Sermon Notes - John 2:13-25 - Littleby Baptist Church - October 2, 2022

1.      The first sign in the Gospel of John continued to make the point that John has been driving.

a.      Jesus was a man who walked this earth.

b.      He is also God!

c.      He is not limited by what us humans can do.

d.      His power is limitless, and His knowledge is beyond our understanding.

e.      When the handful of disciples witnessed Jesus turning water into wine, they believed!

f.       They did not understand what the future held, but they believed!

g.      They witnessed His power and believed that Jesus is the Messiah, that He is God.

h.      Their faith was still in its early stages, it was just sprouting.

i.       It would be tested, stretched, but it would grow.

j.       As we continue to focus on our Jesus.

k.      As His glory is revealed in His work.

l.       As we see Him at work in our lives and the lives of those around us, our faith will grow.

m.    It will take time and we may not realize it right away, but our faith in Jesus will grow as we continue to seek Him.

n.      That is part of what we do here.

                                                    i.     We continue to seek Him.

                                                   ii.     We study His word.

                                                  iii.     We share our praises and our prayers.

                                                  iv.     In all of that we see our God at work and our faith grows.

o.      With that in mind, let’s see where His word takes us today.

2.      John 2:13

a.      Jesus was doing what the Jewish people were told to do.

b.      Deuteronomy 16:1-8

c.      The Passover celebration was a way to remember that God rescued the people from Egypt.

d.      They were to sacrifice an animal, normally a lamb, and they were to eat unleavened bread with it.

e.      The custom of the Jewish people was to come to the temple to celebrate the Passover.

f.       Jesus was doing just that.

3.      John 2:14

a.      Jesus saw people selling animals and money changers converting the roman currency for the proper Temple coin.

b.      I would bet that some of this practice started as a service to those who were traveling to Jerusalem Passover.

                                                    i.     It would be much easier to travel for days and days, for some, without the oxen or sheep that were going to be sacrificed.

                                                   ii.     A service to the travelers would have been to have sacrifice animals ready for them to purchase.

                                                  iii.     Same with the converting some of their money to the temple coin.

                                                  iv.     A courtesy that would make the trip easier for the tired traveler.

c.      It probably started on the up and up, but over time it was corrupted.

d.      Profit was to be had.

e.      Animals were marked up, the fee for converting one coin for another grew.

f.       Corruption set in, the sin of greed took over, and it was no longer about being a service to others it was all about making money.

g.      That is what Jesus walked into.

4.      John 2:15

a.      Jesus cleared the temple.

b.      He chased out the animals and the people.

c.      Malachi 3:1-3

d.      Jesus is the messenger that was to clear the way.

e.      One way or another, Jesus is the one who can remove the impurities.

f.       He did it at the temple early in His ministry.

g.      He did it in the lives of those who walked with Him.

h.      And He continues by cleansing us and removing the impurities in our lives.

5.      When Jesus turned over the tables and cleared the temple as recorded by John, it is believed to be the first of two different times recorded in the Gospels that Jesus did this.

a.      This cleansing caught people off guard, and they did not know what was going on.

b.      Mark 11:15-18

c.      When it happened later in Jesus’ ministry it was one of the key events that lead to the religious elite to look for a way to kill him.

6.      John 2:16

a.      Get these things out of here.

b.      Get these overpriced and blemished animals out of God’s house.

c.      We tend to read the Bible as if there is no emotion or humor.

d.      This verse is an example that Jesus wasn’t stoic when He said these words, He was angry at what He walked into.

7.      John 2:17

a.      I would bet His disciples were surprised by this outburst and remembered these words.

b.      Psalm 69:9, read also 10-12.

c.      The Righteous One, Jesus, would ultimately pay the price for the scenes He caused in the temple of God.

d.      This one being early in His ministry and the other that we know directly led to it.

e.      Jesus’ faithfulness to what is right, to what Scripture teaches, was demonstrated in His zeal.

f.       Which confirms that Jesus’ reaction was not similar to Ferris Buellers teacher.

8.      John 2:18

a.      What sign, what authority, what right do you have to do all of this?

b.      They wanted to know who this man was who was upsetting their apple cart.

c.      Why did He think He had the right to do this?

9.      John 2:19

a.      As we see in the Gospels, Jesus does not always answer questions clearly.

b.      On the surface He does not answer this question at all.

c.      But if we think about what Jesus was saying.

d.      If you destroy something, who has the power to raise it up again in such a short period of time.

e.      If He was literally taking about the temple, it would not be humanly possible for it to be rebuilt in 3 days.

f.       As we see below, He was talking about His own body which would be impossible for humans to bring Him back to life on their own.

g.      If we look below the surface, we see that Jesus was saying that He has the power to bring restoration in 3 days.

h.      As God, He has that power.

10.   John 2:20

a.      In their minds, there was no way this poor man standing before them could rebuild the Holy Temple at all.

b.      To them it was an insult that He would even say that He could.

11.   John 2:21-22

a.      Jesus is once again laying the foundation for His disciples to grow in their faith.

b.      It is likely that His disciples would be scratching their heads, wondering what Jesus meant and how He could accomplish something like that.

c.      It was beyond their understanding.

d.      But once Jesus died and rose again… they believed!

e.      Their faith in Jesus as God continued to GROW!

12.   John 2:23

a.      Jesus performed other signs during His stay in Jerusalem.

b.      Likely similar to other things we find in the Gospels such as healing and the casting out of demons.

c.      As Jesus continued to show people that He was more than just a man, as they saw that He is God… they believed!

d.      They trusted in Him, they understood that He was more than the son of a carpenter.

e.      At this point, it was unlikely saving faith.

f.       Probably more like a Great Healer, but they did not understand that He was also the Messiah, their Savior.

13.   John 2:24-25

a.      Jesus knew that faith in a miracle worker was temporary and superficial.

b.      The people believed because they thought they would get something out of it.

c.      This would be like those whose faith is like the seed that is sown on rocky ground.

d.      Mark 4:16-17

e.      They were excited about Jesus because of what He did, but it did not last.

14.   What do we see about Jesus in these verses?

a.      He cleansed the impurities out of the Temple, but the people questioned His authority to do it.

b.      Jesus has a tendency to answer questions with parables to get people to think.

c.      He has the power to raise the temple and His body in 3 days.

d.      Jesus died and rose again in 3 days, confirming what He said a couple of years earlier.

15.   What does that mean for us?

a.      Through Faith, He has cleansed the impurities out of us.

b.      His parables teach us that He wants us to think about our faith so that it is more than some surface level belief.

c.      Jesus has more power than we can truly comprehend.

d.      As we read and study the word of God, our faith should grow.

                                                    i.     It cannot be surface deep if it is to truly change our lives.

                                                   ii.     It cannot be something we dabble in for God to work in us.

                                                  iii.     We cannot create our own rules.

e.      We need to trust in our God.

16.   We need to submit to Him – James 4:7.

17.   Trust in God.

18.   Study His Word.

19.   Talk to Him.

20.   Let Him work in us to truly change us according to His will for our lives.