“I’m In Charge Whether You Like It Or Not”
John 2:13-25
Sermon Series: “Getting Acquainted With Jesus”
Introduction: The second chapter of John’s Gospel is very interesting because it presents two contrasting sides of Jesus’ character. In the first half of the chapter, we saw Him as the friend of sinners at a party. In the second half of the chapter, we saw Him cleansing the temple and dealing with hypocritical worship through righteous anger. The religious leaders challenged His authority to take this action. People today challenge Jesus’ authority to deal with sin so let’s examine the rest of the passage and see that Jesus is in charge whether we like it or not.
I. Jesus deals with sin based on anger that is righteous (v. 13-17). They were not glorifying or worshipping God, but they were using the worship of God to enrich themselves, and they were taking advantage of others and being a bad witness to the Gentiles in the process. They were failing to love God or their neighbor but were loving themselves. It was a religious racket led by religious hucksters. Their actions were making it difficult for people, especially poor people, to come to God.
II. Jesus deals with sin based on authority that comes from the resurrection (v. 18-22). The religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority by asking, “What sign do You show us, since You do these things?” In other words, they were asking what gave him the authority to clean up the temple courtyard. They had the responsibility to ask questions like this because of their position, but their motives were not really right. People today ask similar questions by saying, “What gives you (sometimes referring to God and sometimes to people) the right to judge me?” Jesus presented His death and resurrection as the basis for His authority because the resurrection proves that He is God and Messiah. It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “temple” that Jesus used here refers to the very presence of God instead of the physical structures of the temple. Jesus is God who died for our sin and rose from the dead. God dealt with sin at the cross. If we trust Jesus, there is no condemnation for us (Romans 8:1), but if we reject Jesus, He will judge us based on the authority of His resurrection. Acts 17:30-31 says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” The resurrection is the ultimate sign from God (Matthew 12:38-41) and proves the Lordship and deity of Jesus. We are accountable to Jesus so we can either unsuccessfully try to redefine Him or we can repent.
Also, God’s authority is expressed through His Word (Romans 7, Hebrews 4:12-13). As Martin Luther said, “When the Bible speaks, God speaks.” His Word is binding. It is always true. Therefore, we have the authority to speak what God speaks. If He says something is wrong, we cannot say it is right. If He says something is right, we cannot say it is wrong. Jesus is Lord over all, and His Word is the expression of His will. However, He also ordains human authorities that He mediates His authority through. These authorities include: husbands over families, parents over children, government over citizens, pastors over churches. However, human authority is only valid when it is an expression of God’s authority, and we are only expressing God’s authority when we are in line with His Word. We are called to submit to authority, but God’s authority trumps all other authorities.
III. Jesus deals with sin based on an assessment that is realistic (v. 23-25). Jesus is not swayed by flattery or by false faith. He sees the sinfulness of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus sees and knows all. He knows the difference between superficial faith and saving faith. These verses illustrate the fact that it is possible to believe in a sense but not really be saved. The implication of these verses is that Jesus did not commit Himself to these people because they had not truly committed themselves to Him. They had only made an external response based on seeing Jesus perform the supernatural and spectacular. Applications include:
-We are to be discerning like Jesus (see Matthew 7:1 and 1 Corinthians 2:15).
-We should learn to be like Jesus and not put people up on a pedestal. People are sinners who will let us down. Furthermore, Jesus is the only one who deserves to be elevated in that manner. He is the only perfect One who will not let us down.
-People try to critique Jesus and His Word, but ultimately He will judge us instead of the other way around.
-We can’t slide things by Jesus because He knows everything.
-He was free to give Himself away totally because He was not living to please people. Do we need people so much that we are living to please them or are we free to do the will of God?
-True faith involves commitment to Christ the Lord and not just us getting things from Him. We need a poverty of spirit that produces a complete dependence upon His grace.
-We need to make sure that we are truly saved (Matthew 7:21-23). 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” Let me give you a sobering and even frightening thought. You can say the right things, do the right things, believe the right things, look good outwardly and be totally and permanently separated from God.
Characteristics of a Counterfeit Christian
A. Some are relying on a verbal profession only [v. 21] (see James 2).
4 Questions to Test Our Profession
-What has your profession of faith cost you?
-What change has happened and what fruit (biblical expressions of fruit include: leading others to Christ, developing the character of Christ, giving, praise and worship, and good works) has been borne in your life since your profession?
-Do you have a desire to get to know God since your profession?
-Since your profession, has your life been characterized by obedience to Christ? (see 1 John 2:3-6)
B. Others are relying on outward works [v. 22] (see Matthew 5:3 and Luke 18:9-14
Conclusion: Do you acknowledge Christ’s authority? Are you submitted to His authority? Do you believe Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead? Have you truly committed your life to Christ by faith?
