The Indestructible Temple
1. Because Easter is such an important day, our elders met and decided, "You know, we want to get a really special speaker. Why don’t we call the best preacher in the state and ask him to speak."
And they did and he said "No".
So they said, "Well, if we can’t have the best speaker, at least we can get the smartest one."
So they called him and he said "No".
And then they said, "Well, if we can’t get the best or the smartest, at least we can get the best-looking."
And they called him and he said "No".
And finally one of them said, "Well, we can always ask our preacher." And so they did.
And what could I say, I’d already told them "no" three times? (palms up shrug)
[source: Ken Kersten, Sermon Central, altered]
2. Well, this, may come as a shock to some of you, but I am not the best, the smartest, or the best looking. I do, however, love the Word of God and the live changing truth therein. And I am excited when I can present a familiar truth -- like the resurrection of Jesus – from a new angle.
Main Idea: Resurrection Sunday demonstrates that eternal light and life will ultimately win over death and darkness.
Jesus used the imagery of the Temple to picture his resurrection. So let’s go there.
I. Israel’s Temple: Destroyed But Ever REBUILT (Jeremiah 51:11, Matthew 26:61, Mark 15:29, Daniel 9:26)
A. The FOUR (or Five) TEMPLES
Jeremiah 51:11 “Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple.
B. Jesus was misunderstood to be speaking about a STONE temple
Matthew 26:61 ”…and said, ‘This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’”
Mark 15:29 ”And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,…’”
C. Daniel predicted the second temple would be DESTROYED
Daniel 9:26, “And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.”
D. The Tribulation temple and the Millennial temple are YET future (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Ezekiel 40:1-43:7)
E. The Temple can be INTERRUPTED, but not ultimately vanquished (rise again)
II. Jesus Temple BODY: Crucified but Resurrected (John 2:18-22)
John 2:18-22, “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.”
A. Jesus resurrection is the ULTIMATE sign
B. Jesus said he would resurrect HIMSELF
His enemies understood clearly his claim that he would rise on the 3rd day. That’s why Roman soldiers were posted at the tomb… His friends thought he was done.
The idea of Jesus resurrecting himself seemed so absurd that the disciples probably took it as another parable or mysterious saying…
C. Jesus arose BODILY
D. Jesus life could be INTERRUPTED, but not vanquished
As Kevin Higgins stated about the Resurrection (sermoncentral)
• the Old Testament foretold it
• Jesus foretold it
• Jesus died on a cross
• was buried in a tomb that was easy to find
• appeared three days later with a physical body
• was seen by more than 500 people
• the gospels were written only a few years later and confirmed it
• the resurrection was celebrated in the earliest of church creeds
• it convinced his family to worship Him as God
• [some of] his most bitter enemies confirmed it, and
• the lives of His disciples were transformed by it
III. God’s Congregation: Destroyed but Ever RESURFACING (I Corinthians 3:17, John 14:19b)
A. The assembly of all true believers can be TEMPORARILY destroyed
1 Corinthians 3:17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
B. Those who seek to destroy God’s children have God to CONTEND with
• Number of Christian Martyrs Worldwide: An average of 171,000 Christians worldwide are martyred for their faith per year. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (2006)
C. The gates of hell will not PREVAIL (Matthew 16:18)
• The Titanic was supposedly indestructible
• Babylonians feasted in false confidence while under siege by Medo-Persia
• God’s enemies think they have annihilated the church...trick B-day candles
D. Because Jesus lives, so the BELIEVER will live
• Even the believer cannot be annihilated (souls under altar, Rev. 6)
• John 14:19b, “Because I live, you also will live.”
E. Our earthly lives can be TERMINATED, but eternal life cannot
Conclusion
1. The Temple—whether the building, the body of Jesus, the church and the individual believers who make up the church – are indestructible in the long run.
2. What about you? Do you have eternal life? Are you ultimately indestructible?
3. With Jesus, you are indestructible. Without him, eternal destruction. Your choice.
