Lent
3
March 8, 2015
John 2:13-22
The Attitude of Cleansing
“A Bold Lenten Cleansing”
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Can you imagine standing in the darkness of a coalmine wearing a
white suit? While in the dark, everything might seems fine, but when
you return to the surface in the light of day, you become painfully aware of
the need to have your suit cleaned. This morning we see Jesus bringing us into
the light as He enters the Jerusalem temple and initiates A BOLD LENTEN
CLEANSING.
I.
Jesus cleansed the temple of mammon lovers.
The Jewish leaders disregard His authority by demanding a sign and
raising a skeptical question. “The Jews
therefore answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us,
seeing that You do these things?’" (Verse 18) They
could not understand, nor could they accept that this Jesus could be the Savior
of the world and the 0ne who came to establish a perfect avenue for us to come
to the Father. Likewise, in our world and time, there are similar
skeptics. They question the authority of the Word of God in our life. They
question the authenticity of Jesus. They fail to see His authority, and so,
they question Him as well.
The disciples fail to understand the meaning of His reference
to the temple of His body.
Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up." (Verse 19) These words of Jesus are a wake-up call for you and me in the
church today.
Where do we find the authority of Jesus Christ? We find it in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the bodily resurrection of Jesus
Christ and His appearances to His followers, which gives proof to the claims of
Jesus Christ. This is the claim of Jesus Christ and the Christian
faith – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Paul put it this way (1
Corinthians 15:14) “…and if Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” It is in the proof
of the resurrection that we find the claims of Jesus Christ to contain all
truth.
Jesus predicts the cleansing death and resurrection of the temple
of His body with the disciples later believing His Word. This is what gives us
forgiveness and life. Jesus Christ died for us. He rose from the
dead to claim a place for us in His kingdom. In Jesus Christ, all
sin is forgiven period. Sin is man’s greatest ill. The forgiveness
of our sins is man’s greatest gain. The resurrection proves the
cross legitimate.
II. Jesus
cleanses us by His death and resurrection.
We often question Jesus’ authority to challenge us and cleanse us
or fail to understand His words. So many temptations and doubts
beset us. The devil would love to see us give up in despair. Satan would love
to have us doubt His word. But Jesus can be trusted at His Word. He can be
taken at His Word. He gives us His Word and backs up His Word by going to the
cross and taking up His life again to bring us salvation and life.
Jesus points us to the cleansing death and resurrection of the
temple of His body with the result that we believe His Word. He demonstrated
His power at the cross. He destroyed death and sin at the cross and then
vindicated His mission by coming back to life on the third day. You
and I are Easter people. We live in this freedom and it is all signed, sealed,
and delivered at the cross and empty tomb.
In a soiled white suit exposed to the light of God’s Word
having flagrantly disregarded the Father’s honor and the Son’s authority, we
accept the cleansing of Jesus, whose temple was destroyed and rebuilt in three
days. In His death and resurrection, we are made clean. Ajax is
whiter then dirt. Jesus is brighter then sin and has overcome death
for us. A bold Lenten cleansing indeed!
Words –680
Passive
Sentences –8%
Readability
–75%
Reading
Level -6.3
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