Sunday Morning Bible Study

October 4, 2009

Introduction

Why did John write his gospel?

1. He’s going to clear a few things up.

John is writing 20-30 years after the other gospels. He’s going to fill in some of the blanks left by the other gospels.

2. He’s going to correct the Gnostic heresies.

Today, Gnosticism has once again raised its ugly head from Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code to the university classroom.

3. He wants people to believe.

John wants his readers to understand just who Jesus is and believe in Him.

Last week we studied Jesus’ first miracle which took place at a wedding at Cana when He turned water into wine.

When the party ran out of wine, Jesus turned water into wine, about 120 gallons of it!

This was “the beginning of miracles”, the first sign that John records that is supposed to tell us something about Jesus.

We got a glimpse into the grace of Jesus, the joy of Jesus, and the abundance of Jesus.

:12 Capernaum

:12  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

went down – Don’t think about our modern idea of map reading where “up” means “north” and “down” means “south.

Cana is literally up in the hills, about 1,000 ft. above sea level. 

Capernaum is down at the Sea of Galilee, 600 feet below sea level.

Jesus went “down” to Capernaum.

Capernaum – Kapernaoum – “village of comfort” or “village of Nahum”

Capernaum will be Jesus’ “headquarters”.  It’s where He will consistently come back to on each of His trips around Israel.

Capernaum was at the crossroads of major trade routes.

It’s interesting that John records that Jesus’ family was still with them.

:13-17 House Cleaning

:13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

:13 the Passover – John is filling in the blanks.  He is the only writer to let us know that Jesus’ ministry was longer than a year.  Count the Passovers.

Besides this Passover, John tells us about two more, and possibly a third (John 5:1)

(John 6:4 NKJV)  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

(John 11:55 NKJV)  And the Passover of the Jews was near…

This was the last Passover, when Jesus would die.

There is a possibility of another:

(John 5:1 NKJV)  After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

:13 went up – The typical route from Galilee to Jerusalem was either to travel along the coastal road “the way of the sea” and then up into the hills of Jerusalem, or to travel along the Jordan River valley to Jericho and then head up into Jerusalem. From Capernaum, this is close to a 100 mile trip.

Jericho is about 800 feet BELOW sea level. Jerusalem is in the hills, about 2500 feet above sea level in altitude.  You always go “up” to Jerusalem.

Three times a year the Jews were supposed to make a trip to Jerusalem:

(Deu 16:16 NKJV)  "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.

As the Jewish pilgrims went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts, they would often sing Psalms, particularly the Songs of Ascents, found in Ps.120-134.

These are always short songs, because if you're going to climb a hill and sing, you get kind of winded, so it had better be a short song!

:14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business.

sold – poleo – to barter, to sell; sellers

:14 oxen and sheep and doves – If you’ve been with us in our Thursday night study in Leviticus, you will recognize these as the animals used in the sacrificial system.

moneychangers – kermatistes – a money changer, money broker

doing business – kathemai – to sit down, seat one’s self; to have a fixed abode, to dwell

The Temple in Jerusalem was a complex of buildings and courtyards.  The outermost courtyard was called the court of the Gentiles, where anyone was allowed to enter.  The next closer courtyard was the court of the Israelites, where only Jews were allowed.  Gentiles would be put to death if they entered into this courtyard.  The last courtyard was the court of the men, no women allowed.  It was in this outer courtyard of the Gentiles that a couple of businesses had sprung up –

1.  Animal Vendors

One of the reasons to go to Jerusalem to worship was to present your sacrifices to the Lord.

You might offer sin offerings, burnt offerings, or peace offerings.  You might be coming to pay the tenth of your crops as an offering.

For travelers who came great distances, it would be much easier to sell your crop or animal at home, and just take the money to Jerusalem instead of an animal.  Once you got to Jerusalem, you could buy an animal to present to the Lord as your offering.

In addition, the Law required that all sacrificial animals should be “without blemish”, the idea being that you don’t give God your second best.

(Deu 15:21 NKJV)  "But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.

With these two things in mind, a small industry was set up, to sell “unblemished” sacrificial animals to the people.

They sold animals to people who had come a long distance. 

They also sold animals without blemishes or defects.

It might have started out as a convenience, even a blessing, to offer these services, but someone along the way, somebody decided to try and make a little profit along the way.

By Jesus’ time, the only animals you could sacrifice were the ones sold by the temple merchants.  There was a monopoly on sacrificial animals.

Before an animal was sacrificed, it was checked for blemishes.  The animals sold at the temple stores had a mark to certify that they were “without blemish”.  They also cost a lot more.  An animal without the correct approval would not be allowed to be sacrificed.

People traveling long distances didn’t have much choice in what they could purchase.

The priests were a part of this racket.  They got a cut from the animal shops.

2.  Money Exchange

There were several reasons for the people to be bringing in money.

Some were bringing in their “tithe”, a tenth of their produce, in money, rather than pay it in grain or livestock.

All were required to pay a temple tax of a half a shekel every year (Ex. 30:13)

(Exo 30:13 NKJV)  "This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD.

At some point, somebody decided that it wasn’t appropriate to give money in God's temple with some kind of pagan coin.  It might have the head of a pagan king, or some kind of an animal – something that might be offensive to God.

This is why they came up with special Temple coins.  At this point it became necessary for someone to exchange pagan coins for holy coins.

Somebody saw a chance for a profit, and the the exchange rates were high.

Alfred Edersheim, a Jewish historian and cultural experts says that at this time in history, the priests were netting the equivalent of $300,000 a year in money exchange alone.

Lesson

Selling stuff at church

Is it wrong to sell things at church?

No.  Selling animals for sacrifice was even recommended by the Lord (Deut. 14:24-26):

(Deu 14:24-26 NKJV)  "But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, {25} "then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. {26} "And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.

The service of providing animals to sacrifice should have been a blessing for those long distance travelers.

It is very appropriate if a church can provide things that can be a blessing to the people.

Our selling of CDs is not intended to make a profit.  We are hoping that we will be able to one day cover the cost of the recording, and should we one day reach that mark, any further funds will go to the next recording project.  I do believe the CD has been a blessing.

We will have an occasional bake sale – but again the purpose is generally to raise funds to help pay for folks to go to a retreat or to send a mission team to Russia.  The purpose is to be a ministry, not a rip-off

The problem comes when the church begins to take advantage of people.

On Thursday night we saw an example of how the sons of Eli were ripping off the people (1Sam. 2:12-17), and the people knew it.

On Thursday night we looked at how the priests were to be paid through the sacrifices that were made.  They had a specific portion of each sacrifice that was supposed to be the pay for the priests.  But some priests wanted more than the salary that God offered them.

(1 Sam 2:12-17 NKJV)  Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD. {13} And the priests' custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. {14} Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

The problem with this was that it was not how God wanted it done.  The priests were not supposed to take whatever they wanted, there was certain cuts of the meat that was their portion.

{15} Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw." {16} And if the man said to him, "They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires," he would then answer him, "No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force."

We’ve seen in Leviticus that the fat was supposed to be cut away and burnt on the altar.  It was considered God’s portion.  The priests didn’t want to give God his portion, they wanted some for themselves.

(1 Sam 2:17) Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

The result was that the people hated coming to church.

Ezekiel condemns those leaders who are only selfishly looking out to get rich.

(Ezek 34:2-3 NKJV)  …'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? {3} "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.

The “fat” was considered the best part and it belonged to God.  These leaders only cared about themselves.  God hates this.

Peter warns about false apostles who are out for the money:

(2 Pet 2:3 NLT)  In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction is on the way.

:15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.

whip – phragellion – a scourge or whip (from Latin flagellum)

This isn’t your typical picture of “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”.

cords – schoinion – a cord or rope made of rushes

changers’ – kollubistes – money changer, banker, from a presumed derivative of kollubos (a small coin-probably)

money – kerma – small pieces of money, small coin, change, money

:16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"

Take these things away – Said to the sellers of the doves. The doves would have been in cages, and Jesus didn’t drive them out with His whip as He did with the oxen and sheep.

:16 Do not make – present active imperative, “stop making”

:16 My Father’s house – Jesus sounds as if He thinks this huge Temple complex belongs to His Dad. Keep in mind that Jesus has been coming to the Temple on a regular basis for a long time.  Luke gave us a glimpse of Jesus when He was twelve years old when His parents thought they had lost Him:

(Luke 2:46-49 NLT)  Three days later they finally discovered him. He was in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them. {47} And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. {48} His parents didn't know what to think. "Son!" his mother said to him. "Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere." {49} "But why did you need to search?" he asked. "You should have known that I would be in my Father's house."

merchandise – emporion – a place where trade is carried on, a mart, an emporium

Note:  Jesus had strong words to say, but they were strong words for those who pretended to be religious.

When Jesus meets sinners, He doesn’t meet them with a whip and harsh words.  He meets them with compassion and forgiveness.  With the woman caught in adultery …

(John 8:11 NKJV)  …And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Some people get this backwards.  They will yell angry things to the abortionist or the homosexual.  Jesus would be trying to reach out to those people.

It’s always the religious hypocrites that Jesus has the harsh words for.

Play clip from The Gospel of John.

:17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."

:17 remembered – As Jesus was speaking, Psalm 69:9 popped into the heads of the disciples.

mimnesko – to remind; to be recalled or to return to one’s mind, to remind one’s self of, to remember

(Psa 69:9 NKJV)  Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

This psalm is also quoted in:

(Rom 15:2-3 NKJV)  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. {3} For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me."

:17 zeal – zelos – excitement of mind, fervor of spirit

from zeo – to boil with heat, be hot.  We could say that Jesus was “on fire” for God.

eaten Me up – katesthio – to consume by eating, to eat up, devour

Lesson

Passion brings change.

What kind of passion do you have for the things of God?  How do you measure your passion for God?

Some people measure their passion for God by how high they lift their hands or how loud they sing in church.

Others measure passion by how many people are speaking in tongues or how loud the prayers or the “amens” are in church.

Please don’t misunderstand me – I think it’s great to lift your hands in worship.  I love it when you as a church are singing loudly.  I think the gift of tongues is a wonderful gift.  Your pastor speaks in tongues.

But these things are not the correct measure of our passion for God.  This is not what it means to be “on fire”.

Jesus’ passion for the things of God was seen in the things He did.

Jesus saw something that was not right, and He did something about it.

His disciples heard what He said and saw what He did.

It’s not how high you jump when you meet the Lord, but how far you walk with Him.

If you are truly passionate about the things of God, then as God asks you to do a little house cleaning, you’ll respond by doing it quickly.

Lesson

Cleaning house

Some people can relate to Martha Stewart.  Their houses are spotless and immaculate.

Others of us might relate more to Betty Boop.  Play Video:  House Cleaning Blues

It isn’t always fun keeping the house clean.

A job never finished

Did you realize that you can never stop cleaning the house?  House cleaning is a job that is never finished.

Does it ever become possible to stop cleaning your kids’ rooms?

At church we will have to clean out the storage closet at least once a year.

This is not the first time the Temple had needed cleansing.  Several times in the Old Testament the Temple needed cleaning or repair.

When Ahaz was king, he allowed all sorts of idolatry to go on.  He allowed a lot of “junk” into the temple of God.  When his son Hezekiah became king, it was time for the Levites to “clean house”:

(2 Chr 29:16 NKJV)  Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron.

This won’t even be the last time that Jesus will need to clean house.

While the other gospels record that Jesus cleansed the temple at the end of His ministry, John is again filling in the blanks by letting us know that Jesus cleansed the temple at the beginning of His ministry.

(Mat 21:13 NKJV)  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

There may be times in your life when you’ve done some major renovation of your life.  Note to self:  You’re not finished yet.

What “temple”?

The building in Jerusalem isn’t the only temple we need to be concerned with.

The church is a “temple”.

(1 Cor 3:16 NKJV)  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The “you” here is plural.  When the church is gathered together, there is a sense that God is present, and we together are a “temple”.

God didn’t design the church as a place to make a lot of money.  He designed it to be a place of prayer, a place where He dwells.

Your body is a temple.  For each of us individually, our bodies are a “temple”.

(1 Cor 6:18-20 NKJV)  Flee sexual immorality.

Immorality is simply defined as sex outside of marriage.

Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. {19} Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? {20} For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Jesus chased the moneychangers out of the temple because that was not what the temple was designed for.  Our bodies were not designed for immorality.  You are only hurting yourself as well as grieving God.

Clean begins at home

Peter writes about how people suffer hardship for various reasons. 

(1 Pet 4:15-17 NKJV)  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.

Some go through hardship because they deserve it.  If you are being “persecuted” because you are simply a jerk, it’s your own fault.

{16} Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

If you are being persecuted simply because you are following Jesus, don’t be ashamed.

{17} For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

The warning is to the church, to those who claim to be Christians.

Too often Christians are guilty of pointing out other people’s sins, when our own might be just as bad.

Clean house.  Start at home.  Start with you.

:18-22 Resurrection Foretold

:18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"

:18 sign – semeion – a sign, mark, token

show – deiknuo – to show, expose to the eyes; to give evidence or proof of a thing

“Signs” are important to the Jews.

(1 Cor 1:22 NKJV)  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;

God is not opposed to “signs”.  John wrote about “signs” to help people believe.

The Jews want to know just who this Jesus thinks He is, wrecking their merchandise and money tables like that.

I wonder if anyone asked the money changers what “sign” they showed to start ripping people off in the temple?

:19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

Destroy – luo – to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened; to loosen, undo, dissolve, anything bound, tied, or compacted together; to dissolve something coherent into parts, to destroy

temple – naos – used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies

2:14 temple – hieron – a sacred place, temple; used to describe the entire complex including the courtyards and extra buildings.

Jesus uses a distinct word here.

There is one word used for the entire temple complex (hieron).

We saw it used in 2:14 in reference to where Jesus found the merchants in the temple complex.

But Jesus uses the word here for just the building itself, containing the holy place and the holy of holies (naos).

It is also the same word used:

(1 Cor 6:19 NKJV)  Or do you not know that your body is the temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

When questioned about His authority, Jesus is saying that His resurrection will be the proof of His authority.

When people are looking for a “sign” from God, it’s okay to point to the resurrection.

It’s very similar to how He answered the Jews in another instance:

(Mat 12:38-40 NKJV)  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." {39} But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. {40} "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

:20 Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"

:20 forty-six years – The first Temple was built by King Solomon around 950BC and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586BC.

The second Temple was actually built by Zerubbabel and dedicated in 515BC

In order to endear himself to the Jews, Herod the Great began a huge project of refurbishing and expanding the second Temple in 20BC.

The construction project was still underway.  It wouldn’t be finished for 30 years.

The Romans would destroy this temple in AD 70.

The Western Wall and Southern Steps are part of what remains of this temple.

Josephus records that eighteen thousand men were employed on the project from start until finished.  Who does Jesus think He is to rebuild it in three days?

The Islamic compound with the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock were built on top of the Temple ruins in the late 600s.

The Western Wall is not actually a part of the Temple, but was only part of a retaining wall that kept the Temple platform in place.

They think He's talking about the physical temple that was under construction at that moment.

They missed the point.

This misunderstanding of the Jews would also be used in court three years later to show that Jesus was traitorous, planning to destroy the temple.

(Mat 26:61 NKJV)  and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"

:21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

:22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

What Scripture did they believe?  A Scripture often quoted by the apostles after the resurrection is:

(Psa 16:10 NKJV)  For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

Going beyond “signs”

A disciple might start following Jesus because of the “signs”.

A mature disciple learns that it is more important to believe in the Scriptures and the word which Jesus said.

:23-25 Jesus holds back

:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.

This sounds good.  Isn’t this what it’s all about? Isn’t John writing his gospel so that people will “believe”?

they saw – theoreo – to be a spectator, look at, behold; to view attentively, take a view of, survey; to view mentally, consider

signs … believed – a familiar theme in John

(John 20:30-31 NKJV)  And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; {31} but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

:24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,

:24 commit – pisteuo – to think to be true, to be persuaded of, place confidence in

This is the basic word often translated “believe”.

:24 knew – ginosko – to learn to know, a knowledge grounded on personal experience

:25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

knew – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know; a knowledge grounded on personal experience

At this point in His ministry, many saw the signs and began to believe in Jesus.

But Jesus held Himself back.  He didn’t believe in these people. Why?

Lesson

Easy Believer

I think the issue here has to do with the hearts of these people.  Jesus knew their hearts.  He knew that He couldn’t trust them.

There are going to be some people who only believe in Jesus because something good has happened to them.

The moment life gets a little difficult, they are out the door.

Jesus will see this again after feeding the 5,000 (John 6), and the crowds were following His every step:

(John 6:26 NKJV)  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

Jesus then begins to get into some difficult teaching.  He says things that some considered to be a “hard saying” (John 6:60).  As a result of some of these difficult things, some of the people stopped following Jesus.

(John 6:67-69 NKJV)  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" {68} But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. {69} "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

These are the words of a true believer.  Where else would we go?

We follow Jesus because He is the Messiah.  We follow Him because He is God.  We follow Him because it is absolutely the right thing to do.

We don’t follow Him because He makes my life “easy”.

Jesus promises a lot of good things for those who will follow Him.

He promises to take care of our needs.

He promises to hear our prayers.

He promises us eternal life in heaven.

But He does not promise to remove all difficulties out of your life.

In fact He promises that you will have difficulties.

(2 Tim 3:12 NKJV)  Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

He promises to be with you in your difficulties.

He promises to use your difficulties to mature and strengthen you.

Are you a “sunny-day” Christian?

Do you only believe when things are easy for you?

Or are you willing to follow Jesus no matter where He leads?

Can you say, “Where else would I go?”

Can Jesus believe in me?

What kind of faith do I have?  Cotton candy or broccoli?

Jesus revealing Himself more is related to what kind of faith I have.

Jesus doesn’t have dark secrets to share, but He may have some difficult truths.

Knowing Jesus better is related to how He trusts me.

Knowing Jesus better is related to what kind of faith I have.