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

Transcript

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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when he had made a scourge
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: and the sheep, and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: and overthrew the tables. John 2.15 I confess today that
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: zeal for your house has consumed me. Move in my life.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: so that I can stand for what is righteous. Help
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: me so that I can stand for what is godly.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Move in my life and allow me to understand heavenly matters.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: As I look at you, Jesus, help me to understand
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: that God loved me so much that he sent you
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: as a bridge to connect me back into his loving arms.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I praise you, Lord. that as I believe in Jesus Christ,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: I will have access to eternal life. I thank you
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: that you did not send Jesus to condemn me, but
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: to rescue me from my sins and from myself. I
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: declare that I am new and restored, because I now
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: have you in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the Bible
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Flipping Tables and Eternal Life In our last story, Jesus
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: performed His first of many miracles at a wedding in Cana.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: By the request of his mother, Jesus blessed a wedding
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: by turning water into wine. Although the guests were not
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: aware of this miracle, the servants and disciples knew.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: They awed at the humble power of Christ.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: They knew even more that he was the promised Messiah.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Now we witness the righteous.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: Anger of Jesus.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: When the greed of men seeps into the temple gates,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Jesus violently empties its courtyard. He drives out corruption, then
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: speaks of eternal life and why he has come.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: Inspired by the Gospels.
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with another episode of
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: the Bible in a Year podcast. We have now seen
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: Jesus calling his disciples to himself. Men who believed that
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: he was from God, even if they didn't fully understand
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: his purpose or the path that he would take as
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: the Messiah, but they were compelled to the call. They
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: dropped everything and began following Jesus. We also heard the
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: last time how Jesus performed his first miracle in Cana
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: of Galilee, turning water into wine. It is a symbol
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: of the power of Christ to transform our lives. The
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: miracle further strengthened the disciples' faith in Jesus. Today, we'll
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: hear how Jesus shows a righteous anger at the dishonoring
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: and the disrespectfulness of God's house by greedy men who
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: were seeking personal gain at the temple gates. Christ will
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: act swiftly and forcefully to cleanse his temple, showing the
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: disciples that he was zealous for his Father's house and
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: serious about calling out wickedness and hypocrisy wherever it presented itself.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: Most of the religious leaders will look on this act
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: with scorn. But one man will seek Jesus out, in secret,
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: wanting to know more. Let's listen now to the reading
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: of God's Word.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: It was Passover in Jerusalem. Men, women, and children from
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: many nations gathered in the temple courtyards to make a
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: sacrifice to the Lord. It was a widely celebrated time,
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: a time for reflection on the goodness of God, a
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: time for prayer and thanksgiving, a time to contemplate the
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: saving power of God. However, when Jesus walked into the
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: temple gates, He did not see people celebrating the Lord.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: He saw money changers and lenders haggling with foreigners. He
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: saw temple clerks charging extra money for people to buy sacrifices.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Worst of all, he saw the courtyard of the Gentiles
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: filled with money-hungry salesmen. Money changers were purposefully hiking up
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: exchange rates so the Gentiles had to pay more money
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: for sacrifices. People outside the family of God had come
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: to Jerusalem to seek forgiveness. Instead, they were met with
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: payments and fees. The religious leaders were making people pay
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: to access forgiveness. The deep fury of God welled up
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: within Jesus. Silently, Jesus grabbed some cords from a nearby cart.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: He sat down and began to braid them. His disciples
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: watched him curiously. They were used to seeing Jesus filled
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: with joy and peace, yet there.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Was a different expression on his face. Righteous anger.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: Jesus finished braiding a long braid of leather cords twice
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: as long as himself.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: He stood up.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Although Jesus was not a particularly tall man, his presence
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: felt larger than the temple itself. Like lightning, Jesus swung
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: his hips and whipped the braid towards the sheep and oxen.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: The livestock scattered and ran away as Jesus relentlessly drove
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: them out of the temple. The sellers of the livestock
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: ran after them. Jesus turned his eyes towards the money changer.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: With purpose, he marched toward the table, took the bags
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: of temple currency, and threw them against the wall. Jesus
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: turned towards the large stone tables with weights and scales.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: With godlike strength, Jesus flipped them over on their sides
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: and let the gold spill over the edge. The money
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: changers and salesmen were frantically trying to gather their goods
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: when Jesus marched up the temple stairs. The people watched
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: him closely, and the entire courtyard fell silent. It is written,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: Jesus began to yell, it is written, my father's house
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: should be called a house of prayer. Jesus' eyes were
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: filled with furious compassion. But look at what is around you.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Look closely. You have turned this house of prayer into
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: a den of thieves. His disciples listened to his words.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: They could see the deep pain in Jesus' eyes. All
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: he wanted was for people to worship God free from burdens.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: The prophecy of David resonated in their minds. Zeal for
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: your house will consume me. The people looked at him
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: with awe, but the religious leaders looked at him with contempt.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: What authority do you have to say these things? What
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: sign will you show us? Jesus dropped the whip in
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: his hands and pointed to the temple. Destroy this temple
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: and I will show you. If you destroy it, I
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: will raise it back up again in three days.
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: A chuckle could be heard from the crowd. One of
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: them scoffed at him and said.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: It took 46 years to rebuild that temple and you
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: think you could do so in three days? Jesus shook
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: his head and walked down the steps. He took his
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: disciples and left the courtyard. What they did not know
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: is that Jesus was not speaking of the actual temple.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: He was speaking of his body.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: He would be destroyed and raised again in three days' time,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: all for the sake of people worshiping God free from burdens.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Many of the Pharisees scoffed at Jesus. They shook their
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: heads and spat in His direction. They thought of Him
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: to be just another zealot. They were wrong. They were
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: profoundly and dangerously wrong. Yet there was one among them
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: who did not scoff. His curiosity about Jesus was piqued.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: In the dead of night, a Pharisee named Nicodemus entered
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: into the home of Jesus. Nicodemus knocked on the door silently.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: He did not want to be seen speaking with Jesus
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: in fear that it might ruin his reputation. Jesus opened
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: the door and smiled. He greeted Nicodemus and allowed him
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: to come in. A few of Jesus' followers were sitting
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: beside the fire. Jesus sat Nicodemus down.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: He had been expecting him. How can I help you?
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Jesus asked, pouring Nicodemus a drink. Nicodemus began speaking. Rabbi,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: there is no doubt in my mind you are a
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: teacher sent from God. No one can do these things
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: that you have been doing otherwise. Jesus nodded in agreement.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: However, he was more than a teacher.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Unless one is born again, he truly cannot see the
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: kingdom of God, Jesus said. Nicodemus was confused at his statement.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure I follow, Rabbi. Are you suggesting that
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: someone needs to reenter his mother's womb and be born again?
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Jesus gave a gentle laugh.
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: No, no.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Listen, unless you are born of the Spirit, you cannot
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: enter into the kingdom of God. We are all born
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: in the flesh, yes. However, not all are born.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Of the Spirit.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Jesus could tell that Nicodemus was having difficulty understanding. He
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: leaned forward and touched Nicodemus' shoulders. Don't be confused by this,
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: he said reassuringly. The wind blows and nobody can see it.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: It is the same with being born by the Spirit.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: But how can that happen? Nicodemus asked. Aren't you a teacher?
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Jesus replied.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: You should understand this. I have done many signs and
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: given you earthly examples. You have seen and heard them,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: yet you and the rest of the Pharisees still do
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: not believe. So how could I possibly explain heavenly matters
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: to you? Jesus could see the look of disappointment on Nicodemus' face.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: He had compassion on him and loved him for his heart.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Jesus spoke of himself now, saying, Just.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: As Moses lifted.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: The bronze serpent. He was beginning to understand, slightly, what
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Jesus was telling him. The Lord smiled and leaned in
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: closer to Nicodemus. For God so loved the world that
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: he offered up his only begotten Son. And whoever believes
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: God did not send his Son to condemn the world, no,
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: but that by him the world should be saved. There
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: was a joyfulness in Jesus' voice. His disciples were behind him,
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: hanging on his every word. His eyes glistened in the firelight.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: The light has come to the world, Jesus continued. But
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: people love darkness rather than the light. Wickedness hates the
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: light because it exposes it. But whoever knows and acts
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: upon the truth steps into the light. With those words,
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: Nicodemus left. He held the words of Jesus closely, regretting
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: that he could not totally understand.
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: Today we begin with Jesus once again at the temple
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: during Passover. And this time we don't see Jesus sitting
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: with teachers. In today's reading, we saw something that included
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: a holy zeal and a righteous, fiery anger that comes
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: from the Lord. God's temple is meant to be a
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: house of worship, a place of prayer, a place where
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: people are forgiven. But instead, the temple was being used
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: by greedy businessmen and religious leaders taking advantage of people,
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: charging exorbitant fees and for them to access sacrifices and
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: find forgiveness. We often think of the gentleness of Jesus,
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: and truly Jesus is gentle and lowly of heart. His
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: character is kind. But Jesus is also strong and never weak.
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: He was always deeply devoted to the things of God.
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Just like his predecessor, ancestor King David, was called to
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: be strong as a warrior for the Lord, Jesus now
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: rises up to defend the house of God. He was
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: not silent, and this was not calm. It was violent.
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: He was determined to set people straight. God's temple would
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: not be defiled by thieves. He braided a whip and
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: scattered the vendors. He turned over the tables of those
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: charging money and taking advantage of the Gentiles, speaking with
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: loud voices accusations against them. He would not allow this hypocrisy,
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: this dishonesty to continue. This was not Jesus losing control
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: of his emotion, flying off the handle and losing composure.
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: This was clear and planned behavior. This was righteous indignation.
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: We can only imagine how shocked the disciples must have
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: been to see Jesus perform this act of cleansing the
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: temple and behaving in this way. But they remembered the
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: words of Psalm 69, which says, The zeal of your
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: house will consume me. This is yet another sign that
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: Jesus is indeed the Messiah. But the religious leaders and
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: other Jews did not see this so clearly. They challenged
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: Jesus and asked what right he had, what authority he
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: possessed to say and do these things. His response for
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: them was confusing to those who heard it. In John 2.19,
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: it again in three days. They thought he was talking
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: about the physical temple, the buildings. the temple of stone
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: and mortar. But Jesus was speaking here about himself. He
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: was the temple. He was the very presence of God.
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: The glory of God was upon him. And one day
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: he would be destroyed. His temple, his physical body would die,
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: but he would be raised to life on the third day.
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: Here Jesus begins prophesying his own death and resurrection. The
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: Pharisees tried to laugh this off. failing to see the
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: one who was standing before them. All they knew is
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: that they despised this man who spoke with such authority
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: and challenged their position in power. But Jesus was not
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: seeking personal power and pride and prominence. He was calling
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: people to repentance. He was calling people to himself and
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: a brand new life. There was one leader among them
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: who wanted to know more about this Jesus. Perhaps he
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: was afraid to ask in the broad daylight, to ask openly.
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: So at night, this man came to Jesus. His name
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: was Nicodemus. He wanted to know more about this man.
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: Is he the Messiah? Is he more than a man?
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: Is he more than a teacher from God? Jesus then
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: told Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of God, one
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: must be born again. Nicodemus was confused, so he asked
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: for clarification. How is it possible to be born again?
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: The Lord explained to him that he was not talking
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: about physical birth, but birth in the Spirit, heavenly birth,
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: to be born again from above. This is the new
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: life that Jesus promises to all who will be born again.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: Jesus then gave Nicodemus and us an illustration. He talked
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: about Moses and the Israelites who looked to a bronze serpent,
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: a brazen serpent in the wilderness to be saved from
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: the bites of snakes. This was a story that Nicodemus
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: knew well. And Jesus explained to him that this is
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: a picture of God's love, that God sent His only Son, Jesus,
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: into the world, and that whoever would believe in Him
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: would not perish, but have everlasting life. This, of course,
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: is one of the key verses in all of the Bible,
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: John 3.16. For God so loved the world that He
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: would not perish, but have everlasting life. His words clearly
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: stuck with Nicodemus. Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: religious people like Nicodemus and irreligious people even like you
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: and me. Whoever you are, God loves you and has
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: a wonderful plan for your life. And if you will
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: trust in Christ and Christ alone as your Savior and Lord,
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: you will be given eternal life. Not only will your
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: sins be forgiven, But Jesus will live in your life
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: and you will live with the hope of eternal life
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: with you now and forever. I want to invite you
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: and encourage you to be born again. If you have
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: never put your faith and trust in Jesus, do it
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: right now. Simply pray a prayer and invite Christ into
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: your life. Be willing to turn from your sins, that's repentance,
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: and receive Jesus as your Lord and follow him as
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: your Savior. And if you will do this, you will
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: have a brand new life now and forever. Pray something
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: like this. Jesus, I ask you to come into my life,
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: to be my Savior and my God, my Master and friend.
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: In the power of your Spirit, I will live for
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: you all the days of my life, and I will
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: live with you forever in heaven. Lord, thank you for
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: giving me a brand new life today. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: Once again, thank you for listening to today's Bible in
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: Let me encourage you to download the Pray.com app and
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: make Bible study and prayer a real priority in your life.
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: And if you are enjoying this podcast, share it with
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: someone you know, someone you care about, because sharing God's
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: Word has a powerful impact upon people's lives. And if
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: you want more resources as to how you can find faith,
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: grow in your faith, develop as a disciple and follower
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: of Jesus, be sure to visit me at jackgram.org. We
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: have plenty of resources that will encourage you and equip
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: you for life. God bless you.