Well Well Well. How the Turn Tables John 2:13-25

Intro

Good morning my name is Nate and I am the Pastor of Student Ministries here at Crosspointe. I have the privilege to preach this morning from John 2. A few weeks ago Pastor Jason played piano for you and a week or so after that Pastor Matt preached in overalls. I don’t have the talent of Pastor Jason or the fashion sense of Pastor Matt so all I have for you is this.

Push Table Over

Hopefully as you saw that you will remember this passage that we will look at today which is

John 2:13-25 So if you have your Bible would you turn there and stand as we read God’s word

“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 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. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover Feast, many believed i his name when they saw the signs that he was doing, But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, becasue he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”

Pray

There is a Meme that I have seen circled around the internet the last few years and it looks like this.

As entertaining as that is I think that this passage stresses our call to believe in Jesus rather than trying to imitate him toward people or things we don’t like so lets dive in.

So far in John we have learned of Jesus’ divine authority as declared by the Apostle John and John the Baptist. We have see Jesus call some of his disciples, and last week we saw Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding changing water to wine. As we study this passage today we will see Jesus’ first interaction with the religious elite in John and it is certainly an entertaining passage to say the least.

In verse 13 we see Jesus and his disciples have traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Passover was a serious celebration for the Jewish people which would include temple sacrifices, eating, praying, and celebrating with one another.

One of the logistical problems for those traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate passover is that it would be difficult and slow to bring along your animal sacrifices. Due to this difficulty many would come to Jerusalem and purchase their animals there so as to save time and effort. This was legal and accepted under Jewish law and custom. However, theres a catch.

When Jesus arrives he notices that this provision had been turned into a sacrilegious money making scheme. The Priests and money-changers had set up a system to make money off those arriving to make sacrifice.

The priests refused to accept Roman money in exchange for animals as it had Caesars face and that would be “idolatry” in their minds. So they set up a sort of Chuckie Cheese token system where you could exchange your Roman money for temple tokens and THEN you could use those temple tokens to buy your animal to sacrifice.

The priests of course had found a way to make money off those who were coming to worship.

To further cause problems the priests allowed these animals to be inside the temple court. Herod’s temple under construction was a large complex and the courtyard these animals were being sold in was larger than a football field and is estimated to be able to hold 75,000 people.

This space was also called the Gentiles court and its original purpose was to be a place that Gentiles could come and worship.

In other words the priests had allowed a place of worship to instead be filled with the sounds of bleating animals and all that comes with animals, money changing, materialistic pleasure and more.

When Jesus sees all of this happening he takes matters into his own hands and...

I. Jesus Declared His Divine Authority- Verses 13-17

Jesus Declared his divine authority in two ways. First he...

Jesus Declared His Authority with His Actions- vs 13-16

What do we see Jesus do? He makes a whip out of cords and he begins driving the people out of the Temple. This would have been a sight to see for sure.

Imagine being a person in the crowd of people, booths, and animals. You hear a rumble from 75 yards away and people scattering in every direction. Animals are fleeing, tables are being flipped and the crowd is running past you. As the sea of people thins you see a man clearly operating with purpose pushing tables over and swinging a whip at every animal and person that gets in his way. Perhaps money is flying everywhere and some people have the courage to try and go pick some up off the ground but before they can this man chases them away.

It would have been a wild site to see!

Verse 15 is clear that Jesus took a physcial position of authority. I think that if you were a bystander to this you would say to yourself, I am not getting in the way of that guy.

Jesus however is not out of control. Rather he uses his authority to drive out those who desecrated God’s place of worship but he does not destroy in unfettered rage. Notice that he doesn’t let the birds go but rather commands the sellers to take them away.

Jesus, being God focuses his anger in a righteous way. He effectively renders temple sacrifices impossible for that day. In doing this he uses his authority to stop the money-changers from being necessary for the atonement of sin. He drives out the idol of materialism so that the blasphemous worship cannot continue.

This would no doubt be a bizarre sight but even more bizarre would be to hear this man make that statement. “Do not make my fathers house a house of trade. Fathers house? This is God’s house.

Jesus Declared His Authority with His Words- vs 16-17

I am sure some must have thought he was a crazy man, but Jesus makes a claim to have a direct relationship to God. He can of course do this because he IS God. We remember this from John 1.

His disciples understand this and actually remember a passage from Psalm 69:9. The whole psalm is a Messianic Psalm and is actually quoted in multiples places through the New Testament.

What reminds the disciples of that Psalm is the zeal that Jesus had for God the Father and the expectation that God’s house should be used for proper worship

While the crowd did not understand this, those closest to Jesus we being given a picture of the authority that God had and his right to define right and good worship. God’s definition of worship verses what the Jewish Priests and authorities defined as worship would come into conflict many times throughout John and we see the first tension of this in verse 18.

The Jews question Jesus and ask him “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”

Another way of putting this is “Who put you in charge of the Temple?” An ironic question to say the least.

Jesus of course...

II. Jesus Declared his Divine Purpose- Verses 18-20

Jesus prophesies by declaring that they would destroy “the temple” and in three days he would raise it up.

In doing this

Jesus Declared he is “The Temple”- vs 19

This word destroy is interesting. The greek word here is λύω. This word carries with it the idea of untying, or undoing ones sandals. So Jesus is prophesying that in a few years the work he would be doing would in the minds of the priests be “undone”. This is hinting at his future crucifixion. In Declaring he is the temple Jesus points to a better way of worship.

The people had to come to the temple, they had to spend their hard earned money for an animal they would immediately slaughter. They had to come to God through wicked and selfish priests. Jesus would change all of that.

Instead of the focus of worship being a place one had to visit (which is what worship had become), the new standard would be Jesus.

Instead of the old way of worship that had become stagnant and worthless, Jesus would replace the old with the new and provide a better way of worship. Jesus had come to make possible a more direct approach to God through belief in him.

Jesus prophesies that the response to this would be that the Jews would attempt to λύω or take apart all that he would do and yet that would not be enough.

because

Jesus Declared he would be raised from the dead- vs 19

The second claim is that after the Jews would attempt to destroy Jesus he would raise from the dead.

This understandably goes right over everyones head. Perhaps it is because the temple they were standing in had been under construction for 46 years and would not be finished for another 37 years. Coincidentally, it would only stand completed for 7 years before the Romans would destroy it.

Their minds were so focused on the material that they could not comprehend the spiritual significance of what Jesus says.

Jesus both declares he will die and he will be resurrected. The Jews so blinded by their materialism miss the beauty of what Jesus came to do. He came to change everything from putrid worship to perfect relationship.

The symbolism John provides should not be lost on us. The perfect sacrifice was the one driving out the sacrifices people had brought.

But John also spoils the ending for us a little. Because he says that after the resurrection...

III. The Disciples (eventually) Declared Their Belief- Verses 21-22

The disciples were apparently lost when they heard this phrase as well. John tells us that it is not until after Jesus is resurrected that they believe. The disciples believed for two reasons. First

The disciples believe because of what Jesus said- vs 21

This is fairly simple but after Jesus rose from the dead the disciples remember what he said coming back to this phrase. When he rose from the dead in 3 days they no doubt remembered that time Jesus cleaned out the temple and said he would raise the temple up in 3 days once it was destroyed. They had seen everything coming together from their 3 1/2 years with Jesus.

They also believed in the scriptures because what they said came true.

Furthermore

The disciples believe because of what Jesus did- vs 22

The disciples belief had to be grounded in something. That something is the resurrection of Christ. Would Jesus’ words about being raised in three days have any worth if he remained dead? Would the disciples continue to follow and worship a dead man who acted zealously in the temple but couldn't live up to his own claims? Of course not.

It would be like what happens now and then with sports. Every few years the next dream team is formed. Often those teams are underwhelming. Before the NBA season this year a “DREAM” team was formed in the LA Lakers. There was so much hype about star after star playing together. The last I checked the Lakers are 9th in their conference and have an under .500 record.

Now perhaps there could be a huge turn around. That's possible, but the hype has not lived up to reality and it must be hard to be booed by your own fans.

It’s kind of like walking to youth group and being made fun of each week.

The point is, if Jesus was not resurrected there would be no expectation of belief and life change in the hearts of man.

To expand on that. The proper response from us when we are reminded of what Jesus said and what Jesus did is to BELIEVE!

We have faith that Jesus is who he said he is and did what he said he did.

Not everyone was convinced. In Fact in verses 23-25 we see that...

IV. The People Declared a False Belief- verses 23-25

While Jesus was in Jerusalem he performed some miracles that aren’t mentioned in this book. What John does point to is that

The people believed in a miracle worker instead of a Savior

John creates a contrast between the eventual response of the disciples and the people here in Jerusalem. The people heard who Jesus was. Perhaps they heard of his audacious acts in the temple, or another miracle and they began to be enamored with the name of Jesus.

The people were more interested in seeing Jesus work then believing in the person doing the work. They desired to define Jesus according to what they wanted not who he was saying he was.

When a person saw Jesus perform a sign they believed in Jesus the miracle worker only, instead of Jesus the God-man come to save.

One commentary put it like this

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Two: Learning about Jesus (John 2)

They were “unsaved believers”! It was one thing to respond to a miracle but quite something else to commit oneself to Jesus Christ and continue in His Word

Jesus did not come to be a celebrity side show for peoples convenience. We should be cautious not to create that picture in our mind.

There are some today who would define Jesus according to how they WANT to see him. Perhaps they would define Jesus only as love, or only as just. Maybe they create a Jesus they hold in their back pocket when needed.

Perhaps their Jesus is a republican or democrat. I would like to caution you to think about what you truly believe about Jesus.

If you choose to define the truth of who Jesus was and what he did based on anything other than his work and the scriptures you do not truly believe.

And the response from Jesus will be the same as it was towards these people 2000 years ago.

Jesus knew their true hearts and did not grant them true faith

In the earlier verses John paints this picture for us of Jesus swinging a whip and chasing the money changers out of the temple. It would be scary to see for those who witnessed it.

I think that this statement is far scarier.

Here we see that Jesus being God knew the hearts of man.

He saw their desire to see miracles done but their lack of believe in him

Jesus saw their lack of reverence for God in the temple

Jesus saw their disdain at his actions in driving out the wicked

Jesus saw and knew their true hearts and at this time did not grant them belief.

I don’t want to end on a depressing note. Let’s notice something here

Yes the people didn’t believe rightly in Jesus here but neither did the disciples. Their faith was one that grew and developed over time. Their belief had been driven by his signs and miracles, or perhaps his curious teaching before his crucifixion. But after his death, burial, and resurrection their belief was driven by something greater. A risen Savior who gave life and life everlasting.

So

What Drives Your Belief?

Last night after dinner my oldest son asked for a treat and so we got down a box of Moon Pies we got from my family in Georgia during Christmas. I grew up in the South. I remember eating many a moon pie and RC Cola every summer at camp. Usually I felt sick in the Tennessee heat after. I haven’t had the same love for them as an adult. Frankly, I thought they tasted like chewy cardboard and I could never remember why I liked them In the first place.

As I cut our moon pie in half (because no one really needs a whole moon pie) my wife said “Did you know on the package it says to nuke them for like 5-15 seconds?” No, I did not know that. You better believe I was gonna try that!

Let me tell you something. What was a stiff, bland, dry, chewy, dense mass of graham and sugar suddenly changed into a warm, soft, decadent, smooth, chocolatey, marshmallow pillow of happiness. I will tell you this and my wife can attest, I lifted my hands and thanked Jesus for that good gift.

I didn’t enjoy moon pies because I didn’t eat them the way the maker intended. The moment I did a whole world was opened up to me.

In a much much greater sense the same principle applies to our faith. If we are not worshipping Jesus the way God intends our walk with him is going to be tasteless, unfulfilling, and could move toward idolatry.

As the band comes forward I’d like to share this thought from Warren Wiersbe ...

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Two: Learning about Jesus (John 2)

The condition of the temple was a vivid indication of the spiritual condition of the nation. Their religion was a dull routine, presided over by worldly minded men whose main desire was to exercise authority and get rich. Not only had the wine run out at the wedding feast but the glory had departed from the temple.

Is your faith reminiscent of that? Has your walk grown stagnant like the worship in the temple? Perhaps the last few years have caused you weariness or doubt. Maybe you hesitate to fully trust Jesus with a burden in your life

I would encourage you to look to Jesus and ask him to help you believe. Ask Jesus to help your unbelief. Ask Jesus to show himself great in your life not so you can claim you saw him but so that you can believe fully in him.

We are going to sing a song called the Creed. A creed is a series of statements the church has long used to remind its people of what is true. When they see what is true they can then respond accordingly. As we worship I would encourage you to think about what your saying and believe rightly in who we are singing about.

PRAY