Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sun., Dec. 12 Adult Bible Study — First Cleansing of the Temple, Pt. 2

Lesson Text: John 2:12-25

John 2:18

A tacit admission that what Christ had done was lawful. These were probably the Sanhedrin. Because Christ was not a priest or Levite, they were wanting to know by what authority he interfered with the temple.

John 2:19

Here is the sign.  v. 21 tells us he was speaking of his body

    1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 5:1; 2 Pet. 1:13

If it was wrong to defile, desecrate, and profane the temple made of wood and stone, how much more wrong is it to defile, desecrate, and profane the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit?

John 2:20

Not Solomon's temple; that had been destroyed.

Not the rebuilding of the temple after the Jews returned from exile.

Probably Herod's repairing of the temple: The repairs "were so extensive and costly, that eighteen thousand workmen were employed about them." Josephus puts it at 46 years when Jesus visited.

John 2:22

Ryle: "We must  not suppose religious teaching does no good because it is not understood immediately. It may do good long after the teacher is dead."

Believed — fully and with reconfirmation of the truth.

The Holy Spirit gave them understanding, bringing to fruition that seed that had been planted several years earlier.

John 2:23

More than one level or degree of belief:

    Jas. 2:19 - demons believe

    Rom. 10:10 - heart belief

John Gill: a faith in which all the powers of the soul, the under-standing, will, and affections, are concerned, it is a seeing of the Son, a beholding of the glory, fulness, suitableness, ability, and willingness of Christ as a Saviour, with the eye of the understanding spiritually enlightened; it is a going out of the soul to Christ, in various acts, such as venturing into his presence, prostrating itself at his feet, resolving if it perishes it will perish there; a giving up itself unto him, determining it will have no other Saviour, leaning and relying on him, and living upon him; which faith works by love to Christ, moves the affections, stirs up the desires of the soul to his name, and endears him and all that belong to him to it.

NOTICE: heart belief produces righteousness!

    Here - head belief; assent

        they believed "in his name," but not "on his name."

John 2:24

"... Jesus looks at us and believes in us. Jesus thinks that you can be like him! And he invites you to follow him because he believes in you!"

(a Harvard Divinity School student wrote in her blog): The super hip American pastor, Rob Bell, has another interpretation of this story, however. In one of his super hip movie shorts, (one of the Nooma series), he cites Jewish rabbinic history to charge that Jesus’ question about Peter’s faith was not actually a question about faith in his teacher, as we often assume. Rather, Jesus was asking Peter, “Don’t you have faith in yourself?  Faith that you can actually be like me?”  Rob Bell suggests that by inviting all of humankind to be Christian disciples, disciples like Peter, Jesus was essentially communicating the radical message that God believes in us—in our ability to live good lives, and to live up to our individual callings. “Don’t you have faith Peter? I called you out here because I believe in you.
   
John 2:24 categorically denies this pop theology.

The fact is, Jesus doesn't trust you, doesn’t believe in you — if you are an unbeliever. v.24 is v.23 negatively stated.

We would have had these "believers" walking the aisle, signing a white card, making a decision, saying the sinners prayer, and baptized faster than the writer took to pen these words.


John 2:25

only God knows what is in the heart of man

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