Week 9 – Jesus Chooses Us

  b. Verses 23-25 

Jesus spent some time in Jerusalem focusing on the people.  He healed the sick, and comforted the sorrowing, but He did not stand up and say that He was the Messiah.  During this time, Jesus was enormously popular and could have easily taken advantage of this fact.  Jesus already knew that people would accept him, but He also knew that many would fall away when He told them what He had to do and the changes that people had to make in their own lives.   

Why didn’t Jesus seize the moment?  Jesus was not living for the temporal world.  He was thinking eternally.  He knew that it didn’t matter in the long run and He was there for a purpose.  He just wanted to love people and help them while he was in Jerusalem.   If he had claimed to be the Messiah by actually saying it and proving it by some even greater sign, then He could have set off a celebration and word would have spread throughout Israel and the world.  It would have been a pointless distraction and would have prolonged or prevented Jesus from accomplishing His actual task of dying on the cross as a payment for all sin.  God placed the responsibility on Jesus.  Jesus could have chosen not to go through with it.  Jesus could have established Himself as King of the world and chosen not to die for our sins, but He didn’t.  Just like we have a choice to accept Him or not, Jesus also had a choice.   

Jesus knew that some people were not believers for the long haul and they just were there for the spectacle.  Jesus never asked anyone to believe in Him unless they fully understood what that would mean.  Also, Jesus did not need to prove to Himself the hearts of men, he already knew their hearts.   

I think that Jesus could have taken advantage of His popularity and still found a way to accomplish His task in the end.  Why didn’t He?  He really reveals his heart.  Jesus has a heart for us and He would rather spend time helping and ministering to people than being hailed as an earthly king or something.  In other words, He isn’t in it for the fame; He’s in it for us.  

Question:  Have you ever had someone give up something in order to help you, like Jesus gave up the glory of the moment to be able to be close to the people and minister to them?  Have you given up something to help someone else?  What did it reveal to you about God and His heart for you?

Good Study Tool

Check out this site.  It allows you to see multiple translations at the same time.  http://onlineparallelbible.com/

Week 8 – The Reaction

b. Verses 18-22 

Jesus cleansing the temple was something that the Jews immediately reacted to.  It seems obvious that they would.  The temple was something that was more important to them than just about anything else.  This act solidified the belief of the disciples and it got the attention of the Jewish religious leaders.    

The disciples recalled the Psalm that the messiah would be consumed with zeal for the house of the Lord.  This act was something that they recognized as a statement by Jesus of “Look everyone.  I am the Messiah!”  Although we don’t see Him actually saying it here, He was saying it with this act.   

The Jewish leaders obviously were interested in who it was that was messing up the temple during the most important celebration of the year (and the most profitable).  They demanded to know by what authority Jesus did this.  They actually asked for a sign.  This isn’t a question you ask someone unless you think that they might be God or a messiah.  Jesus already had somewhat of a reputation and then he performs such a bold act right in the middle of Jerusalem, they knew better than to just arrest Him and throw Him in jail.  Everyone recognized that Jesus was making a claim to be the messiah and they asked Him to prove it.   

What did Jesus say?  He said that if they would destroy this temple, He would rebuild it in three days.  It was somewhat of a challenge to the Jewish leaders.  What did He mean?  Well, He was certainly referring to Himself.  His disciples remembered what He said after He was raised from the dead.  Also, he was referring to the temple and what it stood for.  Jesus told the woman at the well that the day was coming when men would worship God, not in Mount Gerizim, nor in Jerusalum, but in spirit and truth (John 4:21).  This is part of His message that day, that the importance of the physical structures and empty rituals were going away and He was ushering in a new covenant.  When Jesus was crucified, the temple curtain that was what separated men from God in the temple was torn from top to bottom.   

This was a little hard for the Jews to swallow, since they treasured their temple and had waited a long time to get it built the way it stood.  The important concept to grab from these verses is that we have no way to God, but through Jesus.  No temple, no ritual, no tax, no anything that we can do without Jesus.  He came to show us the way, the truth, and the life and we have to recognize that.  We are here without a way to God, except for Jesus.  Jesus shows us a lot in this one act. Most importantly that He came to be the way for us and that the true temple is in each of us through Him. 

Question:  Have you ever asked for a sign from God?  Have you ever received a sign from God?  Has God ever shown you in some way that what you are most proud of has become a hindrance in your life (like the temple for the Jews)?

Week 7 – Jesus Clears the Temple

b. Verses 12-17
Jesus makes a whip of cords and goes through the temple clearing out all the money changers and animals, etc… Jesus shows us his anger and how it can be applied to bring about a cleansing. Sometimes we feel like anger is a bad emotion and we need to learn to suppress it. Jesus shows us how anger can be a good emotion when it is used for the Lord’s purposes.

This event is also detailed in the other three Gospels put either this same event or another clearing of the Temple toward the end of Jesus’ ministry. The explanations are: 1. He did this twice; 2. John is right and the others are wrong; 3. John died before he could get this Gospel in final form and someone misplaced this passage; 4. John placed it here and wasn’t interested about placing it in the correct place. This last possibility makes sense from one stand point. The author was careful about addressing certain issues in the beginning of his gospel. This could have been placed here immediately after Jesus’ first miracle to show how Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy and is the Messiah and Son of God.

Why did Jesus become so angry? It was outright extortion of God’s children that drove him to do what He did. He did it out of compassion for His children. This occurred during Passover and during that time Jewish pilgrims came from all over the world to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. It is estimated that as many as two and a half million Jews traveled to the temple to celebrate the Passover. Part of the celebration was a tax and a sacrifice. The tax was a couple of day’s wages at the time and the sacrifice had to be an animal that was without flaw. Where the extortion came in was the only currency accepted for the tax was a Jewish shekel. These pilgrims that had brought with them other currency had to change their money and get Jewish shekels and they were charged as much as another day’s wage for the exchange. Also, the inspection of the animals that were purchased outside of the temple (which were much cheaper) would almost always result in a rejection. This meant that the only animals that were accepted as flawless were those purchased inside the temple. Again, these were much more expensive than those purchased outside. Jesus was filled with anger at the thievery taking place in the temple by those in charge of doing the work of the Lord.

The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay talks about the displeasure of God with empty sacrifices and says that this was part of what drove Jesus to cleanse the Temple. He not only hated the extortion, but hated the empty sacrifices for the sake of tradition and not from the heart. He mentions several verses in the Old Testament where the prophets talk about God growing tired of empty offerings and sacrifices, but I thought about God as a Father and how that would feel. If my kids only gave me hugs and kisses out of habit or because they were supposed to before they went to bed but there was no feeling – it would be devastating. That is how God feels about empty worship. His loves His children and wants us to return that love.

Another interesting thing about this story is that in Mark, Jesus says “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer”. This in interesting because the area where the money changers had set up shop is the Court of the Gentiles. This is the area where Gentiles were allowed to enter and pray. There was so much going on in this area that no one could get any prayer done. It is also interesting how Jesus emphasizes here that the Lord’s house is for all nations and cleanses the area specifically used by the Gentiles.

How is it that one man could single handedly clear all of this from the Temple? He must have had an awesome presence. I can’t imagine that I could go in somewhere with a whip and really clear a place out. Someone would grab me and call the cops. How is it that Jesus was able to do this and the people scattered so quickly?

The disciples immediately thought of Psalms 69:9, which referring to the Messiah says, that He will be burning with zeal for the house of the Lord. This was immediately obvious to the disciples, but it was also obvious to the Jews that wanted to know by what authority Jesus did what he did. They knew that this act was one that would be done by the Messiah.

Question: What is in our “Temple” that keeps us from being able to worship God in a way that is meaningful to us and to God? How can we “cleanse” our temple and reestablish the natural reverence that we should have in His presence?

Week 6 - Miracle at Cana

I. Chapter 2
a. Verses 1-11
Jesus performs his first miracle in these verses. He has revealed Himself to His disciples and given them a glimpse of what He is about. This miracle is unique to the Gospel of John and is filled with little insights into Jesus’ character. Cana was a small village that was visible from Nazareth, which partly explains why Mary and Jesus were invited to the feast.

A Jewish wedding was something in those days that took several days. By custom, the actual wedding ceremony took place on a Wednesday night (this means that Jesus actually met Andrew and John on the Sabbath), but the feast and celebration would last much longer. The couple was paraded all around town and would spend their first week of marriage hosting guests. They would wear crowns and would be treated as king and queen for a week. It was a huge occasion in a time where poverty and hard work were the norm. It was something everyone in town participated in and enjoyed.

Mary was apparently in a position of responsibility of some kind or at least in the inner circle of those that were responsible for preparing for the feast. She was in the know about the wine before it became common knowledge among the guests. It is in this situation that she turned to Jesus for help.

It is also apparent that Joseph (Jesus’ earthly Dad) was not present at the feast and it is believed that this is because he was already dead. It is also believed that Jesus had taken responsibility for His Mother and siblings. Jesus was only able to leave home and begin his ministry after the siblings were able to take care of themselves. Mary turned to Jesus because she was already in a habit of turning to Him and she knew that He would know what to do. She didn’t know what He would do, but that if she turned to Him for help, He would be able to take care of the situation. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay mentions a legend that tells of the time when Jesus was a baby, that when people were troubled in Nazareth, that they would go and “look upon Mary’s child” and would find themselves feeling better. I think it was Mary’s habit to look to Jesus for help. It’s interesting that she doesn’t ask Him to do anything; she just tells Him the wine is gone.

First, he addresses His mother. It kind of seems a little harsh to us, but if we read it with the occasion in mind it was a kind exchange between Jesus and Mary. I can picture him smiling as he asks His mother why she is asking Him about the wine, when He already knows what she has in mind. Jesus says to her “Dear Woman, why do you involve me?” This is the same way He addresses her when He is on the cross (John 19:26). The situation with the wine was something that concerned Mary and not Jesus. She was the one involved in the preparations and He was just a guest. He also says, “My time has not yet come”, meaning He wasn’t sure that this was the time for him to reveal Himself in such a way to His disciples. Maybe He had been thinking about it or waiting on God to reveal the time to Him, but he wasn’t sure it would be when His mother asked Him to do something. It seems very human to me – maybe he was a little self conscious (maybe not). I imagine that Jesus may have done things like this throughout His life, but in a private way. In the end, he did take care of the situation that concerned His mother. He also helped prevent the embarrassment of the bridegroom.

I picture him telling the servants under his breath to fill the jars. They go and do it, not really knowing why, but most likely anticipating something unusual is about to happen. When they return, he again says quietly to them to draw it out and give it to the master of the banquet. By this time the disciples had been watching what was going on and took notice. I don’t think anyone that knew said anything at the time, since it wasn’t their place, but they didn’t forget.

This reveals a lot about Jesus. First of all, he was comfortable and welcome at a joyous occasion. When you look at other religious figure (take the Pope for example) they bring with them a gloom so to speak over a party. Also, Jesus cares about people and our trivial concerns. It isn’t really the end of the world to run out of wine. It may be embarrassing, but they would live through it. Jesus does this out of compassion for those that were celebrating. He didn’t perform this miracle at a huge gathering or where there were royalty, but did it at a place that was relatively humble.

The significance of the act itself tells a story. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay mentions the number of jars was important, as well as, the amount of water in each. First, six jars is a number that signifies being incomplete. These represent the Law of Moses. Jesus took the imperfect Law and made it perfect. Next, each vessel held about 20-30 gallons, which adds up to a lot of wine (around 180 gallons). This signifies the superabundance of grace we have in Christ.

Question: In what way has Jesus met a small need of yours? What can we learn from Mary and her relationship with Jesus?