A Theological Bombshell

You may be seated.

And kids, you may not be excused.

You are trapped in this room with the adults.

As you notice, you have a bulletin.

!

13 through 25, it's on page 1054 of your Pew Bible.

Hear the word of God.

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

In the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons,

and the money changers sitting there.

And making a whip of cords, he drove them out,

and brought them all out of the temple with the sheep and oxen,

and he poured out the coins of the money changers,

and overturned their tables.

And he told those who sold the pigeons,

Take these things away.

Do not make my father's house a house of trade.

His disciples remembered that it was written,

Zeal for your house will consume me.

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 46 years to build this temple,

and you will 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.

Now, verse 23,

Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast,

many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.

But Jesus, on his part,

did not entrust himself to them,

because he knew all people,

and needed no one to bear witness about man,

for he himself knew what was in man.

May God bless the hearing of his word.

Imagine you and your extended family are at a holiday gathering,

a shared meal.

Your Uncle Richie suddenly stands up and announces that he is a she,

a woman trapped in a man's body.

He goes on to say that he has started hormone therapy two months ago.

Furthermore, he has filed divorce from your aunt,

your Aunt Peggy of 20 years marriage.

And then he says,

Oh, by the way, my name's not Richie, it's Rachel.

Shocked, you look at your Aunt Peggy,

tears streaming down her face.

She quietly gets up and leaves the table.

Do you know what you call that?

That's called a bombshell.

When someone makes this unexpected and disruptive announcement,

but not all bombshells are bad.

Your phone buzzes.

You don't recognize the phone number.

So you ignore it.

A minute later, you hear another ding.

A voicemail has been left.

And so you listen to the voicemail.

Let me get into character.

Hello, my name is Terrence Mayhew.

I'm the estate attorney of your distant relative, Aunt Edith.

Please call me at your earliest convenience.

So you call back.

And immediately, you hear from Attorney Mayhew.

He informs you that your reclusive Aunt Edith,

that you met once,

that she had died,

and that she had made you the sole beneficiary

of her $27.4 million estate.

Bombshell.

Unexpected.

Disruptive.

As in a $27.4 million disruption.

That's not that bad, is it?

This morning, you're going to see Jesus drop a theological bombshell.

A theological bombshell that changes the way we worship.

Unexpected.

Disruptive.

In the best sense.

It's good news.

And so this is how we're going to proceed this morning.

It's outlined in your bulletin.

We're going to answer three questions.

What happens?

What happens in the account?

We'll walk through that.

We're going to see the temple.

We're going to see the whip.

We're going to see the bombshell.

And we're going to see the x-ray knowledge.

And then we're going to ask,

what's the point?

What's this getting at?

And then we're going to ask,

to wrap things up,

so what?

What difference does this make for us now?

So, what's happening in this account?

Let's start with the temple.

The backdrop.

The first thing you need to notice about this passage

is that it starts and ends in verse 13,

and then in verse 23, it's framed.

Did you notice that?

With a reference to the Passover in Jerusalem in verse 13,

and then in verse 23,

we have the Passover feast in Jerusalem again.

It's framing the passage.

It's the backdrop for what this is happening.

The Passover was one of these annual Jewish feasts.

It was a high holiday among the Jews,

and they would pilgrimage to Jerusalem

to observe the Passover.

And if you're a little kind of rusty

on what the Passover is,

in Exodus chapter 12,

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

it's the 10th plague.

God makes this decree to Pharaoh,

and through Moses,

that he is going to send out the angel of death

as the 10th plague,

the final plague.

And what the Jews needed to do at twilight

was to sacrifice a lamb.

And they were to wipe the blood of that Passover lamb

onto their homes,

and when the angel of death rolled out

to kill the firstborn,

it would pass over the firstborn children of Israel.

It was the Passover.

And so it became a feast

in which the people of Israel

would observe every spring,

every April,

and they would kill a Passover lamb at twilight.

John the Baptist, remember,

referenced Jesus in chapter 1

as the Lamb of God.

So the Passover's going on.

It's a big deal.

And it's taking place in Jerusalem.

Zion, the city of David,

the central city of Israel.

It's where Jewish worship took place,

and during the Passover,

it would swell from 35 to 50,000 people.

It would swell up to about 150 to 250,000 people.

It was a big deal.

And so this passage begins and ends

with a reference to Passover in Jerusalem.

But there's a reason why

that we're being shown this.

Because the temple is in Jerusalem.

It's the central place of Israel's worship

because that's where God dwelt.

God would dwell in the temple

in the Holy of Holies.

He would be present with His people in the temple.

You could say that the whole Bible

is a story of God seeking to dwell with His people.

Remember back in Genesis,

Adam and Eve dwelling with God in the garden?

When Israel was delivered out of Egypt,

God dwelt with them with a pillar of cloud by day

and a pillar of fire by night.

After the giving of the law at Sinai,

they were instructed to build the tabernacle,

which was this very elaborate portable tent

made of animal skin.

And God would dwell with His people as they wandered.

And then there was the building of Solomon's temple

in 2 Chronicles 3.

And the cloud of God's presence

came and dwelt within the temple

in 2 Chronicles 6.

But that temple was destroyed

by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon in 586.

And then it was rebuilt in 516.

And that second temple,

which was not as glorious as the first,

that second temple was then expanded

by Herod the Great in 20 to 18 BC.

It started the kind of expansion

and the second temple,

the temple of Herod,

became this magnificent,

very elaborate structure.

It was not just the temple,

but it had courts and other structures.

It was incredibly impressive.

And what was believed is that God dwelt in the temple,

in the Holy of Holies.

That temple was central to Jewish worship in Jesus' day.

And Jews believed that the temple

was the dwelling place of God.

And so the temple is the backdrop of this account,

the dwelling place of God.

So now we move from the temple,

the backdrop, to the whip.

In verses 13 and 17,

Jesus comes into,

not just Jerusalem,

but into the temple.

You see in verse 14,

in the temple,

he found those who were selling oxen.

What I want you to see in this little section

is that Jesus finds something,

and then he makes something,

and then he says something.

What does he find?

In verse 14,

he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons

and the money changers sitting there.

Like, what's the big deal?

It's where he found it.

He found, basically,

the first century Amazon.com

in the temple complex.

It'd be fine if it was outside of the temple complex,

but it was in the temple complex,

where God was to be worshipped.

And so the selling of these animals,

oxen, sheep, and pigeons,

they were animals used for sacrifice.

And he also finds money changers sitting at the tables.

These money changers had set up shop.

They had booths.

This was a marketplace.

Do you remember

why Jesus is there?

He had come to Jerusalem for the Passover.

You may be wondering,

why are all these animals and money changers

in the temple to begin with?

Well, remember,

this is the Passover.

And it was big business

for certain people in Jerusalem

because people would make,

Jews would make pilgrimage

into Jerusalem from all around.

And think about it.

I know,

isn't it difficult to travel with toddlers?

Just give me an amen.

Amen.

Could you imagine traveling

with oxen and sheep and pigeons?

That'd be really tough.

And so what pilgrims would do

is they would come to Jerusalem

and buy their animals

to sacrifice in Jerusalem.

But the other problem that raises

is that they were coming with money

from the regions that they dwelt in.

And so they needed to exchange money

in order to get into the temple currency

in order to buy these animals to sacrifice.

And so you have money changers

who are making a buck

by exchanging money

from these different regions

into temple currency.

And so it's a whole operation.

And don't forget,

this city swells

to a quarter of a million people

during the Passover.

This is big business.

So this is what Jesus finds.

Those making pilgrimage

are buying animals

and needing to exchange currency

in order for them to

offer their Passover sacrifice.

How does Jesus respond?

He makes something.

And making a whip of cords,

he drove them all out of the temple

with the sheep and oxen

and he poured out the coins

of the money changers

and overturned the tables.

Verse 15.

A whip of cords.

He's using the whip

to drive out

all of those people

who are selling,

but he's also using the whip

to drive out oxen and sheep.

Have you ever tried

to push an ox before?

The whip is very helpful.

And so he is using the whip

in order to clear the temple,

to clear the temple courts

of what is happening.

And he doesn't stop

with clearing out

the oxen and the sheep.

He makes something else.

He makes an even bigger scene

is what he does.

He pours out the coins

of the money changers

and he overturns their tables.

Jesus isn't being nice.

This might be surprising to you.

This is more like anger.

This is more like being zealous.

Like he's saying,

this is not right.

This is wrong.

Maybe you're not used

to seeing Jesus this way.

Why is Jesus acting this way?

Well, he says so.

He explains to us

why he's doing this

in verse 16.

He says to those

who are selling the pigeons,

take these things away.

In the Michael J. Salvati

translation,

get out of here.

Get these things out of here.

And then he tells us why.

Do not make my father's house

a house of trade.

That's the reason.

Do not make my father's house

a house of trade.

You see,

these business people had

by their greed,

their desire to make up up,

but they had repurposed

the temple of God.

Instead of worshiping God

and praying to him,

it became a place

to line their pockets.

You see,

worship is about God,

not about us,

not about created things.

And so what Jesus does here

is he's very purposefully

in measured steps

clearing the temple

because he is jealous

for God's glory.

He's jealous that God

would be worshipped rightly.

This is a righteous zeal,

a righteous anger

in the Son of God.

Jesus is jealous for God

to be worshipped rightly.

And the disciples see that.

And it's not clear

whether they remember this

after he's been raised

from the dead

or they think about this

on the spot,

but we see in verse 17,

they remember what it was written

in Psalm 69, 9,

zeal for your house

will consume me.

This is,

it's a Psalm of David

and Jesus is David's

greater son.

And David in Psalm 69,

he is being ridiculed

and he's being scorned

because he takes God seriously.

He makes enemies

in Psalm 69.

And Jesus makes

some enemies here.

So what we have

with the whip,

this whole picture

in verses 13 through 17

is Jesus finding something,

making something,

and then saying something.

He is jealous

that God would be rightly worshipped,

which brings us

to the bombshell

in verses 18 through 22.

And in verses 18, 22,

we have a new set of characters

that come onto the scene.

So the Jews said to him,

now you might be thinking,

Jews, hold on a second.

Weren't all those people

in the temple

that Jesus kicked out,

weren't they all Jews?

They were Jews too.

These Jews are

a different set of Jews.

They are,

John uses this phrase,

by and large,

to describe

the Jewish religious authorities

in Jerusalem.

So these are the Jews

that Jesus is now talking to.

This is a group

that's representing

the Jewish establishment.

And they asked Jesus,

hey, what sign do you show us

for doing these things?

They're asking him,

on what basis,

what gives you the right

to do this?

They're asking for a sign.

You know,

when Moses before Pharaoh,

the staff,

became a snake,

serpent,

you remember that?

That's a sign.

I'm not sure if you know this,

but Isaiah walked around

naked for three years

as a sign.

Jeremiah wore an ox yoke

as a sign.

Hosea married a prostitute

as a sign.

It legitimized

that God's stamp

of approval

was on this prophet,

was on this representative

of his.

And so they're asking,

what's your sign?

They're not,

are you a Sagittarius?

Not that.

They're asking,

by what authority

are you doing this?

Are you legitimate?

And Jesus answers them.

He's like,

you want a sign?

And here comes,

here comes the bombshell.

He says in verse 19,

destroy this temple

and in three days

I will raise it up.

That's a theological

bombshell.

What Jesus is saying there

is incredibly profound.

He's not talking about

the temple of Herod

that's behind him,

while he's saying this.

He's referring to

another temple.

In fact,

in verse 20,

the Jews think that

he is speaking of

Herod's temple.

Look what they say.

The Jews said,

it has taken 46 years

to build this temple

and will you raise it up

in three days?

In other words,

wait, wait, wait, wait.

You're going to tear down

this temple

and rebuild it

in three days?

It's taken almost

50 years

to get this temple

to where it is right now.

It's all elaborate,

magnificent,

magnificent.

And so they're thinking

brick and mortar.

They're thinking

we worship God

in a place.

But that's not what

Jesus was talking about.

And in verse 21,

John tells us

what Jesus was referring to.

But he was speaking

about the temple

of his body.

Bombshell!

That same word

for temple

being referenced

to Jesus' body

was being referenced

for Herod's temple.

What Jesus is doing

is he's reclaiming

the temple.

He's saying

the temple

is no longer

this magnificent structure.

The temple

standing before you,

the temple of God,

God's dwelling place

is now a person.

In John 1.14,

we read,

the word

became flesh

and dwelt

among us

and tabernacled

among us.

And we beheld

his glory,

glory as of the one

and only of the Father,

full of grace

and truth,

full of steadfast love

and faithfulness.

You see,

he is the greater temple.

New and better.

This is a gospel bombshell

because he describes

the gospel

in a beautiful way.

He describes

his temple

being destroyed,

which is a reference

to his being put to death.

And then his being raised

in three days

is talking about

his bodily resurrection.

That's at the heart

of the gospel.

This is a gospel bombshell

that is saying,

no,

it's no longer

about gathering

to meet God

in that place.

It's about

worshiping God

in this person,

the person of Jesus Christ.

It's a theological bombshell.

After Jesus was raised

from the dead,

we see this in verse 22.

His disciples

remember this

particular episode,

this particular account.

They remember

that he said this

and they believe

the scripture.

They're talking about

Old Testament,

Old Testament prophecies

concerning the death

and resurrection

of the Messiah.

We find things like,

regarding the resurrection,

in Psalm 1610,

Psalm 2222,

Isaiah 5310.

These are all

kind of anticipations

of this one

who would come,

who would die

and be raised again.

But not just

the scriptures,

they see this

as fulfillment

of what Jesus said.

It's the sign

that has come true.

You want a sign?

You want to see a sign

that I have the right

to cleanse the temple,

to purify worship?

Here's the sign

that I am going to die

and be raised

on the third day.

Gospel bombshell.

He has the authority

to cleanse the temple

because he is

God's temple incarnate.

There's a new temple

in town.

His name

is Jesus.

There's the bombshell

and now we move

to the x-ray knowledge.

This is in 23-25.

Again,

this is the closing

of this account

and there's another reference

to Jerusalem

in verse 23

and the Passover feast.

But what this has all

now happened

with Jesus making

this bombshell claim

that there's another temple

in town,

an incarnate dwelling place

of God.

God is with us.

In verse 23,

we are told

that many saw.

Look at verse 23.

Now,

when he was in Jerusalem

and the Passover feast,

many believed in his name

when they saw the signs

that he was doing.

And so,

apparently at this time,

Jesus was performing

all sorts of different

kinds of signs.

at the end of John,

in John chapter 20,

John 20:30

verses 30 and 31,

John explicitly tells us

he didn't write

in this gospel

all the signs

that Jesus did.

He left a bunch out.

And so,

we can be assured

that there's other things

that Jesus did

and people are saying,

we believe in you,

Jesus.

We will follow you

wherever you go.

We'll make you

the king.

They are responding

to him.

They are accepting him.

They are embracing him.

And you would think

that this is a good thing

until you reach 24 and 25.

But Jesus,

on his part,

did not entrust himself

to them.

He was being embraced,

but he did not

embrace them back.

Because he knew

all people

and needed no one

to bear witness

about man,

for he himself

knew what was in man.

The key word

in verses 23,

24, and 25,

it's repeated,

one word repeated twice.

It's the word knew.

K-N-E-W.

Because he knew

all people,

verse 24,

and at the end

of verse 25,

for he himself

knew what was in man.

The knowledge

that's being talked about

is an X-ray knowledge.

Jesus knew

what was going on

in the inner workings

of the people

in Jerusalem

at that moment.

He's like,

you're not going

to get this by me.

I know what's going on.

I can see

into your hearts.

This is a divine knowledge.

This is the first

Samuel 16,

six and seven

kind of knowledge.

Do you remember

that word?

God sends Samuel

to Jesse's house

to anoint the next king.

And the first

son of Jesse

that comes out

is this guy,

six foot four.

He's got 2.0 BMI.

Good looking.

He's just oozing leadership.

Samuel's like,

surely,

here is God's anointed.

Look at him.

And God says to him,

no, no, no, no.

It's not,

it's not my anointed.

Where man looks

at the appearance,

God looks at the heart.

And what's being attributed

to Jesus right here

is that divine

x-ray knowledge

that he looks

at the heart.

Jeremiah 17, 9 says,

the heart is desperately wicked.

Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17, 10 says,

the Lord searches the hearts.

He sees into us.

He's got x-ray

divine knowledge.

Here's what this means.

Jesus knows our hearts

right now.

Right now,

he knows your heart.

You can't hide

your inner thoughts,

your desires,

your motivations from him.

All eight plus billion people

on the earth

can't hide

what's going on

in their hearts

from him right now.

He knows what you prize.

He knows what you buy

and sell

and the courts

of your heart

to worship.

You see,

it was the sinfulness

within the hearts

of men and women

that caused

these buyers

and money exchangers

to repurpose

God's house

into a house of trade.

Our sinfulness

in our hearts

has the same effect.

we repurpose

created things

to take the place

and be worshipped

instead of God.

He knows what's in man.

He knows that we're idolaters.

21st century idolaters.

You see,

Jesus couldn't be manipulated.

He would not allow

what people

were saying

and thinking

and trying to get by him

and convince him of

and give him

all sorts of thumbs up.

He knew what was in a man.

He knew that these people

professing to believe

in his name

were not to be trusted.

This faith,

this belief

was not genuine.

He knows

what's in man.

He knows what's in us.

He knows

what are the inner workings

of your hearts

right now.

And this all took place

in the temple.

In Jerusalem.

During the Passover.

There's the temple.

There's the whip.

There's the bombshell.

And here is the x-ray vision.

You can't fool Jesus.

So what's the point?

What's the point

of these verses?

Well, we've already seen it.

It's the bombshell.

It's this unexpected

and disruptive announcement

to show us

that Jesus

is God's new

and better

dwelling place,

dwelling person

with his people,

which means

God in Christ

has provided for us

a new and better way

to worship him,

to relate to him,

to come into a relationship

with him.

It's new.

This bombshell

is Jesus saying,

I have come

to replace

that temple of Herod.

I have come

to replace

this brick

and mortar temple

with a

flesh and blood

temple.

God's dwelling place

incarnate.

So worship

is no longer

at a centralized

place,

brothers and sisters.

We no longer

need to make

pilgrimage

to Jerusalem

to worship

at a building

that's been

raised and burned.

We worship

a centralized

person

who is alive

and reigning

today.

The implication

is that the old

way of worshiping

has now been

made obsolete.

Jesus is God's

dwelling with us

now,

and it's taken

place

of the old

way.

In 70 AD,

the Romans,

they burned

and flattened

the temple

of Herod.

You know why

it doesn't really

matter to us?

Because our

identity

isn't in a

building.

Our identity

isn't in some

kind of brick

and mortar

structure.

We worship

a person,

not a place.

Because Jesus

died and was

raised,

we worship

a risen

Christ.

The dwelling

place of God

is with us.

It's a new

way,

and it's a

better way.

Now,

we can gather

as a church

wherever,

whenever,

and with

whoever.

Because Jesus

is the new

and better

temple,

do you know

that there

are millions

of churches

worldwide

that gather

in multiple

locations

to worship

Jesus?

Right now.

Do you know

that because Jesus

is a new

and better

temple on the

Lord's Day,

there are

brothers and

sisters

worshiping

God

for every

minute of

every hour

of this

24-hour

period we

call the

Lord's Day.

It's

nonstop

worship

among the

nations

around the

world.

Eric Tully

was part

of a

worship

service

that

probably

happened

four and

a half

hours ago,

five hours

ago in

Monrovia.

And then

there's been

worship all

around the

world.

It's a

better way

to worship

because Jesus

is the

new and

better

temple.

You don't

have to

become a

Jew in

order to

worship

God.

He has

millions of

church

congregations

all around

the world

that are

made up

of people

from all

sorts of

different

tribes and

tongues and

nations.

All these

Jews and

non-Jews,

Gentiles,

who have

come to

faith in

Jesus Christ.

You don't

need to

become a

Jew,

but you

do need

to trust

in the

one and

only Jesus.

You need

to believe

in him

alone for

your salvation.

You need

to put all

of your

chips by

faith onto

Jesus in

order to be

saved.

This is the

good news.

You see

that this

new temple,

he was

destroyed,

he died

and was

raised so

that you

could enter

a relationship,

an eternally

life-giving

relationship

with the

God of

the

universe.

It's

better.

More

people giving

more worship

to God.

And so the

point of

this passage

is to show

us that

Jesus is

God's new

and better

way of

dwelling,

of God

dwelling with

his people.

We have

unlimited

access.

In fact,

at the end

of our

Bibles,

in Revelation

Revelation 21:22

chapter 21

verse 22,

the new

Jerusalem has

come down

and John

shows us

the same

writer of

Revelation

wrote this

gospel and

he shows us,

hey, hey,

by the way,

there's no

temple because

God is

there.

God,

our dwelling

place with

us.

So let's

apply this.

God,

so what?

What difference

does this

make?

Well, we

have a whole

new way of

worshiping.

Well, let me

just point to

three things

from this

passage that

may press

this truth

home.

Jesus has

x-ray

knowledge,

and he has

x-ray

knowledge of

your heart.

we saw

in verse 25

for he

himself

knows,

knew what

was in

man.

He knows

the inner

workings of

our hearts.

There's

nothing we

can hide

from him.

That was the

case in the

first century,

and it's the

case now in

the 21st

century.

He sees

all.

We see from

the book of

Revelation,

he has fire

eyes.

Jesus is

alive,

because he's

risen from

the dead,

he sees

all now.

He sees

you,

he sees

all of

you.

He even

sees what

you can't

see or

you don't

want to

see.

He sees

it all.

He sees

your heart.

And the

Bible,

time and

again,

describes the

heart as

the control

center of

your life.

And what

controls your

heart controls

your life.

You worship

from your

heart.

You worship

what you

treasure.

Does it

make any

difference to

you that

right now

you are

being watched

coram

deo,

before the

face of

God?

He has a

clear line of

sight into

you.

Does that

make any

difference to

you?

It should.

He knows

the depth

of your

sin.

But here's

the good

news.

He loves

you still.

He sees

you as

you are

and He

loves you

still.

So if

you're not

a Christian

in the

room,

He sees

your sin

and He's

done something

about it.

He gave

His life.

His temple

was destroyed

and He

raised it up

three days

later in

order for

you to

have all

of your

sins

forgiven

and to

come into

a relationship

with Him.

And if

you're a

Christian in

the room,

it's really

good news.

He loves

you.

He still

sees the

sin in

your heart.

He loves

you and

He wants

to do

something

about it.

He wants

to purify

your heart.

He wants

to make

you clean,

make you

holy because

He loves

you.

people.

So this

x-ray

knowledge of

Jesus,

it is as

true today

as it was

two millennia

ago.

The second

thing I want

you to

note is

not only

does Jesus

know your

heart,

x-ray

vision,

Jesus is

jealous for

your heart.

He's jealous

for what you

worship.

Just as

He found

when He

found

this

house of

God being

made into

a house

of trade

and He

was provoked

and cleansed

it.

He wants

to do the

same in

us because

He loves

us.

He wants

us to

share in

God's

holiness.

His

jealousy

seeks to

drive out

of your

heart and

life anything

that is

competing for

the worship

of God.

He wants

to release

you from

that.

And if

He's willing

to make

a whip,

and if

that's any

indicator,

He is

willing to

use discomfort,

pain,

to be stern,

even to be

angry from

time to

time,

out of

love,

in order

to rid

us of

the sin

that holds

us captive

so easily.

He's jealous

for your

heart's

worship.

He wants

you to

worship God.

In God's

plan of

salvation,

God is

gathering

worshipers

for Himself

from all

the peoples

of the

world,

a new

people.

It's called

the church

who were

once dead

living in

darkness,

and then

by God's

grace,

through the

blood of

Jesus,

He makes

them alive

to live

in the

light.

And so

when He

does that,

He is

seeking to

make us

holy as

He is

holy in

a far

better way.

He changes

our hearts.

Christ.

So if

you're a

non-Christian

in the

room,

Jesus

doesn't

want just

part of

you.

He died

and was

raised for

all of

you.

That all

of you

would love

the Lord

your God

with all

of your

heart and

all of

your strength

and all

of your

might.

So if

you're a

non-Christian

thinking about

becoming a

Christian,

realize to

commit to

Jesus to

put all

your chips

in means

it's all

in.

You are

now going

to be

transformed

into a

living

sacrifice

for God.

And if

you're a

Christian,

can I

just urge

you,

would you

please stop

putting limits

on what

Jesus can

claim in

your life?

Stop

putting limits

on Him.

give Him

full

reign.

Give Him

full

reign.

Make us

holy.

The third

thing I want

you to see

is that

Jesus died

and was

raised to

purify your

heart,

to cleanse

your heart.

The pain

and the

violence

and the

anger

for your

sin that's

provoked

in God,

it was

poured out

in full

on Christ

on the

cross.

And so

when you

believe

in what

Jesus has

done for

you for

the very

first time,

here's how

God thinks

about it.

He thinks

about all

of your

sin placed

on Christ's

head and

all of His

wrath poured

out on

Christ so

that there's

no more

wrath.

You're

fully forgiven,

but it's

just half

of it.

The other

half is

God thinks

of Christ's

righteousness,

His holiness,

as being

credited to

you.

And now,

in His

eyes,

you are

legally

righteous

in His

sight.

That's what

God has

done for

you.

It's a

far better

way.

Jesus

died and

was raised

to make

you holy,

both legally

and

experientially.

Have

your way

with us,

O God.

It's all

by His

grace

to make

us holy.

holy.

You see,

the death

and resurrection

of God's

holy,

incarnate

temple

is what

makes us

holy.

You can't

make yourself

holy.

Only a

holy God

can.

And so,

when you

become a

Christian,

you become

part of

God's new

holy temple.

Christian,

you are

part of

God's

holy temple

now.

You are

so identified

with Christ

that you

that the

New Testament

will start

talking about

you as

being a

living stone

in God's

new temple,

Jesus,

indwelt by

the Holy

Spirit.

It's

extraordinary.

So,

we apply it

knowing that

Jesus has

x-ray knowledge

of our hearts

because He

loves us,

that He

has this

loving

jealousy for

our hearts

that we

would worship

God alone

with all

that we

are,

and that

Jesus,

His death

and His

resurrection

is what

accomplishes

our holiness

of heart.

It's all

by His

love.

John 2,

13-25,

Jesus drops

a theological

bombshell.

And for

the Jews

of His

day,

this cleansing

of the

temple was

just a

preview of

what would

happen in

40 years to

Herod's

temple.

It would be

raised and

burned because

of ultimately

their unbelief.

But for us

and the rest of

the world,

this bombshell is

good news.

Jesus is God's

new way of

dwelling with

us, a new

and better way

to worship.

He changes

our very hearts.

So now we

gather together

and we gather

together with

joy.

I mean, this is

a magnificent

building in one

sense, but this

is not the

temple of God.

Jesus is the

temple of God

and we have

been made a

part of Him.

So now we're

holy as He is

holy.

Let's pray

together.

God, thank

you so much

for Jesus.

Thank you

that we are

now a part

of something

new and

better and

there's no

going back.

Jesus, thank

you so much

for willingly

dying in our

place and

being raised

three days

later and

that you are

alive today.

We welcome,

we welcome

your x-ray

knowledge into

our hearts.

We welcome

your loving,

jealous work of

purifying us.

We delight in

that we stand

on the ground

of being

forgiven with

confidence

because of

your finished

work.

In your name

we pray,

amen.

Amen.