[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. This is the sixth message in our series on the book of John entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:13] Take your Bible now and go with me to the book of John, chapter 2. John chapter 2, it is an exciting time. We know that Jesus is God.
[0:24] And John the Apostle is going to get that across to us every day in every way. That he can as we go through this book. And tonight we come to the passage of scripture where he's going in the temple and he's got him a whip in his hand.
[0:38] He's turning benches over and he's handling the money situation. And you know all about that story. And really the key to this story is he's saying, hey, I am God.
[0:51] And the temple that you are desecrating represents my body. He's going to tell them in three days, I'm going to destroy this temple. And they're going to say to him, that's impossible.
[1:02] It takes 46 years to build this temple. He said, I'll tear it down in three days. I'll build it back. You'll tear it down in three days. I'll build it back. They can't understand that. But then he says, I'm talking about my body.
[1:13] You know what he's doing? Starting his ministry out right like this. I'm announcing now I'm going to die. I came here and there was no accident. I came in. There's a great plan. And the plan is that I die for you.
[1:25] You're a sinner. You deserve to go to hell. And I've come to pay your price. Open your Bible, if you would, to John chapter 2. I hope you get an ink pen out. And I hope you'll go along with me as we read through.
[1:35] I'm going to tell you some things to underline and mark maybe in your Bible. John chapter 2, if you would, starting in verse 12. After this, that's after he'd been to the wedding. After this, he went down to Capernaum.
[1:47] He and his mother and his brethren and his disciples. And they continued there not many days. Now, just maybe for your interest, you might put a circle around the word brethren.
[1:59] It said he had brothers and sisters. And that's important to some people because they don't fully understand. You know, Jesus had half brothers and half sisters.
[2:11] And Mary had other children. Mary is not the center focus in the Bible story. She doesn't have the immaculate conception. She is simply the door, the vessel God uses to bring Jesus into this earth.
[2:27] Can you say amen right there? And there's one of your verses. Put a circle around that. It said he and his mother and his brothers and sisters, his brethren and his disciples, they continued there not many days.
[2:38] And the Jews' Passover was at hand. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting.
[2:51] And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers' money and overthrew the tables. And he said unto them that sold doves, Take these things out of here.
[3:06] Take these things hence. Make not my father's house a house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
[3:19] I am so eat up. He said, you ought to underline it. I don't have time to go into that one tonight. But you know what? Jesus was in love with the temple, the house.
[3:29] It's his body. It represents his body. The zeal of the house of God had eaten him up. And by the way, we ought to be excited about the work of God and building the kingdom of God today also.
[3:41] Verse 18. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Now, if you have your Bible, I really hope you'll underline that question right there.
[3:54] He said, What sign? What are you trying to show us? What are you trying to show? Well, they come to him and the Jews and they said, What are you doing? What are you trying to say?
[4:06] What are you trying to get across? Seeing that you do these things. He said, You know, look, look, just wait a second. They come in and these guys, they come up to him and they say, You just wrecked havoc in the temple.
[4:18] You just started throwing tables over and throwing people out. You got a whip in your hand. Could you tell us what that's all about? He said, Okay, no problem.
[4:28] I'm going to tell you what the story is about. This is what's going on in the story. Look at it, if you would, in verse 19. He said, Jesus said unto them, Destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up.
[4:41] Underline that. There's what the key is to the passage. Destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up. Verse 20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple and building.
[4:54] And you're going to get it back up in three days? It took 46 years to build this temple. And you are going to get it back in three days? Verse 21.
[5:05] But he spake of the temple of his body. Circle that. He spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
[5:24] Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. Verse 24. Strange verse. We'll get to it in a little bit.
[5:35] Jesus did not commit himself unto them. They said they believed, but he didn't commit himself unto them. Because he knew all men. And he needed not that any should testify of man.
[5:47] For he knew what was in man. Well, we could stop there, couldn't we? He knows what's in us. He knows what we're thinking. He knows what we're feeling.
[5:58] He knows what our real attitude is. He knows what our real spiritual status is tonight. He knows what our heartbeat is. He knows if we love God or not. He knows if we're born again or not.
[6:09] You can fool the preacher. You can fool the leaders of the church. You can fool everybody else. But you can't fool him. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Father God in heaven, I pray that you would now deal with our hearts.
[6:20] And I pray that you'd help us. I pray, God, you'd help these truths to sink in. That you would excite us and motivate us about carrying your word. That you'd make us examine ourselves tonight to make sure we have real faith.
[6:36] And I pray, God, you'd motivate us to carry your word. And to carry it out and take it to our friends and family and to the world. And we'll give you praise and honor and glory for all that you do.
[6:46] I love you and thank you. In Jesus' precious name, amen. This morning, earlier in the chapter, Jesus has kind of been a little not as sweet maybe with his mother.
[7:01] Because he said, woman, what have I to do with you? And you might have got a tad upset. But if you go back in the passage, you'll find out that he went home with her. Go back to verse 21. After this, he went to Capernaum.
[7:13] He and his mother. So he wasn't being disrespectful. He wasn't cutting her off. And he wasn't throwing her out. He goes back home with her and his brothers and his sisters and his disciples. So he just wants you to know tonight that it is Jesus who is the hero of the story.
[7:31] It's not Mary. It's no one else. It's Jesus. Now he shows up and he's passionate. And he's throwing the tables over. He's clearing it out because they're not treating God's house correctly.
[7:44] Would you go with me through the passage of scripture? Let's take that. I think you have an outline tonight. Number one. Number one, if you would look at that. We'll go to verse 13. They were celebrating. They're about to celebrate the Jewish Passover.
[7:57] Verse 13. And the Jews' Passover was at hand. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now if you don't have this down in the margin of your Bible right next to verse 13, you ought to write down Exodus chapter 12 verses 21 to 27.
[8:14] And I'm going to challenge you to open your Bible there. Second book in the Old Testament. And we ought to learn the Old Testament even as we go through the New Testament. Because you really can't understand the New Testament without understanding the Old Testament.
[8:26] And I would like to read with you, if you would, Exodus chapter 12 verses 21 through 27. And you'll be able to mark that down. But you remember the story while you're turning. You remember the story, don't you?
[8:37] That they are working. God is working through Moses. God is sending 10 plagues on the nation of Egypt. And it's been getting worse and worse.
[8:47] And they get to the last plague. The last plague is that the firstborn of every house will die. The death angel will come across and take out the oldest child, the firstborn child in every home.
[9:00] But God makes a substitute. Boy, I hope you'll listen to that. He makes a substitute. Somebody else to take the death. Someone else to die in that firstborn's place.
[9:14] And so they take a lamb. And they kill the lamb. And they put his blood on the doorpost and on the lintel. They put the part above the door and on the sides of the door. And they put that blood there.
[9:24] And when the death angel comes, he passes over and goes to the next house. That's what's being celebrated. Now, that's an extremely important story. You need the Old Testament.
[9:36] In the Old Testament, you learn many of the things that were all pointing to Jesus. And here's one of the greatest stories in the Old Testament. And it's got great truths that you should get down in your heart.
[9:47] There was death coming. There is death coming now. They had to die because God had said they would die.
[9:58] But God made a way for his people not to die. He sent somebody to die in their place. A substitute to take their death. And it's called the Passover. And by the way, you'll go to heaven because somebody died in your place.
[10:13] That'll be the only way you'll go to heaven. Because the wages of sin is death that always has been, always will be. And you will die or somebody will die in your place. Read with me if you would.
[10:24] And if you have your Bible, I'd like to ask you to mark some things there in Exodus chapter 12, verse 21. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, draw out and take you a lamb.
[10:36] Circle that. Take you a lamb. Behold the Lamb of God. Remember that. That's the story right here. Behold the Lamb. Take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover.
[10:47] Verse 22. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in blood. Circle it, blood. That's in the basin. And you'll strike the lentil and the two side posts of the blood. Verse 23.
[10:57] And the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood. And when he sees the blood upon the lentil, on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your homes.
[11:13] Would you underline in verse 23? When he sees the blood. When he sees the blood. Would you look at verse 23, the last part? He will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.
[11:26] You can skip all the way down to verse 25, if you will. And it shall come to pass when you come, be coming to the land which the Lord give you according as he has promised that you shall keep this service. Underline that.
[11:37] Keep this service. He said, I want you to always have the service, have a remembrance, have a time every year. When you remember, and that's what they're doing right now. When you stop and say, wait a minute.
[11:49] We know our God's great. We know our God delivered us. We know how our God delivered us. He delivered us by the lamb being slain.
[12:00] And that's what we'll do. And then in verse 26, man, you got to get this. And every parent has to read this with me. Verse 26. It shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, what mean ye?
[12:12] What are y'all doing this service for? Why are you having the Lord's Supper? Why are we doing what we do? So you're in the car and you're on your way home or you're sitting in the tent and the kids are saying, why are we killing a lamb?
[12:25] And why are we eating a lamb? Mom and daddy were supposed to be able to answer the question. Can you? Do you? Do you talk with your family about what God's doing in your life?
[12:38] All these things are happening. Your kids ought to hear it from you. You ought to be the pastor of your home, sir. Verse 27. That you shall pass. That you shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover.
[12:51] Underline that. The Lord's Passover. Who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians. He delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
[13:02] I want you to look. If you got the notes, you can do it there. But if you don't, write it down somewhere. You got to get this. Big word we all ought to know. Substitute. Substitute. We are saved because of a substitute.
[13:14] We are saved because of a substitute. Someone had to die. The lamb took the place of the one who had to die. It was the blood on the doorposts that showed their faith.
[13:27] They believed that God would pass over their homes. The Egyptians would have known by now. The houses anywhere close by there. Anybody going around there. They'd have known about it.
[13:37] They might have mocked them for their foolishness of taking the lamb. They'd have mocked them for all the things they did. But they believed and they put the blood. Do you understand that your salvation was bought and paid for by a substitute?
[13:51] Do you understand that? Your salvation was bought and paid for by a substitute. Someone else took your punishment. Your sins was laid on someone else.
[14:04] That means it's not you that got salvation. That means it is God who did salvation. And real salvation always comes down to a bloody mess. Jesus died to pay our sin debt.
[14:18] And we ought to know that. We ought to know about a substitute. Now before I leave this, he's going up to the Passover. A Jew knew that. He knew exactly what it was. He knew it was a bloody day.
[14:29] He knew it was a lamb dying. He knew the lamb died because their oldest should have died. He knew that. And so I want you to make sure you know that story. Now can I just stop here and say we take the Lord's Supper here.
[14:41] And that's kind of a New Testament thing that reminds us a lot of the Old Testament thing. And you know we take the Lord's Supper. You should be pretty serious about it. He likes it when he has services of remembrance.
[14:56] He said to the Jewish people in the book of Exodus. And you just read it. He said I want you all to do this service. And I want you to remember what happened. And it's now been 2,000 years.
[15:08] And they're doing that service. And Jesus is on his way there. Do you ever come to the Lord's Supper and kind of take it flippantly? You ever kind of walk in, you know, you sit down and they pass a little piece of bread around.
[15:20] And you're on the way home and you never help your kids learn about what you're doing. Do you do that? If you do that, I want to challenge you to change. Repent of it right now.
[15:32] You ought to say, boy, that's a beautiful symbol. Children, let me tell you what happened tonight. And by the way, those of you, my children that aren't saved, you shouldn't be taking the supper. Because the supper doesn't apply to you yet.
[15:43] Because the blood that's shed has not been applied to your life yet. Because the body that was broken is not for you yet. Because you're not a believer. And that's a symbol that says, I'm a believer.
[15:55] I was reading about Charles Spurgeon this morning early. Before the sun came out, me and old Charles were sitting there going over his biography. And Charles went to church after he got saved. He was sitting in the pew.
[16:07] And this guy reached up and took the Lord's Supper. And communion, I think they called it, and he took the communion. And Charles took the communion. And right after service, he said, hey, brother, how you doing?
[16:18] The guy turned around and said, excuse me, I'm not your brother. He said, well, I thought you must be. You're taking the supper with me. So I figured we was brothers. And they became friends and stayed friends for the rest of their life after that day.
[16:28] Because that guy said, well, ain't nobody ever talked to me like that about it. But do you understand? That was a 15-year-old or 16-year-old boy that did it. Do you understand that Lord's Supper means something? Just like this Passover did? You should take that little piece of bread.
[16:40] And you should remember his body was broken for you. And you should take that little cup of juice. And it's just a small symbol, but it's a time to say, I remember. And more than anybody should remember 9-11.
[16:53] And more than anybody should remember the Alamo. And more than anybody should remember July the 4th, 1976. We should remember Jesus died for us.
[17:05] His body was broken. And man, you should help your wife understand that. And you should help your children understand it. Can I just go ahead and say you should do a lot of that. You should even explain to them why they reverently sit in church.
[17:17] You should even explain to them why. When we have a baptism, we had a young lady get baptized Thursday night. You should have gone home on Thursday night. And you should have said to your kids, do you understand what just happened in that baptism?
[17:29] Because when your kids ask, you ought to take the advantage of telling them about Jesus. Can you say amen right there? You ought to take the advantage of getting the gospel across.
[17:40] You have the privilege of being a pastor. Can I just, watch this. Boy, I'm off target. You ready? I don't ever do this, but I'm just letting her. You know what? I take it real serious. I get to preach to you.
[17:51] I take it real serious. I study hours. And I pray. And I'm scared, slapped to death most of the time. I'm always sitting there thinking, God, will they listen? Because I cannot think that I would let you come to this service and I wouldn't have something from God for you.
[18:04] How can you parents not do that? How can you dads not teach your children about Jesus? How can you not explain that little piece of bread? How can you not explain that little cup? How can you not explain that bad ministry?
[18:15] How can you not explain when we sing? How can you not explain when we take up the offering? How can you be the pastor of your home dealing with the most important spiritual truths that ever existed and take them lightly?
[18:26] He said, you guys write it down. Tell this and remember it. And they're still remembering it when Jesus comes along. Now, I just think you ought to take that really seriously. Go back into your Bible, if you would, to John chapter 2.
[18:36] Go with me to verse 14. Second thing you've got written there, verse 14. Let's look at the meaning and the purpose. Why did he go in there? Why did he go in there and turn those tables over?
[18:47] Why did he go in there with a whip in his hand? Why did he say, get the doves and get out of here? Why did he do that? What was going on? Verse 14. And found in the temple, you ought to circle that, in the temple, those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting.
[19:04] When he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers' tables and overthrew the tables. And he said, a changers' money overthrew the tables.
[19:15] And he said to them that sold doves, get them out of here. Don't y'all make my daddy's house a house of business. Get them out of here. Now, actually, it was okay for them to be selling the animals just outside the temple.
[19:31] You might not know this. But some Jews had traveled great distances. And when they left home, they had their offering. And instead of having to carry their lamb and travel dozens of miles to hundreds of miles to get to the temple to make a sacrifice, they were allowed to bring the money from that and come to the temple.
[19:49] And they needed money changers so they could change all the money to the temple tax. And they needed to buy an animal that they could sacrifice because they came from a long ways off. And it was one thing for them to have a service.
[20:01] But now they done moved out of the parking lot and out of the outside and they pulled it inside the temple. And yet you hear it. Now they're coming in and there's bartering going on. And there's money changing going on.
[20:12] And it's a house of business and a house of negocio is what I want to say. It's a house of business going on there. It's a house of people changing money, selling animals.
[20:23] You can hear the bleeding of the lambs. You can hear the lowing of the cows. You can hear the little birds chirping and all the rackets going on. You can hear them bidding on what they're going to buy. And Jesus comes in and says, this ain't the way it's supposed to be.
[20:34] And little by little, religion begins to see good business in religion. Boy, hadn't it become that. There was a day, there was a day when we hit on the back streets.
[20:48] There was a day when we got beat for getting together. Right here in America, they beat our people. But today, it has become a flippant place.
[20:59] Instead of the temple being a place of worship, it was a place of business. You will destroy your faith and that of your children when you forget to worship when you come. Man, I love this church.
[21:13] Man, I love you. I honestly think the great majority of you, I call your name every day in prayer. I try to. I've been to so many churches.
[21:25] I have been. And I preach a little bit even now. And the kids are gone. Mom and dad were spiritual and the kids are gone. And I'm afraid you have allowed Jesus or they have allowed and you could allow Jesus to become commonplace.
[21:47] I'm afraid that we come in and we criticize who's singing and we criticize who's taking up the offering. And we look across the room and we compare ourselves among ourselves.
[21:57] And we listen to the preaching and we're just not here to worship Jesus. And our kids soon find out. It wasn't real to mama.
[22:09] It wasn't real to daddy. And I'm not interested. Story of a preacher. And he was talking to this lady who said she couldn't find a church that taught right.
[22:19] And so she was in her town. This was 200 years ago. In her town she couldn't find a church that taught right. And this pastor was coming through and she said, I can't find a town, a church that teaches the gospel about Jesus dying.
[22:31] And about men need to see their sin and repentance. I can't find a church like that. He said, well, what do you do? She said, I go to that church. He said, well, that church surely doesn't do it. She said, oh, I know. She said, but while they're there, whatever they say, I just change it.
[22:41] So that before I leave, I got the truth. Whatever they say, I just change it. He said, well, wouldn't it be easier to say, oh. She said, oh, I've got to identify myself with the people of God. This is important. Do you know you ought to come to church to worship?
[22:53] You ought to come to church to look to Jesus. You can't let this become a house of business. You can never let serving God, studying his word, become simply something you do because it cannot degenerate to that.
[23:08] You must be careful to never get used to what God is doing that you take it for granted. Just listen to this. Let me tell you something. It's so easy for guys my age and some of your age to get real lazy on Jesus.
[23:23] I've been in church 57 years. I was in church nine months before I ever got out of the womb. I was hearing them old leather-lunged Baptist preachers when I was a baby in the womb.
[23:37] I've been in church. I've read the whole Bible through several times. I've heard preaching after preaching. It is so easy to not worship God.
[23:49] It is so easy to come with the wrong spirit. It is so easy to get caught up in business in a church. Don't let it happen. He's upset. He said, I'm turning over the tables.
[24:01] I'm throwing all this junk out. You guys forgot what you're here for. You came for the wrong reason. You're buying a sheep to kill a sheep, but that sheep means nothing to you. Your worship means nothing to you.
[24:12] Your offering means nothing to you. The song means nothing to you. I'm tired of it. Number three, go to verse 17. The people showed no respect for God's great sacrifice and salvation.
[24:25] That's what's happening. Jesus was passionate about the temple being his father's house and not theirs.
[24:43] The first country that I ever visited outside the U.S. was way back in the early 80s, and I went to Haiti. I'd never been outside the United States in my life. And I'd never been in a country where you were forced to be patriotic.
[24:58] Now, in the United States, used to TV went off at night, and they played the national anthem. How many of y'all remember that? Say amen. That was a long time. You were old. And that was a long time ago. And they used to play. In fact, his bed, he had an uncle that at night when it went off, he'd stand up, put his hand over his heart, and salute the whole time they played it.
[25:15] I got to Haiti, and at noon, buddy, they were playing the national anthem of Haiti. And I just kept walking, and somebody grabbed me and said, you better stand still. There were machine guns around and everything else, but you better stop and stand still.
[25:28] Don't move while they play our national anthem. I was in Peru. And the Peruvian girls won the volleyball. They came in second in the world in the, I think it must have been 1988.
[25:42] They came in the Olympics. So, man, I got outside, and I put up my Peruvian flag. The next day, one of the neighbors came by and said, you better get that down. You can put the flag up when they tell you you can, and you've got to put it up when they tell you you can, or you have to put it up when they say, and you can't put it up when they don't say.
[25:58] I said, really? They said, get it up. So, get it down. So, I went out. We pulled our flag down. Later, another time, it came. It was a day to put up the flag. I forgot it was a day to put up the flag, and they fined me for not putting up my flag.
[26:08] I got a fine in the mail. No flag. No flag. Pay the fine. Because, you know, they're zealous about that thing. It's important. And Jesus said, man, I'm eat up with my house.
[26:20] I'm eat up with God. I'm eat up with a temple. This isn't a game to me. I've lived forever. This isn't a game for me. I'm here on earth to die on a cross. Don't mess with me.
[26:32] He shows great passion in calling them to consider what they're doing. He knows that their complacency and lack of respect has destroyed the meaning and the truth and the substitution. You understand what happened?
[26:43] Now, watch. Are you with me? Can you pay attention? He walks into the temple, and when he gets in the temple, they got sheep running around, and there's mess on the floor, and they're urinating, and there's stench, and it smells like a barnyard.
[26:55] And there's people bartering and figuring out what they're going to do and changing money, and nobody's really worshiping. And guess what he's thinking when he walks in there? That lamb represented me. That lamb represented me.
[27:09] And every time they killed a lamb all the way back from Genesis when Adam and Eve messed up, that lamb was me. And I'm here today, and they show no respect.
[27:24] No respect for the temple. No respect for the sacrifice. No respect for the salvation. I think he was pretty eat up with it. It pretty well bothered him.
[27:35] He's about to be their sacrifice and knows they could care less. You remember in John chapter 1, he came to his own, and his own received him not. God, his temple, and his worship was no small matter to Jesus.
[27:53] It was enough to get angry over. It was enough to call on people to quit playing games. Go with me to verse 18. Why did he cleanse the temple?
[28:06] Let me show you why. He tells us why. When I was a kid, that was a fascinating story. Jesus got mad, so I could get mad. Jesus every now and then threw a temper tantrum, so I could throw a temper tantrum.
[28:19] You know, we twist everything in the Bible to suit us, don't we? So in verse 18, then answered the Jews and said, what sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
[28:30] Now, I just want you to picture this. Can you see CNN and Fox News outside, and Jesus is standing outside, and they come out and they say, Sir, do you mind telling us what you were just doing?
[28:40] Could you explain to us why you just went in there and did what you were doing? You must have had something you're trying to get across to us. There's people marching. There are people right now in downtown Atlanta. They marched today, and there's other people squatting down there basically to say something, and there's some people up in New York doing the same thing.
[28:55] And the newscaster doctor said, what y'all doing? Well, they said, Jesus, what you doing? He said, I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you why I just did what I did. So look, if you would, at verse 19.
[29:06] He said, destroy this temple, and in three days, I'll raise it up. Now, that's a wild statement. Excuse me. Excuse me.
[29:16] You, sir, microphone, cameras, action. Sir, you just turned over the tables and threw the animal changers out and threw the money changers out and spilled the money on the floor.
[29:29] You just caused a lot of trouble. In fact, they got SWAT teams waiting on you outside. That's going to be if it's America. And he said, what'd you do that for? He said, I'll tell you what. You destroy the temple.
[29:40] In three days, I'll build it back. I'll raise it up. They didn't understand. Verse 20. You got your Bible? Then said the Jews, 40 in six years was the temple in building, and you plan on getting it back up in three days?
[29:54] You're crazy. Got us a nutcase. Yes. Talk on the intercom. Call the cops. Got us a nutcase. Says it's a... He says he can build a building back in three days.
[30:06] He said, but verse 21, I ain't talking about this stone and mortar. I'm not talking about all this stuff you're looking at. I'm talking about the temple of my body.
[30:16] The temple of my body. Look at verse 21. The temple of my body. Here's what Jesus was saying. You kill me. I'll be back. I will resurrect from the dead.
[30:30] Now, before I go on, can I remind you, John is saying to us, Jesus is God. I'm writing all this down so y'all will know when it's all said and done, Jesus is God.
[30:45] And by the way, when Jesus first started out his ministry, he went to a wedding. And when he got in the wedding, he wanted to manifest his glory. He just couldn't hold back. He wanted to know, I am. I am God.
[30:56] And he turned the water into wine. And then he showed up at the temple and he got him a whip and he turned over the tables. And you know why he was doing it? He was doing it because he said, I'm going to die.
[31:08] I want you to understand something. Jesus didn't die by accident. You need to get that straight. You need to know and you need to tell people whenever they explain. You just said, no, no, no, no.
[31:18] Nobody grabbed him. Who killed him? Was it the Jews? Was it the Romans? I'll tell you how he died. He died because he wanted to die. He gave his life.
[31:29] He died for us. Verse 22. Even the disciples that day, you know, they must have been scratching their heads. I mean, what's he doing?
[31:41] Lamb of God, what's he doing? Because look at verse 22. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them. And they believed the scriptures and the word which Jesus had said.
[31:55] Would you underline disciples remembered? Disciples remembered. See, he died and he was buried and he rose again. And I can see them now. Maybe it was during the 40 days that Jesus was alive, proven he was alive.
[32:05] Maybe it was after that. But they're sitting around and they're going, tell me a story about Jesus that you remember. And John says, I got one for you. Do y'all remember when we went to the temple? Do you remember how he went in there and he turned the tables over?
[32:19] He had that whip. I mean, you remember that? Yeah. Yeah, that's right. And by the way, that's what the scriptures say. And all scriptures give them inspiration to God.
[32:31] Amen. Old Testament's right. They didn't mind mentioning the Old Testament. He said, hey. They said, yeah, I remember. And they believed the scripture. You should believe the scripture, by the way.
[32:42] They believed the scripture and the word that Jesus said. They remembered that after he arose. Look in verse 23. He is manifesting his glory. Remember?
[32:53] Verse 23. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. Boy, isn't this wild? Look at this. The people are believing.
[33:04] They say, man, this guy's not normal. This guy's unusual. Everybody's heard the reports. It's been on the TV. It's been in the news. It's been on the front page of the paper. They didn't have any of that.
[33:14] But word got around quick back then. And they said, you remember he was down there with John the Baptist. And man, when he got baptized, it was strange. And then you remember he went up to the wedding and that was strange.
[33:25] And then he went to the temple and that was strange. And people started believing. They said, man, this guy really is somebody. He really is somebody. Now we're going to go to point 5 and verse 24 and we'll quit.
[33:40] But let me just stop and say this. Jesus cleansing the temple wasn't a crazy man in the flesh calling attention to something. It was God. And I wish you'd stop and look. Would you look at me just a second?
[33:51] Do you understand he's saying I'm God? Do you understand? I don't. Can you go with me in your mind? Can you imagine it with me? Can you be walking? And he's been at mama's house. And he's been with his brothers.
[34:02] And he's been with the disciples. And he and his guys are on their way up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Maybe his whole family is going with him. And he's walking up to the Passover. Now he knows everything. So nothing's going to shock him. Because he knows the beginning from the end.
[34:14] He knows it from way before the world was ever founded. He knows everything. But as he walks up there and he gets close to the temple. He smells it. And he hears it. And he sees it. And he sees the flippancy. And this is the Passover.
[34:26] This is the day the lamb died. We're remembered the day the lamb died. All of you younger people won't remember this. But I remember when you didn't wear even an American flag on anything.
[34:37] You didn't mess with American flags. You didn't put them on your clothes. You didn't mess with American flags. You'd get in trouble for that. And then they finally put them on police uniforms. It was a big deal back then. Anybody else remember that? Thank you, buddy.
[34:48] Me and you are the only buddies in this room. Amen. Man, that white hair helps me. Amen. And you know what happened? Now it's like, well, it's kind of like what's going to happen with 9-11 in 100 years.
[35:03] Yeah, that was a bad day, wasn't it? Pearl Harbor? Yeah, I heard about that. Remember the Alamo? But now it's Jesus there. And 2,000 years since the Passover has been, he's coming.
[35:17] And he will take our sin. And the Father will pass over our punishment because he will put it on Jesus. And he said, man, I wish y'all would know that.
[35:28] And we're going to get to two wild verses. Are you ready? Ready? It's all put together on purpose. This is a divine book. There's no accident here. And I never paid attention to this verse.
[35:39] I'm just going to be honest with you. But look what it says, if you would, in verse 24 and 25. Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men. What?
[35:50] Now in verse 24, or excuse me, in verse 23, he said, Now when he saw, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles, which he did.
[36:04] But Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men. Though they believed, Jesus did not commit himself to them.
[36:17] You want to hear a wild one? The word commit there and the word believe are the same word. Basically, here's what he said. Yeah, you say you believe me, but I don't believe you.
[36:31] That's rough. You say you believe me, but I don't believe you. Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew them. They had a superficial faith based on signs and miracles, but he knew what was in them.
[36:50] He knew they were faking it. He knew it was a temporary, temporal, not real, genuine faith, and you can't fake it with him.
[37:02] He knew their hearts. Look at verse 24 and 25. Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men. And he needed not that any should testify of him, for he knew what was in man.
[37:15] Remember when he saw Nathaniel? Y'all remember that? Just a few days ago, he saw Nathaniel and said, hey, there's a man with no God. That guy's not faking it. He really means it. And he said to these guys, you believe, but I don't commit to you.
[37:28] I don't commit to you. Jesus is not who he is because of men's testimony or because men believe in him. He is who he is, period. And he doesn't need our testimony.
[37:40] And he doesn't need us to back him up. He is God. He is God. He doesn't need affirmation. He doesn't need them to believe in him to know who he is.
[37:52] He's God in human flesh. You choose whether you'll believe or not. And he knows if you mean it. I'm going to stop right there, but just let me just say this to you. Watch this. Look at this, would you, really quick.
[38:04] There's a whole lot of not genuine salvation stories. There's a whole lot of not genuine salvation testimonies.
[38:16] I can't judge that because I don't know what's in your heart. But he does. Could I just stop here and say this? There were people that fought. Now, listen, you got to read the Bible and you'll find this.
[38:29] There were people that followed him because he fed them and because he healed them. But when he told them, if you want to follow me, you got to eat my flesh and drink my blood. You have to take up your cross. They all went home.
[38:40] He even turned to his own apostles. He said, y'all going home too? Because people followed him flippantly. He was the cool thing. And there may be preachers that can fill up stadiums talking about Jesus.
[38:55] But he knows if you really believe. And I think you need to remind yourself what you need to believe tonight. So here it comes. You can't get saved by being a Baptist.
[39:07] There's going to be a heap of them in hell. You don't get saved because you got your name on a church list. Or you got baptized. Or you wrote your name down. Or you tithed.
[39:17] Or you pledged. Or any of that. You get saved because you realize you sinned against a holy God. You sinned. And you deserve punishment.
[39:29] This has got to be real to us. Salvation's not, yeah, I'm in. Cool, baby. I'm with you. I'm in. That's not what it is. It is, man, I am lost.
[39:41] I know I need God. I can't turn over a new leaf. I can't reform myself. Only God can save me. I can't do enough stuff.
[39:53] Only God can save me. Harshest statement I can think of right now. They believed and he wouldn't commit to them. If he doesn't commit to us, we're not going to heaven.
[40:05] Could you say amen right there? If he doesn't commit to you, you ain't making it. I believe you, Jesus. Can you get me into heaven? No, I'm not. No commit. No commit. I don't commit today. Excuse me?
[40:17] Hey, if they told you that when you bought a ticket. You're buying a ticket to get on death. Did you say that? You click and it says, click here to confirm. And it says, you just paid but no commit.
[40:29] I wouldn't want that ticket. Say amen. And here's what he said. Don't play games with me. I know what's in your heart. So now there's two things I want to say to you.
[40:40] Here it is. Are you sure you have trusted the finished, complete work of Jesus? Nothing of you and all of him. Second question.
[40:50] Do you realize that you're not witnessing to your family, though there has been no obvious fruit of God doing a work in their life. But you won't witness to them because they prayed a prayer.
[41:06] But they never darken the doors of a church, never read a Bible, never talk about Jesus, never act like they love Jesus. But if you ever say anything to them, yeah, yeah. Everybody I know is saved. You ever notice that?
[41:16] You know, if I was you, I'd start saying, hey, I'd like to talk to you about some stuff. Because maybe you're not really saved.
[41:29] Sometimes in America, we don't witness because we really think everybody's saved. Do you know what they told me on the airplane in Peru when I got there?
[41:41] They said, why did you come here? Everybody is already a believer. Did you know that everybody's a believer in Morocco? They may not be a believer in Jesus, but they believe in God. Tons of people will tell you they have their own religion.
[41:55] The answer is not their religion. Do they believe Jesus? Do they believe the Lamb paid their debt?
[42:06] Do they believe the Son of God carried their sin? If not, they're not born again. Father in heaven, I love you. And I pray that your name would be glorified and magnified.
[42:19] I pray, God, you'd help us to become witnesses and to be concerned about our mother and our sister and our brother and our uncle and our cousin and our neighbor and the guy we work with. God, I pray you'd help our people not to be put off by flippant affirmations of faith, but we would share the gospel message.
[42:34] This is no game. I pray you'd help us to do that. I pray, God, that you help our people to know that they have placed their faith and trust in you and that they're absolutely certain that they are saved and will go to heaven. God, would you do a work in our lives?
[42:46] God, help us to take this seriously and to believe it and to practice it and to make it real in our lives. Our people to know that they have placed their faith and trust in you and that they're absolutely certain that they are saved and will go to heaven. God, would you do a work in our lives?
[42:58] God, help us to take this seriously and to believe it and to practice it and to make it real in our lives. Thank you for listening to this message by Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[43:11] For more information on Vision Baptist Church, log on to www.visionbaptist.com. At the website, you can also find more audio and video recordings.