John Lesson 6

Introduction

Very pleasant good day to you, and welcome to Let the Bible Speak. Get your New Testament open and turn with me to the reading found in the second chapter of the Gospel of John, where we’re going to begin in our study today in John chapter 2 and verse 12 and go to the end of that chapter in our study. We’ve been involved in a verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of John, a very rich study that teaches concerning the deity of Jesus Christ. Is he what he claimed to be? Or was he a fraud? Do the signs, the miracles, and the wonders that he did prove that he is the Son of God. That’s the purpose for which they have been selected and written in this gospel of John.

And if you study along with this, I believe you’ll be convinced and find life through Jesus Christ as you believe on him, that he is the Christ, the Son of God. Do you really believe that the Bible can be understood? It’s quite obvious not everybody understands the Bible alike, isn’t it? In fact, there are many religious people who take the same book, the same Bible, and they read from it, and they come up with different doctrines, conflicting and contradicting. There are those who would simply say, Well, the Bible cannot be understood, and God didn’t intend for us to understand it alike, and so you believe what you want to believe, and let everybody else believe what they want to believe. Well, frankly, my friends, that is not the way Jesus Christ intended for us to accept the word of God.

Jesus Christ was tolerant in the sense that he loved all men, and he was willing for all men to come to him for forgiveness of sins. But Jesus was not tolerant when people in the name of religion were doing things that were not according to God’s word. And that’s what we’re going to one of the lessons we’re going to learn in our study today from John chapter 2. And furthermore, we’re going to see in this chapter how that even some of the religious leaders, the people who supposedly knew the scriptures and were teaching the scriptures, did not understand that Jesus Christ is a Son of God. They didn’t understand the Scriptures. Actually, if the Bible cannot be understood, of itself, that makes an indictment against God’s power and against God’s justice.

You see, the Bible says that it that it is written in order that we might know the things that are given to us of God. That’s the statement of 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and in verse 12. And the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 3, verses 3 to 5, spoke how that by revelation God had made known unto him the mystery, and he said, I’ve written, and when you read you can understand, even my knowledge or Paul’s knowledge in the mystery of God. That’s Ephesians 3, verses 3 to 5. Now the Bible claims that it was written in order that we might understand, and yet people today say, Well, we cannot understand it, that really says that God didn’t have the power to do what he claimed he was trying to do with the Bible.

Would you want to take that point of view? Surely not. Or furthermore, if the Bible cannot be understood, that that is an indictment against God’s justice. For Jesus said in John chapter 12 and verse 48, that he that rejecteth me and receiveth not my saying, hath one that judges him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. That simply says that the very words that we are studying, the word of Christ, the word of God, that it is that by which we shall be judged. Now, if God has given us the word and yet made it incomprehensible, so that we cannot understand it, or was powerless to do it, and yet he has made it the book by which we shall be judged in the final day, that’s unjust if it cannot be understood.

Yet Jesus said we should be judged by it. And in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 21, he said, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. We must do the will of the Father in order to be saved. What we’re really trying to say to you as we began this study in John chapter 2 is that there are people who do not understand the Bible alike. They do not understand God’s word alike. But don’t blame God. Don’t blame the Bible, the Word of God. If people do not understand the Word of God, the fault usually lies within the people themselves. Some fail to study. And others, when they come to study, they do not study it properly.

1. After This He Went Down to Capernaum

They have their minds already made up with a preconceived idea. And they may search a place here and a verse there and hop and skip and they make the Bible a game of sort of a biblical hopscotch, and they make it a confusing book. And when people do not have their eyes open and their ears attuned to the word of God, they will not understand it. Even as you’re going to read with us in this study today, how that some of the religious teachers did not understand what Jesus said when he described himself as the one who would be resurrected on the third day. If you have your Bibles open, John chapter 2 and verse 12, the scripture says after this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples, and they continued there not many days.

Well, to say after this, you recall in our earlier study, in verses 1 through 11, we we talked about the first miracle that Jesus performed. The sign, the wonder, the miracle that testified that he is the Son of God. And that first one was when he turned the water into wine. Now, as we pointed out in our last study there, there are those who like to take that passage of scripture and prove something that is completely opposite from what the Bible says. There are some who want to use that as justification for drinking alcoholic beverages. So when we really get the context in view, we see that when Jesus turned the water into wine, what he did was make the best wine, the good wine, but he was not encouraging drunkenness, for they had already well drunken at that feast.

And Jesus would not have encouraged that which was condemned both in Old Testament and New Testament, that is drunkenness. But what Jesus did was make the freshest tasting, the sweetest tasting wine. And the word wine can mean simply the juice of the grape. We might even just say grape juice. What he did was make the best tasting. And the governor of the feast was, or the ruler of the feast was amazed that the very best was saved until last. There are those who want to take that verse and try to justify social drinking, but there really is none there. In fact, the Bible teaches that that if we’re a child of God, we will abstain from the very appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5.23. And you find even a Christian, supposedly today, who wants to justify his social drinking and saying, well, just so long as he doesn’t get drunk, he’s alright.

Well, that kind of individual shows some selfishness on his part. There’s no reason why, at least one in this country should have to ever drink, except that is drink alcoholic beverages, except for some kind of social pleasure. And to be one of the gang, so to speak. But why would a Christian want to tempt himself? Why would he want to put himself in into a situation whereby he might get drunken and clearly be condemned? For drunkards shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Galatians 5 and verse 21. And how could a man with a with a with a can of beer in his hand, or even a little bit tipsy or tight, how could he ever teach someone else about Jesus Christ and really be convincing that Christ wants righteousness in us.

You see, it’s just incongruous for for a man who claims to be a Christian to run to passage like John chapter 2 and try to prove that it’s all right to drink alcoholic beverages. But it was after that time when Jesus turned several gallons of water to wine and made the very freshest tasting and sweetest tasting grape juice or fruit of the juice, fruit of the vine that would be drunken there. After that, the scripture says he went to Capernaum. Now Capernaum was was about a day’s journey from Cana of Galilee. It was on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus spent much time at the city of Capernaum. In fact, there were many signs that Jesus worked. As you go through the life of Jesus Christ, many different signs Jesus worked in the city of Capernaum.

Think of about the passage in Matthew chapter 11, where in verse 23 Jesus even later described Capernaum. In Matthew 11, verse 21, he said, Woe unto thee, Corazon, woe unto thee, Betheda, for the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, and they would have repented long ago and sack cloth and ashes. But I said unto you, it should be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And then in verse 23 he said, And thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven shall be brought down to hell. For the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. Even the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that were destroyed by fire from God, or the cities of Tyre and Sidon, had the works that Jesus performed in in the cities of Beth and Coraz and Capernaum been done in those wicked cities of the past, they would have been spared.

What mighty works these people saw. But some who saw the Christ did not believe in him. And as I was saying a moment ago, why does that happen? Or why is it that some can read the Bible and not understand the truth or not accept the truth? Well, the fault was not with God. It was not that Jesus was powerless, or he did perform many signs in Capernaum and Corazon and Bethsaida, and he did speak the truth, and he spoke it with clearness. But people’s hearts were not open to the truth. They were not willing to accept the signs that proved he is the Christ, the Son of God. It’s interesting as you go through these passages that sometimes there’s some incidental lessons that come out right clear, and you may have noticed where we’ve read in verse 12 how that Jesus went with his mother and his brethren as he went to Capernaum, and continued there not many days or for a few days.

2. Jesus Had Brethren

You know, there are those today who teach that that Mary remained a virgin all of her life. But this scripture says that Jesus had brethren. He had brothers. And and the other passages, Mark chapter 6 and verse 3, and and also in Matthew chapter 13, for example, we even have some of his brothers uh identified, named for us. Now, of course, they would have been half brothers, for the father of Jesus was was God himself. And his earthly father Joseph, uh, by by Mary had other children. But Mary did not remain a virgin. In fact, Matthew 13 in verse 55 says, Is not this the carpenter’s son speaking about Jesus? And is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas and his sisters, are they not all with us?

3. He Drove the Money Changers Out of the Temple

Whence then hath this man all these things? So you see, he had some brothers even, at least the rest thought, here are his brothers and here are his sisters. Mary did not remain a virgin. How many people accept that openly? Here’s what the Word of God says about it. Is your mind and heart open to the teaching of the Word of God on that particular point? Now reading in verse 13, the scripture said 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. And 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’ money and overthrew the tables, and said unto them that sold doves, take these things hence.

Make not my father’s house and house a merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Verse 13 says, A Jew’s Passover was at hand. It’s interesting, the Gospel of John, we do not really have a chronology of the life of Christ. That is, it does not start with his birth and goes through in a chronological way. The Gospel of John is written from a point of view of doctrine, that he’s the Christ, the Son of God. And you recall, as we started in the very first three verses, it just simply says, In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God, speaking about Jesus Christ being the word.

Jesus has just begun his personal ministry. And he goes down to Jerusalem. For Passover was the time where male Jews would go to the temple area to Jerusalem. And each year, once each year, they would observe Passover and two other times for Pentecost and for the Feast of Tabernacles, they would also make that trip. But here was a Passover time. And in John chapter 5 and verse 1, we’re going to read again where there was the second Passover that Jesus went to Jerusalem for. And in John chapter 6 and verse 4, there will be the third Passover that he was in Jerusalem. And in John chapter 12 and also chapter 13, there was a fourth Passover, and that was the one at which time Jesus was crucified.

So counting the time in between these four Passovers, we know that his personal ministry lasted for about three years on the earth. From the time of his first miracle until the time of his crucifixion. Jesus worked signs and wonders and miracles, taught parables, and led many to the understanding that he is the Christ. About a three-year period that involved. But in this first time that he goes to Jerusalem for the Passover, the scripture says that he made a scourge of small cords. And he drove the money changers out of the temple. Now let’s remember that the temple was more than just one building. Sometimes you talk about a university, for example, and you go to the university, and there’s there’s several buildings that make up the university.

Well, in one sense, if you’ll at least understand that language, you can understand that the temple area was a rather large area. There was even places sometimes where they could have the animals, the sheep and the sacrifices that would be made. And so in this area, as Jesus came, he grew angry. There was righteous indignation because of the money changers. Jesus loved us, didn’t he? He died for us. And God is love, isn’t he? But there’s some who misunderstand what love really means. Jesus loved, but Jesus demonstrated his love for God in that he drove out the evil money changers that were in the temple area. You see, what was happening? People who would travel from other parts of the world would come to Jerusalem to worship, would not have means to bring their sacrifices.

And so when they got to the temple area, in order to make a sacrifice to God, they would often buy maybe a lamb or a or a dove to sacrifice. And the money that they would have from their country, some foreign currency, had to be changed into the common currency, and then they would buy the sacrifice. But these money changers, while they seemed to be doing a good service for these people and allowing them to have sacrifices to make unto God, yet they were making this simply a place of merchandise. They were really being in a sense covetous with these in the handling of this matter. And that angered Jesus. In fact, the house of God is a house of prayer, not a house of uh of covetousness or house of merchandise.

Jesus was tolerant. But he was intolerant also. Today the watchword of a lot of people religiously is let’s have tolerance. Well, what about this occasion? Jesus, out of love for God, was intolerant. And there come time, there comes a time where if we really love the truth, we’re going to be intolerant of unholiness and unrighteousness. And Jesus righteously drove out the money changers. We’re going to pause for a few moments. We’re going to come back and continue to study and show how that here are some people who did not understand even the words of Jesus, and we’re going to examine why not. I hope you’ll stay with us. Observe in John chapter 2 and in verse 15, Jesus had taken a small cord that uh of and scourge of small cords and had driven out the money changers from the temple.

But this was not the only time that Jesus did that. It is also recorded to Matthew chapter 21 and in verse 12. Three years later, that is at the end of his personal ministry on earth, Jesus did the same thing again. He acted with zeal for the Lord. And as we were just pointing out it showed that out of love, out of love for God, he disapproved and was intolerant of those who were evildoers. And so it is that if you really love the Lord you’re going to stand up for righteousness. And the zeal of thine house, the scripture said, has is that which has eaten me up. Beginning in verse 18 of John 2, the scripture says then answer the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

4. He Spake of the Temple of His Body

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But 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. The Jews actually in verse 18 were were rather surprised that Jesus would take such a strong and authoritative action. And in effect when they said what sign showest thou unto us seeing thou doest these things in effect they were asking, by what authority? Who gave you this right to drive these, overturn these tables and and drive these money changers away from this area.

And and Jesus’ reply was was one that baffled them. He simply said, Destroy this temple. In three days I will raise it up. Now they didn’t comprehend the words of Jesus. Their response was as though he were talking about this physical, literal building. Jesus really was talking about his death, burial, and resurrection. His disciples later remembered the saying, and they understood what Jesus meant. For the power and glory of Jesus Christ was evidenced in the fact that he was raised from the grave in three days. As Romans chapter 1 and verse 4, he was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. He was declared to be God’s son in that he was raised from the grave.

But when he said, I’ll tear this down and rebuild it in three days, they thought he was talking about that literal building, and and their response was, well, it took forty-six years to build it. Now, actually, in understanding the history of that temple, you remember that it was first built by Solomon about 1,000 years BC. But that temple had been destroyed when the Babylonians had overrun Jerusalem. You find in the book of 2 Kings, chapter 25, and also in Jeremiah. The scripture says that it was torn down, burned, and uh the destruction of the temple in about 586 BC. But that temple was then rebuilt. And uh, whenever the rebbable came back with the first remnant from Babylonian captivity, he first laid the foundation of the temple, and then under the leadership or the urging of the two prophets, Haggai and Zachariah, that original temple had been rebuilt.

But it was not the same in size or in glory as the one that Solomon had built. And you read that in Ezra chapter 3, in fact, how that even some of those who remembered the first temple began to weep as they saw the second one going back up or being rebuilt. But Herod the Great had assumed the throne about and shortly after he’d assumed it, about 20 BC, began to rebuild the temple, and to restore it, that is, to its original glory of the days of Solomon. And it had taken some forty-six years to get it to the state that it was in presently when Jesus was here in Jerusalem for this Passover. And so that’s what they mean when they say forty six years it took to build this, and you mean you think you can tear it down in three days rebuild it.

Obviously they didn’t did not understand the words of Jesus. You may recall even at his uh mock trial in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 61, they had some witnesses that came and testified. This man said he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, and they used that as evidence against him, or at least as though it was a ridiculous claim that this man had made. And even when he hung on the cross, they reviled him. In Matthew chapter 27, the scripture says in verse 40, some said, Oh, you said you could tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days? Well, why don’t you come down from the cross? They did not understand what Jesus was referring to, and though they mocked him.

It was really an evidence of their ignorance, the way in which they mocked him. But Jesus Christ was crucified. The temple, his body, was destroyed or was broken, that is, he died for the sins of others. Yet in three days he was raised from the grave. The greatest sign and power, testifying Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is the fact of his resurrection, the empty tomb. As we pointed out, the Gospel of John tells about several different signs that Jesus worked, seven different ones that are unique, that is different from the others in character and kind are described in this book of John. But when we come to the final, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the one testimony that even skeptics today cannot answer, and that is what happened to his body.

The empty tomb. He was raised from the grave is the testimony of his disciples. He was raised from the grave, and there were witnesses who verified that fact by many infallible proofs. He was among them forty days after his resurrection. There is testimony of fulfilled prophecy. There’s testimony of the signs he did, but there’s the testimony of the resurrection. Jesus spake about his resurrection. Why is it that there are some people who do not believe? Why is it that these rulers even did not understand? Although the scripture says that his disciples later remembered this, and his disciples believe the scripture and the word Jesus had said. Well, as we began our study today, I said that there are many people who do not understand the Bible and do not understand it alike.

5. Don’t Blame God and Don’t Blame the Bible

But don’t blame God and don’t blame the Bible for that. Look with me at Matthew chapter 13. In Matthew 13, verses 13 through 15, Jesus described why it is that some people do not understand. He said, I speak to them in parables because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart and should be converted, and I should heal them.

If you come to the Word of God with your mind already made up, your eyes are closed, your ears are dull of hearing, and you are not open to understanding or wanting to know the truth, you cannot be taught that truth. God doesn’t force it into your heart. And there are some who hear and will not understand. The Bible predicted that. But notice the blame is not with God. The reason that people do not understand is not because the Bible is incomprehensible, but it is rather because people are not with open hearts and minds. What is your attitude? Are you willing to make whatever change is necessary in order to do what the Word of God says? Let that be our prayer and our desire.

6. Saving Belief Is a True Committal Unto Christ

But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.

But in verse 23, many believed in his name. That those words translated believe and commit are from the same root word, pistuo. They believed in him. But what is saving belief? We might use the word commit. Jesus did not believe himself to them, or he did not commit himself to them. I want you to see as we study through the gospel of John, that if we have saving faith, it is a true committal unto Christ. It’s more than just a mental acceptance of Jesus. We walk by faith, Second Corinthians 5 and 7 says, but faith comes by hearing the word of God, Romans 10 17. But that faith made perfect is a faith that is obedient. Commit yourself to Christ Himself to men who were fickle and frail because he knew that some would turn away from him.

Conclusion

But if you’re going to commit to Christ, totally obey him and walk with him. Until our next study, may the grace and peace of our Lord.