid or earnest. All right. Listen, he he was excited about it. You understand? He was passionate about it. And hey, listen, you know, God help us to get out of our deadness and get out of our just uh contentment uh or uh laxadaisical attitude of just going to church and going through the motions. I was talking to someone the other day and and and we were uh just talking about how some churches, you know, they're they're it's like an entertainment thing. It's like uh something that, you know, if you is if you don't keep having the next exciting thing uh happen, then you know, people are gonna get upset and they're gonna get out and they're gonna leave and all those things. Hey, listen, we ought to get excited about a church that's preaching and teaching the word of God. One of my favorite things, matter of fact, it's probably my favorite thing of the week is coming in on Sunday morning and getting to teach the Sunday school class that God has allowed me to teach and to just share and to uh just give the things that God has shown me from his word. I love doing that. I love when there's people there that are excited about it and they get involved and they want to ask questions and all those things. Hey, listen, the Lord Jesus Christ, he had a zeal about the house of God and he was passionate about it, you understand? Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse 24 says, For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. Hey, listen, you know, uh we we have this people honestly, people are just so ignorant of God anymore that that that to think that that that he wasn't passionate about things and maybe didn't get upset about the sin that was going on in the house of God. Uh people think that he's just, oh, it's okay, you know, I'm I'm Jesus and I just love everything and love everybody. Hey, the Bible tells you, uh, tells us in the book of Proverbs, yea, these six things doth the Lord hate. Yea, seven are an abomination unto him. There's some things that God is not pleased with, and I'm going to tell you right now, he gets passionate about those things, and he gets passionate, he is still passionate about things that he loves. And listen, we're to love him in the same way, and we should have those same passions and that same zeal that he had. But he was eaten up with it. That means he was to devour. Jesus was absolutely consumed with the will of the Father. In John chapter 8 and verse 29, and he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Hey, listen, we need to be like that. I love what 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 15 says. And listen, and being someone who is addicted to things that were wrong and things that are sinful and all those things for so many years of my life, this verse is such a blessing and a help to me. 1 Corinthians 16, 15, I beseech you, brethren, you know that the house of Stephanus, that it is the first fruits of Achai, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Listen, the house of Stephanus, they got hooked on serving God. Do you understand? They slept it, they ate it, they, I mean, they woke up and they thought about it, they went to bed thinking about it. And uh, and listen, we need to get serious about cleaning God's house today. First Corinthians six nineteen says, What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1 Corinthians 3.16 says, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 2 Corinthians 6.16, and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Hey, listen, what if the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you're a believer, he is, what if he's walking around in your heart today? Because your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. And as he is walking around and searching our heart and searching our thoughts and searching our motives and all those things, what is he finding? Is he finding things that that maybe he would take a whip and he would want to scourge and get the things out that are in there? You know, this this passage it reminds me of uh the book of uh the the Kings and the Chronicles. There is a king named Hezekiah, and the king before him had shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and it had not been taken care of, and there were things in there that should not have been in there. And of course, anytime we don't take care of things, they they get dirty and dusty and all those things. And he made this statement. He he told the priests, he said, You open up the doors of the house of the Lord and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. Hey, listen, you know what we need today? We need some believers that will allow the Holy Spirit of God to get within the heart of a person and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. And you know what that is, believer? Uh, that's when we get down in confession and we say, Hey, Lord, listen, there's some things in my heart that I know shouldn't be there. There's some things that I've allowed in my life that need to be removed, and all those things. And the Bible says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And listen, this temple, our body that the Holy Spirit of God lives in and dwells in, listen, there's some things that he wants out of there. There's some things that he wants clean. And just like Jesus came and cleansed this temple, he wants to do that in our hearts and lives. And we need to allow him to do that. I love uh the Psalm, I believe it's 139. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. And we need to allow the Lord to do that. Now I want you to notice the next section here is about the mention of the resurrection in verses 18 through 25. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What signs showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. I want you to notice some things about uh the mention of the resurrection. The Jews, they asked for a sign, verse 18. Uh again, uh they said, What signs showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? And listen, so many times, listen, we dealt with a young lady at the jail service the other night, my wife and I, and one of the things that she was hung up on was she wanted to believe, but she couldn't see. She couldn't see. And listen, the Bible tells us that we walk by faith and not by sight. And listen, I do believe God reveals Himself to us in creation and all those things. And I believe that we if we are honest and and earnest and everything, that we can see the Lord in those things and we can understand that someone uh created these things. But I'm gonna tell you something. If if you're looking for a sign, if you're looking for you know uh something to for God to prove himself to you, you understand he doesn't have to do that. He's he's done everything that is needed to do. The Bible says that God commendeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Hey, listen, the preaching of God's word, the teaching of God's word, the scriptures, they reveal the Lord Jesus Christ to us, and there's not anything that he has to do, and you don't have to look for a sign or all those things. All he wants you to do is simply believe and and that he is who he said he was. And God's word reveals that to us. Now, uh they're seeking for a sign. I want you to look at the answer that Jesus gives them. He says, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. In verse 19, verse 20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But verse 21, but he spoke, he spake of the temple of his body. You know what he did when they asked for a sign? He pointed them to himself. He pointed them to the cross, he pointed to them to what he would do for them in dying for the sins of the world and being raised from the dead. And of course the scriptures reveal that, and the disciples would later understand those things. Matthew chapter 12, the Lord Jesus uh talked about Jonah, and he says, For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. You know what he did? He pointed them to the scriptures, and he pointed them to himself and what the scriptures taught about himself. And hey, listen, if you're out there and you're looking for a sign, just open your Bible. Just read your Bible and believe the words. They are inspired by God, they are preserved. By God, and God has given us everything that He wants us to know about Him and about salvation and about ourselves. He's given it to us right here in the Word of God. As believers, we are a part of the temple of the body of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3 9 says, For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. I want you to notice verse 22. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them, and they believed, notice what it says, the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Hey, there's your sign. Your sign is right there. It's in black and white. It's right here in the King James Bible and what God's word says, that uh he is who he says he is. And he uh died for your sins and was buried and raised the third day so you could have eternal life. Now, I want you to notice this lax last section here in verses 23 through 25. Uh I want you to notice that Jesus knows the heart of man. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did, but Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men and needed not that any should testify of man. Listen what it says, for he knew what was in man. I want you to notice why they believed. They believed when they saw the miracles. Again, they were looking for a sign, and that those those miracles, listen, they did testify of who he was. He would do things like he would tell uh someone that he was getting ready to heal them, and then he would say, Your sins are forgiven. And listen, that healing that what he would do, he would tell them their sins would be forgiven or something like that, and then he would heal them, or vice versa. And those things that he did, and they they authenticated who he is and what he would do, and that he had the power to forgive sins and all those things. And so those healings are pictures of that. When he would cleanse the leper, leprosy was an unclean thing, you understand? And so when he could forgive when he could cleanse the leper and make them clean, it shows that he could cleanse us from our sin. But these people, they simply wanted to see a sign, and he knew their hearts. He knew that was all they were looking for, he knew that they didn't truly believe that he was the Son of God. And uh, and I want you to listen to what uh what Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9 and 10 says. The heart of this, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. Hey, listen, the Lord knows. The Lord knows if you're just a person that goes to church and thinks that they're uh getting into heaven just because of their going to church or doing something like that or doing some good deed. Hey, the Lord knows your heart. He knows, listen, you could have prayed, maybe you prayed a prayer ten years ago. Maybe you said, Well, I prayed this prayer, and I know that that uh because I prayed this prayer, that's why I'm saved. But deep down in your heart, you've never really truly and sincerely believed and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, as the payment for your sins. Maybe you don't believe you're a sinner and all those things. The Lord knows that. Hey, the key to believing is found in verse 22. And they believed that notice what it says, the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. First John chapter 5, verse 13 says, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Hey, listen, are you out there today and you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? The Lord is simply, and you say, Brother John, you keep saying this. You say this every time on your podcast. Well, it's still true. It's just as true as it was when it was written here, just as true as it ever will be and always will be true. But the Lord knows your heart. He knows if you're just a church member that's never trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior. He knows if you're just trusting in your baptism and you've never really accepted Jesus Christ and believed in your heart that He is the Savior, the Son of God. He knows that if you think that because you were born into a church family or a Christian family that you think you're saved just because of that, or because maybe you've given some money to the church or whatever, he knows your heart. And listen, I'm going to tell you right now, uh it's not going to be pretty when you try to go into, uh when you enter into eternity and he says, Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you, for I never knew you. If you read that passage, I believe it's in Luke chapter 7 or Luke chapter 11, you'll find out that those people that he said that to, they were trying to work, they were trying to do things to get into heaven, but God knew their heart, and God knows my heart, and God knows your heart. And listen, if there's some unclean things that are in there, or if you're lost, hey, listen, let's let's get right with the Lord and let's uh let's pray, let's confess our sins to him. Next time uh we're gonna get into John chapter 3, that famous chapter, that famous verse, John chapter 3 and verse 16. Uh, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I hope you'll listen and uh appreciate those of you that uh do listen to these, and I hope that you'll share them and uh maybe reach out to us on the fan mail there. But may the Lord bless you and have a good day.