SEP 3 2023 | The Gospel of John | Jesus the Cleanser

Sea Change Church · SEP 3 2023 | The Gospel Of John: S2 - E4 | Jesus the Cleanser
John 2:13-25
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

little branches. So, he made like a whip that was, I don't know, it was mellow. John MacArthur says there was a bunch of ropes around there. So, he made a whip of rope. But there were thousands of people inside the Gentile courts. And his zeal and his passion drove them out. He said in 15, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep and the oxen. He poured out the coins of the money changers. He overturned their tables. And it says he told, or I say he rebuked or yelled to those who sold pigeons, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of trade. And then his disciples remembered that zeal for your house will consume me. Why was he so angry?

Why was he so angry? Because the place where God had put his face and said, meet me here, had been exchanged from a place of prayer, meditation, worship, the glory of God, to a hustle and bustle financial corrupt system, making it hard for people to know and meet God. And this got Jesus so upset. Also, another reflection is that outside, it seemed religious. They kind of, they had all the courts, they had the temple, they were almost doing the right thing, but it had become mechanical and not inward.

Third, he made it hard for the Gentiles. I mean, God is and was the God of the Jews, the Jews that have faith in Jesus. But there's something special about the Jews. They were his people. He formed them out of Abraham. He gave them the land. He gave them the temple. But he also said in Isaiah 56 that, I want the nations to come worship me. And they were making it so hard for Gentiles to know and meet God. Notice also it says, he says to those who sold pigeons, take these. Why would he say and focus that attention on those who sold doves and pigeons? Well, if you were super poor, you could not afford a lamb. You could not afford an oxen. So all you could buy in front of everybody, and everybody could kind of see it. It's almost like if we went time for giving and said, hey, everybody give. And we get to see what everybody gives all at the same time. Go, ooh, that person's extra religious. Oh, I don't, this is kind of embarrassing.

I have like a dollar. I don't know. So the people that could only afford a dove and a pigeon, he was super upset because they were making it hard. The religious system was making it hard for the poor to know and meet God. And then because of the hustle and the bustle and the cold metallic religiosity, there were actually big-hearted Jewish people that wanted to meet God, and the corruption of the leaders had blown it. Reflection on this is, you know, again, he says it's for the poor, it's for the nations, and people that had big hearts want to meet God. And these were the religious leaders making a mockery and hypocrisy of God. And there was one time I was in Nicaragua, and we were at a church, had a great reputation, and there was a visiting pastor from Guatemala.

And he started, and we're using the translator because my Spanish was about 30% of the time. Now it's like 50%. And we're using the translator, and there's me and my team, and I was like low man in the totem pole, and there's like 12 of us, and there's all these pastors that come from the United States that were going to sponsor orphans connected to these churches. And I don't know, I started hearing this visiting preacher say, Mercedes! BMW! You know, he's speaking Spanish, but he would say those. You go, what? What? And I start looking, you know, and everybody's getting excited, and you know, they're dancing. It's the time of giving, and I'm all, my heart starts beating.

I start getting angry, and I looked at him. I'm all, dude, is he saying that if you give financially, God's going to give you a Mercedes? Is he saying? And they're like, dude, I think so. And there was this guy that worked at the orphanage, this just really sweet-hearted guy, married, had one kid, and he had one motorcycle. He would help the orphanage, and he was the groundskeeper, and gatekeeper, and all that kind of stuff. And he was there at church, and he was, had one motorcycle. He went up there during time of worship, and he's dancing, takes his keys, gives it to the pastor. And people were, he was promising that if you give a certain amount financially, God is going to meet you in a special way. God is going to bless you. And I got so angry. I didn't do what Jesus did, but I got so angry.

Another, this angers God, by the way. This angers God, okay? Another little quick story is, I was in Mexico with a, with a friend named Todd. Todd, you know Todd. And I was going to do a surf session. I kept getting this call from this weird number, like, blowing me up. And then finally, I picked it up, and there's a sweet lady from Australia. I go, is this Joe Brandy of Unity for Orphans? I said, yes.

Not realizing Australia and Mexico, my phone bill ended up being crazy from that phone call. It was like 50 bucks. She's like, well, did you get the money I received, I gave? I'm like, no. What are you, what are you talking about? And I'm looking it up. And she's like, well, I gave $10,000 to Unity for Orphans. I'm like, really? And I'm calling, I'm looking at him. No, we don't see any record of 10.

She's all, what? Because prophet so-and-so said, if you give this money and you sow a seed, you're going to get some blessing from God. And what they had done is made a fake Unity for Orphans page. And people were giving to Unity for Orphans, and they were embezzling the money. And we had to have a couple conversations. I'm all, look it, this is me on the website. Why would I lie? They're all, they said you would lie. You're a bad guy. I'm like, come on, I have nothing to hide. Like, whatever. When, when religion and money, and by the way, one thing I love about this church, and different pastors have different stances, is that Pastor Adam never knows what you're giving.

Just think about that. Okay? So, God gets upset when religious systems make it hard for those who want to meet him, not able to meet him, and they start twisting it. So, God, the God-man makes a whip of cords. He turns over the tables. He drives people out in righteous anger. And he says, what's the solution? What's the solution? This temple that God had said, this should be a light to the nations, because I'm going to put my special presence there. And you need to, during Passover and other times, you need to bring a sacrifice, because I'm holy, and the soul that sinned shall die. You have to have something die in your place to meet me, but then you can enter and pray to me, and be filled by me. And year after year after year, the religious leaders, the Jewish people, I mean, today we can do it too, had corrupted. And 586, going back before time, God had prophesied to Isaiah that your sacrifices have become an abomination to me. Your sacrifices so much outwardly, but inwardly, your hearts are so far from me. And in 586, Babylon destroyed the temple. Later, many years later, they rebuilt the temple. Herod had rebuilt the temple, and it had become the same thing. There might be a scripture from Isaiah, Jeff, in Isaiah 56. And Jesus, when he quotes the scripture, is hearkening to this scripture. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister him, who love his name, and to his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant. These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house, a house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted. For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. It was not a house of prayer for all peoples. It had become something different. So, Jesus says, destroy this temple, in verse 19, and three days I will rise it up.

Jesus not just cleanses the temple, but he is creating a new temple in himself. Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up. Again, the temple was a sacred space where people could meet God. And Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the eternal Logos, stepped into time, born of the Virgin, obeyed perfectly where Israel had failed, where Adam had failed, where we have failed to obey the Ten Commandments. And then on Passover, he enters the temple, and he brings himself as the sacrifice, the perfect lamb that would sacrifice himself.

And then the Father, the Spirit, and himself raise his destroyed body, his destroyed temple from the grave. Then he, after he resurrects, ascends up to the Father at the right hand. And then for all belief, he pours out the Spirit, making everybody who believes in God a new temple of God. Subjectively, personally, you become, when you receive by faith and you receive the Spirit, a temple of the Holy Spirit.

And when we all get together corporately on Sunday or midweek, we are his temple. But it first started as Jesus being the new temple. He says, destroy this temple. The temple was destroyed in AD 70. They say when the Romans burned it, like there was literally no stone. Jesus steps into the temple, and he gets destroyed. All the stones of God's wrath get put on him, put on that spotless lamb.

And for those who say, I need Jesus, I need a spotless lamb to die for me, to be a substitute for me. He says, by faith, you can come into me. You can come into my Father's house. And I, I need a spotless lamb to die into them. Have you put your faith in Jesus? Is he inside you? Are you inside him? Is he your temple? And are you a temple of the Holy Spirit? It says Jesus turned tables. Jesus turned the tables.

He poured out the money. Have your tables been turned over by God? Are you holding on to sins and things that he wants to pour out, to ask you to repent and believe and pour out? He says that everybody that comes to him, he's going to rearrange the furniture of your life. There's always people in the audience. There's people that love Jesus here. There's people that are seeking.

There's people that maybe got drug here. They're like, I'm just going. Okay, mom said I had to. I don't know. So there's always a mixed audience in the visible church. But if you want to meet God, if you want to receive the Holy Spirit, if you want Jesus to be your Passover lamb, you have to let him rearrange the furniture of your life. He has to be Lord. You have to stop being Lord.

If you've already put your faith in him, this is called the area of sanctification, where he's slowly conforming you into the image of his glorious son throughout time. And sometimes it's not always like this. It's like, you know, but it's always going to slowly go up. In this realm of sanctification, if you have believed in the Lord Jesus, if he is your substitute, what are some areas of the furniture of your life that you won't let him overturn?

You're not, I'm holding on to this precious part. I won't let you touch it, God. Doesn't mean you're not a Christian. But that's an area of life that he's, he's, the Holy Spirit is whispering to you, like, let it go. Let me rip this out of your life so I can grow something more, more beautiful. Jesus said he is the new temple. He replaces that physical temple.

And then three, Jesus makes us a new temple. I already kind of alluded to it. But in 1 Corinthians 3, 16, I don't know if I have that scripture there, Jeff. Excellent. 1 Corinthians 3, 16. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Do you not know? If anyone defiles the temple of God, we don't need to read that part.

That's kind of gnarly. But do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Do you know? Do you know? This is so honoring and beautiful, and it's also so weighty at the same time. We are, by faith and spirit, a new creation. He has come, made his abode personally in us. Has he made his personal dwelling in you?

God knows your heart. This can be the time to meet him today. And he corporately has made us a new temple. Do you realize that when he bound himself, in a sense, to the geographical region of Jerusalem, in the temple, people had to come to that geographical area to meet God in a special way. And when he allowed, and I know it was tragic, the destruction of the physical Roman temple in A.D. 70, and then he steps in to be the temple, and he is destroyed in the place of sinners to turn them into sons and daughters if they have faith.

The geographical dimension of the kingdom of God is released, and it's expanded. So that right now, I don't know, sometimes, like, when I preach, I get very focused. Sometimes when I show up and I'm not preaching, you know, I'm tired, and I end up getting the spirit by about the third worship song. But, you know, sometimes we just come to church.

We don't really realize what's fully happening. If you have believed in Christ, the new temple of God, and you have the Holy Spirit, you are the temple. And we corporately, it says in Peter, are like living stones together. This is the temple of God, the church, all over the nations, all over the world. Do you understand that deep identity? I think if we do understand that deep identity, that I am a holy temple, it can change everything.

It's also very convicting. In Peter, it says, we're living stones being built up. C.S. Lewis, I didn't get the quote written in there, but this is such an amazing quote. C.S. Lewis said, there are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Think about that. You've never talked to a mere mortal. What does he mean? He means that we will live forever because God made us in his image.

And you can live forever in glory if you have the Holy Spirit, if you're following Jesus. Or if you don't believe in Jesus, the true temple, the Passover lamb, then your forever will be in darkness. It will be in judgment. It's a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. And Jesus fell into the hands of a living God. But that living God, like Abraham, when he slayed Isaac, or tried to slay Isaac, had the sword.

The father, the holy father, had the sword and poured out his holy, righteous justice on his son. But it says somewhere in Scripture that it was his joy to lay his life down because he loves you. For God so loved the world, he gave his only son that for whoever will believe shall not perish, have eternal life. And someday that you're already in the temple of God.

Hopefully you taste and see and sense the presence of God. But someday you will be in the future realm of God in the new heavens and new earth. And then lastly, Jesus came to the temple and cleansed the temple. Jesus is the temple. He makes us a new temple. And now we are called to live as a temple. We're called to live as a temple. Philippians 2.12.

Philippians 2.12 is such a mysterious verse with the tension of God's sovereignty and our responsibility. Do you ever struggle with that? Like, God's sovereignty but my responsibility. Some of us are, like, focused too much on what I do and my focus, you know, like, I have to do this. I have to do that. It's all on me. Yeah, I believe God, but it's all on me.

And other people are so sovereign. You've got, like, God is so sovereign. You could do anything, you know, like, he's got in control. And this verse, when it speaks about us living as a temple, has both. Therefore, my beloved, as you've always obeyed. Not all of us always obey. Therefore, my beloved, as you always obeyed. So now, not only my presence but much more my absence.

It's this part. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That's, don't read that next. I'll read it in a second. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because God's Holy Spirit lives in you. You're not a mere mortal. You are special because you're made in the image of God. God sent his son to die for you and be your Passover lamb.

And you have the Holy Spirit in you. So therefore, this is a great honor. We're reflecting our God. So therefore, do what's right. But, next, that's a lot of pressure. For it's God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. I'm going to read that again. For it, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Yes, I'm going to do.

I'm going to repent of this. I'm going to clean myself up. No. For it's God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do you realize there's so much happening behind the scenes that God is doing that you are not even aware of? Hasn't there been times where, you know, some friend comes up to you and says, man, you've grown so much in that area.

And you're like, really? I didn't see that. Because God is doing it by his grace as you participate in walking with him and being the temple of God. 1 Peter 2.4 says, As we come to him. I don't think I gave this to you, Jeff. I'm going to read it to you. 1 Peter 2.4. As we come to him, the living stone. Temple language. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.

Do you realize when right now we are actually part of God's house? Do you realize when you leave this, you are God's little mini temple walking around? I don't always realize that. I forget. We are called to meet together in Hebrews 10 to encourage each other all the more to keep walking in the ways of God. And as we close, even though God calls us to be clean and be a temple, that is very, that's do.

That's law. And God calls us to do things. He calls us to obey. But do any of us perfectly obey? I don't perfectly obey. I don't perfectly obey. But Jesus perfectly obeyed. And even in the command, when he says, work out your salvation or be a temple, even when you're on the path trying to do what's right, I mean, I've seen this now. Like a family will go on a vacation.

They've saved up money. They made preparations. You know, they got somebody to watch the dog. They got all this stuff working out. And then in an act of love, the father and the mom are going to pick your place. And along the way, the kids start fighting. Or maybe there's just me and my sister in the back seat. You know, this is my line, Gina. Don't cross over it.

And I remember my dad pulling me over just screaming at me and stuff. And sometimes when we're on our way to do good things, family vacations or even trying to serve as a volunteer in church or even be in small group, we're going to sin against one another. We're going to sin against one another. So any of us who are trying to do good things, God's going to show us our sin.

And that's why we need the gospel. That he that didn't sin would become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. And church, I want to read from Revelation chapter 21 as we close. And we go into communion. Revelation 21. This is, well, all the parts of the sermon are important, but I think this is, if you can get this vision just anchored in your mind's eye, deep in your soul, everything will change because this is where we're going.

Revelation 21. I did not see a temple in the city. This is the future, the future world. I'm done. I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine in it for the glory of God gives it light. And the Lamb is the lamp. Can you see that, church? The nations will walk by its light.

And the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it. Nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

In the present, if you are in Christ, if you put your faith in Christ, you are his temple. If you have not put your faith in Christ, you are not part of his temple. We strongly encourage you to put your faith and your trust in Jesus, the Passover Lamb that died for you. The temple that was destroyed for you. So you can enter God's house. Have you?

For those who have put their faith in him, right now we are always experiencing the family of God. But there is a future world where we will be with the Lamb and the Father. And they will be the temple. They will be the light. And we get to bask in his glory. Let's pray. Father, Son, and Spirit, how great thou art. I ask that the Holy Spirit can use the words that I've preached as I meditate on your text.

Feed your saints. Help us realize how privileged and blessed we are. And when those moments of temptation come that want us to be impure in speech and what we look at, what we spend on, help us resist. Help us realize we're a temple. And when we don't resist, help us look to Jesus as the temple and help his temple become more and more beautiful.

The gospel is so beautiful. We want to look at you, Father, Son, and Spirit, for the rest of our lives. We can't wait until we're with you in the future world. We can't wait. Feed us today through your table, Lord Jesus. In Christ's name, amen. Amen.