John 2. Notice in v.11 John declares that this was the first of Jesus signs. And so He wasn t prepared to perform a sign either

Transcription

1 Jhn 2 As we return t chapter 2 f Jhn s Gspel, we pick up immediately after Jesus has perfrmed His first miracle, turning water int wine Ntice in v.11 Jhn declares that this was the first f Jesus signs Jhn 2:11 This beginning f His signs Jesus did in Cana f Galilee, and manifested His glry, and His disciples believed in Him. The wrd sign is imprtant, because it reminds us f the purpses in Jesus miracles Jesus perfrmed supernatural displays r miracles t give evidence f His claims as Messiah Each time He perfrmed a miracle, He was giving a sign t the wrld that His claims were legitimate The mst cmpelling sign He ever perfrmed was the sign f His wn resurrectin, the sign f Jnah as He called it That s why we said last week that Mary was wrng t seek fr a miracle when there was n message t validate The time had nt yet arrived fr Jesus t make His declaratin t the wrld that He was Messiah And s He wasn t prepared t perfrm a sign either Nevertheless, He beyed His mther ut f respect fr her, turning the water int wine But as we nted, Jesus never called attentin t the miracle, at least nt t the public, s He didn t perfrm a sign prematurely The nly nes wh knew what happened were His disciples, as v.11 said His disciples believed in Him What exactly did they believe? They believed His claims t be the Messiah But almst just as assuredly, they didn t apprecaite that Jesus was Gd incarnate 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Jhn 2 2 f 21 This was smething they learned nly after His death and resurrectin Despite being the wrng time fr Jesus t annunce Himself, it s still significant that Jesus first miracle invlved wine at a wedding feast Fr that is ne f the clear signs f the Messiah, accrding t the scriptures The Bible uses the wedding feast as a picture t represent the arrival f the Kingdm f the Messiah Obviusly, this wedding wasn t the wedding feast f the Kingdm But still, Jesus chice f miracle t begin His public ministry is telling Furthermre, that Jesus miracle brings abut an abundance f great jy fr the wedding party is anther picture f His ministry t wrld There will be great jy at the arrival f the Kingdm, nt nly fr Israel but als fr Gentiles And that jy begins even befre the Kingdm arrives n Earth Fr the citizens f that Kingdm are enjying it even nw, even as we await the Kingdm s arrival S nw Jhn mves frward in his narrative Jhn 2:12 After this He went dwn t Capernaum, He and His mther and His brthers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. Jhn 2:13 The Passver f the Jews was near, and Jesus went up t Jerusalem. Jhn 2:14 And He fund in the temple thse wh were selling xen and sheep and dves, and the mney changers seated at their tables. Jhn 2:15 And He made a scurge f crds, and drve them all ut f the temple, with the sheep and the xen; and He pured ut the cins f the mney changers and verturned their tables; Jhn 2:16 and t thse wh were selling the dves He said, Take these things away; stp making My Father s huse a place f business. Jhn 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Jhn 2 3 f 21 After the wedding, Jesus and His mther and brthers and His disciples all travel dwn t Capernaum Capernaum is a twn where Jesus spends cnsiderable time during the first year f His ministry It says they went dwn even thugh the twn is nrtheast f Cana, because it s a lwer elevatin In fact, this twn in the Galilee becmes the center fr His earthly ministry fr a time Jesus mves His hme frm Nazareth t Capernaum at abut this time The fact that Jesus is accmpanied by His earthly family suggests that they may all be mving t Capernaum at abut this time Jseph died befre Jesus earthly ministry began We can safely assume this frm tw details in scripture First, the fact that Jesus appints Jhn t care fr Mary at the crss indicates she was a widw Secndly, Jesus is the last Man t hld the priesthd f the rder f Melchizedek That priesthd was handed dwn in a line f successin frm Adam t Jesus It s a title held fr life, accrding t Hebrews, and it can nly transfer t anther man at the death f the current ffice hlder Since Jesus never dies, He hlds the title nw frever But Jesus culdn t inherit the priesthd until the previus hlder died That previus hlder was Jesus earthly father, Jseph S Jseph had t pass away befre Jesus culd assume His priestly duties as a priest in the rder f Melchizedek Fr mre infrmatin n this principle, we have an article n the rder f Melchizedek n the website 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Jhn 2 4 f 21 After spending a few days in Capernaum, Passver f the Jews cmes (Jhn explains that this is a feast f the Jews, since the early Church had nw becme thrughly Gentile and didn t practice the Jewish feasts) This timing places us in the Spring f Jesus first year f ministry Which als tells us that His baptism and first week f ministry happened in the late winter, early spring Passver was ne f three feasts n the Jewish calendar when every adult Jewish male was required t make a pilgrimage t Jerusalem As many as three millin Jewish men (ften accmpanied by their families) wuld descend upn Jerusalem this week As Jesus enters the Temple grunds, He encuntered a cmmn and sad sight The curt f the Gentiles surrunding the temple building itself was transfrmed at Passver int a merchant s bazaar Tw principle frms f cmmerce tk place at this time in the temple First, mney was being changed Much in the way we change ur mney at an airprt befre r after we take a trip t a freign cuntry, s was the practice fr Jewish wrshippers They came int the temple bearing Rman cins, fr that was the nly kind f mney accepted in the Rman empire, which nw ccupied Judea But when yu came int the Temple, the nly mney accepted by the Jewish authrities were Jewish cins They rejected Rman cins because they bre the relief f the Rman Caesar And the Jews cnsider such an image t be an idl in vilatin f the first cmmandment S the wrshippers exchanged their Rman cins fr Jewish cins, which came a price 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Jhn 2 5 f 21 The business f changing mney was a majr surce f incme fr the priests f the temple, wh ran the mney changing business Secndly, the wrshippers needed the Jewish cins mney because this was the nly mney that culd be given t the Temple as a tithe payment r t purchase sacrificial animals When a family came t the Temple fr passver, it was ften impractical r expensive t bring the required animal t the Temple Wrshippers ften traveled fr many miles n ft t meet the bligatins f the feasts and temple service S instead f bringing the animal with them, they brught mney t buy an animal in the temple grunds And yu can be sure that thse animals were priced accrdingly Anther surce f prfit fr the temple priests And even thse families wh chse t bring their wn lambs int the Temple were still getting fleeced by the priests, s t speak The priests were required t inspect every lamb brught fr sacrifice And in keeping with the Law, nly a sptless lamb was suitable fr sacrifice Sptless means n evident defect, but f curse the priests went t extrardinary lengths t inspect each lamb, certain they wuld find a disqualifying defect And wuldn t yu knw it, the priests always fund smething wrng with each wrshipper s lamb S if yu re lamb was disqualified, hw were the wrshippers t meet the bligatins f the Passver? Well, frtunately the priests had a slutin They ffered t take the defective lamb as a trade-in tward a new, sptless lamb they culd sell the wrshipper Only after they changed their mney, f curse 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Jhn 2 6 f 21 S the priests made mney n the sale f these certified sptless lambs And then when the next unsuspecting family entered the temple with their defective lamb, they were likewise directed t buy a replacement sptless lamb And the lamb this family purchased was nne ther than that defective lamb traded in earlier, which had apparently experienced a miraculus healing In ther wrds, it was a scam run by religius leaders t make mney ff f wrshippers Nt much has changed tday, has it? As a result f all this cmmerce taking place in the temple, it was literally impssible fr a Gentile t enter int the temple and wrship the living Gd Remember, that Gentiles were nly permitted t enter the curt utside the gate leading int the temple grunds This uter curt was called the Curt f the Gentiles fr that reasn It represented the clsest pint any Gentile culd apprach t the Gd f Israel This is why Paul described the Gentile wrship experience prir t the New Cvenant this way: Eph. 2:12 remember that yu were at that time separate frm Christ, excluded frm the cmmnwealth f Israel, and strangers t the cvenants f prmise, having n hpe and withut Gd in the wrld. Eph. 2:13 But nw in Christ Jesus yu wh frmerly were far ff have been brught near by the bld f Christ. We were far ff in the sense that the curt f Gentiles was as clse as we culd apprach under the terms f the Law But by His bld, Jesus united Jew and Gentile in ne cvenant But nw all this cmmerce was nw taking place in the ne space reserved fr Gentile wrship S it wuld be impssible fr a Gentile wrshipper t apprach the Lrd in a quiet manner r even t apprach at all 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Jhn 2 7 f 21 And this is the scene Jesus cmes int as He enters the temple n this Passver Seeing the priests perating in direct vilatin f their wn cde as Gd instructed Lev. 19:30 Yu shall keep My sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the LORD. S Jesus finds sme hemp r ther suitable material, and prbably sits smewhere unnticed where he quietly strands tgether the crd int a whip This prbably ges n fr sme time, and we might wnder why did Jesus chse t make his wn whip? Undubtedly with s many animals arund, He culd have fund a way t brrw smene s whip rather than make his wn But the Lrd is preparing t act in judgment, in defense f His Father s huse And when the Lrd judges men, He des s n His wn terms accrding t His wn pwer and authrity Cnstructing his wn instrument f judgment reinfrces His authrity After the crd is ready, the fun begins Jesus must have walked up t the first table f mney changers in a calm manner, prbably unannunced He starts by driving the mney changers ut f the curtyard, beating them abut the head and shulders t make them leave We can just imagine the scene as Jesus begins the whipping The temple security speaking int the ear pieces ( We have a situatin here! ) Sn the ther merchants figure ut Jesus is after them, and they prbably flee en masse After the merchants have retreated, Jesus drives ut the animals, which was prbably a fairly easy task And then he returns t the table and turns them ver 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Jhn 2 8 f 21 Puring ut the mney n the grund t emphasize the wrthlessness f it in cmparisn t the value f Gd s glry In a mment f cmpassin, hwever, the Lrd nly instructs the peple selling dves t leave He desn t set the dves free, which wuld have been destrying their prperty This is ne f tw times scripture recrds Jesus driving ut mney changers frm the temple Jesus will repeat this scene when He enters the temple during the Passver week that leads t His crucifixin The Synpic Gspel writers all recrd the secnd f these incidents, but nly Jhn recrds this earlier mment Jhn als recrds that Jesus traveled t Jerusalem fr Passver all three years f His earthly ministry We can nly guess what Jesus did the ther tw times He visited the Temple Perhaps Jesus made driving ut the mney changers an annual traditin As Jesus speaks t the dve sellers, He describes the temple as My Father s huse In describing it as His Father s huse, Jesus is referring t the rle f the temple t huse the Shechinah glry f Gd The tabernacle riginally held that glry And later, the glry f Gd descended upn the temple Slmn built But as Israel sinned against Gd and prfaned the temple, Gd s glry eventually departed frm Slmn s temple and never returned At this pint when Jesus visits, the temple n lnger huses the Shechinah glry f Gd In fact, Herd s temple never saw the Shechinah glry f Gd 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Jhn 2 9 f 21 Nevertheless, every temple, including Herd s temple, hused the glry f Gd at least at sme pint in its existence On this day, it cntained the glry f Gd in the Persn f Christ In fact, this huse is Jesus huse as much as the Father s huse In the tabernacle and in Slmn s temple, the Shechinah glry that ccupied the Hly f Hlies was a preincarnate manifestatin f Christ Himself Jesus is always manifestatin f the Father s glry N ne has seen the Father at any time, except the Sn, we re tld S any visible manifestatin f Gd is always a manifestatin f Christ, as Jhn tld us and Clssians cnfirms S here the glry f Gd in Christ entered His temple and cleansed it n this day This scene frms a striking cntrast t the ne in Cana Where Cana gave us a quiet and cmpassinate Jesus, seeking t bring jy t a wedding party, while mllifying His earthly mther But the scene in Jerusalem is a visceral and passinate Jesus, seeking t inflict judgment and enfrce righteusness We re getting an early intrductin t bth sides f the Messiah s missin Tday there is still a temple f Gd in the wrld, ne that Jesus ccupies, ne that He cleanses frm unrighteusness That temple is the huse f Gd But the huse f Gd is nt the place yu attend services n Sunday mrning The church building is nt the huse f Gd tday It s nt a substitute fr the Jewish temple The Bible says ur very bdies are the temple f Gd, since the Spirit f Christ lives in us 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Jhn 2 10 f 21 1Cr. 3:16 D yu nt knw that yu are a temple f Gd and that the Spirit f Gd dwells in yu? 1Cr. 3:17 If any man destrys the temple f Gd, Gd will destry him, fr the temple f Gd is hly, and that is what yu are. But ur temple isn t pure any mre than that temple was n that Passver day We need cleansing t if we are t be a suitable dwelling place fr the Lrd As Paul said 1Cr. 6:19 Or d yu nt knw that yur bdy is a temple f the Hly Spirit wh is in yu, whm yu have frm Gd, and that yu are nt yur wn? 1Cr. 6:20 Fr yu have been bught with a price: therefre glrify Gd in yur bdy. It s tempting t reflect n this stry, imagining Jesus whipping all thse evil, sinful mney changers, and taking great satisfactin in the thught f it all Yu almst wish yu culd be there t cheer Jesus n We enjy the prspect f bad peple getting what they deserved frm Gd After all, hw dare they pllute the temple f Gd? But then I have t stp myself and remember that I m guilty f the same thing frm time t time I have a temple I m suppsed t guard frm sin, that is my physical bdy And when the Bible speaks f us guarding ur bdies as the temple f Gd, it s nt talking abut dn t smke, drink, r chew r date girls that d, as the saying ges It s talking abut sin Every time I chse t sin, in a sense I m like thse mney changers in Herd s temple Unrighteusness is setting up shp in my temple Rather than making my temple f hly place fr Gd t dwell 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Jhn 2 11 f 21 And if I m nt willing t plice my temple myself, then I shuld imagine Jesus beginning t weave a crd quietly, which He will use t discipline me Sner r later, He s ging t pick up that scurge and use it t drive unrighteusness ut my temple S given the chice f plicing my temple myself r prdding Jesus int the ding it fr me, I m guessing it s better t avid the whip Because Jesus is willing t apply the pressure, as Hebrews says Heb. 12:5 and yu have frgtten the exhrtatin which is addressed t yu as sns, MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; Heb. 12:6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES. Heb. 12:7 It is fr discipline that yu endure; Gd deals with yu as with sns; fr what sn is there whm his father des nt discipline? Can yu imagine what His disciples were thinking as they watched the whle scene? Perhaps a few were ready t blt at that pint They re thinking Jesus is a mad man And even if He isn t crazy, He s ging t get us arrested They must have been cmpletely besides themselves watching Jesus at wrk I think the Spirit understd they wuld have this reactin After all, it s a natural human respnse t the scene S in grace and mercy, the Spirit brings t their minds a passage f OT scripture t help them understand what they were watching In v.17 Jhn writes that they remember a verse f scripture fund in Psalm 69: Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Jhn 2 12 f 21 Psa. 69:6 May thse wh wait fr Yu nt be ashamed thrugh me, O Lrd GOD f hsts; May thse wh seek Yu nt be dishnred thrugh me, O Gd f Israel, Psa. 69:7 Because fr Yur sake I have brne reprach; Dishnr has cvered my face. Psa. 69:8 I have becme estranged frm my brthers And an alien t my mther s sns. Psa. 69:9 Fr zeal fr Yur huse has cnsumed me, And the repraches f thse wh reprach Yu have fallen n me. Remembering this psalm, the disciples begin t see the mment with spiritual eyes They knew that Psalm 69 is a Messianic psalm And as they witness Jesus wrecking havc in the temple, the Spirit cnnects the dts in their head They realize this is what the Psalmist meant by the Messiah having zeal fr the Father s huse This insight cnfirms again fr them that Jesus is the Messiah But nly the disciples knw this truth, fr nly by the revelatin f the Hly Spirit des anyne cnnect these dts All the crwd saw the same crazy behavir the disciples witnessed They als knew the same Psalm the disciples learned But withut the inspiratin f the Hly Spirit, the crwd was incapable f making a cnnectin between the psalm and the things they saw n that day Despite the very public nature f this event, Christ wasn t revealed t the crwd as Messiah because apart frm the disciples, the Hly Spirit wasn t at wrk t make that revelatin knwn As we said earlier, nly by the Spirit d we gain spiritual understanding Ass Paul writes in 1Crinthians, a persn cmes t understand that Jesus is Lrd nly by the Hly Spirit The truth that Jesus is the Messiah lies utside the grasp f mere flesh 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Jhn 2 13 f 21 There is n better grup in which t find this principle at wrk than the Pharisees f Israel They were the mst educated religius men f their day, and yet their studies never brught them t recgnize Jesus as Lrd These men were first mentined in Jhn s Gspel in chapter 1, as the men wh sent priests t inspect Jhn the Baptist s ministry But nw they make their first appearance in the Gspel during Jesus utburst in the temple This is the first time Jesus has caught the attentin f the religius authrities In a sense, this was Jesus cming ut party, thugh His true identity will remain hidden t them He is declaring war against the hypcrisy f the Jewish authrities S it s nly fitting that Jesus shuld make His declaratin f way in the Temple in Jerusalem Frm the perspective f the religius leaders, Jesus antics threatened t undermine their entire business mdel in the temple S a few f the leaders apprach Jesus as the turmil dies dwn Jhn 2:18 The Jews then said t Him, What sign d Yu shw us as yur authrity fr ding these things? Jhn 2:19 Jesus answered them, Destry this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jhn 2:20 The Jews then said, It tk frty-six years t build this temple, and will Yu raise it up in three days? Jhn 2:21 But He was speaking f the temple f His bdy. Jhn 2:22 S when He was raised frm the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the wrd which Jesus had spken. Fr the Pharisees, this key issue in this mment was nt Jesus identity, but His authrity They ask Him t prvide them a sign fr His authrity t d what He did They give n thught t whether what Jesus did was crrect r nt 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Jhn 2 14 f 21 They already have an pinin, and they dn t want t be cnfused by the facts Interestingly, they dn t they take immediate actin against Him Perhaps they sensed that Jesus pssessed sme kind f authrity, s they step carefully in this cnversatin Their request fr a sign is typical f what unbelieving men have always expected frm Gd and thse He sends in His name Skeptics demand that Gd s messengers perfrm a miracle t supprt their claims Smething in the fashin f Elijah r Mses with fire cming dwn frm Heaven r burning bushes The pint in the request is t remve all dubt, t cmpel agreement As if Jesus needed authrity t pint ut the bvius sin taking place in the temple that day The Pharisees reactin was the plar ppsite f the believing disciples Jesus fllwers had recgnized Jesus actins as the fulfillment f scripture, but the Pharisees were blind t that cnnectin The Pharisees culdn t recgnize the sign because their hearts were nt illuminated by the cunsel f the Spirit Unbelievers are n different tday Until a persn is given eyes t see by the Hly Spirit, they will react t any revelatin f Gd in Christ in a similar manner Unbelievers demand that Gd prve Himself t their satisfactin They demand prf that the Bible is accurate befre they will believe the Gspel Or that the Trinity exists befre they will accept it Jesus as Gd Or that we recncile Evlutin and the Creatin accunt befre they can cnsider it Genesis as literal In ther wrds, unbelievers demand that Gd remve the need fr faith But as Paul says, wh hpes fr what he already sees? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Jhn 2 15 f 21 Gd demands acceptance f His wrd n faith These Pharisees are just ne example f many Jhn will prvide shwing hw Jesus claims were met with unbelief by thse wh shuld have been best prepared t recgnize Him as Messiah Later Paul explained the reality that Israel rejected their wn Messiah sent t them this way Rm. 9:30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, wh did nt pursue righteusness, attained righteusness, even the righteusness which is by faith; Rm. 9:31 but Israel, pursuing a law f righteusness, did nt arrive at that law. Rm. 9:32 Why? Because they did nt pursue it by faith, but as thugh it were by wrks. They stumbled ver the stumbling stne, The irny in this situatin is Jesus did give them sign f His authrity He fulfilled Psalm 69:9 The disciples recgnized the sign because they were given spiritual insight frm the Hly Spirit t see it But the Pharisees missed it, and even if the sign had been mre dramatic, they wuldn t have recgnized it As we said, n sign can substitute fr faith in the wrd f Gd A sign can be used by Gd t cnnect thse dts in a believing mind and thereby strengthen faith and bring encuragement But a sign never substitutes nr creates faith We must have faith in the Lrd by His wrd alne if we ever hpe t see and understand the Lrd and His wrk arund us As Jesus Himself said Luke 16:31 But he said t him, If they d nt listen t Mses and the Prphets, they will nt be persuaded even if smene rises frm the dead. Nevertheless, in respnse t their demands, Jesus annunces anther sign t prve His authrity Jesus says if the Pharisees wuld destry this Temple, He wuld raise it in three days 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Jhn 2 16 f 21 Obviusly, if we assume by this temple Jesus meant the stne building standing nearby, then the sign He prpsed was just ging t perplex the men all the mre They culdn t destry the building, and even if they culd, they wuldn t d it The Jews revered their stne temple And Jesus is highlighting that fact with His chice f this sign It s a wnderful picture f what faith requires Befre we can knw Gd truly, we must be willing t turn ur back n thse things we trust in The Pharisees wrshipped the law and the sacrificial system in the temple, rather than the Gd Wh dwelled within it And Jesus is drawing attentin t their hard hearts living by law instead f by faith And at the same time, He s emphasizing the impssibility f satisfying their demands fr prf Jesus culd n mre have granted them a satisfactry sign than they wuld have been t tear dwn the temple This is the first f many cnversatins Jhn recrds f Jesus and a prtagnist engaging in tw different cnversatins simultaneusly While Jesus speaks in spiritual terms, using metaphrs t express imprtant spiritual truths, His unbelieving audience remains clueless In this case, the Jews heard Jesus wrds t mean destrying the stne temple S they respnd that a stne temple that required 46 years t cnstruct culdn t pssibly be rebuilt s quickly, let alne by ne man By the way this gives us a precise date fr this mment in Jesus life Histry recrds that Herd s temple tk 79 years t build and wasn t finished until AD Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Jhn 2 17 f 21 S at 46 years f cnstructin, the year wuld have been AD 30 They lacked the the spiritual insight t see beynd the literal Three years later when Jesus was placed n trial by the Jewish authrities n the night f Passver, ne f His accusers recalled this mment testifying that Jesus threatened t destry the temple, Like all the accusatins against Jesus, it was a lie Jesus never said He wuld destry the temple He said if the Pharisees destryed the temple, He wuld rebuild it Jhn explains t us that when Jesus said this temple, He was speaking f His bdy as the temple f Gd And we can see why Jesus wuld call His bdy the Temple, because in fact it was in that day His physical bdy was the dwelling place f the Father s glry n earth That s why the Lrd never brught His glry t reside in Herd s temple The glry f Gd was t ccupy a far greater temple, ne nt built by human hands That temple was destryed n the crss by these unbelieving men Literally, they did destry the temple f Gd And after three days in the gravejesus rebuilt it, as He prmised Jesus bdy was raised frm the dead As Jesus made this statement, even His disciples were cnfused in the mment Jhn says it was nly after the death and resurrectin f Christ three years later that they came t understand what Jesus meant by this sign And n dubt, His wrds were a great help t them in understanding the circumstances f His death 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Jhn 2 18 f 21 That s why Jesus chse t speak in this way, with a riddle that He knew His audience wuldn t understand in the mment Signs frm Gd are always crafted t blster the faith f the believer, never as a substitute fr faith in the unbeliever Mrever, the Lrd designs spiritual signs t have maximum impact n the intended audience Usually, the meaning f a sign will remain hidden even t the believer until the right mment, when an understanding is mst beneficial And then as we cme t understand the sign, we als cme t recgnize that the truth was there all alng The fact that it was revealed in advance and yet hidden until an appinted mment reinfrces fr us that the message was truly frm Gd We re ging t see this pattern many times in Jhn Gspel Jesus speaks t His audience in spiritual terms The unbelievers in His audience miss His pint entirely, while even the believers miss His pint fr a time But then later, at a mment the Lrd determines, the spiritual truth f His wrds becme evident And the pwer f the delayed revelatin is evident in the believers respnse Luke recrds ne such mment at the end f His Gspel, n the rad t Emmaus Luke 24:13 And behld, tw f them were ging that very day t a village named Emmaus, which was abut seven miles frm Jerusalem. Luke 24:14 And they were talking with each ther abut all these things which had taken place. Luke 24:15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself apprached and began traveling with them. Luke 24:16 But their eyes were prevented frm recgnizing Him Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Jhn 2 19 f 21 Luke 24:28 And they apprached the village where they were ging, and He acted as thugh He were ging farther. Luke 24:29 But they urged Him, saying, Stay with us, fr it is getting tward evening, and the day is nw nearly ver. S He went in t stay with them. Luke 24:30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He tk the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it t them. Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were pened and they recgnized Him; and He vanished frm their sight. Luke 24:32 They said t ne anther, Were nt ur hearts burning within us while He was speaking t us n the rad, while He was explaining the Scriptures t us? In the way that situatin played ut, Jesus made His appearing all the mre pwerful and instructive thrugh careful timing He als taught these disciples a valuable lessn abut expecting the Risen Lrd t reveal Himself thrugh an examinatin f the Scriptures Jhn cncludes his accunt f Jesus s first ministry visit t Jerusalem by telling us this mment in the temple was nt the nly sign Jesus gave the crwds Jhn 2:23 Nw when He was in Jerusalem at the Passver, during the feast, many believed in His name, bserving His signs which He was ding. Jhn 2:24 But Jesus, n His part, was nt entrusting Himself t them, fr He knew all men, Jhn 2:25 and because He did nt need anyne t testify cncerning man, fr He Himself knew what was in man. Thugh the Pharisees rejected Jesus authrity in the temple, many ther Jews in the city were believing in Jesus And as Jesus encuntered the believing crwds, He perfrmed signs fr them We dn t knw what miracles Jesus did specifically, but it s safe t assume He healed peple as a rutine But despite their belief in Him, Jesus was nt entrusting Himself t them What Jhn means is Jesus was nt relying n their belief t prtect Him nr t prmte His ministry 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Jhn 2 20 f 21 Ntice Jhn says Jesus knew all men and didn t need anyne t testify cncerning man, r t explain the duplicity f human beings Jesus knew the hearts f men all t well Despite what men said r claimed, Jesus always knew the truth behind the wrds and actins While the crwds were adring and supprtive nw, they wuld nt always be that way When religius leaders came ffering false praise, Jesus knew it was a trap He wasn t naive t assume that men s hearts remain true r that they always speak in hnest ways S Jesus did nt cmmit Himself t anyne, thinking that He culd trust them r depend upn them Perhaps ne f the reasns Jesus was s wary f depending upn the crwd s supprt was because He knew that sme were accepting His claims merely n the basis f the miraculus signs He perfrmed Thse wh embraced Christ n the basis f signs and wnders rather than by faith in His wrd wuld be the first t fall away As the religius leaders turn up the heat n Jesus and the disciples, even thse f faith were tested and failed at times (Peter fr example) S clearly, thse fllwers wh pursued Jesus fr the miracles r healing were nt truly His sheep And therefre, He knew t expect the devtin and jy f many t be temprary at best The Bible warns us that within the Church will always be thse wh cme t Christ in a superficial manner, apart frm saving faith They apprach Jesus based n sme perceived benefit in knwing Him Whether because they believe He will heal them r free them frm ppressive circumstances r make them rich Or in sme ther way because they expect Jesus t give them their best life nw 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Jhn 2 21 f 21 They are nt rted in a belief in Jesus by His wrd, and s as Luke recrds, they fall away in a time f testing Luke 8:13 Thse n the rcky sil are thse wh, when they hear, receive the wrd with jy; and these have n firm rt; they believe fr a while, and in time f temptatin fall away. In cming chapters, Jhn will illustrate this dichtmy time and time again He cntrasts the true believers, wh btain a faith in Christ despite lacking religius training and knwledge f scripture With unbelievers, wh pssessed great knwledge f the scriptures but lacked the spiritual insight t recgnize the Messiah Thrugh these encunters, we re ging t learn a lt mre abut Jesus and the nature f saving faith As well, we ll gain greater insight t the deadness f unbelief and the pwer f Gd s wrd t raise the dead t new life 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.