John 2 | Love and Justice
Notes
Transcript
JESUS IS A GOD OF LOVE AND JUSTICE
JESUS IS A GOD OF LOVE AND JUSTICE
The same Jesus who made wine at a wedding flipped tables in the temple.
So we're continuing today in our series through the book of John, and we're finally moving into chapter two today.
Now we're gonna cover a lot more content, and the reason is because the entirety of chapter two today, I think, teaches one unified lesson that we're gonna look at.
We will actually be looking at two primary stories of the ministry of Jesus, but I think it is their contrast, and in comparing them, we can learn something really important about the character of Jesus.
So we're going to jump right into it. Follow along with me in John 2, verse number 1.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
I think this story of Jesus and his disciples at the wedding is It's very important for us to see the true humanity of Jesus.
We tend to view Jesus as almost like a monk who sits by himself all day. Occasionally comes out and shares some teachings, and then goes back to pray the rest of the day or something.
But I think one mistake that we tend to make in looking at the person of Jesus is we look at him as being more God than man.
I hope you don't misunderstand what I'm saying But Jesus was 100% man and 100% God.
Sometimes I think we tend to look at Jesus as being 100% God and 50% man, 75% man.
We don't deny that he was a man in form, but we rarely see the full extent of what Jesus being a man in character looks like.
Jesus had fun.
Jesus had friends.
Jesus went to events.
Jesus had Hobbies
Jesus had a job.
Jesus was not some spiritual recluse. It was too good to hang out with the common folk.
Jesus was the common folk.
That's so important for us to recognize, because if Jesus is any less than a hundred percent man in form and in character, and He didn't face the same life that we do.
And temptation doesn't affect him the same way it does us.
The Scripture is clear: Jesus faced all the things that a man faces, good and bad.
And I think this example is a good indication of this early on in Jesus's ministry, that He was just like everyone else, but without sin.
So Jesus and his disciples, they're all invited to this wedding. Maybe a common friend or family member, some individual they all knew.
And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Jesus is referencing here the fact that his ministry was on a strict timetable.
He did not intend to immediately reveal all things regarding his ministry
This would be a slow progression, and it was not the time yet for him to do a public miracle like this yet
SO KEEP THIS IN MIND, VERY IMPORTANT, JESUS DID NOT INTEND TO DO THIS MIRACLE FOR THE CAUSE OF HIS MINISTRY, SO THERE HAD TO BE ANOTHER MOTIVATION FOR WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN
Now before we get too far into this, we need to understand the context.
Weddings at this time were not like our weddings today.
Weddings would often last multiple days, sometimes weeks, and the hospitality of the host was a really big deal.
So running out of wine at a wedding would have been something that was a very serious problem
And Jesus sympathized with this
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
Now there are many different angles that we could take with this lesson today, but I want to focus on one specific aspect, and that is this.
The love of Jesus
We have already established that Jesus did not plan to do this miracle, and we know that he was not doing this miracle for the purpose of exposure in his ministry, so that leaves just one reason left as to why he would do this.
He loves people
He cares for people
He saw an issue, a problem that needed to be solved, he had the power to do it, and he did
We see in verse 9 that at this point the only ones who knew where the wine came from were the servants who drew the water, and eventually the disciples.
So Jesus is purposefully keeping this miracle somewhat of a secret, and I think by looking at the context we can understand why
EXPLANATION: Where is Jesus? At a wedding. - What are they celebrating there, what is the focus - the marriage of the couple.
Don’t you think that it would severely distract the attention away from the bride and groom, and onto Jesus if all the sudden everyone found out that the son of God had just performed his first miracle?
And even though it would have done much to spread the news of who he was, in his love and care he decides to step back and let the bride and groom have the focus
I WANT YOU TO JUST COMPREHEND THIS FOR A MOMENT
THE SON OF GOD HAS COME TO EARTH TO DIE FOR THE SINS OF MANKINDS, AND IN THE 3 YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY, INSTEAD OF TAKING THE SPOTLIGHT, AS HE WOULD HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DO, HE HUMBLY ALLOWS THE BRIDE AND GROOM TO KEEP THE FOCUS OF THE PEOPLE
But there are some other details within this that story that indicate just how much Jesus loved these people
Notice again verse John 2:10
And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
It can be easy to miss, but notice even in the minute details of this miracle, Jesus is showing his practical love.
The master of the wedding, or like the organizer of the event realizes that all of these waterpots now contain wine. And he tries the wine and realizes that it isn’t just regular wine, but it is the good wine.
Now this would all make perfect sense at the time what was going on.
For these feasts that would last days, they would go through a lot of wine, and getting the top shelf wine for all of the days would have got pretty expensive
So instead what they would do is they would start with the expensive wine, and over the span of the wedding, as they would drink more and more their senses would not be as tuned in to the flavor, so they would start serving the cheaper wine since they wouldn’t know the difference.
This wasn’t deceptive, it was just a practical way to afford to serve wine over the span of sometimes multiple days
So with this in mind, Jesus could have easily served the cheap wine, what everyone was expecting, but instead he turns the water into the good wine, what would have been served early on in the celebration
AND YOU ASK WHY
Well there isn’t really a reason, except for the fact that Jesus loved them, he cared for these people, and he wanted them to be happy drinking the best they could get
Can I just remind you of something today, this is the same Jesus that we pray to, and sing to, and worship today.
The same Jesus that cared enough to help out a bride and groom with a problem at their wedding, and help in an overabundant way, is the same Jesus that cares for you today.
So with this in mind can I ask you a question.
IF JESUS CARED THIS MUCH ABOUT THE WEDDING PROBLEM, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK HE CARES ABOUT YOU?
If Jesus ensured that the wine they got was even the best wine, how much do you think he cares about the struggle you are going through right now?
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
We think of the love of Jesus sometimes as a title rather than a personality.
Like Jesus is love like a CEO is a leader.
He is, very much so.
But we must never look at the love of Jesus as simply transactional
His love is practical, it is real
I think sometimes we look at the love of Jesus as almost like a default forced expression of who he is, rather than a heartfelt reaction.
He loves us because he is love, but he also loves us because he just loves us.
I don’t think it is any coincidence that the first miracle Jesus performs is one that brings him nearly zero awareness, it is done in complete humility, and it highlights his practical love for mankind.
But can I also say this, I also don’t think it is any coincidence that the first public appearance of Jesus, would show the opposite side of his character.
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This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.
Now can I stop for a minute and ask a question?
If you know how the rest of this story goes, you can see that God is clearly unhappy with what is going on here. But why?
Does that mean that it is wrong for us to do similar things in the church building?
Is it wrong to have a coffee shop in a church?
Is it wrong to have a bake sale in a church?
Is it wrong for a church to have some sort of a business, maybe even one that brings money into the church only?
Is it wrong for a church to
NOTICE
The Church is not the Same as the Temple
It is incorrect to compare practices of the temple with that of the church in any way
God at one point in time dwelled in the temple
It was used for ceremonious worship and sacrifices
IT WAS A VERY HOLY AND SET APART PLACE
The church building is not the church, it is a building
The temple was much more than just a building
The church is the body of believers
THE FOCUS OF THE TEMPLE WAS THE BUILDING, WHAT IT REPRESENTED, AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE, THE FOCUS OF THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE AND WHAT THEY DO AS A RESULT OF THE MINISTRY GOING ON WITHIN THE BUILDING
THE TEMPLE - A BUILDING
THE CHURCH - A GROUP OF PEOPLE
Now does that mean we should manage and treat the church building in an irreverent way? No, it is a building that we use to glorify God, but the church building has no inherent holiness like the temple did.
So if the question is centered around does the activity in question harm or distract from the worship of God, than that is another argument, but it is not correct to simply compare the temple to the church building as being the same in all manners.
So what happens here at the temple when Jesus sees this?
Well in a minute we are going to read the biblical account, but before we read it, I want to show you what this would have looked like.
I want to show a clip from a TV show called the Chosen where they re-enact what this would have looked like.
I do not support everything about the show, it has become very popular and I think there are definitely some issues with how some things are portrayed, however I think their picturing of this event is as accurate as you could physically get, while still taking liberties in the story, understanding that we do not have the full record of every word said and everything done.
Here is why I am showing you this. Because I think seeing this will add a level of weight to the story that it rarely gets.
We read this story and I think subconsciously we try to force a passifistic version of Jesus into the story in our minds.
But what scripture actually says, and what actually happened should completely reshape our traditional passifistic mindset of who Jesus is
So this video is about 7 minutes long, we are going to watch this, and then we will come back and read the scriptural account
WATCH VIDEO
When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
As we just watched, Jesus enters the temple, he sees the wickedness and disrespect for God going on, and he violently cleanses the temple.
Then he lays out the justification by which he has the right to do this.
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
Now I want to back up for a minute, because today’s message is identifying what I think is the intentional timing of these two events back to back.
Jesus’s first miracle
He turned water to wine, in a secretive, and humble way, showing his love
Jesus’s first public appearance
He is violently destroying businesses, publicly condemning actions, judging openly and seriously, and doing it all with immense anger and disgust
and again, I don’t think this is a coincidence
You see the greatest aspect of Jesus is that he is able to embody both of ends of love and justice to the fullest extent without one ever negating the other.
We are unable to do this.
But here we see Jesus at the start of his ministry, showing a perfect expression of each, back to back
So you say, that’s great for Jesus, what does that mean for us?
Well the simple answer to that is we can see that Jesus loves us in a perfect love, but he also judges us with a perfect justice.
But can I make it even more applicable to us
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
Ok I get that but Zach we shouldn’t be flipping tables in the temple right? That’s not what you are saying.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS
I often here in regards to this story that.… Well Jesus was perfect and he was the son of God so he has a right here but we don’t have a right to do similar things
THAN WHY DOES SCRIPTURE TELL US OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO MIMICK CHRIST IN EXACTLY THE WAY HE LIVED?
IF THERE WAS A TEMPLE IN GREENCASTLE TODAY AND THIS WAS GOING ON WE WOULD NOT ONLY HAVE JUSTIFICATION TO DO THIS, WE WOULD HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO DO EXACTLY WHAT JESUS DID
Listen, 21st century Christianity is weak!
and we hide our weakness under the veil of a false passifistic christ that never existed
We are called to be soldiers of the Lord, fighting for truth, in a battle covered in the armor of God, going into the battle of right and wrong and defending the righteousness of God in this world
AND YET WE INSTEAD HAVE BECOME A WEAK GROUP OF PASSIFIST WHO ARE SCARED TO OFFEND, AND ARE QUICK TO MENTION THE LOVE OF JESUS WHILE REMOVING ALL TRACES OF HIS JUSTICE
Oh Zach we as Christians we should just show the love of God in the world, and we do that by never being confrontational, and never pointing out sin, and never standing up in the face of wickedness?
If that is the case can I ask you this question, IF EVIL STANDS UP IN THIS WORLD, AND NOBODY STANDS AGAINST IT, WHAT WILL THIS WORLD BECOME
EXACTLY WHAT IT HAS ALREADY BECOME, A PLACE OF EVIL, FULL OF WEAK, SCARED, AND COWARDLY CHRISTIANS
We live in the midst of such great sin in this nation, because we refuse to stand up against it.
We live in a world of weak effeminate churches, led my women because the men of this generation are too cowardly to be a soldier for christ.
We call sin a struggle we are walking through instead of prideful desires that need fought through repentance and grace.
Our churches have become a place of passive consumerism instead of a training ground for warriors of Christ.
And the extent of living for christ in this modern world of Christianity consist of a group of women and a few men who were dragged along beside them coming to a building, singing the latest christian pop song about themselves, they hear a message about how we should show more kindness, and then they WONDER WHY THEY LIVE WEAK AFTER WEAK FEELING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
ITS BECAUSE WE WEREN’T CALLED TO BE CONSUMERS WE WERE CALLED TO BE SOLDIERS
But we don’t want to be soldiers.
it’s hard
It takes sacrifice
it takes commitment
it takes work
And instead we prefer to be like spectators at a civil war reenactment, coming and watching the Bible from the side, pretending we have some part in it
But Jesus didn’t do that
He loved more than anyone ever has, and he showed that through his loving miracle at the wedding,
and then, right after he stepped foot into the middle of the battlefield, and he fought, and he fought with all he had
AND SO SHOULD WE
We you call out sin for sin, with the goal and intention of repentance, you are doing what Jesus did.
When you support a ministry that stands outside of abortion clinics and lovingly but boldly declares the wickedness of the murder of our children, you are doing what Jesus did.
Those who go to places where men dress like women and sexually parade themselves in public and in front of children, and they stand against that, THEY ARE DOING WHAT JESUS DID.
AND THAT IS STANDING UP FOR HOLINESS, BEING A LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD
AND JUST LIKE JESUS EXHIBITED PERFECT LOVE RIGHT NEXT TO PERFECT JUSTICE
WE SHOULD TOO!
