The Whip: Temple Resurrection

Don’t go reading ahead…find your spot…mark it and listen…or you might miss the point…this is the part of the movie if you get up or are focusing on something else you may miss exactly what the Lord is saying to you.

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

Last week we started looking at the miracle and authority of Christ cleansing the Temple of what had turned into a “circus” or a flea market for profit during a sacred time to worship and remember God for all that He did for His people through the celebration known throughout history as “The Passover.”

God’s Temple (His place—The place of His Presence) was being taken advantage of and mistreated and was turned from a house of prayer and worship into a commercialized, profit-turning celebration of sin, instead of worship God through the sacrificial system in which He instituted in the Old Testament—known as the Old Covenant in which God gave His people a way to make right through this system of sacrifice (meaning blood was shed—the cost of sin has a consequence that costs life).

Within this system in cost a quarter of a million animals their lives on this day of Jewish Passover…pointing forward, the whole time, to the cost of a single Life that would make ALL THINGS right.

This was not the first time God’s people got off track and didn’t worship him properly…As a matter of fact…last week as we looked at and Jesus’ reaction to the obsurdity of how “the people of God” where mistreating, and not appreciating the grace shown through the sacrifice of “The Passover”—through the sacrificial system—it was as if Jesus could have said this...

Isaiah 1:11–20 ESV

11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? 13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. 18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

But instead Jesus made a whip and the miracle was that He drove out those who where making a mockery of God and His Temple through false worship.

And that is where we pick up from the constantly questioning Jewish people… So let’s jump into … but remember…

let this shape how you and I read this passage, so that we don’t leave it on the Temple floor of 2000 yrs ago (which was destroyed approx. 43 years after Jesus makes this scene).

No! Don’t leave it there, because that is a shell of what God was doing through His Son, Jesus. You & I must apply this to our very own hearts today...

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

John 2:18

John 2:18–22 ESV

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Exposition:

I. (vv.18, 20) Needing “Signs” and the Constant Questioning of Authority

Here’s what you need to understand about humanity in the 1st century (and this truth casts a long haunting shadow even to us today). The Jewish people always needed a “sign” and the Gentile (who fancied themselves as thinkers) always needed to “understand.”

1 Corinthians 1:22–24 ESV

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Cor

We (you and I) suffer the hangover of this mixed cocktail of both the burden of proof and the burden of logic.

John 2:18 ESV

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”

John 2:20 ESV

20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”

They demand a “sign” bc they understood what was happening was something that could only be called out by the promised Messiah. And they are mocking Jesus by asking for this sign unknowing staring into the very EYES of God’s promise!

In v.20 the Jews are responding to Jesus’ sign given in verse 19 (which we will come back too). They are speaking to the fact this Temple (currently under renovation by King Herod) has taken 46 years to build thus far (and it was yet to be completed by some scholars view), so they were taking a very literal, yet mocking view of Jesus’ actions and response to their demand for a sign.

They were questioning the promised Messiah instead of following Him. That’s why we must be careful in how we are reading into God’s Holy Word, because...

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

II. (vv.19, 21) Understanding Truth: The Mystery Revealed

Again, the hangover of this toxic cocktail of needing proof and understanding, makes our heads hurt so bad some who have faith still strain to open there eyes fully. God calls us to faith in Christ, trusting that we will grow in our understanding as He has hidden nothing to us today in His Word.

John 2:19 ESV

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews thought this was crazy! In this text they were blinded by tradition and pride!

2 Cor

2 Corinthians 4:3–6 ESV

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And v.21 helps us see what they couldn’t (this side of the NT Scriptures…yet many reject this today anyway)

John 2:21 ESV

21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

He wasn’t speaking of the brick and mortar of God’s dwelling place as it had been prior to birth of Christ.

He was speaking to flesh and blood of God dwelling among His ppl as the Ap. Jn states in His proluge...

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

You see this saying was mysterious to all of humanity because their own flesh was in the way. When our own flesh is central we miss the flesh that was made manifest the glory of God in Christ Jesus. This statement of His body as the “Temple,” left many scratching their heads.

But God was changing everything through Christ including who, where and when He would be accessible for worship! It’s in Christ (fully divine and fully man) that this mystery is revealed.

The Apostle Paul says it this way...

Ephesians 3:1–7 ESV

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

Eph

How do we overcome this blindness?

Paul goes on to say...

Romans 8:26–27 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Rom 8:26-27

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 ESV

9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

1 Cor

Romans 9:23–26 ESV

23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”

Rom 9:

Romans 15:8–13 ESV

8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” 10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Rom 15:8-13

Galatians 3:6–12 ESV

6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

Gal 3:6-

What is the remedy of this hangover?

How do we push away this cocktail of mixed emotional, logical, and spiritual hinderance?

Because we are drinking in death...

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

I want you to watch this short video by New Testament Scholar and Theologian Don Carson...

Play the 3 min video

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

III. (v.22) Understanding comes by FAITHFUL FOLLOWING

John 2:22 ESV

22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

I want us to really break this verse down… The wording of this verse is crucial!!!!

The disciples didn’t understand when this was said either…they lacked the understanding as much as the Jews did.

Here’s the difference…they were FOLLOWING JESUS, believing! Growing in their belief everyday that Jesus was the Promised Messiah, that He was God in the Flesh!

There is a future reference in v.22 to the WHEN THE DISCIPLES connected the dots (for you and I this is past tense to the tune of 2000 years) but this verse can be overlooked and in that overlooking we see the hope that we have even in our questioning…you see that’s why I say it’s so important that you and I understand...

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

Look at v.22--

“When [future tense…something that is coming]…When...He [Jesus] was [past tense—after it happened] RAISED FROM THE DEAD [after the cruxifiction; after the Resurrection], [they] his disciples REMEMBERED that he [Jesus] had said [past tense—their spiritual growth is time traveling back to the Temple court…to all the various ref. made throughout the Gospels of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection—to which in the present time they did not understand—but now, in hind sight] THEY BELIEVED!!!

Why did they believe?

The verse tells us… because they REMEMBERED Jesus statement in v.19 now understanding what the Ap. Jn. says Jesus meant in v.21, that His body was the temple...

Because “the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

Because of Old Testament Scripture the writings, because of the Prophets, Because of the Promises to Abraham, Moses (through the Passover, through the Sacrificial Law), and because of Jesus’ own personal testimony to who He was, who He IS…they remembered and they believed.

Because of Jesus personal testimony to who He was, who He IS and

Conclusion:

Look right at me… this is why I say...

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

If you question Jesus does it mean that you want be raised to life with Him? NO!

If you question Him more than you follow Him, you are rejecting truth, in need of a sign in need of understanding…which means you are rejecting the very same Scriptures the disciples had and the Scriptures that they and their followers who devoted themselves to their teachings which was this...

Jesus

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

They remembered, they believed because of the Scripture and the words of Jesus Himself. Meaning there is no sign that you need or understanding that you lack…because God, through the finished work of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection, and through the Holy Spirit inspired Word…you lack nothing to BELIEVE and to Resurrected with Christ by grace, through faith to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the Temple…now your faith in Him, your following of Him, your surrender to Him being the Lord of your life…make you who were dead in your sins and trespassed RAISED TO LIFE with HIM!

Listen to me… better yet listen to the Apostle John who was in the Temple court that day, who remembered the Scriptures and the words of Jesus…the one who followed more than he questioned...

John 20:31 ESV

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:21 ESV

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

If you question Jesus MORE than you FOLLOW Him, you will NOT be RAISE TO LIFE with Him!

If Jesus’ body is the temple of God, do we realize what we have in Jesus?—Bruner

Here is the focus of the Gospel, here is the remedy to hangover of man’s cocktail of death and logical assurance—FAITH!—FAITH in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is primary…w/out the resurrection there is no LIFE; there is NO GOOD NEWS!

But thanks be to God...

John 3:16–17 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

If we follow Jesus we are RAISED TO LIFE with JESUS!

Do you question Jesus, rejecting Him, constantly needing proof, constantly needing to make natural the supernatural so you can understand?

Or by grace, through faith, are you following Jesus faithfully?

We are adopted into God's family through the resurrection of Christ from the dead in which he paid all our obligations to sin, the law, and the devil, in whose family we once lived. Our old status lies in his tomb. A new status is ours through his resurrection. – Sinclair B. Ferguson

Let’s pray:

Father God, we thank you for the Good News of Jesus. His life, His death, His Resurrection. May the truth of your Word, the Gospel of Jesus stir our hearts with affections that would push away the questions, the doubts, and the death saturated rejection, so that by Your grace, through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, we too might be RAISED TO LIFE with HIM.