John 02(12–22)

Introduction

We’re returning to the gospel of John after the break for Christmas. And this is now our tenth Sunday on John’s gospel. We spent six Sundays on the first 18 verses which form the prologue to John’s gospel.

And do you remember the prologue? John wrote about the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning and who is himself God. He is God the Son. And God the Father made all things through him. And in him was life so that all the life we see around us and in us has come to us from him, because he has all life in himself.

And not only does he give us life, but he also gives us light. He gives to every living person the knowledge of God. But because of the darkness of our sin and unbelief, we don’t see the light which is shining around us and in us continually. We’re like people on holiday who don’t notice the brightness of the sun because they’re wearing dark sunglasses. And our minds are darkened by our sin and unbelief and we don’t know God.

But our darkness hasn’t obliterated the light. It’s still shining continually. And God has also revealed himself through the Old Testament prophets. And he revealed himself through John the Baptist who was sent as a witness to the light.

And then the light came into the world in a new way, because the light came into the world as a person. And that person, who is Jesus Christ the Lord, came to his own people, but they did not receive him or believe in him. But some did. And to them he gave the right to become children of God so that they came to know God in a new way as their loving, heavenly Father.

And so, the divine Word — who was with God in the beginning and who is God, and who has been shining continually, giving every living person the knowledge of God — came into the world as a person to give us the right to become children of God. And he therefore came in the flesh. Without ceasing to be who and what he eternally is, he took to himself a body and soul like ours and came into the world as one of us. And he came so that we might receive grace from God and so that we might know God. And who better to make God known to us than God himself. And that’s who he is.

And after the prologue, John described for us the first week in the Lord’s public life, when John the Baptist testified about him and when he appeared and began to call his disciples. And among the people he called was Philip. And Philip went and told Nathanael about him. And when Nathanael met the Lord, the Lord announced to him that the day was coming when we will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on him. And by those words he was foretelling how he will come again one day with his angels to gather his people for eternal life.

And after that, the Lord attended a wedding with his mother and his disciples. And when he learned that they had run out of wine at the wedding, he turned some water into wine. And not just into any wine, but into the best wine. And he did so as a sign of what he came into the world to do, because he came into the world not only to give us the right to become children of God, but he came to transform us and to make us better. He came to renew us and to perfect us. For now, he renews us partially by his Spirit. He renews us in the likeness of God more and more so that we’re able to do God’s will here on earth more and more. But the day will come when he will renew us completely: outwardly and inwardly, in body and in soul. And we will live with him in a renewed heaven and earth, where we will be perfectly holy and happy for ever. That’s what the Son of God came to do for us. And by turning the water into wine, the Lord Jesus also revealed his glory. And we too will see God’s glory in the life to come.

That’s as far as we got before we paused for Christmas. Today we turn to the passage which we read a moment ago about a time when the Lord went up to Jerusalem and cleared animals and birds and their sellers from the temple courts. He also overturned the tables of those who were changing money. There’s a similar story which is recorded for us in the gospels of Mathew and Mark and Luke. However, the story in the other gospels takes place near the end of the Lord’s public ministry, whereas this story, which John records for us, takes place at the beginning of his public ministry. Some scholars think that all of the gospel writers are recording the same story, but John for some reason put it at the beginning of his gospel. However, other scholars believe that they’re recording two different events: one that happened at the beginning of his ministry which only John records for us; and one that happened near the end of his ministry which Matthew and Mark and Luke record for us. And that seems to make sense to me.

Let’s go through the text briefly and then we’ll think about what we can learn from it.

The text

John tells us that some time after the wedding in Cana, the Lord Jesus went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. His brothers are his half-brothers, born to Mary and Joseph after the Lord’s birth. We’ve already met some of his disciples in chapter 1, but John doesn’t identify any of them by name here. And they stayed in Capernaum for a few days. The other gospels record a time when the Lord went to Capernaum early on in his ministry. This may be the same time. However, John doesn’t tell us anything that happened there. He’s more interested in telling us that the Lord went up to Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. This was one of the main religious festivals which the people celebrated each year. As part of the festival, they would eat the Passover meal and remember the time when the Israelites were in Egypt in the days of Moses and the angel of the Lord went through the land one night, striking down the firstborn males in every home, but passing over those homes where there was blood on the doorpost. The angel would see the blood and spare the firstborn males inside. And on the same night, the Egyptian Pharaoh told the Israelites to pack their things and leave the country. And so it was the night when their exodus from Egypt took place and they began the journey that would take them eventually to the Promised Land.

And so, crowds of people would have come to Jerusalem for the Passover. And among the crowds was the Lord Jesus. And when he went up to the temple, he found men who were selling cattle and sheep and doves. And there were other people sitting at tables, changing money. And this was taking place in the temple courts.

I should explain that the temple complex was made up of several courts. There was the Court of the Gentiles, where non-Jews could gather. There was the Court of the Women, where Jewish women could go. Then there was the Court of Israel, which male Jews could enter. Then there was another court which only the priests could enter. This was where the sacrifices were offered on an altar. And right at the heart of the temple was the Holy Place, which was God’s dwelling place among his people.

It’s likely that the people the Lord saw who were selling animals and changing money were in the first of these courts: the Court of the Gentiles. Anyone was allowed to enter it and it was meant to be a place of worship for Gentiles who wanted to worship the God of Israel.

That’s what it was meant to be. And so, why were all these people selling cattle and sheep and doves there? And why were others changing money there? It was really for convenience. If you were travelling to Jerusalem from your hometown to offer an animal sacrifice to God, it was much easier for you if you bought an animal when you arrived there instead of transporting one of your own animals from the family farm all the way to Jerusalem. And so, these men were selling animals to people who had come to Jerusalem for worship. And everyone was required to pay a kind of temple tax using a certain type of coin. And so, the money changers were in the temple court to exchange your local currency for the right kind of coin. So, imagine the temple tax was a £2 coin. In that case, two £1 coins was not acceptable. Four 50ps was not acceptable. It had to be a £2 coin. And so, these money exchangers would change your money for you. As I said, it was a matter of convenience.

But when the Lord saw what was going on, he drove them all out of the temple area. So, he drove out the cattle and sheep and those who were selling them. John tells us he made a whip, but there’s no suggestion that he used the whip on the people. It’s more likely he used the whip on the animals. How else would he get them to move? And then he scattered the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. And he told those who were selling doves to get them out of there. And he said to them: ‘How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market.’ More literally, he said to them: ‘How dare you turn my Father’s house into a house of trade.’

And John adds a little note that the Lord’s disciples remembered something. It’s not clear if they remembered it at the time or whether they remembered it later. But in any case, they remembered what Psalm 69 says about zeal for God’s house consuming the psalmist. In the psalm, the psalmist is full of zeal for God and his glory. But there are many others — including members of his own family — who are against him. In fact, they hate the psalmist without reason and they insult him. And the psalmist is looking to the Lord God to save him from his enemies. That’s the psalm, which the Lord’s disciples remembered. And they understood that that psalm is really about the Lord Jesus. He’s the one who is hated without cause and who is full of zeal for God and his glory.

The Jews however demand that the Lord Jesus should give them a sign to demonstrate to them that he has the right and authority to clear the temple like this. And the Lord answers them by saying that if they destroy this temple, he will raise it again in three days. But when the Lord refers to ‘this temple’, he’s not referring to the building in Jerusalem. He’s now referring to his body. We’re to imagine him pointing at himself when he says these words. ‘Destroy this body’ — pointing to himself — ‘and I will raise it again in three days’. He’s foretelling his death and resurrection, when they put him to death, but when he was raised from the dead on the third day. And after his death and resurrection, they will understand who he is and why he has authority to drive them from the temple.

The Jews don’t understand though. They think he’s talking about the building in Jerusalem which took years to build. How can he rebuild it in only three days? And John adds a little note for his readers which says what I’ve just said: that the Lord was not referring to the building, but to his body. And after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered what he had said. And so, they believed not only what the Scriptures said about the resurrection, but they also believed what the Lord Jesus said about the resurrection. The Old Testament Scriptures foretold the Lord’s death and resurrection. For instance, there’s Psalm 16:10 where it says God will not abandon him to the grave nor will God let him see decay. It’s foretelling his death and resurrection. And after the Lord’s resurrection, the disciples understood what the Scriptures meant. And they believed what they say. And after the Lord’s resurrection, they also understood what the Lord Jesus meant and they believed what he said too.

The Son of God

That’s the text. Let’s now think about what we can learn from it. And I want to focus for a moment on the Lord’s words in verse 16, where he said to those who were selling doves: ‘How dare you turn my Father’s house into a house of trade.’ The words ‘my Father’s house’ are significant, because these words make clear who the Lord is. They make clear that God is his Father and he, therefore, is the Son of God the Father.

So, when the Jews looked at him, all they saw was a man who did not look any different from any of the other men who were in the temple that day. He looked like an ordinary man. And so, after he cleared the temple, they wanted to know what authority did he have for doing such a thing. After all, he’s just an ordinary man. So, why does he think he has the right and authority to clear the temple like this?

And so, he looked like an ordinary man. And he was an ordinary man. He was made like us in every way apart from sin. But that ordinary man is also the Son of God the Father. That is to say, he is the only begotten Son of God the Father. And as I’ve said before, when we say that he’s Father’s only begotten Son, we’re saying that he’s the same as the Father.

When we make something, we make something that is different from us. If I make a cake, the cake is one thing and I am something entirely different. But when a man begets a child, the child has the same nature as the father. And it’s the same with other living creatures. A dog begets another dog. A cat begets another cat. A horse begets another horse. And so, when we say that God the Father begets God the Son, or when we say that the Son is begotten from the Father, we’re saying that they are the same as one another. A human father begets a son in his image; and God the Son is the image of God the Father. He’s not different from the Father, but he’s a repetition of the Father.

So, that’s who the Lord Jesus is. He’s the only begotten Son of God the Father. And that means he’s the same as the Father. That means he’s God.

But there’s more to say. Since the Son is the Son, since he’s begotten from the Father, then that means he comes from the Father or he originates from the Father. As we say in the Nicene Creed, which we’ve been studying on Wednesdays, he is God from God and he’s Light from Light and he’s true God from true God. That is to say, he is God who comes from God. And he is Light who comes from Light. And he is true God who comes from true God. He is God, just as God the Father is God and just as God the Holy Spirit is God. However, being the Son, he receives all that he is from the Father.

And so, by referring to the temple in Jerusalem as his Father’s house, the Lord Jesus is revealing who he is. He is God the Son who comes from God the Father. And here we see the wonder of the gospel, because we believe that for us and for our salvation God the Son came down from heaven and he took to himself a body and soul like ours so that he could give up his life on the cross to pay for our sins and to reconcile us to God the Father. For us and for our salvation, he became one of us so that he could suffer and die on our behalf, because there was no other way to make peace for us with God than through the self-sacrifice of God the Son on the cross.

Think back to what we read in the prologue about how ‘in him was life’. In other words, he has all life in himself. He has all life in himself and he gives life to all things so that every living creature receives its life from him. And yet for us and for our salvation he gave up his own human life to death on the cross to give us, not only life in this world, but everlasting life in the world to come. This is our God and we should give thanks to him continually for his overflowing goodness and love which caused him to come down from heaven for our salvation and for giving up his human life so that you and I can have everlasting life.

Inseparable

And now I want to focus your attention on something else he said. Take a look at verse 19 where the Lord said to the Jews that if they destroy this temple — meaning his body — then ‘I will raise it again in three days.’ As I’ve already said, he was foretelling his death and resurrection. They put him to death, but he was raised on the third day.

But here’s a question for you. Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? According to the Lord’s words in verse 19, he will raise himself from the dead. However, in Acts 2:24, we’re told that God raised him from the dead. That is to say, God the Father raised him. And in Romans 8:11 we’re told that the Holy Spirit raised him from the dead.

So, who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? Did he raise himself? Did the Father raise him? Did the Holy Spirit raise him? Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? The answer is: they all did. And that’s because all three persons of the Trinity possess one and the same divine being. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit possess one and the same divine being. They are not three Gods. They are one God. They are one God who exists eternally as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And here’s the thing: since they are one God, they act as one. They themselves cannot be divided, because they are one God; and their work cannot be divided. They themselves are inseparable, because they are one God; and they work inseparably.

And so, it’s not that the Father does one thing while the Son is doing something else entirely. No, they work together inseparably all of the time. And so, who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? All three person raised him. We can put it this way: the Father raised the body of the Lord Jesus through the Son and by his Spirit.

And since they work inseparably all of the time, then that means that all three persons of the Trinity worked together to accomplish your salvation. It’s not that the Son wanted to save you, but the Father was reluctant and did nothing to save you. It’s not that the Father and the Son wanted to save you, but the Spirit wasn’t interested and he left it to the others. No, the Father and the Son and the Spirit worked together to send the Son into the world to die for you. And then they worked together to raise the Son from the dead. And when the time was right, they worked together in your life to enable you to believe in the Son for salvation. And they’re working together right now to sustain your faith and to enable you to persevere in the faith. And they will work together to raise you from the dead and to bring you into the presence of God in the life to come.

This is our God. He is one God who exists eternally as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But they are not three Gods. They are one God. And since they are one God, then they work as one. And they worked as one to accomplish your salvation and to save you from your sin and misery and to give you eternal life in the presence of God. And so, you should give thanks to God continually for the overflowing goodness and love of the Father and the Son and the Spirit and how they reached out to you in love to bring you into their presence.

The temple

And now I want us to think about the temple in Jerusalem. Why was it there? What was it for? It was the place where God’s Old Testament people were reconciled to God. So, God’s Old Testament people were sinners. They disobeyed God continually in thought and word and deed. They therefore deserved his wrath and curse. They deserved to be punished for all they had done wrong and sent out of God’s presence for ever. But because God loved his people, he commanded them to set up the tabernacle, which was later replaced by the temple. And he told them what sacrifices to offer him at the tabernacle and temple to make up for their sins and to cleanse them from their guilt. The people came to the tabernacle and temple and offered the right sacrifices and received forgiveness from God. Their relationship with God was restored. Instead of being sent away, they could come into God’s presence and enjoy being with him. And God wanted his people to with him, enjoying his presence and blessing.

But the people had turned the temple into a place of business. Its primary purpose as the place to find forgiveness and peace with God was forgotten and it became a place to buy and sell animals and to exchange currency and to make money. There’s nothing wrong with buying and selling and making money. But the temple was not the right place for it.

And so, instead of keeping the temple as this holy place where God’s people received forgiveness and enjoyed fellowship with God, they had turned it into a place of business and trade.

But God loved his people. And he wanted them to receive forgiveness and he wanted to have fellowship with them. He wanted them to be with him and to enjoy his presence and blessing. And so, he came to Jerusalem in the person of his Son to drive away the sellers and money changers and to remind the people what the temple was for. It wasn’t for business; it was for cleansing and for fellowship with God. When the Lord Jesus drove them out of the temple it was to make the temple the place where his people found forgiveness and where they could enjoy being in the presence of God.

But God not only wanted reconciliation with his Old Testament people, but he wanted reconciliation with his people in every generation and in every place and he wanted his people to be with him, enjoying his presence, not just in this life, but for ever and for ever.

And that’s why God came to earth in the person of his Son and dwelt among us as a kind of living temple. Instead of dwelling among us in a building, God the Son dwelt among us in the flesh. And God the Son came in the flesh to offer himself on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sins so that whoever believes in him is reconciled to God for ever. Because of Christ and his death on the cross, God removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. He promises to remember them no more. And now that we have forgiveness and peace with God, through faith in Christ, we can come before God in worship and we can look forward to coming into his presence in the life to come, which is for ever.

This is our God. He restored us to fellowship with himself by coming down from heaven in the person of his Son to live among as a kind of living temple, where we find forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life in the presence of God. And now that we know these things, we should trust in his Son for peace with God; and we should give thanks to God for his wonderful love for us in Christ Jesus; and we should make it our aim to live our lives for him.