The Authority Of Jesus

“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