He Cleanses

John 2:12-25 

Before we start, I would like to take a minute to pray and ask God to really come here and fill this room and fill our hearts that we might be blessed today through His word.

We thank you, Oh thank You Lord, for our salvation for the wonderful gospel Lord.  The good news that our sins are paid for by Your death on the cross and we don't have to work our way to Heaven; Lord, that You have provided a way for us to put our trust in You and enjoy salvation for all eternity.  God, I pray that if anyone is here today that doesn't know You, that You are not Lord of their life, Lord I pray that they would be moved today to enter into a permanent relationship with You from now through all eternity.  Lord Your word is given away free, I think of the verse, "That buy truth and don't sell it."  Lord we don't want to sell truth here today we want to give it away freely.  I pray that You would bless the hearts of Your people.  Help us Lord be spiritually encouraged and strengthened for Your task at hand.  For reaching the world with the gospel, Lord, for seeing Your kingdom come.  Seeing Your will be done here on earth as it is in Heaven.  I thank You Lord for your word.  I thank You for this time here this morning and pray You would bless it.  In Your name Jesus, amen.

I had a couple of thoughts, as you know we are continuing the series in the book of John.  Carl started last week and he got up to verse 11 in John chapter 2 I think. So I am going to take John chapter 2 verse 12 through the end of the chapter, verse 25.  We only have 13 verses to go through so, hopefully they will be pretty simple and everyone will understand them and we will get out early, but I can't promise that.

I listened to Carl's message because I wasn't able to come last week, and he made a statement about the miracles of Christ being simple miracles. I agree with that.  I asked myself when reading this passage “Why did Jesus have the servants fill the jars with water?”  I thought to myself that Jesus could have just filled the jars Himself in an instant with the good wine but instead he had others fill the jar with water.

He did simple miracles like this one on many occasions e.g. He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish (twelve baskets were left over) and four thousand with four loaves and a few small fish (seven baskets were left over).

I don’t know for sure but I think there might be something about helping someone do something that causes our memory to recall events with more clarity.  Remember the gospel writers recorded these miracles years after they happened but people either still remembered them clearly or they clearly passed them on to their children who clearly passed them on to the gospel writers.

The same thing happens when we either lead a person to Christ or witness someone else lead them to Christ you never forget that.  It will be indelibly imprinted on your mind.  When you came to know Christ, you will never forget that moment. And I think that God in His Divine wisdom, allows us to help out.

I counted 36 miracles that Jesus performed from the time His mother asked him to do something about the wine until He was crucified.  I did my best not to double count and I started with the Gospel of John and then did Luke and then Matthew and finally Mark.  By the time that I got to Mark there were only two miracles that I had not picked up in the other Gospels.  I don’t have time to go through them all today but if you are interested, they are listed at the end of this transcript.

Could Jesus have created something from nothing? Yes He could but, I think that after He had created everything in six days and saw that it was good there was no need for Him to create anything else until He creates the new heavens and a new earth. 

Isaiah 65:17-18

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

We are part of that, God is creating something in us. We are part of that joy forever.

Now picking back up where Carl left off in the John Chapter 2 verse 12 reads: 

After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

The distance from Cana to Capernaum is approximately 22-23 miles.  The distance from Nazareth to Capernaum is 20 miles. That is the approximate distance from here i.e. Clemson Community Church to Walhalla SC.

The ups and downs are not the ups and downs of north and south in respect to the compass needle i.e., Jesus not going up north to Jerusalem or going down south to Capernaum.  He is going up in elevation to Jerusalem and down in elevation to Capernaum in the Sea of Galilee.

Site or Region: Wilderness of Judea, Nazareth, Capernaum

Overall Distance from the Wilderness of Judea to Nazareth 80 miles. 

Distance from Nazareth to Capernaum approximately 20 miles.

Straight line distance from Nazareth to Jerusalem appears to be about 80 miles. Walking distance would be more on the order of 68 miles.  That is the approximate distance from Clemson Community Church to Spartanburg SC if you go by way of Interstate 85.

The average adult walking pace is about 4 mph, so the journey would need 17 hours or more.  If you have ever walked on a treadmill you can attest to the fact that a 4 mile per hour walk is really hard to sustain for more than a few hours even on a level surface.  On the Oregon Trail 15 miles per day was considered to be fantastic.  At that pace it would require more than 4 days for the journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem.  If Jesus was coming from Capernaum it would have been approximately 100 miles so that would have been an additional day or two day walk.  A hundred miles is approximately the distance between here and Rock Hill SC.

Matthew 4:12-17 says,

When Jesus heard that John has been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.  Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, whisch was by the lake in the area of Zebulan and Naphtali to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulan and land of Nephtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan,  Galilee of the Gentiles the people living in darkness have seen the light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."  From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

When Jesus left Cannan and went to Capurnaum that was just a temporary assignment.  But when John was put in prison he left and went back to Nazareth, got his stuff and he went to Capernum.  And he set his basic training up there for his disciples, like boot camp right there on the Sea of Galilee. 

Picking back up on our story in John 2:13-19

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

In today's vernacular it would be "How dare you turn my Father's house into a jockey lot where you're selling all this stuff and exchanging money and bringing your junk here to sell in my Father's house?"

I asked myself why did Jesus say in three days I will raise it up again?  Why not the same day or the next day?  What is so special about the three days?  It doesn’t seem like three days Friday night to Sunday morning seems like a day and a half.

First of all the Jews counted any day the sun came up as a day even after the sun went down.  So Friday would be one day Saturday the sun came up and went down that would be another day and Sunday the sun came up that would be the third day.

Still there may be something about three days being significant in the Bible.  And like I said, the significance of having people help Him with things would help them remember things.  Remember, He did this and we are still celebrating this 2000 years later.  If you are going to ingrain something in somebody's mind you want to make sure you do it with a memory technique that's going to work.  Most of that time, or a large majority of it,  the Bibles were word of mouth you taught somebody and they taught somebody else.

I looked and I found 59 references in the Bible that contained the phrase “three days”. I found 45 references to the phrase “third day”. I found the word “three” appears over 300 times. I found the word “forty” appears 72 times.  Everybody recognizes 40 as a significant number. Jesus was in the desert fasting 40 days.  Moses was up on the hill 40 days. I only found 22 references to the phrase “forty days”.

Some memorable three days or third day events are:

Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.   

Note: One of the fruit bearing trees in the garden was the tree of knowledge of good and evil and one of the fruit bearing trees was the Tree of Life. (Genesis 3:22) 

Genesis 22:4-- In obedience Abraham started to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord on the third day after God had commanded him. 

Genesis 30:3-- Laban puts 3 days distance between him & Jacob.

Genesis 40:18-- Joseph interprets dream 3 days for Pharaoh’s cup bearer’s dream and 3 days for the baker’s dream.

Genesis 42:17--Joseph put his brothers in prison in Egypt 3 days.

Exodus 3:18--Moses tells Pharaoh that the Israelites must journey 3 days into the wilderness to sacrifice to God.

Joshua 1:11--Prepare provisions for yourselves within 3 days you are to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord is giving you.

Joshua 2:1--Rahab the harlot hid the Israelite spies and told them to hide in the hills for 3 days.

II Samuel 24:13--David sinned and numbered the people, the prophet Gad gave him three choices from the Lord:  To have seven years of famine, to flee 3 months with his enemies pursuing, or to have 3 days of pestilence. 

II Kings 2:12--The sons of the prophets searched 3 days for Elijah

Esther 4:16--Esther fasted 3 days and 3 nights before going to see the king for her people.
 
Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40--Jonah was in the stomach of a fish for 3 days and 3 nights.

Matthew 15:32--Jesus followers were with Him 3 days and had nothing to eat and He fed 4000 of them with 7 loaves and a few fish. 

Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:34--Jesus taught that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priest and the scribes and be killed and after 3 days be raised from the dead.

Luke 2:46--Jesus’ parents were looking for Him and after 3 days they found him in the temple.

John 2:19--Jesus said destroy this temple and I will raise it again in 3 days.

Acts 9:9--Paul was blinded for 3 days after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus
 

I think the three days, Jesus used so people would remember that.  Even the Pharisees when they chose to convict Him, they brought false witness against Him and they talked about how He said He would destroy the temple and raise it up again.  So the Pharisees remembered it.  I think there was some significance in it.  It was not just chosen by accident.

Moving back into our passage, John 2:20-22

The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 

This passage reminded me of my first and last visit the Washington National Cathedral about 10 years ago.  It took 100 years from the conceptual design of to the Washington National Cathedral until its completion in 1990.  It was under construction for 83 years.

It was supposed to be a Christian Cathedral.  However, when I went inside it I found that they were selling all kinds of stuff including gargoyles.

                                                     Pan Gargoyle, 1974-1976

Located above the north portal is a gargoyle of a curly-haired faun, the Greek god Pan, holding pipes. This gargoyle was given in thanksgiving for the many musical programs offered by the Cathedral.

They have these kind of creatures lining the cathedral.  The go under the guise of they are to drive away evil spirits.  If you've got a god, a real God, you don't need a Pan Greek god to drive away evil spirits.  I was thinking to myself what would God do?  What would Jesus do if He was visiting this temple and saw all these statues of gargoyles and books on gargoyles and all this other stuff in the temple? Books on different religions and stuff?   

I thought it might have changed in 10 years but I found some of the following on the internet:

"Welcome to Washington National Cathedral. We have 112 friendly and spooky characters for you to find and meet!

"Enjoy our new Gargoyle Collage T-Shirt.  Featuring the flirtatious stone carver, the aghast Dean, the welsh rabbit with leek, a dog, a fly, the militant, Darth Vader, old testament prophet and the pacifist. Available in both Youth ($24.99) and Adult sizes ($19.99) !

"Rebuilding Together

"Come see the beautiful architecture and grounds, learn more about our history, and enjoy the spectrum of spiritual and cultural activities offered year-round by Washington National Cathedral.

"The requested contribution to visit the Cathedral is $10 per adult, $5 per child or senior.

"There are two gift stores at the National Cathedral, the one inside of the actual cathedral, and then the one in the cottage outside. (see my review of Herb Cottage). This is the one of the cathedral. It's FILLED with books, amazing religious books of all kinds, not just those of Christian faiths, but others as well. They have a lot of crosses, and other types of Christianity related gift things. This is a huge and impressive gift store and a great place to do shopping for a person of faith, (or whose interested by it) in your life. They also have a bunch of typical touristy type things, as well.

"It's important to note that the book selection is NOT entirely Christian. So even for the spiritual-but-not-religious folks like me, there is plenty of interest.

"Rare earthquake damages National Cathedral tower. Tuesday, August 23, 2011

"An unusual magnitude-5.9 earthquake that struck in central Virginia during the early afternoon Aug. 23 significantly damaged the central tower of Washington National Cathedral about 84 miles to the northeast. Cathedral spokesman Richard Weinberg told Episcopal News Service by phone later in the afternoon that the finials or capstones, which are shaped like fleurs-de-lis, fell off three of the four pinnacles (corner spires) of the "Gloria in Excelsis" central tower. There are also cracks in some of the flying buttresses around the east end of the apse, and pinnacles fell from the west front and the apse, he said. The east end is the oldest part of the cathedral.

"Now you remember the story of the golden or whatever, they took the arc of the covenant and put it in there with dagog and it knocked dagog over and broke his arms off.  That's what this reminded me of.  This is a statue glorifying somebody other than God, which God told them not to make statues and junk like that.  All these pan gargoyles around and this is just a little earthquake about 84 miles away and it shakes this thing up. Remember, "It took a nation to build the Cathedral. It will take a nation to restore it; please be generous.  Donate Today"  

This is crazy.

Jesus got in there and Jesus got upset.  He turned the tables over and drove those people put, but He was only being himself.  He was honest.   It was honest indignation, honest rage.  His zeal for His Father's house consumed Him.  It's not so bad being honest.  I don't know if you know the story of Job.  He had three friends and they were trying to convict him of sin and stuff like that.  Finally they gave up, but there was a fourth guy that was frank with him and he had waited to talk to Job. And he said this:

Job 32:1-32

The three men refused to reply further to Job because he kept insisting on his innocence. Then Elihu (son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the clan of Ram) became angry because Job refused to admit he had sinned and to acknowledge that God had just cause for punishing him. But he was also angry with Job’s three friends because they had been unable to answer Job’s arguments and yet had condemned him. Elihu had waited until now to speak because the others were older than he.  But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily, and said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back and did not dare to tell you what I think, for those who are older are said to be wiser; but it is not mere age that makes men wise. Rather, it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes him intelligent. So listen to me awhile and let me express my opinion. “I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, but not one of them has convinced Job that he is a sinner or has proved that he is. And don’t give me that line about ‘only God can convince the sinner of his sin.' If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with that kind of logic! “You sit there baffled, with no further replies. Shall I then continue to wait when you are silent? No, I will give my answer too. For I am pent up and full of words, and the spirit within me urges me on. I am like a wine cask without a vent! My words are ready to burst out! I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers. Don’t insist that I be cautious lest I insult someone, and don’t make me flatter anyone. Let me be frank lest God should strike me dead. The Living Bible Version

Being frank by speaking the truth in love versus being politically correct (PC)--Jesus was frank; Jesus was not PC.

There are times when we as Christians must stand up and speak out for what is right.  In doing so we like Jesus will be saying and doing things that people do not want to hear or see.  That is not to say we need to be rude or argumentative but it is to say that we must not be silent and passive when it comes to sin and unrighteousness.

Ephesians 4:1

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

I think we can be patient and gentle, bearing with one another in love, but I think there are times when we need to take a hard stand for life and speak out about what's going on.

I Timothy 3:2-3

Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money

Interesting being politically correct is not a requirement.  That is not one of the qualifications for being an elder.  If it was I probably would not be an elder because there are times when I am not politically correct with the people I work with and what I deal with in the market place.  Sometimes I have to speak out and sometimes you will too.  God will put it on your heart to stand up for the truth and what's right.  When the world is pumping out garbage, somebody has to stand up for the innocent and try to protect them. 

Ephesians 4:15

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

When we do take a stand like that we grow spiritually.  We become more spiritually mature because we are allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us. We must be more concerned about speaking the truth and doing the right things than we are about being politically correct.  Being PC is not a new concept.

Matthew 12:37-42

Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:  “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:  “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

For fear of the Pharisees putting them out of a jockey lot they were silent when it came time for them to speak. They didn't take a stand for righteousness and take a stand for Christ and show what their metal was made of, they didn't they shrunk back.

John 2:23-25

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

If we were honest with ourselves, we would all have to say there are some jockey lot things in our lives and in our hearts.  And just like Jesus cleared them all out and cleansed the temple, we need to do the same thing.  We need to look to ourselves and see if there is something inside, some greed, or pride or some sinful lust or envy, something inside of me that doesn't belong there, that is making my temple of God more like a jockey lot?  If there is Christian, search your heart, and if there is cleanse your temple.  Get rid of what's ungodly in your heart so that when the time comes for you to take a stand and speak up for what's right and speak up for Christ, and it will come, you'll be ready.  You'll be ready to speak up for Christ. 

Jesus said later in John chapter 5 verses 41-44 

"I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?

That is what the Pharisees were doing.  Sometimes I think that is what we as Christians do.  We are looking for praise from other people instead of seeking the praise form Jesus. 

So to summarize these 13 verses 

1) Jesus left the wedding at Cana and went and spent some time with his mother and brothers and disciples in Capernaum by the Sea Of Galilee.  He would eventually leave His hometown of Nazareth and make Capernaum His temporary home base for training His disciples.

2) Jesus cleansed the Temple of those who were making it a market place.

3) They asked for a sign and He said destroy this temple and I will raise it up in 3 days.

4) The Pharisees misunderstood what temple he was talking about.

5) We as a nation have churches today that resemble the market place mentality that permeated the temple in Jerusalem.

I didn't tell you, I also went about five years ago and visited the Air Force Academy and they have a beautiful cathedral there.  but they have these little rooms inside the cathedral for Buddhists, like a little Buddhist temple.  They have little mausoleum, mosque thing for Muslims, inside the temple.  We as a nation are not a Christian nation.  But we as Christian people, cleanse our temple, we will be a shining example to the non-believing world. 

6) We must not be concerned about being politically correct.  Instead, speak out boldly the truth of the Gospel in love, we will in all things grow up spiritually. 

Let's Pray 

Miracles performed by Jesus before He was crucified

1) Changed water to wine     John 2:1-11
2) Healed a nobleman's son      John 4:46-54
3) Healed a sick man     John 5:1-9
4) Fed 5000 hungry people     John 6:5-13
5) Walked on the sea     John 6:15-21
6) Healed a man born blind      John 9:1-7
7) Raised Lazarus after he had been dead 4 days     John 11:38-44
8) Passed unseen through a crowd     Luke 4:28-30
9) Freed a man's soul which was possesed by demons      Luke 4:33-35
10) Healed Simon's mother in law     Luke 4:38-39
11) Directed the disciples in a big catch of fish     Luke 5:1-11
12) Healed a leper     Luke 5:12-13
13) Healed a man who was paralyzed      Luke 5:18-25
14) Restored a withered hand     Luke 6:6-10
15) Healed a Roman Centurion's slave     Luke 7:1-10
16) Raised a widow's son from the dead     Luke 7:11-15
17) Calmed a storm    Luke 8:22-25
18) Freed a man from Legion the evil spirit     Luke 8:27-35
19) Healed Jairus' daughter     Luke 8:41-56
20) Healed a woman with hemorrhage     Luke 8:43-48
21) Freed a boy's soul which was seized by demons     Luke 9:37-43
22) Healed a dumb demon possessed man     Luke 11:14
23) Healed a crippled woman     Luke 13:11-13
24) Healed a man with dropsy     Luke 14:1-4
25) Healed 10 lepers     Luke 17:11-19
26) Healed a slave's ear     Luke 22:50-51
27) Healed 2 blind men who came into the house     Matthew 9:27-31
28) Healed a dumb demon possessed man    Matthew 9:32-33
29) Healed a Canaanite girl seized by demons     Matthew 15:32-38
30) Predicted money would be found in a fish's mouth     Matthew 17:24-27
31) Healed 2 blind men sitting by the road     Matthew 20:29-34
32) Withered a fig tree by cursing it     Matthew 21:18-22
33) Healed a deaf and mute man     Mark 7:31-37
34) Healed a blind man     Mark 8:2-26