Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Flipping Tables and Eternal Life - The Gospels

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Flipping Tables and Eternal Life - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when he had made a scourge
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  Speaker 1: of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,
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  Speaker 1: and the sheep, and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money,
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  Speaker 1: and overthrew the tables. John 2.15 I confess today that
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  Speaker 1: zeal for your house has consumed me. Move in my life.
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  Speaker 1: so that I can stand for what is righteous. Help
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  Speaker 1: me so that I can stand for what is godly.
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  Speaker 1: Move in my life and allow me to understand heavenly matters.
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  Speaker 1: As I look at you, Jesus, help me to understand
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  Speaker 1: that God loved me so much that he sent you
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  Speaker 1: as a bridge to connect me back into his loving arms.
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  Speaker 1: I praise you, Lord. that as I believe in Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: I will have access to eternal life. I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that you did not send Jesus to condemn me, but
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  Speaker 1: to rescue me from my sins and from myself. I
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  Speaker 1: declare that I am new and restored, because I now
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  Speaker 1: have you in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear
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  Speaker 1: the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Flipping Tables and Eternal Life In our last story, Jesus
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  Speaker 2: performed His first of many miracles at a wedding in Cana.
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  Speaker 2: By the request of his mother, Jesus blessed a wedding
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  Speaker 2: by turning water into wine. Although the guests were not
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  Speaker 2: aware of this miracle, the servants and disciples knew. They
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  Speaker 2: awed at the humble power of Christ. They knew even
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  Speaker 2: more that he was the promised Messiah. Now we witness
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  Speaker 2: the righteous anger of Jesus. When the greed of men
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  Speaker 2: seeps into the temple gates, Jesus violently empties its courtyard.
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  Speaker 2: He drives out corruption, then speaks of eternal life and
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  Speaker 2: why he has come. Inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with another episode of
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  Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year podcast. We have now seen
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  Speaker 3: Jesus calling his disciples to himself. Men who believed that
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  Speaker 3: he was from God, even if they didn't fully understand
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  Speaker 3: his purpose or the path that he would take as
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  Speaker 3: the Messiah, but they were compelled to the call. They
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  Speaker 3: dropped everything and began following Jesus. We also heard the
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  Speaker 3: last time how Jesus performed his first miracle in Cana
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  Speaker 3: of Galilee, turning water into wine. It is a symbol
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  Speaker 3: of the power of Christ to transform our lives. The
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  Speaker 3: miracle further strengthened the disciples' faith in Jesus. Today, we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear how Jesus shows a righteous anger at the dishonoring
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  Speaker 3: and the disrespectfulness of God's house by greedy men who
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  Speaker 3: were seeking personal gain at the temple gates. Christ will
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  Speaker 3: act swiftly and forcefully to cleanse his temple, showing the
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  Speaker 3: disciples that he was zealous for his Father's house and
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  Speaker 3: serious about calling out wickedness and hypocrisy wherever it presented itself.
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  Speaker 3: Most of the religious leaders will look on this act
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  Speaker 3: with scorn. But one man will seek Jesus out, in secret,
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  Speaker 3: wanting to know more. Let's listen now to the reading
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  Speaker 3: of God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: It was Passover in Jerusalem. Men, women, and children from
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  Speaker 2: many nations gathered in the temple courtyards to make a
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  Speaker 2: sacrifice to the Lord. It was a widely celebrated time,
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  Speaker 2: a time for reflection on the goodness of God, a
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  Speaker 2: time for prayer and thanksgiving, a time to contemplate the
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  Speaker 2: saving power of God. However, when Jesus walked into the
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  Speaker 2: temple gates, He did not see people celebrating the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: He saw money changers and lenders haggling with foreigners. He
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  Speaker 2: saw temple clerks charging extra money for people to buy sacrifices.
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  Speaker 2: Worst of all, he saw the courtyard of the Gentiles
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  Speaker 2: filled with money-hungry salesmen. Money changers were purposefully hiking up
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  Speaker 2: exchange rates so the Gentiles had to pay more money
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  Speaker 2: for sacrifices. People outside the family of God had come
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  Speaker 2: to Jerusalem to seek forgiveness. Instead, they were met with
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  Speaker 2: payments and fees. The religious leaders were making people pay
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  Speaker 2: to access forgiveness. The deep fury of God welled up
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  Speaker 2: within Jesus. Silently, Jesus grabbed some cords from a nearby cart.
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  Speaker 2: He sat down and began to braid them. His disciples
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  Speaker 2: watched him curiously. They were used to seeing Jesus filled
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  Speaker 2: with joy and peace, yet there was a different expression
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  Speaker 2: on his face. Righteous anger. Jesus finished braiding a long
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  Speaker 2: braid of leather cords twice as long as himself. He
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  Speaker 2: stood up. Although Jesus was not a particularly tall man,
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  Speaker 2: his presence felt larger than the temple itself. Like lightning,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus swung his hips and whipped the braid towards the
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  Speaker 2: sheep and oxen. The livestock scattered and ran away as
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  Speaker 2: Jesus relentlessly drove them out of the temple. The sellers
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  Speaker 2: of the livestock ran after them. Jesus turned his eyes
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  Speaker 2: towards the money changer. With purpose, he marched toward the table,
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  Speaker 2: took the bags of temple currency, and threw them against
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  Speaker 2: the wall. Jesus turned towards the large stone tables with
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  Speaker 2: weights and scales. With godlike strength, Jesus flipped them over
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  Speaker 2: on their sides and let the gold spill over the edge.
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  Speaker 2: The money changers and salesmen were frantically trying to gather
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  Speaker 2: their goods when Jesus marched up the temple stairs. The
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  Speaker 2: people watched him closely, and the entire courtyard fell silent.
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  Speaker 2: It is written, Jesus began to yell, it is written,
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  Speaker 2: my father's house should be called a house of prayer. Jesus'
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  Speaker 2: eyes were filled with furious compassion. But look at what
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  Speaker 2: is around you. Look closely. You have turned this house
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  Speaker 2: of prayer into a den of thieves. His disciples listened
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  Speaker 2: to his words. They could see the deep pain in Jesus' eyes.
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  Speaker 2: All he wanted was for people to worship God free
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  Speaker 2: from burdens. The prophecy of David resonated in their minds.
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  Speaker 2: Zeal for your house will consume me. The people looked
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  Speaker 2: at him with awe, but the religious leaders looked at
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  Speaker 2: him with contempt. What authority do you have to say
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  Speaker 2: these things? What sign will you show us? Jesus dropped
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  Speaker 2: the whip in his hands and pointed to the temple.
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  Speaker 2: Destroy this temple and I will show you. If you
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  Speaker 2: destroy it, I will raise it back up again in
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  Speaker 2: three days. A chuckle could be heard from the crowd.
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  Speaker 2: One of them scoffed at him and said, It took
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  Speaker 2: forty-six years to rebuild that temple, and you think you
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  Speaker 2: could do so in three days? Jesus shook his head
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  Speaker 2: and walked down the steps. He took his disciples and
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  Speaker 2: left the courtyard. What they did not know is that
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  Speaker 2: Jesus was not speaking of the actual temple. He was
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  Speaker 2: speaking of his body. He would be destroyed and raised
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  Speaker 2: again in three days' time, all for the sake of
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  Speaker 2: people worshiping God free from burdens. Many of the Pharisees
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  Speaker 2: scoffed at Jesus. They shook their heads and spat in
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  Speaker 2: His direction. They thought of Him to be just another zealot.
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  Speaker 2: They were wrong. They were profoundly and dangerously wrong. Yet
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  Speaker 2: there was one among them who did not scoff. His
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  Speaker 2: curiosity about Jesus was piqued. In the dead of night,
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  Speaker 2: a Pharisee named Nicodemus entered into the home of Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Nicodemus knocked on the door silently. He did not want
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  Speaker 2: to be seen speaking with Jesus in fear that it
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  Speaker 2: might ruin his reputation. Jesus opened the door and smiled.
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  Speaker 2: He greeted Nicodemus and allowed him to come in. A
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  Speaker 2: few of Jesus' followers were sitting beside the fire. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: sat Nicodemus down. He had been expecting him. How can
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  Speaker 2: I help you? Jesus asked, pouring Nicodemus a drink. Nicodemus
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  Speaker 2: began speaking,' Rabbi, there is no doubt in my mind
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  Speaker 2: you are a teacher sent from God. No one can
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  Speaker 2: do these things that you have been doing otherwise.' Jesus
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  Speaker 2: nodded in agreement. However, he was more than a teacher.'
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  Speaker 2: Unless one is born again, he truly cannot see the
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  Speaker 2: kingdom of God,' Jesus said. Nicodemus was confused at his statement.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure I follow, Rabbi. Are you suggesting that
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  Speaker 2: someone needs to reenter his mother's womb and be born again?
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  Speaker 2: Jesus gave a gentle laugh.
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  Speaker 3: No, no.
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  Speaker 2: Listen, unless you are born of the Spirit, you cannot
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  Speaker 2: enter into the kingdom of God. We are all born
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  Speaker 2: in the flesh, yes. However, not all are born of
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  Speaker 2: the Spirit. Jesus could tell that Nicodemus was having difficulty understanding.
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  Speaker 2: He leaned forward and touched Nicodemus' shoulders. Don't be confused
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  Speaker 2: by this, he said reassuringly. The wind blows and nobody
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  Speaker 2: can see it. It is the same with being born
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  Speaker 2: by the Spirit. But how can that happen? Nicodemus asked.
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  Speaker 2: Aren't you a teacher? Jesus replied. You should understand this.
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  Speaker 2: I have done many signs and given you earthly examples.
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  Speaker 2: You have seen and heard them, yet you and the
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  Speaker 2: rest of the Pharisees still do not believe. So how
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  Speaker 2: could I possibly explain heavenly matters to you? Jesus could
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  Speaker 2: see the look of disappointment on Nicodemus' face. He had
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  Speaker 2: compassion on him and loved him for his heart. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: spoke of himself now, saying, The one who truly knows
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  Speaker 2: the things of heaven is the one who came from heaven.
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  Speaker 2: Just as Moses lifted the bronze serpent up in the
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  Speaker 2: wilderness for people to be healed, so people will look
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  Speaker 2: upon him and receive eternal life. Nicodemus knew that story,
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  Speaker 2: the story of the Israelites being saved in the wilderness
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  Speaker 2: from venomous snakes by gazing upon the bronze serpent. He
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  Speaker 2: was beginning to understand slightly what Jesus was telling him.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord smiled and leaned in closer to Nicodemus. For
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  Speaker 2: God so loved the world that he offered up his
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  Speaker 2: only begotten Son. And whoever believes in him shall not perish,
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  Speaker 2: but have everlasting life. And God did not send his
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  Speaker 2: Son to condemn the world, no, but that by him
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  Speaker 2: the world should be saved. There was a joyfulness in Jesus' voice.
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  Speaker 2: His disciples were behind him, hanging on his every word.
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  Speaker 2: His eyes glistened in the firelight. The light has come
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  Speaker 2: to the world, Jesus continued. But people love darkness rather
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  Speaker 2: than the light. Wickedness hates the light because it exposes it.
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  Speaker 2: But whoever knows and acts upon the truth steps into
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  Speaker 2: the light. With those words, Nicodemus left. He held the
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  Speaker 2: words of Jesus closely, regretting that he could not totally understand.
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  Speaker 3: Today, we begin with Jesus once again at the temple
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  Speaker 3: during Passover. And this time, we don't see Jesus sitting
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  Speaker 3: with teachers. In today's reading, we saw something that included
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  Speaker 3: a holy zeal and a righteous, fiery anger that comes
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  Speaker 3: from the Lord. God's temple is meant to be a
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  Speaker 3: house of worship, a place of prayer, a place where
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  Speaker 3: people are forgiven. But instead, the temple was being used
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  Speaker 3: by greedy businessmen and religious leaders taking advantage of people,
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  Speaker 3: charging exorbitant fees and for them to access sacrifices and
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  Speaker 3: find forgiveness. We often think of the gentleness of Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: and truly Jesus is gentle and lowly of heart. His
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  Speaker 3: character is kind. But Jesus is also strong and never weak.
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  Speaker 3: He was always deeply devoted to the things of God.
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  Speaker 3: Just like his predecessor, ancestor King David, was called to
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  Speaker 3: be strong as a warrior for the Lord, Jesus now
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  Speaker 3: rises up to defend the house of God. He was
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  Speaker 3: not silent, and this was not calm. It was violent.
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  Speaker 3: He was determined to set people straight. God's temple would
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  Speaker 3: not be defiled by thieves. He braided a whip and
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  Speaker 3: scattered the vendors. He turned over the tables of those
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  Speaker 3: charging money and taking advantage of the Gentiles, speaking with
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  Speaker 3: loud voices accusations against them. He would not allow this hypocrisy,
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  Speaker 3: this dishonesty to continue. This was not Jesus losing control
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  Speaker 3: of his emotion, flying off the handle and losing composure.
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  Speaker 3: This was clear and planned behavior. This was righteous indignation.
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  Speaker 3: We can only imagine how shocked the disciples must have
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  Speaker 3: been to see Jesus perform this act of cleansing the
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  Speaker 3: temple and behaving in this way. But they remembered the
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  Speaker 3: words of Psalm 69, which says, The zeal of your
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  Speaker 3: house will consume me. This is yet another sign that
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  Speaker 3: Jesus is indeed the Messiah. But the religious leaders and
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  Speaker 3: other Jews did not see this so clearly. They challenged
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  Speaker 3: Jesus and asked what right he had, what authority he
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  Speaker 3: possessed to say and do these things. His response for
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  Speaker 3: them was confusing to those who heard it. In John 2.19,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise
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  Speaker 3: it again in three days. They thought he was talking
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  Speaker 3: about the physical temple, the buildings. the temple of stone
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  Speaker 3: and mortar. But Jesus was speaking here about himself. He
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  Speaker 3: was the temple. He was the very presence of God.
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  Speaker 3: The glory of God was upon him. And one day
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  Speaker 3: he would be destroyed. His temple, his physical body would die,
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  Speaker 3: but he would be raised to life on the third day.
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  Speaker 3: Here Jesus begins prophesying his own death and resurrection. The
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  Speaker 3: Pharisees tried to laugh this off. failing to see the
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  Speaker 3: one who was standing before them. All they knew is
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  Speaker 3: that they despised this man who spoke with such authority
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  Speaker 3: and challenged their position in power. But Jesus was not
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  Speaker 3: seeking personal power and pride and prominence. He was calling
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  Speaker 3: people to repentance. He was calling people to himself and
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  Speaker 3: a brand new life. There was one leader among them
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  Speaker 3: who wanted to know more about this Jesus. Perhaps he
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  Speaker 3: was afraid to ask in the broad daylight, to ask openly.
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  Speaker 3: So at night, this man came to Jesus. His name
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  Speaker 3: was Nicodemus. He wanted to know more about this man.
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  Speaker 3: Is he the Messiah? Is he more than a man?
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  Speaker 3: Is he more than a teacher from God? Jesus then
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  Speaker 3: told Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of God, one
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  Speaker 3: must be born again. Nicodemus was confused, so he asked
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  Speaker 3: for clarification. How is it possible to be born again?
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  Speaker 3: The Lord explained to him that he was not talking
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  Speaker 3: about physical birth, but birth in the Spirit, heavenly birth,
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  Speaker 3: to be born again from above. This is the new
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  Speaker 3: life that Jesus promises to all who will be born again.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus then gave Nicodemus and us an illustration. He talked
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  Speaker 3: about Moses and the Israelites who looked to a bronze serpent,
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  Speaker 3: a brazen serpent in the wilderness to be saved from
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  Speaker 3: the bites of snakes. This was a story that Nicodemus
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  Speaker 3: knew well. And Jesus explained to him that this is
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  Speaker 3: a picture of God's love, that God sent His only Son, Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: into the world, and that whoever would believe in Him
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  Speaker 3: would not perish, but have everlasting life. This, of course,
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  Speaker 3: is one of the key verses in all of the Bible,
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  Speaker 3: John 3.16. For God so loved the world that He
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  Speaker 3: gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
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  Speaker 3: would not perish, but have everlasting life. His words clearly
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  Speaker 3: stuck with Nicodemus. Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
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  Speaker 3: religious people like Nicodemus and irreligious people even like you
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  Speaker 3: and me. Whoever you are, God loves you and has
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  Speaker 3: a wonderful plan for your life. And if you will
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  Speaker 3: trust in Christ and Christ alone as your Savior and Lord,
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  Speaker 3: you will be given eternal life. Not only will your
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  Speaker 3: sins be forgiven, But Jesus will live in your life
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  Speaker 3: and you will live with the hope of eternal life
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  Speaker 3: with you now and forever. I want to invite you
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  Speaker 3: and encourage you to be born again. If you have
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  Speaker 3: never put your faith and trust in Jesus, do it
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  Speaker 3: right now. Simply pray a prayer and invite Christ into
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  Speaker 3: your life. Be willing to turn from your sins, that's repentance,
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  Speaker 3: and receive Jesus as your Lord and follow him as
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  Speaker 3: your Savior. And if you will do this, you will
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  Speaker 3: have a brand new life now and forever. Pray something
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  Speaker 3: like this. Jesus, I ask you to come into my life,
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  Speaker 3: to be my Savior and my God, my Master and friend.
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  Speaker 3: In the power of your Spirit, I will live for
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  Speaker 3: you all the days of my life, and I will
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  Speaker 3: live with you forever in heaven. Lord, thank you for
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  Speaker 3: giving me a brand new life today. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Once again, thank you for listening to today's Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: Let me encourage you to download the Pray.com app and
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  Speaker 3: make Bible study and prayer a real priority in your life.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: And if you are enjoying this podcast, share it with
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  Speaker 3: someone you know, someone you care about, because sharing God's
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Word has a powerful impact upon people's lives. And if
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: you want more resources as to how you can find faith,
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  Speaker 3: grow in your faith, develop as a disciple and follower
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus, be sure to visit me at jackgram.org. We
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  Speaker 3: have plenty of resources that will encourage you and equip
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  Speaker 3: you for life. God bless you.
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  Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative healthcare solution
• 18:20
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