“The Sign of the Temple” (John 2:12–23)

“The Sign of the Temple” (John 2:12–23)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, April 14, 2019

John 2:12–23 (NIV)
       ¹² After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
       ¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 
       ¹⁸ The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
       ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
       ²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² 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.

1. The Authority of Jesus is Displayed.

2. The Authority of Jesus is Questioned.

3. The Authenticity of Jesus’ Authority is Predicted.

* By means of a Typological Sign, comparing Jesus to the Temple:

i. The Temple was the central focus of the worship and life of the Israelite people.

ii. The Temple was the means by which God’s presence dwelt with his people.

iii. The Temple was the place where sacrificial blood was offered by the High Priest for atonement so that God might dwell with his people.

4. The Authority of Jesus is Confirmed.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matt. 28:18-20 NIV)

³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand ³⁵ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' ³⁶ "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah." (Acts 2:32-36 NIV)