John 2:13-25 Jesus, God’s True Temple

1:30Instead, as the now famous documentaries show, they got FEMA disaster relief tents, mattresses that were soaked by a morning rainstorm, and cheese sandwiches served in styrofoam takeout boxes. What a crushing disappointment to travel that far and spend that much money to have such a bad experience. But imagine if you traveled just as far and spent just as much money, hoping to have a transcendent experience with God, only to be let down by the religious leaders in almost every conceivable way.

2:22How would you feel? How do you think God feels? Well, this morning in John chapter 2, I think we're going to get a pretty good idea. And to fully grasp the meaning of the text this morning and what's going on here, we're going to have to do a little bit of extra work understanding the background and the setting. So let's pick up here in John chapter 2, verse 13. John writes, The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2:52Well, this past week, we read through the book of Exodus in our Bible reading plan together in 22. If you haven't jumped in with us, let me encourage you to do that. We can help you get started on that, or you can just go on Church Center and find out how to get signed up and started. But together in 22 is going great. We read through Exodus and this middle of the week, in the kind of center section there, we read through chapters 12 through 14. And that is where God institutes the Passover meal. Now, you may remember, if you're familiar with that, that every family was to take a spotless lamb, slaughter it, and then spread its blood on their doorposts. Then they were to roast the lamb and to eat all of it. And I want you to look at Exodus 12, 11 through 13 on the screen where God explains the significance of this meal. Take a look.

3:40In this manner, you shall eat it, with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and on all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the house where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now, additionally, God commanded the people to eat unleavened bread for seven days to remind them of their hasty exodus from Egypt. God put all the firstborn since Sons to death, and the people had to grab the dough on the way out the door before it was leavened and run out of the country. And so, from that time forward, God commanded Israel to observe the feast of unleavened bread every year, which began with the Passover meal and then continued for six more days. Every Jewish male was expected to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast, and so Jesus and his disciples left where they were in Capernaum and then went down to Jerusalem. So, as you can imagine, the city in general and the temple complex in particular was just packed at this time, bustling with excitement during the Passover week.

5:10And now, the Jewish temple itself was built by King Solomon around 950 BC, about a thousand years before this. But because of their persistent idolatry and their sin and disobedience, God sent the Babylonians to Jerusalem in 605 BC. In 586 BC, they sacked the city, they raided the temple, and they burned it to the ground. So, this was definitely the lowest point in Israel's history. Out of all the bad things that happened, Solomon's temple being raided and then burned to the ground, that was the lowest point. So, God says, at the end of 70 years, he's going to bring his people back. And sure enough, under Cyrus and the Persians, they are allowed to go back, just as God had spoken through the prophets. And under Ezra and Zerubbabel's leadership, they started rebuilding. The temple in 535 BC, exactly 70 years after they first showed up in Jerusalem, the Babylonians. The temple was completed in 515 BC, exactly 70 years after it was destroyed, just as the prophet said. And Ezra records that when the foundation was laid of this new temple, that a lot of the young people rejoiced because they'd never seen the temple before. They'd never had this experience, but a lot of the older men cried because this new temple was just not going to have the magnificence and the glory that Solomon's temple had. So if we fast forward 500 years, Herod the Great comes to power. He is a bad dude. He does not really care about God or God's people. He just cares about power. And so he's just trying to keep the Jews happy. And so, as part of that campaign, he promises to remodel and greatly expand the Jewish temple. So he does this from about 19 BC until about 27 AD, or right around the time that Jesus began his ministry.

7:05Now, the temple complex itself was divided into a few different areas. I want to put this on the screen. We're going to turn off the stage lights here for a second so you can see this. This information is important to the story today, as well as to later accounts that we find in the Gospels. So if you take a look here at the diagram, I know it's kind of hard to see. This whole thing here is the temple complex. And I want to start in the middle and work outward here. This right here is called the Most Holy Place. That was the area that the high priest went into once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifice for the nation's sins. That was separated from the holy place by a curtain that ran from the floor to the ceiling. And the holy place, of course, is where the priests ministered, kept the showbread. Only the ministering priests were allowed in that area. On the outside of the holy place and the most holy place, you have the court of the priests, which was surrounded by the court of Israel. The men came here and they would stand around the outsides and pray and worship while the priests offered the sacrifices on the altar. The court of women was this front area here, and this is where you entered into the temple. Men and women both worshiped in here, and this was where you would make offerings of financial gifts. And so, the widow and her two mites, that was offered in this room, the court of the women. And then, this area on the outside, all of these little dots are the columns. This area is known as Solomon's porch and the royal porch or the colonnade. On the inside of that, in the temple complex, this whole area here is called the court of the Gentiles. The Gentiles were not allowed to go anywhere else other than there. And so, there are actually signs that archaeologists have found on the outside of the building that say, Gentiles are not allowed to enter into the temple complex under pain of death. So, that gives you a little bit of an idea of what we're talking about here. And it's here in the court of the Gentiles on the outside, that the people selling animals and charging, changing money were set up as merchants. Now, you'd have to remember that many people came from a great distance outside of Jerusalem to worship each year at the Passover. And so, if you're one of those people, you've got a couple of challenges as a traveler who is coming on pilgrimage to worship. The first challenge is that you have to offer an unblemished animal as a sacrifice. So, what are the odds that you're going to be able to travel dozens or even hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand miles with an unblemished animal, a lamb, two turtle doves, or two pigeons if you are poor? What are the odds that you're going to be able to get from wherever you live to the temple with those animals in mint condition to offer as a sacrifice? Well, not very good, right?

10:00Everyone is a capitalist at heart. And so, the merchants figured out pretty quickly that people would pay for the convenience of buying an unblemished animal on site. You don't want to travel that far with your animal and run the risk of the priest rejecting your sacrifice because it's not unblemished, it's not spotless. So, they set up shop and sold animals in the court of the Gentiles. And as you can imagine, because you're buying these things on Site, the markup was enormous. It's like buying food at Kyle Field or something. You know what? There's no way the animals were that expensive, right? I mean, but they were surely pretty expensive. But you've got one more problem other than the animal situation, and that other problem is that every worshipper has to pay the temple tax because, you know, somebody's got to pay for all those renovations, somebody's got to pay for all the upkeep. Nothing is free, no free lunch. And your foreign currency is no good here.

11:03So, again, capitalism at its finest, we'll just go ahead and set up some changing booths right here for your convenience and, of course, charge you a premium for changing your money. And where do you think those folks set up? Right next to the folks who are selling the animals in the court of the Gentiles. So just imagine for a moment, you've traveled a great distance, maybe hundreds of miles, because you desire to worship God and keep his commands. And for your trouble, you get the privilege of shelling out your hard-earned money, not just to buy animals and to pay the temple tax, but also to pay extra fees to those selling the animals and changing the money on site.

11:51And if you're a Gentile, you can't enter the temple because you're not Jewish. You're not a child of Abraham. So the outer courtyard. This is your sanctuary. This is your place of worship. If you're a Gentile, why exactly did you go to all this trouble and expense in the first place? You're not Jewish. All this stuff, all this hubbub, all of this commotion, the traditions, it doesn't mean anything to you. The only reason that you've traveled so far and forked over your money is because you fear God. You believe that the God of Israel is the one true God of all nations and you have come to worship him.

12:40And you're supposed to worship. You're supposed to pray. You're supposed to contemplate the greatness and goodness of God in the middle of this circus? Look what D.A. Carson wrote. Instead of solemn dignity and the murmur of prayer, there is the bellowing of cattle and the bleeding of sheep. Instead of brokenness and contrition, holy adoration and prolonged petition, there is noisy commerce. What was God's intention for his people and for his temple? Look at Genesis chapter 12.

13:27Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country. And your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse. Listen to this. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

13:55What was God's intention for his temple? Look at Isaiah 56. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. Listen to this, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

14:33God called Abraham so that he could bless all the families, all the nations of the earth through him. And God commanded the construction of the temple so that it could become a house of prayer for all peoples. And instead, it had been transformed into a place of business, a place where religious goods and services were bought and sold. Friends, this is what the Catholic Church had become at the time of the Reformation. This is what many Protestant churches in America have become. Not only those who are preaching the false gospel of prosperity, but those whose church buildings more closely resemble malls and entertainment venues than houses of worship.

15:25And listen, maybe many Americans have stopped attending worship services because they've decided that they don't believe that the Bible is God's Word and they don't believe that Jesus is God's Son. I'm sure that's true in many cases. But just maybe, many Americans have stopped attending worship services because they look and feel like bad versions of late-night entertainment television. And if that's the case, Jimmy Fallon just does it better. Friends, if all we're doing is entertaining, is exchanging religious goods and services, it's no wonder our neighbors and coworkers have decided to look elsewhere for answers to their spiritual questions.

16:12So now hopefully Jesus' actions and words will come to life in a fresh new way for you. Let's pick up here in verse 14, John 2. 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.

16:49Jesus is so mad about this situation. I mean, it's one thing to walk into a place and start yelling. It's another level when you make your own whip and start chasing people. But do you see why he's so upset? Nobody can worship God in this environment, least of all the Gentiles, people who are far from God, who have gone to great lengths and overcome incredible barriers just to be there. The temple, which Jesus referred to as my father's house, is not supposed to be a house of trade. It's supposed to be a house of prayer for all peoples. Now, I want you to remember back to what we've been talking about since the beginning of John's gospel. A few weeks ago, we talked about John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. In Malachi 3:1, it says this, take a look on the screen. Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.

17:51Well, John the Baptist said he came to do that. He came to prepare the way for the Messiah by calling people to listen to his message and respond. With repentance. But I want you to look at the rest of that passage in Malachi 3. Take a look. He says, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. And the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. And they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

18:54I want to leave that up for just a minute because I want you to think about these verses in light of everything that's going on in John 2. The Lord will suddenly come to his temple. Who can endure the day of his coming? Not many when he's chasing you with a whip. What is he going to do to the sons of Levi? You know, the Levites, the people who are in charge of temple worship and everything going on there. What's he going to do to them? He will purify them and refine them like gold and silver.

19:25Then what's going to happen? Look at that last verse. Then the offerings. Of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. John says in verse 17, if you look there, that when the disciples watched this, surely with their jaws on the ground, they remembered what was written in Psalm 69, 9. Look what it says: zeal for your house will consume me. Well, the Jews have a problem with this. Everything that Jesus is doing and saying, we aren't told if it's the Levites or the priests or a group of the Pharisees or just some Jews who watch their friends get whipped and run out of the temple. But the Jews have a problem with this. And so take a look at verse 18.

20:19So the Jews said to him, What sign do you show us for doing these things? Well, let's think about that question for a minute. What sign do you show us for doing these things? Because Jesus drove out the merchants and those who were doing business in the one place that the Gentiles could come and worship, the Jews are demanding a sign, miraculous proof of his authority, just because Jesus insisted on bringing temple worship in line with God's vision for the temple itself.

20:56I mean, there is no humility, no self-awareness. Us no reflection, no pausing to consider that maybe what they've allowed to go on inside of the temple complex is actually hurting the cause rather than helping it. Now, we should be slow to judge these Jews because we all develop blind spots in our spiritual lives. Areas of compromise, areas of disobedience that for whatever reason we just can't see. But, friends, that's exactly why we need each other. That's why we need God's word and God's spirit. Our brothers and sisters in the church can help us to see what we can't see when tradition or convenience or what is generally acceptable in our culture takes precedence over God's word and the spirit of his commands.

21:54Now, remember last week when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding, and John called that miracle Jesus' first sign. We talked about the fact that all of Jesus' miracles are actually signs pointing to Jesus' true identity and mission. So, here in verse 18, the Jews demand what? A sign, a miracle that will prove that he has the authority to do what he's doing. Okay, you want a sign? Verse 19. Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

22:40Now, any listener would have assumed that Jesus is talking about the physical temple. It's sitting right there. They're standing right next to it. Verse 20. The Jews then said, It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days? The claim is absurd. Solomon's original temple, which was so much smaller than this, took seven whole years to build. So the claim is just absurd. But friends, beyond that, you have to understand how absolutely provocative this statement is that he just made.

23:25Remember again, the lowest point in Israel's history, the worst moment in their nation's history, was when Jerusalem was sacked, the temple was raided, and the temple was burned to the ground. That is the lowest moment in their history. The rebuilt temple was nothing like the original one in its glory. So 500 years later, half a millennium later, they finally, after 46 years of construction, they finally have a temple, something close to a thing that they Could be proud of as a nation.

24:04And now you've got this dude, this no-name guy from who knows where, coming in here whipping people, stirring up trouble, and talking about the temple being destroyed. I'm going to tell you what this is like. I want you to imagine somebody standing at the 9-11 Memorial and talking about One World Trade Center being destroyed, the new building. That is how offensive and provocative this statement would have been. The lowest moment in our nation's history, and you've got some guy standing there and saying, Yeah, you see the new building that's built in its place? That's going to get destroyed.

24:45It's like, look, pal, we don't talk like that. The Roman occupiers cared about exactly one thing, and that was keeping the peace. The Jewish religious leaders cared about exactly one thing, and that was making sure that that never happened again. The temple getting destroyed and the people getting exiled. They never wanted that to happen again. But look at this, what Jesus says, or what John writes in verse 21. But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remained. That he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Now, keep in mind, we talked about this at Theology Thursday this last week. A lot of John's original readers heard the gospel orally. So they heard it many times spoken over the years.

25:51So when they read the account for the first time, they were familiar with the story and how it ends. But I just want you to imagine that you are reading this for the first time. And John is like, but you know, he was talking about his body. So when he was raised from the dead, it's like, what? How does the story end? When Jesus said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, the disciples were surely as confused as everybody else. But John notes that when Jesus was raised from the dead, they remembered that he said it, which is exactly what Jesus said would happen in John 14. Take a look on the screen.

26:31Jesus said, But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. The Holy Spirit brought this moment back to their minds and they connected the dots. He wasn't talking about the physical temple, he was talking about the temple of his body. And what happened? Verse 22, John says that when they remember, Jesus said this, verse 22, they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

27:12He says they believed his word. Jesus had called his own shot. He predicted his own death and resurrection, not just here, but many times throughout his ministry. But John also says they believed the scripture. What's he talking about? They believed the scripture. All of the scriptures that prophesied that the Messiah would be killed and then raised from the dead. Isaiah 53. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Zechariah 12. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn.

28:17Psalm 16:10, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. Friends, Jesus came as our Savior, our Messiah, to deliver us from the power and penalty of our sins. But in order to do that, he had to fulfill every prophecy about the Messiah, including his own. John is showing us that Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead was not plan B. It was God's plan all along to put him to death in our place and to raise him from the dead so that we too could be raised in an imperishable body and live eternally.

29:05The Jews asked for a sign for proof that Jesus was who he claimed to be. He gave them many throughout the course of his life and ministry. But the ultimate sign, the ultimate proof that he was both the Son of God and the promised Messiah was his death and resurrection. Destroy this temple, the temple of my body, and in three days I will raise it up. That's how you will know that I am who I am.

29:41Let's take a look at these last three verses here, verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, did not entrust himself to them. Because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. When people saw the signs, the healings, the miracles, the exorcisms, they believed in him.

30:22They had some kind of belief in Jesus, or at least in what he could do. But John writes that Jesus did not entrust himself to them. Why? Because he knew what was in man. He knew every thought, every intention, every motivation. He knew who had saving faith in him and who thought he was something less than the Son of God, the Lamb who came to take away the sin of the world. So if you think back to chapter one, Jesus turns around and he sees Andrew and John following him.

31:05And he asks them a simple and direct question. What are you seeking? What are you seeking? Everybody comes to Jesus seeking something. It might be healing for yourself or somebody that you love. It might be food for your empty stomach. It might be deliverance from demonic oppression. In the case of the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10, it might be confirmation that you're a good person and that you're already on the right track to heaven.

31:47Everybody comes to Jesus seeking something. What are you seeking? Jesus already knows what you're seeking. He knows why you're here. He knows why you came. He knows all people and needs no one to bear witness for him because he knows what's in man. What are you seeking? Jesus doesn't ask that question because he doesn't know the answer to it. He asks that question because many of us don't know the answer to it. Friends, as we learned last week through Jesus' first sign of turning water into wine, he did not come to reform old covenant Judaism. He came to pour new wine into new wineskins, to inaugurate the new covenant by pouring out his blood on the cross.

32:47And as we see today, Jesus wasn't merely concerned with reforming worship at the temple. No, he came to offer the temple of his body to be destroyed for our sins so that. Through his resurrection, we could be forgiven and reconciled to God and welcomed in, not into the court of the Gentiles, not into the court of the women or Israel, not even into the holy place, but into the most holy place. Because through Jesus' sacrifice, the curtain was torn, and we now have access by the new and living way open to us through the curtain of his flesh. So we can draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

33:47I want you to hear God's word as we close through Ephesians chapter 2. And I want you to think about this passage in light of everything that we've heard and learned this morning in John chapter 2. Therefore, remember that at one time, you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

34:30But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who are far off, and peace to those who are near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

35:54Thanks be to God. Let's pray. Father, as almost all of us are Gentiles, we rejoice this morning that you have done all that you have done to break down the dividing wall of hostility and that you have torn the curtain of the temple through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, so that we could be brought near, all of us, those who were far off and those who were near. We are so thankful that we have confidence to approach you, not because we are good religious people, but because Jesus fulfilled everything that the Lord. Required and open the new and living way for us.

37:42God, we pray this morning that anything that we've done that has served to erect barriers to non-Christians coming and seeing and hearing and experiencing you and your word through your people. God, we are sorry for those things. We repent of those things. We pray that you would help us to see them so that we are not putting stumbling blocks, additional stumbling blocks in the way of people who you are drawing to yourself. We pray that we would worship in spirit and in truth, that you would be glorified and that they would be drawn in.

38:30Seeing that what we're doing here on Sundays and throughout the week together, this is not entertainment. It's not the exchange of religious goods and services. This is our whole life laid down as a living sacrifice for you. So, God, we pray that you would fill our hearts with faith, that you would draw the loss to yourself, and that we would say. A tremendous outpouring of your Holy Spirit leading to many coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ this spring.

39:08We thank you for those who have already come to faith in Christ, and we pray for more. Glorify yourself through us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.