(John 2:13)
�And the Jews� Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.�
Let�s put this verse in a little context as to the narrative. We realize that John, and the other Evangelists, wrote memorials. They did not write every single instance of the life story of Jesus on this earth. John, himself, in Chapter twenty, verses thirty and thirty-one, notes that the Gospel accounts are not full accounts of all that Jesus did during His earthly ministry.
�And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.� (John 20:30-31)
These narratives were written for a purpose. They were written to lead people, with the convicting power of the Spirit, to the conclusion that Jesus is the Savior. I believe that the events which were written were also written so that those who would believe might gain instruction for their own lives. Jesus, in His earthly ministry, was an example to us as to how we ought to live among men and relate to God.
With that in mind, let us put this verse in context. Jesus had performed the first miracle of His earthly ministry during the wedding at Cana. Then, Jesus had gone to Capernaum. I believe that the context of the total story of Jesus would argue that He ministered and taught in Capernaum. I believe that He performed miracles in that city, as well.
Now Jesus enters Jerusalem for a religious festival. What is His first recorded act during that festival? Is He quiet and respectful of the divergent manner of the worshippers, and the leaders of these worshippers? No! His first act is to cause a scene. He goes into the temple and overturns the tables of the moneychangers.
Now, I don�t want to delve too deeply into this action at this point. Suffice to say that we always see Jesus treating the sinner with respect as He calls them to repentance. Sometimes Jesus seems somewhat abrupt with His disciples as they are slow to grasp the importance of His teaching. But, it is only with the religious leaders that He displays any sort of antagonism.
When Jesus sees the religious leaders teaching falsely, or presenting an aberrant view of God, He is often harsh. Why the difference in attitude toward the religious leaders and the others? Why is He more harsh with those religious leaders?
Some will argue that it was all strategy. He was coming to present some new teachings and was establishing a �point / counterpoint� between His teaching and their teaching. There might be some validity in this thesis. However, I think such an argument might be missing the point.
Jesus was not introducing a �new� teaching. He was seeking to demonstrate that He, in His Person, was the fulfillment of the �old� teaching. By their man-made laws and doctrine, which they had placed upon the �old� teachings of the Scripture, the religious leaders had actually hidden the Truth of God from the multitudes.
This was not the purpose of the teachings of the religious leaders. The �additions� which they had placed upon the Laws of Moses and the prophets, were actually put there as a �safeguard� so that people would not break those commandments.
That is a good, and a reasonable, ideal. But, in doing so, the very laws which they had sought to safeguard were hidden under a blanket of blind obedience to the doctrine and practice of man. We, of course, see the same thing in our own day.
I�m sure I could find many illustrations of just such things. �New music?� �Why it is terrible!� Someone, at some time, must have allowed some of the �new music� to come into our worship or we would still be singing Gregorian Chants, or something older.
Let me say this, before you get too mad!, I do not like the newer music. I will turn off the radio if it comes on while I�m listening to a religious broadcast. That is not because the music is bad, although I honestly believe that some of it is! It is because the new music just doesn�t fit my taste. It becomes something that is between me and God.
That is my fault, not necessarily the music.
I am going to assume that there were preachers who preached against the music of Stanky and Crosby. It was �new� and did not have the imprimatur of tradition behind it. Now, that is all many of us, me amongst those who feel this way, wish to hear.
In the early days of the last century each new invention, records, radio, movies, television, the internet, where each loudly branded as the tools of Satan. Now we find each of these, add in tapes, CD�s and DVD�s to the mix, which are seen as useful tools to evangelize the unsaved and build up the Christians.
The point I am trying to make is that we dare not seek to �tie in� the spiritual teaching of The Eternal God with what has gone in the past. People say that we need a D. L. Moody in our time. We don�t. If we needed D. L. Moody in our time he would still be alive and preaching. What we really need is the dedication to the things of God which D. L. Moody possessed. We need men and women who will stand up in our day and say, without fear, �Thus saith the Lord!�
As to the �new� things, when they are dedicated to the Lord they can be used by the Lord�s people to fulfill the Lord�s work. But, they must be so dedicated. We all know that there are places on the internet that can not be made to honor God. They are just too vile. The same can be said of TV shows, radio programs, music, and so forth.
What is important is not the medium. What is important is whether or not that medium is truly dedicated to God. Just holding up one�s hands and chanting �Holy, Holy, Holy,� does not always equate to a true worship of The True God. We need to look at the intent and leading. We need to see if there is honor being brought to God, or man just making a buck in the process.
More importantly, does it line up with Scripture?
There are many new English translations of the Scripture on the market. Are they honoring to God? Are they an accurate representation of the preserved Words of God, or are they a peon to the works of man? This is an important point, as well.
In our text verse, may we first look at the occurrence. �And the Jews� Passover��
This was a seasoned custom. You might even say that the Passover was a traditional service. This was a time that had been set aside for centuries for the worship of the Lord. Now this time of worship was being visited by Him Who the original event foreshadowed.
The first Passover was in Egypt. The Children of Israel were slaves; they had to petition Pharaoh for the right to leave his land. Their very right to travel was restricted due to their servitude. Moses had made petition after petition to Pharaoh on behalf of the people of God. Each of these petitions had, in its turn, been ultimately rejected by the ruler of Egypt. Judgments had followed each rejection even as Moses had warned the Pharaoh.
Now came a judgment which was severe. The firstborn of all was to die. Pharaoh had sinned away his day of grace in that he had repeatedly rejected the Words of God. There was no escape from the wrath of God. Even in His wrath God had projected His love. This was no secret, come in the middle of the night, event; everyone had been warned of the consequence of rejecting the Words of God.
God was great in His mercy in that He gave ample warning. God was also great in His mercy in that He gave a way of escape. Each family was to kill a sacrificial lamb. It was to be a perfect lamb in every way; no spot or blemish, even, was allowed. The blood of the lamb was to be painted over the doorposts and the top of the door. The blood was a barrier which meant that death was not allowed entrance into that home.
All of the Egyptian gods had been judged in the other plagues which had come upon Egypt. They had all been found to be inferior to the LORD God of Israel. No sacrifice to them would offer protection. It was a very narrow plan which was effective. It was according to the Word of the Lord and no other. Only His way would be accepted. Only His way offered life.
This was the beginning of the Passover. Now, here was Jesus coming to the event. It was Jesus of Whom the Passover spoke. It would be His Blood, shed as a Divine sacrifice for sin, which would be effective to save the people from their sins.
But, only His Blood!
Now the people focused on the custom and missed sight of the King.
This was also a social obligation. Family and friends who had not met since the last feast day were reunited in worship at Jerusalem. The city was bustling with the hustle and hurry of the people as they renewed friendships and �caught up� on old times. All of this was against the backdrop of worship directed toward the Lord.
Isn�t that a picture of Heaven? The poem �War Weary� speaks of this gathering:
We do see our own family who�ve gone on before.
We do see our friends - comrades in arms - buddies�
Others!
They, too, beckon us,
�Come home! It�s time to rest!�
The amazing thing,
The wonderful thing,
The glorious thing,
They are not old and mutilated.
They are young and whole
And, so will we be.
Isn�t this a wonderful thing to contemplate? The glorious reunion of Heaven! All of the petty arguments and bickering will be over as we meet in the fellowship of the worship of the King. I honestly believe that the will tend to overlook all the wondrous things He has done for us, to some measure, as we bask in the glow of His presence.
The worship will then be truly the thing!
This Passover season had been set in Jerusalem. I believe part of the reason it was to be celebrated in Jerusalem was that this gives us another picture of truth. This gives us the picture of the great reunion time of worship in Heaven.
This was actually a spiritual festival. It harkened back to things of history. But it harkened forward to the Cross of Calvary. I don�t think that there were very many, if any save Jesus, who understood the coming Passion of Jesus at Golgotha. They were caught up in the moment. But the shadow of the festival cast its dark canopy over the coming sacrifice of the Savior. Jesus must have pondered this truth in His own soul and considered that the people would soon learn the meaning of that door smeared with the blood of the perfect lamb.
Jesus was that Lamb. Jesus was that Door. As the Blood of the sacrifice of Jesus is applied to the door of our souls, death, that eternal death of spiritual exile into the regions of Hell, is told to stop. �You are not allowed entrance to this soul. This person is covered by the shed blood of the True Passover Lamb.�
Now we see the occasion. ��was at hand��
This was a religious festival which was coming to the nation.
We talk quite a bit in our time, in my native land, about getting what is coming to us as a nation. We generally use the phrase with regard to how we have departed from the faith which was at the forefront of those early people who founded this nation.
I think that it is wrong to call this a �Christian nation.� We are not and never have been. True Christianity has to do with individual response to the Gospel. That concept cannot be transferred to any parcel of land and apply the phrase to the national group which resides upon that land. To say that this is so is to depart from a Biblical definition of Christianity.
I believe that it is also wrong to argue that this nation was ever dedicated to Christianity or even Christian ideals. That this was done by those of the Mayflower Compact is correct. But, there were many other strains which were woven into the fabric of the founding of the nation.
I am aware that the United States Supreme Court ruled, in the 1890�s, that this was a Christian nation. I believe that they were wrong in point of theological meaning of the word �Christian.�
But, having said all the above, the nation at the time of its founding was predominantly Christian in its faith and culture. The founding was by people who were fundamentally Christian. Out of this Christian influence and culture came the great ideals of the founding documents of our nation.
We have strayed far from those Christian ideals. We have come to the point where we are in official opposition to God. It is the Christmas season as this sermon is being typed. The official acknowledgement of that fact is proscribed by almost all of our governmental bodies. Even many of our businesses are allowed to say only, �Happy Holidays,� without daring to mention just what is that holiday.
I believe that Divine judgment is coming upon this nation because we have chosen to offend the very Name of God and that which He has spoken in His Word. A nation which turns its collective back on the Words of God will not see the blessing of God upon its endeavors.
But, such was not the case, at least not on the surface, in this Passover celebration in Jerusalem.
This was a nation which was officially counting devotion to God as a thing to be prized. There, in Jerusalem, was the Temple. It may have been a Temple built by Herod, but the function of the Temple was dedicated to the Worship of the Living God.
Not all of the worship was as it should have been. We will see this in coming verses. There were charlatans amongst the faithful. This is even true in our day. Some argue that they refuse to �go to church with all those hypocrites.� Why is it, then, that those same people are willing to go to Hell with all of those same hypocrites?
Sure there are the counterfeit Christians and Christian (so-called) movements. Do you really believe that the maker of the counterfeit $20.00 bill would take the time to make it if there were not real bills like this in existence? Of course there are fakes and flakes in many churches. That is why we need the Spirit in our lives to discern the spirits and see if they be of God.
A good rule of thumb is to read your Bible until you are familiar with the Words therein. Pray that God would anoint your eyes and understanding to learn of Him.
Many years ago Linda and I stumbled into a �revival meeting� in a small church down South. We stayed for a few minutes and then left. Why did we leave? Linda pretty well summed up the situation. �I can definitely feel a spirit here. It certainly isn�t the Spirit of God.�
Not everyone who says, �Lord, Lord,� is of God. But, when the Words of God, from the Book of God, is magnified, when the Lord Jesus is the center of attention rather than the loud speaker, when the Spirit of God confirms the message as of Him, we may worship together
There may have been moneychangers sitting outside at their tables, but the people came to worship.
The city of Jerusalem was also courting the pilgrim who came to worship. Isn�t it a great thing when the people of God are honored as they worship? Sure, the city stood to make some money by attending to those pilgrims. There�s nothing at all wrong with that. Sure, the merchants were ready to sell their wares to the hungry pilgrim. There�s noting wrong with that. Those whose labor is of the Lord�s work should be able to make a living at that which the Lord has called them to do. Not all will need to do this. Not all will even want to do this. The problem comes in when we see those who are not interested in making a living - they are interested in becoming rich. There�s a lot wrong with this attitude.
May our worship, and the worship we might lead others into, always be centered upon Jesus and His Message. May we always remember that we will only find Jesus in the pages of His Book. We will never find Him in our bankbook!
That was the problem of the moneychangers. While the rest of the people were there to worship the Lord, those money changers were there to make a buck, and only to make a buck!
We should look at this text verse and see the obedience. ��and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.�
Let us never forget that Jesus, in His humanity, was a Jew. As the world seems ready to return to the race hatred paradigm. This is especially so in my nation. We are assailed with the concept of �multiculturalism.� In theory, this is not a bad idea. But in practice this has caused a loosening of the cultural bonds which bound us together as a nation. When each person is to be regarded as an �-American,� he has cased to be simply �an American.�
In this balkanization we have seen a weakening, even a disdain, for the older concept of America as a �melting pot.� The replacing culture harkens back to the ideal of �individualism� except that it carries the baggage of class hatred along with its ideal.
The cultural construct has lead to a growing anti-Semitism.
As Christians our �culture� is not to be the world�s culture. We should live with the realization that all people are His creation. �And hath made of one blood all nations of men�� (Acts 17:16a) Christians have an obligation to see all humanity was those for whom Jesus died. Any prejudice which is based on race is not of Christ.
Certainly we, as Christians, should never denigrate the Jew. It is from the Jew that our Scripture, our Lord, our very faith is derived.
We see that Jesus �went up� to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is set upon a mountain. Jesus traveled from the valley of the Jordan River up to Mt. Zion. The disciples, of course, followed Him on this trip.
Following Jesus will always lift our souls. In Jesus we are lifted from the �good and watered land� to an even greater plane as we move to fellowship with The Father. Even the �good� things of this human existence are made better when we see them in the true light of the Spirit.
The band which followed Jesus moved from the position of a vanquished nation to the citadel of the Lord�s provision.
Israel was a defeated nation. She was in subjection to Rome. Even her own laws and courts were subservient to the Roman occupation. The people overlooked their physical realities as they took part in the Passover. No transitory circumstance could overshadow, or prevent, their worship of the Lord.
We may go through hard times, ourselves. Folks, the symptom of temporal disorder is not the reality of our Spiritual vitality. We are never further than a prayer away from an audience with the Lord of Glory. Better yet, He is standing by waiting for us to approach the Throne of Glory with our petitions and needs.
The journey moved from the vapid daily life of the mundane and moved on into the celebration of God�s power. The people had been slaves in Egypt until the Passover had freed them.
The Passover was both a memorial and a reminder of the liberating power of God. It was a memorial in that it reminded them of what He had already done. It was a reminder in that it was a picture of what He could still do.
And, He still can!
Jesus can save you from your sins as well. He did it for me and He can do it for you! Just accept Him as your Savior. Do it today!