My Father's House

If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to the Gospel of John.

The Gospel of John, we're in chapter 2 this morning.

We're continuing on through the story of Jesus as told by John the Apostle.

Last Sunday, we saw how Jesus did an amazing miracle behind the scenes at the wedding in Cana.

Turning water, and a lot of it, into not just wine, but better wine than the good stuff that they had already been drinking.

And it was a gracious miracle and a wonderful display of power that he did there.

Well, this morning we continue the story, and we're picking it up in verse 12 of chapter 2.

After this, after the wedding, he went down, Jesus did, to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples.

There they stayed for a few days.

Verse 13.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

So not too long, they stayed in Capernaum, another town.

And then the sense of the text here is that very soon after this, the Passover was near.

And so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now, Passover was a really big deal.

And so it's a little bit tricky for us to maybe get our heads into that mindset.

I'm not going to go into explaining the whole significance of the Passover.

But basically, it was the time of the year where they commemorated how the Lord had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

And led them out.

And the Lord actually commanded that they remember this every year on a specific day.

And so they did this.

They celebrated the Passover.

And not only that, but there was a whole week of festival that followed the Passover called the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

And it was very common for many of the people to go up to Jerusalem and to celebrate and commemorate both of these things there in Jerusalem.

So imagine Jerusalem, this city.

They estimate about 2 million people at the time.

Good-sized city.

Imagine the roads coming into Jerusalem jammed with people from all over Israel.

They've packed their bags up.

They've got their animals saddled, whatever they had, carts.

And they're all making the trek up to Jerusalem to celebrate and to commemorate the Passover and the festival which followed.

Well, Jesus was among those who went up.

And to put this a little bit into perspective, too, this was not just the local people in Israel that were coming to this.

It was common that Jews would travel from all over the Mediterranean world to be there for Passover.

This was like one of the big holy days, holy festivals of the year.

And so just picture those entrances, those streets, those main roads coming into Jerusalem full of people.

And the city of about 2 million just swelling with the influx of visitors, people from all over who had come to take part in the festival and to celebrate the Passover.

Well, Jesus was one of those people who went up to Jerusalem and his disciples went with him.

And we'll get to that in a moment.

At some point in his time there, Jesus goes to the temple.

And I want us to try to imagine a little bit of what this looked like.

It's hard for us because it's hard to envision what does the temple even look like.

I mean, it's not even there today.

It's been destroyed and the temple mount has got other things on it right now.

But to give us a little bit of a visual and just help us, we're going to watch just a short video clip here.

Some guys have put together a bit of a 3D rendering just to kind of give you a sense of what it looked like or may have looked like on the temple mount.

And in this clip, you'll see that the courts, the temple courts are empty.

There's almost nobody in them.

I want you to imagine them just jammed full of people.

This is the Passover.

People were there.

So let's watch that.

Verse 14.

In the temple courts, Jesus found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

So these people were there.

And of course, they were offering a service to those who came, especially at this time for the Passover.

Those people who were selling cattle, sheep and doves, they were offering these for sale for sacrifices to the Lord.

That was kind of the main purpose of those specific animals.

And those exchanging money, sitting at tables.

At the temple, there was a very specific currency that they accepted there.

And of course, the Roman Empire was made up of all kinds of different nations that had been conquered,

each with their different kinds of currencies and stuff.

And they only accepted one at the temple.

And so that's what the exchangers were there to do,

was to change their money into the kind accepted at the temple for offerings,

as well as for purchasing these animals.

So this is what Jesus, it says Jesus saw and found as he entered into the temple.

People selling and people exchanging money.

Verse 15.

So Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, 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.

Stop turning my father's house into a market.

Stop turning my father's house into a market.

His disciples remembered that it is written,

Zeal for your house will consume me.

So Jesus comes into the temple courts,

and it's full of people,

and his attention rests, comes to rest,

on those who are selling animals and those who are exchanging currencies.

And then he does what probably nobody was expecting.

He makes a whip,

and he begins to untie the animals,

set them loose,

and drive them right out the temple gates.

In fact, it says he drove all from the temple courts,

and probably the sense of that,

depending on your translation,

is that he drove the sellers out as well.

I don't think he used the whip on them.

I think that was for the animals.

All out from the temple courts,

including the sheep and the cattle.

He sends the coins of the money changers flying

and flips their tables

and tells them to get out.

Get these animals out of here.

Can you imagine

what this might have looked like in that moment?

I mean, this place is packed full of people.

What are Jesus' disciples thinking

as they watch this?

What are the rest of the people

that are just there,

you know,

for whatever reason,

thinking?

Last Sunday,

we saw Jesus

working a miracle behind the scenes

in a way that didn't draw attention to himself.

Here,

what Jesus is doing

is drawing the attention of everyone.

You can just see the expression on their faces,

wide-eyed.

Look at him.

What is he doing?

Look at him.

This would have been

something to see.

But of course,

the big question is,

why is he doing this?

Why is he doing this?

We get one line

from Jesus' mouth

that really captures the whole thing.

the whole reason.

John tells us that he said this,

get these out of here

with reference to the doves

or the animals.

Stop turning my father's house

into a market.

Now we'll pass over the fact

that Jesus has just referred to

the Lord God

as his father.

It doesn't seem that the people

really reacted to that

in this moment.

They're going to react to it

in a few chapters.

We'll get to that.

We'll talk about it then.

But the main reason that we see

has to do with this place.

This is my father's house.

This place is holy.

This place is holy.

And you guys,

in what you've done here,

are profaning it.

What you're doing is dishonoring to him.

This is hard for us

to get our minds around.

We don't have a temple

that we go to.

But think about it.

I was trying to think,

how can I really

capture this,

the significance of the temple

in just a couple minutes.

I mean,

it all started back

in the Old Testament

with the tabernacle.

This was the arrangement

that God had made,

this tabernacle,

so that he could be

among his people.

They traveled around

with this.

They set the tent up.

The presence of the Lord

would come down

upon this tabernacle

in a thick cloud

and glory.

And God lived

among his people

and his people

among him.

This was the place

where they could have

relationship with him,

where they could come near to him.

The place that they

offered sacrifices,

which God said

were required

because of their sin

in order to be close

to him as a people.

This is what is required.

Blood sacrifices.

God gave all kinds of

commands as to

how this was all to work.

There was kind of

different parts

of the tabernacle

that they could go into.

And if you wanted to be

in the most holy place,

you had to be

the high priest.

go through all these

cleansing rituals

that God prescribed

and all of this

to illustrate

his holiness.

I am holy

and you,

my people,

are not.

And so there is,

there are things required

and we can only get

so close.

But the whole purpose

of this tabernacle

is relationship.

For God to be

with and among

his people.

And later on,

the stuff of the tabernacle

got transferred

into the temple.

A more permanent

house.

David was the one

who came up

with the idea

to build

a permanent

dwelling place

for the Lord

among his people.

And the Lord

put his presence

upon the temple

just as he had

with the tabernacle.

And,

and they saw

his glory

descending upon it

saying,

yes,

my name is here.

This is the place

on earth

where I will dwell

among you.

And so

just think of

the significance

of this place.

It's not the same

temple.

There's been a destruction

and a rebuild.

But the significance

is the most

important part.

What is this place

all about?

Jesus says,

this is

my father's

house.

This is the place

where God,

Yahweh,

the Lord

Almighty,

has chosen

to dwell

on earth

where people

may come

close

and approach

and be near.

This is a special

place.

This is a sacred

place.

And how should

we feel

as we walk

up

through the gates

into the temple

courts?

the closest

analogy I could

think of

was Moses

in the burning

bush.

Hopefully you've

heard that story

before.

Moses saw a bush

that was on fire,

but it was not

being burnt up

by the fire.

The fire was

actually the Lord's

presence

being made

manifest

in that

bush.

And the Lord

spoke out

of the bush

to Moses

and said,

don't come

any closer.

Take off

your sandals.

The very

ground

where you're

standing

is holy.

Why was it

holy?

Not because

the ground

was somehow

special,

but because

of its

closeness

to the

Lord's

presence.

That's what

made it

holy.

And Moses

in that

story,

it says,

he was

afraid and

he hid

his face.

There was

a deep

reverence

and awe.

I am

close

to God

himself,

to his

presence

right here

in this

bush.

This is

the kind

of feeling

that we're

meant to

have

as we

come to

the temple

of the

Lord,

the place

where his

presence

is made

manifest.

We're

meant to be

filled with

awe,

not just

at the

size

of the

pillars

and at

the

expensiveness

of the

gold overlay,

at the

glory and

wonder of

this structure.

It was

built like

that to

reflect that

the Lord,

whose temple

it is,

is great

and glorious

and worthy

and beautiful.

this is

the place

where he

has chosen

to put

his presence

on earth.

And so

we ought to

come into

this place

with a

deep

reverence

and respect.

What does

Jesus find

when he

comes into

the courts

of the

temple?

One commentator

said it really

well.

this place

of solemn

dignity,

this place

where the

murmur of

prayers should

be heard,

of holy

adoration,

the place

where people

are pouring

out their

hearts to

the Lord

in brokenness

and out of a

contrite heart

had been

turned into

a marketplace,

a place of

business.

instead of

the sound

of prayers

being heard,

you could

hear the

sound of

people

heckling

over prices

and exchange

rates,

the bellowing

of cattle,

the bleeding

of sheep,

people doing

business.

Jesus

says,

stop

turning

my

father's

house

into a

marketplace.

You've

turned

this

holy

place

into a

common

place.

You've

profaned

it.

Get

out.

Stop

it.

And he

chases

him right

out the

front

gates.

I can

just

imagine

that

righteous

anger

that he

had in

that

moment.

Flipping

tables.

This is

such a

contrast to

the picture

that we

often have

of Jesus

the gentle

man

holding

the sheep

in his

arms.

But it's

beautiful.

It's

glorious.

He has

this love

for God

like no

one else

does.

I mean,

here's

one man

going around

this huge

area

doing all

this.

And he

doesn't

seem to

care about

what anybody

else thinks

there.

Not the

crowds,

not the

people in

line to

purchase

things or

exchange

money,

not the

people doing

the selling.

He doesn't

seem to

care about

the temple

guards or

the religious

leaders or

the Roman

garrison that's

probably overlooking

the temple

courts.

He only cares

about what

one thinks,

God,

his father.

God,

how dare

you do

this in

his sacred

holy place?

It's

beautiful.

one person

remarked that

Jesus was

alone as

he did

this.

It was

just him,

but that

he likely

had an

ally in

the

consciences

of the

people.

That even

as he said

this,

you know,

people are

thinking,

yeah,

you're

right.

this isn't

right,

what we're

doing here,

yet no one

else would

have done

it.

Jesus,

God's son,

he came

and cleaned

house.

His

disciples,

verse 17,

remembered

that it is

written,

zeal for

your house

will consume

me.

Now,

I'm not going

to go into

detail about

that,

but it's

the words

from a

psalm.

David had

said a

similar

thing in

a song.

He was

passionate

for the

Lord's

house.

It hadn't

been built

yet,

but he

wanted it

to be.

And perhaps

he took

criticism

for it.

We don't

know exactly

the situation

in the

psalm in

which he

wrote those

words,

but his

disciples

kind of

drew the

connection,

whether they

remembered it

right there

in that

moment or

sometime

after.

Look at

the passion,

look at

the zeal

that he

has.

For the

house of

the Lord.

Just like

David did.

He is the

son of

David.

He is the

Messiah,

the one who

will take up

the throne

of David.

The Jews

then responded

to him.

Verse 18.

What sign

can you show

us to prove

your authority

to do all

this?

the Jews

are probably

a reference

to the

religious

leaders

rather than

to the

whole lot

of people

there.

But they

challenged

Jesus.

Like, who

gave you the

right to do

this?

Who put you

in charge

here?

That's what

Jesus has

done.

He's basically

taken charge

here at the

temple of

the Lord.

Lord.

So, if

you're going

to do

this, who

are you?

Are you some

kind of

prophet?

Show us a

sign to

prove that

you have

the authority

to do

this.

This is

what Jesus

answered.

Verse 19.

Destroy this

temple and

I will raise

it again in

three days.

They replied,

it has

taken 46

years to

build this

temple and

you are

going to

raise it

in three

days?

But, John

tells us, 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.

So, the

Jews, the

Jewish leaders,

they challenge

Jesus and

they demand

a sign.

Show us

your authority

to be doing

this stuff

here.

Last we

checked, we

were in

charge here

at the

temple.

And Jesus

gives them a

sign.

But what a

sign to give

them.

I kind of

would have

loved to

just see

Jesus'

expression as

he said it.

Destroy this

temple.

I don't know

whether he

gestured to

his body

or not.

We don't

know.

Destroy this

temple and

I will

raise it

again in

three days.

That's the

sign.

And John

tells us that

all along he

meant his

body when he

said temple.

That's what he

meant.

And so it

seems as though

even as he

said it, he's

intentionally

concealing the

sign with some

kind of cryptic

language.

This temple

which it

referenced to

his body.

You could

think of

it as

almost like

a riddle

or a

micro parable.

They didn't

understand it.

They thought

he was talking

about the

building.

The first

thing their

minds go to

though is not

and this is

interesting.

I mean think

of this.

If he's

promising to

give us a

sign, what

do we have

to do to

see it?

We have to

tear the

temple down.

Destroy it.

And then I'll

show you that

I can rebuild

it in three

days.

That's what

they're thinking.

Like even

that sounds

crazy.

Like who's

going to tear

this down so

that we can

see the

proof?

All along

though he was

referring to

his body.

Their minds

go immediately

to the length

of time.

Not to the

destruction part

but to the

length of time

that he could

raise it back

up.

46 years

it's taken

to build

this temple.

I mean you

saw it in

the video.

Look at

it.

You're

telling me

that you

can raise

that back

up in

three days?

It's not

even really a

question.

It's a

statement.

You're out

of your

mind.

That's

ridiculous.

That's

absurd.

word.

But that's

not what

he meant.

He was

referring to

his body

all along.

It was

intentionally

concealed in

that language

so that when

the sign was

fulfilled and

he was raised

from the dead

three days

after being

destroyed

on that

cross

they would

see.

They would

realize

yes he

does have

the authority

to do what

he did

here at

the temple.

It wasn't

until after

that even

his disciples

realized that

that's what

he meant.

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.

And we

might wonder

for a moment

which is

harder to

raise this

whole temple

building back

up again in

three days or

for a body

that's been

absolutely

destroyed and

has died from

suffocation

and loss

of blood

with a

spear piercing

through into

the heart

and then

lying dead in

a tomb for

three days to

be raised back

to life which

is harder.

I think that

kind of gets to

the point of

what Jesus is

saying.

It's

impossible.

Only an

act of God

could do

this.

God

will

be

offering

them the

ultimate

sign.

But will

they

remember it

when he's

raised from

the dead?

John sums

up this

whole section

of Jesus

being there

in verses

23 to

25.

Now while he

was in

Jerusalem at

the Passover

festival,

many people

saw the

signs he

was performing

and believed

in his

name.

But Jesus

would not

entrust himself

to them

for he knew

all people.

He did not

need any

testimony about

mankind for

he knew what

was in each

person.

So the week

continued,

the Passover

festival.

Notice that it

says many

people saw the

signs,

plural.

This wasn't

the only one,

this cleansing

of the

temple.

There was

more things

that he

did and

many people

saw them

and believed

in his

name.

And there's

all kinds

of questions

here.

Did they

believe genuinely

or just

superficially?

How come

he didn't

entrust

himself to

them?

What does

that even

mean?

In what

sense does

Jesus know

all men

and know

what is

in man?

I don't

have the

answer to

all those

questions.

But I

think one

thing is

clear.

We do

see that

somehow

Jesus knows

things that

only God

can know.

I mean,

he's just

predicted his

own death

and three

days later

resurrection

from the

dead.

He knows

things about

people that

nobody except

God could

know.

he saw

and knew

that about

Nathaniel

sitting under

the fig tree

and we're

going to see

more of this

kind of thing

throughout the

gospel of

John.

What's the

significance of

all this?

John is

giving us

signs.

He's showing

us the things

that confirm

that Jesus

is who

they're all

discovering him

to be

through this

story.

He knows

these things

because he

is the

Christ.

He is the

Messiah.

He is the

Son of

God.

He is

God.

And the

cleansing of

the temple

is another

sign.

It's another

pointer

that he is

as well.

Back in the

Old Testament

times, the

glory of the

Lord came

down upon

the temple.

In a very

real sense,

that day as

Jesus walked

into the

temple, the

glory of

the Lord

could be

seen shining

out.

Do you see

it?

As he flips

the tables

and cleans

house and

gets this

stuff out

of there.

Do you see

that love,

that passion

for God

burning brightly

in that

moment and

for God's

glory?

I think if

John the

apostle who

wrote this

was here

today, his

main question

to us would

be, do you

see the

signs?

Do you see

what he did

that day at

the temple?

Do you hear

what he said

about his

death and

resurrection?

Do you see

these things

about how he

knew things

that no

one, no

ordinary human

being could

know?

Do you see

the signs?

Do you

believe?

Do you

believe that

he is the

one?

That's what

this is all

coming back

to.

His

disciples saw

it.

They saw

it when he

was raised

from the

dead,

ultimately

confirmed.

It says,

then they

believed the

scripture and

the words that

Jesus had

spoken.

Do you

see it?

Do you

believe?

the last

thing I

want to

touch on

here,

something that

just really

struck me

yesterday as

I was thinking

about this,

is just

this whole

idea of

reverence.

Jesus comes

into there

and he

cleans house

and what

were the

people guilty

of?

they were

guilty of

turning the

holy into

a common

place, a

marketplace.

They were

guilty of

irreverence

at the

place where

God's

presence

dwells.

Irreverence.

It got me

thinking,

how often

do I come

to the

Lord and

approach him,

even in

prayer,

with a

lack of

that deep

reverence,

that he

is the

holy one.

I'm coming

into his

presence to

speak with

him.

I started

to feel

convicted.

That's probably

just the tip

of the

iceberg.

There's

probably all

kinds of

habits and

things that I

do in my

life in

which I

don't show

a deep

reverence for

God.

Jesus shows

it beautifully

how we

should think

what our

attitude should

be towards

the Lord.

And praise

the Lord that

Jesus is the

lamb who

takes away our

sins, who

cleanses us,

who forgives us

of those things,

those ways in

which we have

been irreverent.

But may the

Lord show us

as his

people more

and more how

we ought to

respect him

and revere

him and

treat him as

holy in our

everyday lives.

Let's pray.

Lord God, we

thank you for

this little

glimpse into

what happened

that day that

you've given

us in your

word.

And we

pray and ask

that you

would come

and search

our hearts

and know

us.

Know our

anxious thoughts,

know our

irreverent

habits.

We ask that

you would

forgive us

for the ways

in which we

have not

revered you,

not feared

you as you

deserve.

Teach us

to live

the way

that we

ought to.

Help us

to see

your glory

so that

we might

be gripped

with a

sense of

awe

for who

you are.

A sense

that really

does lead

us to

live

different,

Lord.

Do this

work in

our hearts,

we pray,

and we

ask this

for the

glory of

your name.

Amen.