John # 7

What Do You Believe?
John 2:12-25
Pastor Ben Fleming
July 19, 2009

Please turn in your bible to John chapter 2. Today we are going to look at the zeal of Jesus Christ. Last week we saw the first miracle that Jesus did – turning water into wine. He met the needs of the community. He met the need that Mary had. He met the need that the groom’s family had. We studied the 3 basic needs that Jesus meets of people – #1 people need forgiveness – they need salvation from the wrath of God and the punishment for their sin -- #2 people need – security and #3 people need purpose. Please stay seated today as we read God’s Word. Pastor Alan Dorway tore his Achilles tendon and he told me how he felt at his church when they were asked to stand for the affirmation of ones faith and so for today – we will stay seated.

John 2:13 - 25 13The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15And 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 their tables. 16And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17His disciples remembered that it was written,£“Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22When 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. 23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. Let us pray…….

Someone who has zeal, many times is attractive to us. They are someone who is driven by a cause or a value in life. Someone who has zeal is often called a zealot or they are zealous because of their convictions. Many times we like being around people who have passion and conviction. People follow people with zeal. Jesus had zeal. He had zeal for His heavenly Father – He had zeal for the heart of God and the things of God. A similar meaning word for zeal is passion. Jesus had passion. He had passion to love God and to please God. He had passion to see holiness in the lives of God’s people. People follow people with passion and zeal. I believe the cry of the church today should be that we might have more believers who have a genuine zeal for God. The opposite of zeal is apathy. So----think with me for 40 min about zeal--- Do you have zeal for God and the things of God or are you apathetic?

The Zeal of Jesus

1. Christ zeal for holiness. (vs. 16) “To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here. How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market.” (Capernaum MAP) John writes that Jesus – his mother – brothers and the new disciples went down to Capernaum. They went down from Cana to Capernaum which was right next to the Sea of Galilee. (PHOTO of city) If you go there today you can walk through the ruins of the town of Capernaum. John says they stayed there for a few days. What happened in those few days? We do not know. (BLANK) But we do know that Jesus was with his mother – his brothers and a few new disciples. I guarantee you that He made the most of that time of fellowship. John then says that when it was time for the Passover – He went up to Jerusalem to the temple. (PHOTO) Notice on this photo taken in Capernaum looking up towards Jerusalem. This is what it means in the bible when it says he went up or he went down. I am struck by how much Jesus walked in order to be with people and minister to people. Distance did not keep Jesus away from people. ( PHOTO) He comes into Jerusalem and heads right away for the Temple that Herrod built. This is where all Jews would have gone to celebrate the Passover. If you remember – the Passover happened when the Jews were captive in Egypt and the death angel came over the land of Egypt to kill all the first born and because the Jewish home had killed a lamb and spread its blood over their doorposts – the death angel passed over the Jewish homes. When Christ comes into the Temple he finds the selling of animals for sacrifice and the changing of money --- he made a whip out of cords and drove out all of animals and the money changers from the temple area and said – “Get these out of here. How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market.”

Jesus knew that there were pilgrims coming from all over the known world who had traveled to the Passover. Everyone wanted to offer an animal for a sacrifice and they all knew that there was a Temple Tax to be paid. If they bought animals outside of the Temple… they would be rejected for the sacrifice so they had to buy the ones inside which were being sold at 10 times the price of outside and they had to change their foreign money into silver sheckles at the money changers tables who charged them more than they were allowed. This is what Jesus was angry about. People were being exploited. Stealing in the name of God. Jesus was expecting to see an atmosphere of worship in the Temple – we must remember that behind the Holy of Holies was where the presence of the shekinah glory of God dwelt – instead Jesus saw unholiness – lust – idoloatry – people making money off of God’s people and stealing from them. There was no holiness going on in the temple of God. Jesus was righteously angry at sin. He not only felt anger but he responded to the anger that he felt. He responded to His righteous emotions. This is what real zeal is. His disciples remembered the prophecy about the Messiah in Psalm 69:9 “zeal for your house will consume me.” They saw his zeal ---- this must have been a side of Jesus that no one had seen before.

Holiness was a passion with Christ. Holiness is a passion with God. To be holy means to be set apart. Psalm 29:2 says “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” To be holy means to live our lives set apart from what is going on around us in this world. The writer of Hebrews… Hebrews 12:14 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” --------- holiness is essential in the life of a believer. You cannot see God and not make holiness an issue in your life. The writer of Hebrews says “Peacemaking and peacekeeping is one demonstration of holiness in the life of a believer” In this world --- Troublemaking and peace breaking is the accepted lifestyle.

The prophet Isaiah put it this way in Is. 35:8 “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.” He says there is a highway of holiness that God’s people are to walk on. There are not many highways there is one. When God’s people do not walk on the highway of holiness God responds to that…..

Hebrews 12: 10 -11 “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” ---------- God disciplines His children so that they may share in His holiness. Holiness is such a passion with God that He individually inspects the lives of each of his children and when he does not see holiness he disciplines that child of God for the purpose of producing holy living. The writer says that holy living produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. There is no one in here who does not want righteousness and peace to be characteristic of their life – but you cannot have holiness in your life without Christ. You cannot have holiness without being trained by the discipline of God.

How can you participate in holiness and growing in a zeal for holiness in your own life???

Application:

* Examine what you seek. What is it that you love? What is it that you think is going to bring you happiness? It is impossible to be holy without coming to true faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only who is holy and it is only by coming to Him and seeking Him day after day after day does a person share in the holiness of Christ.

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 22:37 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ “This is the first and greatest commandment .” Are you seeking to love the Lord with all your heart – soul and mind? Pastor J.C. Ryle writes that practical holiness is the habit of being one mind with God – it is endeavoring to shun every known sin ---- now notice he says it is the habit --- well I am working on my spiritual habits ---- I have been for 36 years – and JC. Says that it is endeavoring to shun every known sin ---- holiness means that I shunning sin in my life bothers me --- unholiness means I do not care. But it starts with examining what you seek.

* Examine what you see. What goes into your eyes helps to control what you think. If you do not care about what you watch on TV or movies, you do not care about what you think. If you do not care about what you look at and who you look at – you do not care about what you think. Our eyes open or rob us of the depth of holiness in our hearts. Boys and men know this one very well when it comes to their eyes and the power of lust to rob us of holiness. You want to have a zeal for holiness like Jesus then make what you see an issue pleasing to God in your life. What you seek and see

1 John 2:16 “For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.”

* #3 Examine what you say. This probably causes more un holiness in the life of a believer than any other area. If we speak to each other the same way the rest of the world does then there is nothing different about us. The closer you come to the light of Christ the more you will hear of your words and have a zeal for godly words to come out of your mouth. Ephesians 4:29 - 30 29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Conclusion: Jesus did not passively stand by in the Temple and watch what was going on. He had a zeal for holiness in the Temple of the Lord. Let’s ask ourselves what are we passively standing by watching???? We tell ourselves its not our business to get involved. We tell ourselves that we are judging someone if we open our mouths. It has been said that all it takes for evil to prevail is for a few good men and women to do nothing.

2. Christ zeal for the resurrection (vs. 19) “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” After Jesus cleared the Temple the Jews demanded from him a sign to prove his authority to do what he did. He says destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. They were astounded at his statement and said – “it has taken 46 years to build this temple and you are going to raise it again in three days. (PHOTO) This is the Temple he was talking about – it was Herrods Temple – this was not Solomons temple which the Babylonians destroyed. Herrod started the Temple in 20 BC. And it was not finished until around 64AD and then the Romans demolished it again 6 years later. This is the temple the people were thinking about ---- can you imagine them looking at Jesus and saying to themselves – this guy is crazy. (BLANK) But Jesus was not talking about a temple made with hands – He was talking about his own body and it was not until after Jesus was raised again from the dead did his own disciples understand what he said.

People were used to worshipping God in a temple. They did not believe they could worship God outside of the temple walls. When Jesus told them the sign that he would give them was that his temple – his body - would be destroyed and raised again in 3 days – Jesus clearly was zealous for the resurrection. He knew that victory would come when there was victory over death. A human body would be raised again from the dead – HIS. I believe this tells believers that they must have a zeal for their temple – the temple that the holy spirit lives within on this earth. This is hard to say – because I know I am falling apart and must do a better job of taking care of the temple that God has given to me on this earth.

1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” If this scripture is true – then you and I ought to have a zeal for taking care of our earthly temples. They are the temple on this earth that God dwells in. It brings glory to God when we are physically fit. It brings glory to God when we watch what we eat and how much we eat. It brings glory to God when we are involved in our physical health. The responsibility for a believers physical health does not lie with our health care professional – it lies with us. Not only does the bible tell us that the believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit but the bible tells us that together believers are part of a larger temple.

Ephesians 2:19 – 22 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Every believer belongs to other believers. Every believer is to be connected to other believers. When another temple in the wider temple – the church is hurting – I must hurt. If Christ had a zeal for the resurrection of his own body --- what makes me think I have any excused for not having a zeal for other temples in the body of Christ?

The death of Christ rendered the Temple obsolete --- as a believer in Christ – we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we can worship God anywhere and at any time. We can come into the Holy of Holies. We can come with confidence to throne of God. Because Christ had a zeal for the resurrection we do not have to hide from God – we do not need someone else to be our go between – the curtain of separation has been torn in two --- we are no longer enemies of God. Someone who has not believed is an enemy of God. God is in opposition to them. They have no zeal for God nor do they have a zeal for their own bodies. That is not to say that a non believer cannot be healthy and take care of their bodies --- many many do – but what I am saying folks is that we believers ought to have a passion for keeping our temples healthy ----it is sad when God’s people are not a testimony of healthy living – there testimony is disabled. Please do not get me wrong – there are dieases that happen to God’s people --- I am talking about apathy ---- Christ zeal for the resurrection…

3. Christ zeal for reality. (vs. 23 - 25) “Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.” ------------------ There it is again --- they saw the miracles that Jesus did and believed in his name --- this does not mean that they had saving faith. We know this is true because John says right after that – He would not entrust himself to them – for he knew all men. Even though it says they believed in Jesus --- John says Jesus did not believe in them. He knew what was in the heart of a man. Superficial belief does not save a person. Intellectual belief does not save a person. Religious belief does not save a person. The demons believe in Jesus.

Jesus knew human nature. He knew the fickleness of man and the instability of the human heart. He knew that a heart can be swept away in a moment of emotion, and then back out again when it discovers what their decision really meant. Jesus knew how humans hunger for the spectacular. I wonder if this why people will flock to pay and see Benny Hinn perform in hopes of seeing something like a leg growing as he claims? Jesus did not want a crowd – he was not after masses and masses of people like we think - Jesus wanted to see changed hearts – he wanted to see people new – he wanted to see people born of the spirit.

Story: I got called to the hospital this week to room 303 – I met Eva – an 80 year old woman who grew up in East Germany under Hitler. She said to me – chaplain – I have lost my faith – I spoke with her about suffering and God and then walked her through Romans 10 and with tears coming down her face she confessed with her mouth and believed in her heart. Jesus has zeal for holiness – Jesus has zeal for the resurrection and Jesus has zeal for reality. What about you? What do you have zeal for? Ask God to give you the same zeal that Jesus has. Ask God to give you zeal for holiness in your life and in the lives of those around you --- Ask God to give you a zeal for your temple and Ask God to give you zeal for lost people who are unbelieving and perishing without true belief in Christ……………Let us pray.