now we'll read together in our bibles from john chapter 2 we're thinking about
the seven signs in john's gospel revealing jesus glory last week his first sign where he turned
water into wine to allow joy and celebration to continue a wedding and now john moves from there
to where jesus clears the temple courts so this is john chapter 2 verse 13 when it was almost time
for the jewish passover jesus went up to jerusalem in the temple courts he found people selling cattle
sheep and doves and others sitting at tables exchanging money so he made a whip out of cords
and drove all from the temple courts both sheep and cattle he scattered the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables to those who sold doves he said get these out of here stop turning my
father's house into a market his disciples remembered that it is written zeal for your house will consume
me the jews then responded to him what sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this
jesus answered them destroy this temple and i will raise it again in three days
but the temple he had spoken of was his body after he was raised from the dead his disciples recalled what
he had said then they believed the scripture and the words that jesus had spoken
so that was our second sign jesus cleansing or clearing the temple but before we get there let's begin
with the scenes the sad scenes from america this past week so much of the world has been
gripped by the tragic death of george floyd as the ugly head of injustice and racism has raised itself once more
leading to those protest movements that we have seen in various cities declaring the message that black lives
the message that black lives matter and they matter of course because every life matters
now as christians and as a church we believe and we insist on this reality that all people whoever
we are are made in the image of god with value and dignity before him and we also very much hold on to
the hope of the gospel that in jesus there is the hope of reconciliation
first of all as jesus dies and rises there is hope for us of being reconciled to god that despite our sin
that separates jesus has come to reconcile us to god as he takes our sin and he pays the punishment to bring
us peace with god but not only does jesus bring reconciliation with god which is glorious
he also brings peace with one another that all barriers are broken down when our faith is in jesus
peace with one another that all barriers are broken down when our faith is in jesus
but what we have seen in america and around the world is is lament
sadness and fear in black communities and we've seen anger anger leading to action and to protest
of course some of that has crossed lines but there is protest against injustice and we'll pray
about that after thinking about the bible together now two thousand years before these events
we meet jesus in righteous anger taking action to confront the injustice that he sees
and what is that injustice as jesus enters the the courts of the temple
what is that god his father is being dishonored in his own house
and that people are being denied the right to know and enjoy god that relationship we are made for
being denied the right to worship so let's see how jesus acts and why and see why this matters to you
and to me today so let's begin with the sign so we're given the setting in verse 13 and it's very different
from last time last time the first sign of jesus was semi-public it happened at a wedding ceremony
but only a few people jesus mother disciples servants saw the miracle revealing jesus glory
where he turns water into wine by contrast here in verse 13 we're told it's almost time for the
passover and it's happening in jerusalem so this is the biggest gathering in the biggest
city in israel so think if we're in edinburgh right now think edinburgh during the fringe think of
the busyness and how crushed it is and they're gathering for um the passover feast and festival
a time when they remember with thankfulness god setting israel free from slavery to become his people
so they might be in relationship with god they might worship and enjoy god and so jesus comes to
the very center uh where the the worship and where the festival uh all takes place he comes to the
temple but what is it he finds he finds people selling cattle sheep and doves and others sitting at
tables exchanging money those temple courts where non-jews were able to come and worship god they've been
filled with animals they've been filled with business so what's going on here what's going on is a
convenience that was established for worshipers so and recognizing that some people came from
different provinces and different countries rather than them bringing their own animals perhaps hundreds
of miles to jerusalem instead people in jerusalem would provide clean animals ready for sacrifice and
also people in different provinces would have different money so there was a currency exchange
for different provinces so they could bring the appropriate money to the temple the problem
is that this practice has moved from where it used to be on a mountainside now it's moved
into the temple itself so jesus walks in and he's confronted by all this noise and all this buying and selling
and it's a scandal to him
and so in verse 16 he says get these things out of here stop turning my father's house
into a market my father's house an implicit claim of identity that he is the son of god but what's
happening you see the temple is being made impure what you think about all of those animals that is
not going to be a clean space and there's going to be a whole lot of chaos going on
this is a situation that is now unfit for worship can you imagine all the distraction
coming from the noise of all those animals and the buying and the selling and the exchanging of money
and as well as that a barrier has now been set up so that if a non-jew had made the effort wanting to
worship god to come to the temple there was that no entry sign because their place of worship has
become a marketplace and jesus is angry righteously angry so what does he do in verse 15
he says he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts sheep and cattle
turning over the coins of the money changers scattering them over turning their tables so
here he is in righteous anger in judgment of the temple system he fashions a whip
and he sets him out violently clearing out animals and traders and money changers
gk chesterton the english novelist who wrote a book called orthodoxy and he said that before he
became a christian he said i was given the impression that that jesus was a gentle creature
you know that maybe the stereotype that people have gentle jesus meek and mild but he said then i looked at
the new testament and he realized how different jesus was to that stereotype and this sign
certainly doesn't fit does it here is jesus righteously angered the disciples as they think
about it they then later on reflect on a psalm psalm 69 in verse 17 we have it quoted his disciples
remembered that it's written zeal for your house will consume me jesus is like david the king who is
consumed with passion for god's glory and for god's house as he was seeing other people reject ignore
mock and be guilty of injustice the king is concerned for the glory of god and the house of god
now it's amazing when you think about it that the religious leaders in jesus day they don't see the
problem they don't see the problem of turning a part of the temple into a market area and so they
allow this to happen that they have created a system making the worship of god of knowing god
either hard for some or impossible for others
i don't know what you would think is the the noisiest environment that you've been in
um in my head i can think of traveling through manila in the philippines in a in a jeepney with an
open back and just hearing traffic noise and horns honking and eight lines of traffic and just being
bedlam you know impossible to have a conversation impossible to think so put yourself here in the
temple you know there's the there's the animals there's the cows mooing and the sheep bang and the
doves cooing and there's people they're offering currency exchange how is anyone supposed to pray in that
sort of context how is anyone supposed to come and offer a sacrifice in the right spirit
to really honor god in that setting how is someone able to enjoy the high point of their religious life
to meet with god to know and enjoy god and his forgiveness to be in knowing that access that
reconciliation that relationship in this kind of madness and so jesus takes action so that god and
god's house might have the honor they deserve so that pure worship might take place and so that anyone
and everyone might be able to come and meet with god so this clearing of the temple is a sign
and so let's think for the rest of our time what does the sign signify so let's move to the significance
so remember jesus has just begun his public ministry he is still very much an unknown at this stage so in
verse 18 after jesus performs this act the jews respond to him what sign can you show us to prove your
authority to do all this now that sign has already been done jesus is a prophet who's come with god's
authority and he's clearing the temple but they're saying what gives you the authority who are you
what sign what badge what credential can you show us to prove that you represent god there is cynicism and
there is doubt but jesus offers a sign a sign that comes in the future jesus answered them destroy this
temple and i will raise it again in three days here is how you will know i have authority over temple
worship when i die and when i rise three days later now the religious leaders they they totally miss it
they think jesus is talking about the physical temple hang on a minute it took 46 years to build this you
reckon you can destroy it and rebuild it in three days outrageous claim the disciples they only understand
after the resurrection that jesus is speaking about his body that he is the true temple and they believe
that jesus and his words after the event but let's think together about what it means when jesus says his body is
the temple what is this sign telling us about the person and work of jesus and for our relationship
with god three things to think about first of all and that jesus and not the temple uniquely displays
the glory of god when john was introducing jesus in his gospel introduction in chapter 1 verse 14
he said this the word that's jesus the revelation of god the word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us we have seen his glory the glory of the one and only son who came from the father
full of grace and truth the word became flesh and tabernacled among us before the temple permanent
structure there was a tent called the tabernacle and john picks up this language and says jesus
tabernacled among us jesus is the son of god who takes on flesh jesus represents the fulfillment of the temple
and all that jesus says and all that jesus does reveals the glory of god to us so that no longer
our worshipers are our worshipers to to sort of go to the temple and to admire it look at all this gold
look at the size and the beauty of this building now look at jesus look at his wonderful character
hear his words of truth his invitation of love look at his acts of mercy
of demonstrating what his kingdom will be like look at how much he loves the world
in that he gave his own life so that we might be forgiven and be reconciled to god jesus displays
the glory of god and here in jesus action and clearing the table how do we see at the temple
how do we see god's glory we see the glory of god's desire that sinners might know and worship him
we see the glory of god's grace extending a welcome and an invitation to unworthy sinful people like us
we see the glory of god in jesus in his actions to remove the barriers that separate people from god
here it was at the marketplace but then on the cross the barrier jesus would deal with
would be our sin and god in his grace and his love has come to remove that barrier
so that we can have access to that perfect love that perfect love that drives out fear that perfect
love that gives us hope for now and eternity so jesus uniquely displays the glory of god
secondly jesus and not the temple is now our center of worship
the temple is one of those sort of dominant themes that that recurs all through the bible
and we understand that from the very beginning god in his grace god in his loving kindness
established a place where god and people could meet could enjoy fellowship
that we can experience friendship that we can experience friendship with god because of god's kindness to us
the garden of eden functions for adam and eve as a temple because there they are walking and talking with god
they are in his presence they are enjoying his blessing in all that they see in all that they enjoy
of course they sinned and that sense of fellowship was broken but then there was the sacrifice there was the promise
that one would come who would crush the head of the serpent and that one would come from eve who would defeat the devil
and the power of sin but there was also sacrifice within the garden to to cover them when they felt the shame of sin
when they felt exposed in their nakedness god in his kindness by sacrifice covered them which becomes a really important
theme in temple worship and then there's the tabernacle so after
moses leads the people out of slavery in egypt brings them to mount sinai
where they become the covenant people of god god commits to being their god and he calls them to be his people
they're brought into this wonderful relationship and part of that they they get the law
but they also get moses gets instructions for how to build a tabernacle a tent where god
again in his mercy will dwell
in the midst of his people
so when israel was on the move in the wilderness and they were setting up camp
god was quite literally his tent was right in the middle and the 12 tribes camped all around
and there was very clear instructions for how it was to be built because god is holy
but also that god wants to meet with his people the way was open but part of the way that was open
for how that opening came was through sacrifice so there were detailed instructions and part of israel's
life was worship and access by means of sacrifice
and so both at the tabernacle and the temple
they have this visual representation here is god with his people here is god
seated on a throne and he is holy
people are sinful but still there is a way to enter into god's presence if they bring
a sacrifice
and so the temple was hugely important to to national life and to religious life
what is jesus's sign saying
well just as the angels promised he has come to be
emmanuel he has come to be god with us he has come to be the way that we meet with god think back to our
memory verse at the beginning our call to worship
i am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me
worship is not rooted to a place or a building
christianity does not center on a holy place
no our faith centers on a holy person
the son of god who became one of us to to be our savior to be our rescuer
and so our worship is not tied to buildings and places and that's really good news for us
and in lockdown that that god continues to meet with us
that we can still know god through jesus
that jesus sends the spirit so that he dwells in us
so that we know that he's always with us wherever we are
and now that that worship is centered on a person and not in a place
it allows the message of christianity and it allows the church of jesus to go global
so today there are hundreds of millions of people worshiping some at home
some in house churches some in the open air
some back in their church buildings
but all of them
enjoying the privilege of knowing god
through faith in jesus
and it's been wonderful to to recognize and to hear
that the good news of jesus is not under lockdown or quarantine
that there are people who are becoming christians through this crisis
that people are being added to churches
through this trauma that god continues to call people to himself
the third thing to see is that jesus fulfills
what the temple represents
so jesus is how you and i see the glory of god
we want to know what god is like
we look and we see the glory of god in the face of jesus
jesus is the only way you and i can know god
and jesus is the only way sinners like us can experience
the love and the joy and the fellowship of god
through that sacrifice that he made in himself
the barrier that you and i face as we said is our sin
what does sin look like sin looks like ignoring
our creator god in the world that he has made
acting as if god is not there or god does not care
sin is rejecting his offer of friendship
saying no to the love that he offers through faith in jesus
sin looks like treating our creator king shamefully
by rejecting or rebelling against his law
his commands and all of those sins and so many more
they deserve eternal judgment
we don't deserve to be near to god
we deserve to be sent away from god and all his goodness forever
and that's a serious problem
it's a barrier that you and i cannot clear by ourselves
we cannot pay off that moral debt
we cannot gain access by ourselves
we simply do not have the capacity
to be sinless and perfect as god demands
so what we need
is we need another clearing
another cleansing from jesus
and that will take place on the cross
what is happening
in the death of jesus
and the resurrection of jesus
well it's that jesus
takes our sin
your sin and mine
on himself
he comes as the lamb of god
who takes away the sin
of the world
and in his death
and by faith in jesus
trusting that what jesus did on the cross
he did for me
the barrier of sin is removed
our our sin is washed away
we are forgiven
and now we can enjoy life with god
we get a wonderful picture of what that looks like
at the cross
as jesus dies
on mount calvary
back in the temple
in jerusalem
as jesus dies
as his body is being torn apart
the curtain
of the temple
is torn in two
from top to bottom
that great no entry sign
to god's most holy place in the temple
but is torn down
in the death of jesus
the way of access
is opened up
for all
who will believe
in him
so jesus second sign
the clearing of the temple
is a pointer
to his great mission
he has come to be
the one
who
we worship
he's come to reveal
god to us
god in the flesh
so that we might worship
through him
and jesus is how
we can know god
because he takes our sin
and he creates a way
for us
you and i
we've been made in the image of god
for relationship
and so i'm sure we've been feeling the pain
of lockdown in so many ways
and maybe you've been feeling a sense of relief
and hope with that easing
we need to remember the greatest relationship of all that we are all made for
is to know god
to know god through jesus
and so the invitation is to come to him
have faith in him
confess your sin to him
trust in him as your lord and saviour
believe in him
and enjoy
relationship with god
today
for the rest of your life
and
for all
eternity
you