Sermon Tone Analysis

Encountering God at Passover

John 2:13-14

Encountering God at Passover

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The Passover is a yearly festival to remember (God liberating the Hebrews from Egypt)

Find spiritual reconciliation with God for their sins.

a. Celebrating God’s victory all came to Jersualem - total 150,000 plus bigger than any Superbowl in history.

“I have a confession,” I’m disappointed that summer is going to be disappearing tomorrow.

There is so much I love about these past few months: disc golfing, swimming at the beach, laser tag in Alpena, Wolverine Christian Camp, and most importantly is the perfect weather that I get to enjoy when I walk to the Argyle park.

But those walks are more than just stretching my legs and burning calories.

It’s quality time with just me and God.

While walking, I get to pray for his kingdom, this church, and others.

It’s during these prayer walks that my heart starts connecting with God, and I start thinking, behaving and loving people more like Christ.

Perhaps, we can remember a specific time when felt very close to God in such a way that we started becoming more like Word: such as you served on a mission trip, when you gathered with a group of Christians and broke into worship, or maybe you felt close to him when you found a quite place and began praying and reading the bible.

In the same way it was our decision to go to God to fellowship with Him.

And in the past, God’s people, the Jews, made a conscious choice to drop everything they were doing to draw into God’s presence near the holy temple.

Which we will read in John Gospel account, but before we get there let me tell you about what Jesus did a few days earlier.

Jesus, Mary and the disciples are at a wedding reception and party goes from sweet to sower.

All the wine is consumed and Jesus tells the servant of party to take the unclean ritual jugs and fill them with water.

After doing so, he draws from the jugs the most tastiest wine and the disciples believed in him.

So this is the first miracle in Jesus’ ministry and now him and his disciples are heading out of Cana to draw close with God.

John 2:13-14

Encountering God at Passover

The Passover is a yearly festival to remember (God liberating the Hebrews from Egypt)

Passover - A time of reconciliation

Celebrating God’s victory, all Jews came to Jersualem.

Normally 20,000-30,000 people lived in the city, but when the Passover was upon them the city would grow to roughly total 150,000 plus, that’s bigger than any Superbowl in history this festival would be filled with songs of praise, people sharing dinners, and animals being led to the temple to be a temple to be sacrificed.

But what were the money-changers doing at the Passover?

We’re they there for the same reasons they Jew traveled from afar.

No, the reason why they’re at the temple is to make a profit from the people to extort them for extra.

Exchange Roman money for animals because knew that not everyone will bring an animal for sacrifice to Jerusalem.

You want to know Jesus felt about them disrespecting God’s temple?

plus bigger than any Superbowl in history this festival would be filled with prasies,

John 2:15-

God’s name kept holy

Jesus was keeping his father’s temple holy by cleansing out the greed and idolatry of the merchants.

His anger is just and righteous and he wasn’t going to allow God’s throne to be dishonored, it didn’t matter the cost of followers he would lose.

He flipped out literally in order to preserve the worship of his father’s temple.

Can you imagine angry Jesus?

It’s not the Jesus we typically speak about.

But why?

Why is he so passionate about keeping God’s temple from sin.

Well the simple answer is because he loves his father.

Christ loves his father, and we ought to be in consumed with keeping God’s name holy too.

Jesus does teach us this on the sermon on mount in , which tells us to keep his name holy and follow his will.

I have to pose the question, “Who are we in this story?”

Reflecting over ourselves,

Do we identify with merchants who’s goal is to hinder others from authentic worship of God, looking only to profit of material wealth and to honor themselves?

Or we like the faithful Jews coming to the temple to experience reconciliation with God, not to gain, but to present the best sacrifices and to ultimately honor God with our lives.

It all depends if we choice the whip the chord… either we are the ones driving out sin or we’re the ones be wrapped by the cord.

It can’t be both.

We are either the merchants or the faithful followers of God.

“The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.”

Proverb 5:22

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

Which this temple where the Jews worship won’t last forever, it will perish and Jesus will soon answer his critics concerning his zeal for his father’s house.

However, the temple that Jesus is defending won’t be the

The

John 2:18-21

The Temple That Remains

Jesus is challenge for his actions.

Challenge flag is being thrown, what gives you the right to do this.

Demand a sign or proof.

Jesus never commited anything unlawful, might of been even praised by the devoted followers, but the Jews were seeking a way to shame him.

Jesus does claim a sign, but it will be for the future.

He claims that his body is the new temple.

For the temple they worshiped at was Herod's temple, the second temple of the Jews for Solomon’s temple was destroyed during the exile and was the first one to be created and this temple which stand would be destroyed is 70 AD by the Romans.

Just like the first miracle water turned into wine, Jesus is crucified on our behalf and then the reconstruction of the eternal temple begins.

Glory and honor would be found in the Son, not in a building made with stones.

For the Father, the Son, and the Spirit raised Christ from the grave and now the new temple exist forever which we are to pour out our honor and worship.

For God is closer to us than ever before.

Of Adam then is Christ’s flesh: of Adam the temple which the Jews destroyed, and the Lord raised up in three days.

For He raised His own flesh: see, that He was thus God equal with the Father.

My brethren, the apostle says, “Who raised Him from the dead.”

Of whom says he this?

Of the Father.

“He became,” saith he, “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore also God raised Him from the dead, and gave Him a name which is above every name.”

He who was raised and exalted is the Lord.

Who raised Him?

The Father, to whom He said in the psalms, “Raise me up and I will requite them.”2

Hence, the Father raised Him up.

Did He not raise Himself?

And doeth the Father anything without the Word?

What doeth the Father without His only One? For, hear that He also was God.