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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends.
I wonder how different your life is this weekend as compared to three months ago? Probably you will not go to a restaurant this weekend, as most are closed, at least in North America and Europe. Probably you will not gather with big group of people at a sports event, since most stadiums are closed around the world. Probably your church, at least those in North America and Europe, is closed, and perhaps even the streets of your town seem deserted! What a dramatic difference has swept our world in these past three months.
We rejoice that news coming from China appears to indicate they are in recovery, some cities opening again, many businesses back to work. There is light at the end of this tunnel! We would expect the same soon for South Korea and other countries affected. We are praying this will be behind us before long in Europe and North America. And when it is. . .I wonder what lessons we will have learned, and how different life will be for most of us?
May I offer you another very powerful Old Testament word of HOPE? Consider this powerful word from God in Isaiah 40 beginning in vs. 25…
“To whom will you compare Me?
Or who is My equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of HIS great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing!
So why do you complain…
My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Is. 40:25-31)
Oh my, such a wonderful invitation from God Himself, to anyone, anywhere in the world, who is discourage or frightened or whose strength is giving out. May I urge you to read these great words slowly, carefully, even out-loud, pausing often to own them? Look up into the sky and see the fingerprints of our Creator God, AND recognize the control He is exercising over His Creation… temperature, movement of our planet earth exactly on course, fresh clean air to breathe, vegetation growing all around you, and human beings, each unique, each an evidence of God’s majesty!
Take courage, God fully understands all that is happening in our world, and He is calling our entire human race to recognize that He is God, He holds our lives in His hands! Oh I am praying that millions of frightened people will turn to God and trust Jesus Christ in the face of this global pandemic. Only God understands it and can restore us to health. Will we turn to HIM? Will we worship the one, true, Almighty, Holy God?
Will we trust in Jesus Christ as the ONLY way for salvation from sin and acceptance to eternal life with Holy God? Will we love and follow Him with the rest of our lives? I am unashamedly praying for a “great awakening” world wide, that millions of people will turn to Jesus! Will you join me in that my friends?
Now let’s rejoin 5 men who have just seen a miracle at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Jesus turned more than 100 gallons of ordinary, everyday water into some of the best wine anyone has ever tasted! John continues to describe what happened, so let’s walk with them as they leave the festivities, in John 2:12 “After this Jesus went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples. They stayed there a few days.” Did you note this is another reference to the fact that Mary had more children after Jesus? Capernaum was the main large town on the Sea of Galilee and people from all area smaller towns could have come to Capernaum fairly often, just as happens in your part of the world today. It’s a town that Jesus will frequent often in these next months, as we follow Him on His way toward Easter.
Notice please that in vs. 13 Jesus, and we presume these 5 Jewish men, went to Jerusalem for the annual Jewish Passover festival. Most everyone did! As you can see by the map, that would have been quite a long walk together. They are getting to know one another, but I can assure you these men were not prepared for what they would experience in Jerusalem this time! Let’s walk with them, following the dusty dirt road in hot middle eastern sunshine.
Passover would have brought thousands of people to Jerusalem and on Passover night, a lamb was slaughtered for each family’s Passover meal. That would be thousands of lambs! So at this time of year, shepherd’s brought lambs to be sold to those people who did not have a lamb for their Passover, thousands of lambs!
And there was a Temple cash offering that people gave, but since people came from many parts of the Roman Empire, there was money exchanging going on, similarly to if you travel to a different country today, you need to exchange the money you brought from your country so you have money that is accepted in the stores of the country you are visiting. That exchange rate is highly controlled in our day, but of course in many countries you can also find money-changers on the street who will exchange your money but they charge their own fees for doing so.
This is what Jesus and His 5 new friends found in the streets of Jerusalem, the closer they got to the Temple. As we walk with them can you hear the noise of the animals, the shouts of the vendors, the busyness of an overcrowded city? Can you hear the arguments over inflated prices being charged, and many languages being spoken, and of course the crush of lots and lots of people in narrow streets?
And then, in this middle of all this hustle and bustle, Jesus did something that shocked everyone! “He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the Temple area, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables…He said “Get out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a market!” Do you see that in John 2:14-16?
Can you see it in your minds eye, my friends? Can you hear the racket as animals scurry around untethered and tables and money go flying and a whip is cracking in the air? Can you hear the shouts of amazement and anger? But also confusion! Who is this guy and what is He shouting about… “My Father’s house”? No one had ever referred to the Temple in those words before, no one!
Evidently some Jews, perhaps some of the businessmen, came right up to Jesus and demanded an explanation! “What miraculous sign can You show us to prove your authority to do all this?” (John 2:18) I would say that’s a fair challenge, what do you think my friends?
John helps us understand Jesus answer, both from the perspective of standing in the crowd that day, but also looking at this event many months later on Easter weekend. “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’
The Jews replied, ‘it has taken 46 years to build this temple and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was His body.(John writes) 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.” (John 2:19-22)
May I help you remember my friends, this Temple in Jerusalem, where Jesus was standing, was NOT the Temple King Solomon had built and dedicated (2 Chronicles 3-7) in 960bc. That great temple was totally destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army in 586bc. (2 Kings 25)
A second temple was rebuilt, on the same site 70 years later, by exiled Hebrews who returned at king Cyrus’ edict. (Ezra 1-6) That temple was not as elaborate, and under king Herod underwent a massive renovation project which is what was meant when they said ‘it has taken 46 years to build this temple”. That temple was totally destroyed in 70ad by the Roman Army.
Perhaps you know my friends, that what is today called “the Temple Mount” in Jerusalem is the location of that great Temple, and the current Muslim Golden Dome structure stands almost exactly where that temple stood. It has been 1950 years since there has been a Jewish temple on that mount! The “wailing wall”, as you may know, is believed by archaeologists to be a portion of the large Temple mount expanded by king Herod and it is very possible Jesus often stood by that wall, as He spoke to the people!
As Jews pray there each day, their prayers are that God will restore that Temple and Messiah will come one day. I’ve stood among them in that wonderful place, I’ve been inside that Golden Dome to see the tip of Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham nearly offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice and the place where that Great Temple once stood.
Time passes, buildings come and go, but the Word of the LORD endures forever. Isn’t that right? As John explained, Jesus promised that day that He would rise again after three days, and He did, and He returned to heaven where He reigns triumphant over all… and He is my Savior, is He yours, my friends? All around our Coronovirus fearing world, is Isaiah 40 your hope, is the risen Jesus your Savior?
In closing, here’s a good suggestion for these days… consider calling the elderly friends and family you have, especially those who live in retirement facilities which are in ‘lock down’. I’ve spoken to nearly 100 of these dear folks in the last 10 days. Isolation is difficult, let’s encourage them my friends! And as you know, we now have a facebook page up and ready for all of you on the “Walking with Jesus” journey, so you can be encouraging and sharing with each other news of how you are coping in these days of restrictions.
Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for the power of Your Word and Your Life!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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