“The Authority of Jesus”
John 2:18-25
One Sunday a visitor showed up:
- to a more formal, liturgical church
- than he was used to attending.
The church was so quiet you could hear a pin drop:
- That made it even more obvious
- when this visitor got excited about something the minister said and
- he shouted out “Praise the Lord!”
What was second nature to this newcomer:
- was behavior that shocked and
- even scared the faithful in this setting
- where they were not used to such exuberant expressions of worship.
Nobody had ever done anything like that before:
- One of the regular attenders leaned forward and
- tapped the man on the shoulder and whispered,
- “We don’t praise the Lord around here.”
Someone seated nearby:
- heard this exchange and they said,
- “Yes we do. It’s on page 15 of the Lectionary.”
Jesus calls YOU AND I to be authentic in our faith:
- not to put on a façade or to appear perfect.
- He values the genuine,
- heartfelt connection over outward appearances.
Our lives should reflect a genuine, sincere faith that stands out in its authenticity.
We have been in the Gospel of John for several weeks now:
- John has been laying a case
- As if he is presenting evidence before a jury,
- to prove that Jesus is God in the flesh
John 20:31 (NLT) explains the purpose of the Gospel of John:
- to affirm Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, and
- to encourage readers to believe in Him
- to receive eternal life.
"But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him
you will have life by the power of his name."
John 20:31 (NLT)
To understand today’s text:
- we must visit events
- that happened earlier in John 2:18-25
- keep in mind that all of Chapter 2 occurs in a just a few day
For context it will help to remember that…
Earlier in John 2 Jesus attends a wedding in Cana of Galilee:
o with His mother and disciples.
o When the wine runs out,
o Jesus performs His first miracle by turning water into wine.
Jesus’ 1st miraculous act:
- reveals His glory and
- leads His disciples
- to believe in Him.
Last week we READ HOW “Jesus Cleansed the Temple”
And we saw Jesus visited Jerusalem for the Passover festival:
? When Jesus arrived at the temple,
? He found that it has been turned into a marketplace
? with merchants and money changers conducting business.
Jesus was angry with by the misuse of the Temple:
- overturned their tables and:
- ran off the vendors and cattle
- with a whip
The actions of Jesus are seen as:
- a passionate defense of the temple’s purity,
- reflecting His deep commitment to preserve
- its intended purpose as a place of worship.
By Jesus cleansing and clearing the Temple:
- The Temple area was now
- available for reverent prayer and worship
- But not everyone was happy with Jesus
The powers that be had a bone to pick with Jesus.
Who does JESUS think He is?
- To come in and destroy their property and business
- To challenge those in power
- To dare to claim the authority to do these things
The Jewish leaders want answers…..and they question…
1. The AUTHORITY of JESUS
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 2:18-19
Sometimes people say one thing and mean another:
- that is the case here, the leaders are not really asking,
- “What are you doing” out of curiosity,
- they knew what Jesus was doing, they were challenging His authority to do it
Jesus had interrupted their business and cash flow…. that makes most people angry
They are really challenging Jesus’ authority
to RULE what they thought was their operation
They might have said….
- How dare you mess with us!
- Don’t you know who we are?
- Maybe if they were feeling childish, they would have said
- “You are not the boss of me”
Jesus is questioned but not arrested:
- What charge could they bring? “Restoring order to God’s Temple?”
- Neither do they show any remorse or repentance
- their own grievous sin
It’s strange how the guilty often try to
redirect attention to someone else…
They want PROOF that Jesus has the authority to RULE the Temple:
- they have been using it as a market like this for a while
- How dare Jesus make changes and demands without their permission
- Who does He think He is? God?
They were skeptical….to say the least:
- It was more likely they wanted to prove
- Jesus as a fraud rather to see Him as the Messiah
They wanted Jesus to perform a miracle:
- Then they would believe, but they wouldn’t.
Their demand for a sign, however, was foolish:
- the Messianic act of single-handedly cleansing the temple
- was itself a clear sign and miracle
- Jesus was the Messiah, but they did not believe
As John later wrote:
“But though He had performed so many signs before them,
yet they were not believing in Him”
John 12:37
It seems to me:
- No matter how much evidence is presented to them,
- that some people are determined to NOT BELIEVE
Jesus responds to His authority being challenged with a cryptic statement:
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
John 2:19
We know that Jesus was not talking:
- About demolishing a Rock building in Israel
- But was speaking about His own body as the Temple and
- His future crucifixion and resurrection
Jesus is specific, prophetic and accurate…
- Still it makes no sense to the Jewish leaders
- And only a little sense to the Disciples
The authority of Jesus is constantly questioned:
- the Pharisees rejected His authorities
- atheists reject the authority of Jesus, but….
God’s own Church SHOULD NEVER REJECT HIS AUTHORITY
Matthew 28:18:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…”
John 17:2:
“For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.”
The word AUTHORITY in the dictionary means:
The power or right to:
- give orders, make decisions, and
- enforce obedience.
Christian that means that Jesus is your BOSS:
- When He instructs or directs, we are to obey and execute
- Even if we disagree with the Command or
- find it inconvenient, distasteful or uncomfortable
God has the RIGHT to:
- tell me how to live and act
- what I should and should not watch on the phone, TV, or internet
- how much to give in the offering
- how to work on my job
- how to treat others and what attitude I should possess
The Christian has surrendered their life to Christ:
- we died to our old self
- we live only for Christ
Many times we sing “Wherever He leads, I’ll go”
- I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way
- But do we really mean that?
- Do we actually do the “going” part?
We must die daily to our:
- need to be in control
- desire to have our own way
- pride that leads away from Holy living
2. The PURITY of WORSHIP
“What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?”
21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.”
John 2:20-22
The Jewish leaders completely misunderstood and thought:
o only of the physical temple in Jerusalem.
o They did not consider that Jesus may have meant something else
o about “destroying and building up the temple”
There are 3 Physical earthly Temples in the Bible:
1. Solomon’s Temple
- is the first Temple,
- constructed by Solomon,
- destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.
2. Zerubbabel’s Temple:
- This temple is rebuilt when the Jews returned
- from Babylonian captivity,
- its construction is described in the books of Ezra and Haggai
The Temple in John 2 is…
3. Herod’s Temple:
- is the temple that stood during the time of Jesus.
- King Herod the Great expanded and renovated Zerubbabel’s
- This temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.
It had taken 46 years to build Herod’s Temple:
Dumbfounded:
- by Jesus’ strange answer
- the Jewish leaders ask out loud
- how could Jesus rebuild the temple in 3 days?
These men were probably thinking:
- this guy makes no sense
- he’s out of His mind
- what He is saying is impossible!
Jesus was not talking about the physical temple in Jerusalem but:
- about his own human body
- that would later be crucified, and
- He would raise it up again after three days.
They wanted a sign…The resurrection will be their sign:
- That JESUS has authority to cleanse a physical temple:
- if he could raise up a dead “temple”
- he certainly had authority to clean up a physical temple.
At first:
- even Jesus’ own disciples did not understand
- His ambiguous statement
- It took the light of the Resurrection to illuminate it.
“After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.”
- John 2:22
Last week we addressed the fact that:
- In the New Testament the Church is the Temple
- We are the Temple because Jesus is the head of the Church
- The individual Christian is the Temple because Christ lives in us
When Jesus cleansed Herod’s Temple:
- He took out what was wicked and created
- a place where Holy activity could take place
- Jesus set the Temple in order….
Since we are the Temple:
- We need to examine our own,
- worship practices and our own faith
- A be certain that our worship is TRUE and HOLY
When we come together for worship:
- We come to sing praises, pray together,
- to carry the burdens of one another,
- to Praise the name of JESUS and
- to give sacrificially and to study God’s word
Believe it or not there are some Christians who spend their worship hour:
- being critical, judgmental and self-righteous
- there are some whose bodies are here, but their mind is somewhere else
- some think so little of worship that they barely show up on a Sunday
Someone will say:
- we’ll I can worship at home,
- I say if you are worshipping at home 6 days a week
- You will be excited to be at Church with your brothers and sisters
Jesus demands:
- genuine, heartfelt worship
- rather than superficial rituals.
3. The AUTHENTICITY of FAITH
“Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him.
24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.”
John 2:23-25
Jesus did other signs which John chose not to describe:
- we understand that the purpose of these miracles
- was to elicit faith on the part of many people.
- The text says some believed or started to trust Jesus
They had some level of faith and belief:
- But Jesus did not believe in their belief (X2)
- He understood that it was only a superficial level of belief
- And that they would soon turn on Him!
Some here likely were the same ones who would later cry “Crucify HIM!”
There is still this sort of person:
- Who come to Christ and are all excited
- But they soon become excited about something else
- And quickly their faith seems to evaporate
It reminds me of the “Rocky Soil” in on of Jesus’ Parables:
- It springs up quickly
- But soon dies
- Because it has no real root
There are many people who claim to be Christians:
- Because they believe there is a God
- They mentally agree with the Bible
- But they have not put a REAL level of trust in Him
What I am saying is that there appears to be:
- a level of belief that will not save you,
- the Bible says that even the Demons believe and shudder
- but Demons won’t make it to heaven
Matthew 7 has some VERY frightening words from Jesus….
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”
Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)
Jesus said some people believe they are going to heaven,
- but the reality is that they won’t be in heaven
- these people may have even done a lot of good things
- but in the end, their access to heaven will be REJECTED
I am not in the business of questioning:
- whether a person’s faith is real, STILL
- we would be wise to question our own faith
- and see if your faith is REAL or FAKE
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)
God knows what is in our heart:
- He knows if we are faking our faith
- Or if we have genuine faith
- Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart
God knows what is in our heart
- We can lie to each other and even lie to ourselves, but
- in the end
- God is the judge and God sees everything
Let’s make sure these words NEVER APPLY TO US:
“But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.”
John 2:24-25
Here are the WORDS we should all DESIRE to hear from JESUS:
“Well done, good and faithful servant;
you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.
Enter into the joy of your lord:
Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)
God is waiting patiently for us to COME TO HIM:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9
There is one person who God cannot save:
- it is the person who will not come to HIM
- who says I love my SIN and do not want a savior
- the one who rejects the SON cannot be saved…
Jesus died on the Cross:
- To pay your debt of SIN
- So you can be free from HELL
- And Have peace with God
The Bible is clear on what it takes to be SAVED:
- Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess and be Immersed
- You have heard the Gospel and
- you have received an invitation
“What is your response?
- I’m already a Christian…Praise the LORD
- I will come forward now and Submit to God and be baptized? Or
- My least favorite response is this one…
I’ll put it off until another day….
? When is another day going to arrive?
? Sometimes what later really means or turns out to be is..
? NEVER
Now is the time to come to Jesus:
- There will be a day when it is too late.
- When Jesus returns, and the Judgement is upon us, it will be too late.
- Right now you can turn to Jesus…
- He’s waiting
Will you come?
- You are in the RIGHT PLACE
- You are AMONG FRIENDS
- Why not make today the day that changes your life and eternity?
Credit:
I got the outline from chatgpt
I used a lot of commentaries, maybe some of them entered into my sermon as my own work. I don't think they did. If I owe credit let me know and I'll add it.
