 Let's begin here in John's Gospel. We're in chapter 2, and I'm going to read verse 13 first. I'm going to give you a long introduction. Just be prepared for that. And I'll be doing that at verse 13. And then my conclusion is also going to contain a few things that will take me a little time to develop. But I'll just begin by reading verse 13 and give you an introduction that gives you a bit of information, and then we'll move through our study. So John chapter 2 verse 13, John writes, the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. One aside, notice with me that he says, went up to Jerusalem. Whenever you see them making a journey to Jerusalem, you will always see it saying they went up to Jerusalem. That's because Jerusalem is higher in elevation. And so you'll see that. You'll notice that as you go through your Gospels and all it's always went up to. And so it says here, the Passover of the Jews was at hand. So let me develop some things with you concerning that. The Passover of the Jews was at hand. When you look at the New Testament, the New Testament consists of 27 books. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. The word Gospels speaks of the good news. And so the first four books of the New Testament called the Gospels are intended to communicate to us the good news, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. So when you read the Gospels, you'll see that each Gospel that was written has a purpose. You'll see that when you read the Gospel, for example, of Matthew, you'll see Matthew wrote to the Jews and in the Gospel of Matthew, because he's writing specifically to Jewish readers. He quotes the Old Testament more than any other Gospel writer. When you read Mark and you read Luke, Mark and Luke wrote mainly to Gentiles. And Mark specifically was writing to Romans. Luke was writing more specifically to the Greeks. But as they did so, they were revealing to these people that Jesus is the world's Messiah. But John writes to a mixed audience. And so that's one of the reasons why in his Gospel, you'll see that he makes sure to explain to his reader certain things. That's why he begins by saying the Passover of the Jews. So he's actually writing an explanation as he does this. And so he's speaking now of the Passover of the Jews. Now, it's interesting that John uses the term the Jews around 66 times in his Gospel. Now, to contrast that, Matthew uses the term five times, Mark six times, and Luke uses that term five times. And so the Jews is a term that you find often here in the Gospel of John. And he's speaking of the Passover of the Jews. We'll look at that for a moment. The last time we saw that Jesus had been in the city of Capernaum, rather Cana. He was attending a wedding and he stayed a short time because he wanted to be present for Passover. So he went from Cana to Capernaum and stayed a short time because he wants to go to Jerusalem for the Passover. Jesus is what is referred to as an observant Jew. That means he celebrated the feast and all and he was celebrating Passover. And the celebration of Passover was a lifelong habit of Jesus. You see all the way back in Luke chapter two, verses 41 and 42, how that his parents, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem every year for the feast. And so he was someone who from really the beginning of his life was an observant Jew and would often and always celebrate Passover. And so this is the first Passover that he's observing after his baptism. When you look at Passover, Passover is one of the three major feasts, along with the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. It's a celebration that reminds the children of Israel of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. According to the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy 16 verse 16, it is a mandatory festival for attendance of males of a certain age. You see, they're celebrating a certain event in the history of Israel that is very important. Israel, the family of Jacob, had lived in Egypt for over 400 years and they had grown numerous. And at the end of those years, we know in our scriptures as we read the Bible that they ended up suffering in bondage and the bondage that they were enduring was great. And so when you read your Old Testament about that, you see that they began to cry out to God for deliverance. It's it's recorded in the book of Exodus. And so the Lord God appeared to Moses and told him that he had heard the cry of his people and that they would be delivered. In Exodus chapter three, verses seven and eight, it says, the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land to a land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Parasites and the Hivites, the Jebusites, the Salulites, Uptites, Adesites and the rest of thoseites. I always say that and you still laugh. I don't get it. Lots of bites. And so we know that through a series of 10 plagues, God judged the nation of Egypt and as God was judging the nation of Egypt, he is actually judging the gods, the false gods of Egypt. According to Numbers 33, verse four on their gods, the Lord had executed judgments. And so when God brought judgment, that provoked the Egyptians to let his people go. Now, as you look at the plagues, the last plague was on all the firstborn from animals all the way to Pharaoh. According to Exodus 1212, God said, I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Well, the Jews were to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and they were to smear its blood on their door posts. When the destroyer came and saw the blood, he would pass over the house. That's where you get the term pass over from. In Luke 12, verse 13, it says, the blood shall be assigned for you on the house where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be on you on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. And so you have the Passover. Passover was a foreshadowing of a greater deliverance, a greater redemption that was yet to come. The Passover is intended to foreshadow the death of Jesus, the Messiah and his covering us with his blood. Paul speaks of that in 1 Corinthians five, verse seven, when he says, indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Now, at the Passover celebration, a lamb that was slain would be consumed in a meal. The sacrificial lamb was to be kept from the 10th day to the 14th day, according to Exodus 12, three through six. On the 14th day, it was to be slain and it was to be eaten. Someone would say, why did that lamb remain with that family that was only going to slay it and eat it? Why was it there for so long? It was there for a long time so that emotional attachment would occur. They would have this lamb and the children, especially would grow attached to it. That's what happens if you have an animal that is being raised in your home and you may not, as a child, realize at first that it's being raised for a meal. My wife, Marie, grew up here in Chino and she tells me how that when she was a little girl, her dad had bought a calf and they fell in love with that calf. They even named the calf. You know, I forget what the name was, Daisy or something like that. Bessie, Bessie. Marie called her Bessie. Her dad called her dinner. And there's an attachment. There's an attachment that took place. And that's what happens when you have, especially a lamb. Let's face it, you know, lambs are good. I mean, lambs, they taste good. A little salt, some pepper and some. No, lambs are cute and the babies would grow attached. So that's why they had them. They wanted them to have an attachment to this animal. They wanted to do that. They wanted that because when it was slain, it would cause them sorrow because the death of Messiah in the future, it ought to cause a sorrow. And there needs to be an attachment in some like that. So slain, the lamb should cause pain to the ones who slay it. Now, each family had a lamb. If the family was small, a neighbor would join them. In Exodus 12, 4, it says, if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of persons. According to each man's need, you shall make your count for the lamb. So if I had a small family, then I would join with another family. And so through these different families, I would be reminded of sacrifice. I would be reminded of deliverance. I would also realize that genuine faith is lived out in community, not simply individually. See, we call ourselves a Jesus people community to remind ourselves that we belong to each other because faith is lived out in community. And so Jesus Christ celebrated as an observant Jew this this festival celebrating the reality of the Passover where the firstborn were slain and the children of Israel were set free. We're delivered and so we know that Jesus was around 33 years old when he was crucified. And we get another observation before I get into the actual text about this as we're looking at this, because again, in verse 13, it says the Passover, the Jews was at hand. This is the first Passover that John records that Jesus celebrates. So we know that Jesus was about 33 years old when he was crucified. But sometimes people will say, how did you come to that conclusion? Let me show you how. One, we know his approximate age when he began ministry because according to Luke 323, Jesus himself began his ministry when he was about 30 years of age. John records Jesus celebrating three passovers. You have this one here found in this chapter, chapter two. But you see a second Passover mentioned in John chapter six. And the third Passover mentioned in John chapter 11. So that tells us that he celebrated three passovers. He began his ministry when he was around 30 years of age. And that's how you come to the age of 33. When people say that was the age that he died. And so Jesus is about to celebrate one of the great feasts of Israel. This is again a feast that celebrates God's deliverance from bondage. And it's one of those celebrations that is filled with joy. Now, as he's about to celebrate, there's something he encounters as he enters into the court of the Gentiles. In verse 14, he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business. When he had made a whip of the cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen and poured over the changers money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. So we get to see sweet and gentle Jesus angry. You know, a lot of times we have this picture of Jesus that's just not biblically balanced. We artists of old have pictures of him very often with kind of a sad look in his face. Sometimes they'll have a sheep on his shoulder with a sad look. And you see him in a certain way. This is one of the introductions that we see of Jesus, where he actually has a zeal. He actually has a ferocity of righteousness that we get to see in the cleansing of the temple. And we'll be seeing that in some detail in just a moment. Let me develop this where he's at is called the court of the Gentiles. As he enters into this court of the Gentiles, he's encountering people who do business. When we go to Israel, we go to a place called the southern steps. The southern steps are the steps that Jesus. These are actual steps. This is one of the places in Israel that you know, beyond a shadow of doubt that you are actually walking in the exact place Jesus himself would have walked. That's how old these steps are. And these steps called the southern steps will take you up into what is called an area that was called the court of the Gentiles. And as he's walking into this court of the Gentiles, he begins to encounter people and they're doing business. There had been booths that were set up for the purchase of sacrificial animals, as well as for changing money. What had happened is the area had been turned into a marketplace. And you have to picture it that way. It's crowded. It's noisy. And it smells. There are merchants who are selling oxen. They're selling sheep and doves. They're selling oil. They're selling salt. All of these are ingredients for the Passover supper. And they had concession fees that were being charged. And so the people with the concession stands were profiting off of the religious devotion of those pilgrims. You see, the sincere pilgrims who had come to celebrate were being robbed. You see, to celebrate Passover, it was necessary for them to have an offering. And so the priests had established inspectors to ensure that the offering that was being offered was acceptable. So they they actually had people there who were inspecting the animals, looking for imperfections. According to the Old Testament Book of Leviticus 22 verses 21 and 22, it says, when anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a free will offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as an offering made to the Lord by fire. And so these priests would inspect the animals that were about to be offered and they would reject them. And when they rejected the animal that was being presented, they would sell them another animal. They would confiscate theirs and they would make a profit off of the people by selling them a more expensive animal. One writer says that the pilgrim often paid up to ten times the actual value of the animal. Now, at the same time, many would pay what they call the temple tax. The temple tax was a maintenance tax for the temple. So if they brought in foreign currency, they would recognize foreign currency as unclean. And so you had to exchange it. They had the money changers and so they would take the foreign money. They would exchange it for Jewish shekels. And the rate of exchange was up to 25 percent. So they were ripping them off with the animals and with the money exchange. One commentator said that the priests and Levites very often sold the animals they had received for sacrifices to the dealers in cattle at a lower rate that they might sell them again with profit. So that the same sacrifices were often sold to different persons and the profits were divided between the priests and the salesman. And this is well known and Jesus sees this taking place. So as he walks in again, verse 14, he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business. When he made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers money and overturned the tables. And he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. I can't I can't imagine what a scene that would have been. Here comes Jesus and you can almost see him standing there. Looking at what's taking place. And it's not as if that's the first time by the way that he's ever seen this. He's more than likely seen this many times, but now it's time for him to do his ministry and he walks in. And as he's looking there and you wonder if his if his disciples, his apostles were standing with him as he was looking and perhaps they had no idea what was about to take place. And then Jesus goes up to a table and you can see all the coins and stacks and all and he grabs the table and he throws it. Can you picture that and the coins that are on the table? They're all just scattering. And he goes to another table and another table and he's throwing tables and the people at that point are and now he picks up some cords, some some reed that's on the and he fashions it into a whip. It's not something like a leather whip that would tear you up. But it's something that will sting and he begins to use this and drive the people out with it. It just would have been an amazing thing that was taking place. He was angry. It was angry. Why was he angry? Well, cleansing God's house was first the first and the last care of Jesus Christ. We need to remember that the temple is where the people came to worship God. This outer court where they were at was the only place all nations could assemble in the temple precincts. There were other courts. There was the court of the women, court of the men, court of the priests, but those were restricted to Jews alone. The court of the Gentiles allowed both Jew and Gentile to assemble and the Jews and the Gentiles would assemble together. And it was a place that there were actual teachings in prayer. Jesus, very often in his ministry, would teach in the court of the Gentiles. Rabbis would go there and very often their their disciples that they were mentoring would come in and be seated around them. So this was a common practice. Jesus went there quite often. But it was a place that was was intended to to be for all nations so that people could hear the things of God. And and they would come together that there might be worship of God. All the nations could gather there to learn of God. Later on, there'll be a second cleansing. This is what is called the first cleansing. But in Mark, Chapter 11, verse 17, at the second cleansing, Mark said that he, Jesus, taught them, saying them, saying to them, Is it not written, my house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations. You have made it a den of thieves. And so that was what was taking place. Jesus is there. He walks in. He sees all these people making a profit off the religious faith of those pilgrims who come. They're they're they're getting ripped off with the maintenance tax. They're getting ripped off with with their offerings that they're making, their sacrifices and his zeal and his passion for the father fuels him. And he cleanses the courtyard, seeing his father blasphemed, his temple desecrated and people being stumbled, angers him. God's house is to be a house of prayer for all nations and not just for Israel because God cares for the world. And Jesus is pointing this out. God so loved the world. John will later on say the whole world, not just you, but the whole world. And this is a place where worship of God was supposed to take place. This is a place where Israel could speak to the Gentiles and tell them about the wonderful works of God. This is a place that was set apart for the worship of the Lord and it's being polluted by materialism and sinful greed. And it caused Jesus to be passionately angry. And God wanted people to know who he is. And so it's interesting to note here that as this is taking place in verse 17, his disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house is eating me up. Zeal for your house. It causes them to to think of a scripture from the Psalms. It's Psalm 69 verse nine. This is the act of a reformer. This is the act of the Messiah and the zeal of the Lord causes a righteous indignation. To just come out of the Lord Jesus Christ. I suspect and I'll just say this briefly. I want you to think with me for just a moment. I'm certainly not saying that every pastor should be mad in the pulpit. In the Allen carry on, I don't believe that at all. But I do know that we're in a time when people people are not understanding the holiness of God. And even the church itself has a difficult time coming to terms with Jesus actually being angry over something. We have we have been so wrapped up in in his grace and goodness and love for us that we sometimes forget that he's also one who has a righteous anger. And when you see Jesus entering in and you see him doing this and cleansing the temple, it ought to cause us as believers to to think and to understand that there are some things that really get the Lord angry. There are some things that really provoke him. And this is one of them when his house is to be a house of prayer, but it's being transformed into a den of thieves. And there have been times and I'll say it like this, that I as I have taught I have I've made a statement about something that's going on in the church world. And and I'll say this is really a wrong thing, whatever it may be, whether it's some TV evangelist saying, I need another forty million dollars for an airplane so I can fly around the world, bringing the gospel to people, you know. And and I'll say that is truly a wrong thing. You're ripping off God's people. What do you think you're the only person who can preach the gospel? And people even in my church will get upset at me for saying something like that, thinking that I'm judging somebody when, in fact, there should be an indignation within our hearts. When somebody is profiting off the gospel of Jesus to the loss of souls, because people only see this guy saying, give me money and his self importance and they won't listen to the gospel when it's being preached. And that grieves me. And so there have been times when I have stood up over the years. I've been doing this for a while here and I have said, this is wrong. And you'll be surprised at how some people respond. Oh, you're a judge. What makes you and that there's no discernment in the body of Christ today? We simply accept everything as being OK. And I wonder what we the church would do if a John the Baptist type showed up. Repent. Oh, he says, you serpents, you vipers. What a sweet man you are, John. I really don't think you'd see him on many Christian TV programs. And he probably wouldn't have a great following in churches. I'm sure he wouldn't. And if you look at some of the messages Jesus gave and we will be doing that as we go through John's gospel and I'll bring you to Matthew 23, I'm sure, in various places. There were times when Jesus spoke in such a straight and convicting way and people seem to forget that God is the God of truth. And the things that he says are of great importance to hear. And when you see Jesus turning over tables and saying to them, take these things away. Don't make my father's house a house of merchandise. Don't reduce the house of God, which is to be a house of prayer for all men in all nations. Don't reduce that to a place where you profit off of people's faith. And I have to tell you, the church sometimes is very guilty of that. Not every church, but some are guilty of profiting off of the devotion and love of people and their faith in God. And God hated it then and he hates it now. And as this is taking place, his men, his disciples are remembering a scripture. Zeal for your house has consumed me. Zeal for your house has eaten me up. Well, as this takes place, the Jews answered and said to him, what sign do you show to us since you do these things? And Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up. And so they ask him, by what authority are you doing these things? It's interesting to note this. They didn't dispute with him that what he did was right. But they're saying, who, who, who are you to do these kinds of things? And so what does Jesus do? Well, he gives the answer in verse 19, destroy this temple. And in three days, I'll raise it up. Now, this is the clearest sign that you will ever have of my authority. Destroy this temple is speaking of his resurrection. He says, destroy this temple in three days, I will raise it up. Later on in John 10, verses 17 and 18, he says it like this. He says, therefore, my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my father. What authority do I have? The authority of the resurrection. And that's what he's speaking about. So they're taking him literally, notice their response in verse 20. The Jews said it's taken 46 years to build this temple. And will you raise it up in three days? And so. They're thinking of how Herod, a builder, had been repairing and beautifying the temple for many years. Now, Herod is known for that. Again, when you go to Israel, you'll see places that still are lasting to this day that he built. And so he's known as a builder. Now, he would do this because he worked on the temple because he liked to build, but he was also trying to win over the Jews. And like they said, this work has been continuously going on for 46 years. And so when they say it's taken 46 years to build this temple and and will you raise it up in three days, they're taking him literally. But notice verse 21, I want to develop this with you for a moment. He was speaking of the temple of his body. Now, this is a very important, essential of Christian doctrine. And I want to spend a moment with you developing this. This is an important thing for us as believers to get a hold of. So I'll take a drink and begin. One of the essentials of the Christian faith is the physical resurrection of Jesus's actual body. If you take notes, you might want to note that. One of the essentials of the Christian faith is the physical resurrection of Jesus's actual body. There are theologians who do not believe in his actual physical resurrection. Some say that the Gospels are just inconsistent in their accounts. And so the resurrection of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, they'll say, are simply stories. There are other theologians who believe that myths influence the beliefs of the early Christians. And so they were incorporating resurrection myths, they say. And these are, quote unquote, Christian theologians who say this. Some think that his resurrection is a story that actually gained influence years later and not during the period of time he was crucified, died and was buried. And there are others who say that Jesus's resurrection was only spiritual and was not a physical resurrection. When I was in Bible college, I took a course in Azusa Pacific. And one of my Bible teachers was teaching on this subject and he said something like this. He said, does it really matter if you believe in the actual physical resurrection of the body of Jesus Christ? He says, why can it not be only a spiritual resurrection, only spiritual, but not physical? And that is something that one of my professors at Azusa Pacific was postulating as a possible answer because he did not apparently believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. And his question was, is this an essential for us as believers to actually hold fast to or cannot you believe that it was spiritual in nature and not physical? So I want to supply an answer for that. I'll take it one step further and I'll say that there is a cult called the Jehovah's Witnesses. All of us are familiar with at least the name Jehovah's Witness. And the Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Jesus was not physically resurrected in their booklet. You can live forever on Paradise Earth. They say Jesus rose as a spirit creature and that the material body of Jesus was taken away by Jehovah. That's what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. They may have come to your door, Easter just passed. They came to mine. I wasn't home. I was looking out the window. No, I wasn't home when they came, but they leave their brochures in the material. Perhaps they did with you. They go through all of our neighborhoods and leave their material during Easter. That's what they believe. They believe and this is taken from one of their sources. In the booklet, you can live forever on Paradise Earth. This is what they say. They say Jesus rose as a spirit creature, the material body of Jesus was taken away by Jehovah. That's what they teach. They do not believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. They say that he was spiritually resurrected. They teach that Jesus took on different physical forms when he rose from the dead. And they use as examples the fact that that they say that he appeared as a gardener to Mary Magdalene. They say that he assumed a different body when he appeared on the road to Emmaus to those two disciples. And they'll they'll say, well, see, Mary, he was a gardener. And the two there on the road to Emmaus didn't recognize him because he had assumed a different form. I don't know if you've ever spoken to Jehovah's Witnesses. That's what they'll tell you. That's what they say. They'll say that that Mary saw him as a gardener because Jesus looked like a gardener. That's what they'll say. They'll say when these two disciples on the road to Emmaus were joined by Jesus in conversation, they will tell you that he was in a different form and that he didn't look like Jesus, but assumed a different likeness. That's what Jehovah's Witnesses will tell you. Is that true? Did Jesus assume the body of a gardener? Well, when Jesus spoke to Mary in John 20, verse 15 and asked, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? John tells us that she supposing him to be the gardener. So that tells us that she made a mistake. When you take into consideration that Mary, it was dark, that she was weeping, she is emotionally traumatized. She supposed him to be the gardener, but it doesn't say that Jesus was dressed up, you know, with the gardener clothes, you know, little hat and overalls. When he appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Luke tells us that they didn't recognize him because according to Luke 24, 16, their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. Their eyes were restrained. It wasn't that he assumed a different form. It's that their eyes were restrained, they were unable to see him because he intentionally restrained them from recognizing him. And that's what's going on. So no, he wasn't assuming different bodies. As for Jesus having a spirit body, Luke tells us that when Jesus appeared before his 11 apostles, that they thought they were seeing a spirit and Jesus told them, why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself handle me. And then he goes and says, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see, I have. So a spirit does not have flesh and bones, though they'll say, well, wait a minute, the Bible says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Well, Jesus said he had flesh and bones. Why flesh and bones and not flesh and blood because he poured out all of his blood on the cross. And so he doesn't have blood anymore. And so that scripture doesn't apply. Jesus's body was flesh and bones. Somebody said the bodily resurrection of Jesus is the most important event in history, providing irrefutable evidence that Jesus is who he claimed to be the Son of God. The resurrection was not only the supreme validation of his deity. It also validated the scriptures, which foretold his coming and resurrection. Moreover, yet authenticated Christ claims that he would be raised on the third day and it is the event that provides hope that we will also be resurrected. Apart from Jesus's bodily resurrection, we have no savior, no salvation and no hope of eternal life. As the Apostle Paul said, our faith would be useless and the life giving power of the gospel would be eliminated. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith. If he was not resurrected, our faith in him is useless. In 1 Corinthians 15, 17, Paul said, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. And so Jesus Christ is already in John chapter two, speaking of his resurrection. That's what he's referring to when he says, destroy this temple. And in three days, I will raise it up. He's prophesied his death, his burial and his resurrection at the beginning of his ministry. They took him literally and they say it took 46 years for this temple to be built, meaning that Herod had been working on it and doing different different things for many years. But verse 21 says, no, he's not talking about the physical temple. He's speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore, verse 22, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them and they notice, believe the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. And so Jesus is hinging his authority on the validity of scripture. He is saying. And John is pointing out that the scriptures point to that central fact of resurrection. In John 5 39, Jesus says, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is they that bear witness about me. And that's what they're saying in verse 22 when it says that they remembered that he had said this to them and believe the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. You search the scriptures. They testify about me in the scriptures. His resurrection is foretold Psalm 16 verse 10. You will not leave my soul in shale, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. Paul made it clear in Romans chapter one, verse four that Jesus was declared to be the son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. The scriptures point out that Jesus Christ was to be resurrected. Jesus says, if you destroy this temple, I will raise it up in three days. He says that in response to their question, who gives you the authority to do what you're doing? You're driving people out. You're you're overturning the tables. What gives you the authority to do that? And Jesus is pointing to the fact that he has God in the flesh, that he is the Messiah and the authority that he has is from heaven. That's what he's saying. They don't see it at that time. As a matter of fact, majority of them will not see it to the very end. But that's what Jesus is pointing out. And the resurrection of Christ is that which that which validates everything and gives him authority. You see, the resurrection of Jesus is what we we place all of our trust on. Again, like Paul had said, if there's no resurrection, our faith is in vain. You think of you think of a of a young girl. She was about between 14 and 16 at the time. And you and you think of how that she had a visitation by an angel and how the angel had said to her that you're going to conceive in your womb the Son of God. And and that young girl, Mary responds by saying, how can this thing be seen? That I have not known a man. And she's saying, how is it possible for me to have a child seen that I'm a virgin? That's what Mary was saying. And the angel makes it very clear to her, you know, that holy thing she will be conceived by the spirit himself. And so you have to put yourself in her place back 2000 years ago, and you have to ask yourself how how Mary, how did she survive? I mean, she was from a small village in Nazareth. When you think of the city of Nazareth, don't get caught up thinking it was large. It was very small. It was a very small community, very small village. Some commentators say that the number of citizens in Nazareth during the days that Mary was there, it could have been as few as 60 people. It was a small community. When you read Nazareth, don't don't start thinking in terms of cities like Ontario and Pomona and other large. No, it was a very small village. And you know how small villages are. If there's only 50, 60 or less than 100 people there, you know everybody's business. You know what's going on. You know everything. You know everybody. And that's how it would have been. And and Mary was was a girl. She was a girl. She was 14, 15, 16 years old commentators say she was no more in 16. So there's this girl. She'd be trod to a man by the name of Joseph. And she leaves for a while. And she spends time with the with the relative by the name of Elizabeth. And she comes back and she's pregnant. Now you tell me what you would think in this small village or anywhere else. There's only one way to get pregnant. And so Mary is carrying this, this, this shame and reputation. And Joseph, being a just man, the scripture says, wanted to to put her away privately because she had committed a sin according to Jewish law and he had the right to demand her death. But he was a just, he was a righteous man. He was a kind man, a good man. And he didn't want that to take place in in this young woman's life. And so he was minded, the scripture says, to put her away privately. But but that's when the angels spoke and said, don't be afraid to take Mary, your wife for that, which is conceived in hers of the Holy Spirit. And and in faith, Joseph received that. Don't think about that for a minute. What man is going to say, oh, really, you're knocked up by God. I don't think so. That's a paraphrase, probably not a proper one. But it is nonetheless. That's how guys think. Fact. But but the angel, that's why the angel had to speak to him. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. You don't have to divorce her. She's pure. You don't have to. How do you think Joseph felt? A noble man, a good man. How do you think he felt? His heart was crushed. His heart would be broken. It would be shattered. He loved this girl. It's my wife. She came back from visiting her cousin and she's pregnant. I must have broken his heart and he was so troubled. And he's, what am I going to do? And God sends the angel to comfort him. But everybody believed that Mary did what people do to have babies, everybody. She gives birth to her firstborn son, Jesus. She loves him, cherishes him, nourishes him, cares for him 30 years. And the people who were alive when that announcement was made of her pregnancy, when everybody discovered it, could have lived for another 20, 30 years. Now Jesus is 33 years old. And in the back of their mind, they may be wondering what's going on with this young man who came out of Nazareth, this young man that was born to Mary, Mary, the girl who became pregnant before she married Joseph. And Mary keeps these things in her heart and she ponders them holding fast to the promises of God and the reality of knowing that she was pure and this is a miracle. And then one day they take this little one who became a man and they hang him on a tree and his mother is there at the foot of the cross watching as her son is dying for ours. John is there with her and some of the other ladies. She hears her son as he's praying, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Then he looks at her and looks at John, woman, behold your son. And then he says to John, behold your mother. And he finally says, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. And he lowers his head and he breathes his last with a cry of it is finished. They take his body, they hastily bury him. Three days later he's risen from the dead and not only is Jesus alive but his mother's claims of innocence are finally validated by the resurrection of her son Jesus Christ, the one who was born to the Virgin and this is all scripture. And that's why you hold fast to scripture. That's why Jesus points to scripture. That's why he quotes scripture, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up as a prophetic word concerning the fact that the Psalmist had said you will not leave my soul in shield. There will be a resurrection. And so we place our trust and our faith in what the scriptures say. And that's why it says in verse 22 when he had risen from the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this to them and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. When he was risen from the dead they remembered. You see after his resurrection they were able to remember he had told them that this would happen. In Luke 24 verses six through eight after his resurrection when the women came to the tomb the angels said to them he's not here. He's risen. Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee saying the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. And the third day rise again and they remembered his words. If you want to make it, let me give you application if you want to make it through your hard times remember his word. Remember his word. God doesn't lie. God will never leave you nor forsake you. God is with you. I can do all things through Christ to strengthens me. Shall be no weapon formed against me forged against me that will be able to have any success why because God is my shield and my strength. And though I go through things and we all do I don't go through these things without hope because I know that all things work together for the good of those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose. And I know that God has taught me that if I if I he said if you obey my command I will manifest myself to you. And it's in the midst of times of those times in my life when I'm wondering God what are you going to do that I have to just rest on the things that I know the things I don't know are out of my control so I rest on the things that I do know because those things are in his control. And you learn that over time. And it's not kind of a haphazard. I'm not a person who just kind of whistles in the dark and pretends they're not bad things there. I realize there are bad things but I also know who's with me. I know that too. And I know that the Lord will deliver me in one form or another. And I know that when I'm going through I will go through that I'm not gonna stay there. I'm not gonna live there. That's not gonna be my permanent address because Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I'll come again receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. And so when I'm going through whatever I go through I know I'm gonna go through and I'm gonna end up with him. And that comes from scripture that doesn't come through my having positive thoughts that doesn't come because I ignore that comes because I weigh it I consider it and I say but my God my God is able my God is capable my God is powerful my God is a deliverer my God is with me we will make it through that's how it works. And that's what's going on here. You see they remembered the word that Jesus had said because his word brings comfort. Without the Holy Spirit ultimately scriptures won't make sense. So we need his illumination. It's like what he says in John 1426 the helper of the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. And so they believed the scripture. Finally verse 23 when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. People began to show an interest in him because of the works he's performing but he didn't notice he did not entrust himself to this kind of faith because that faith was not fully in him. Their level of belief was centered on his ability to do works not his ability to save. You can believe that Jesus can do works but that doesn't mean that you're saved because the work and the greatest work that I wanna believe is the work he did for me in salvation. I believe in a God who performs miracles. I don't know a scripture in the New Testament that says he can't. I just don't know one. I don't know a scripture in the New Testament that says he sees doing miracles. I believe he still does. He continues to work. I believe that. Do I see him every day? No. Have I seen him? I think I have. But even if I hadn't, I walk by faith, not by sight. I believe that the Lord does what God says he'll do. And that's the end of it. He said it, I believe it, that settles it. I just trust him in all of that. That's how the Lord is. But he didn't entrust himself to all men. Why? Because he knew what was in man. One of the things that you have to learn in life is to know who to trust and who to love at a distance. Who to trust. Because some of you have been hurt by trusting the wrong people, haven't you? All of us have. All of us have. Did you learn anything? Don't hate them. Don't hate them. Just learn. Just learn that some people you can entrust yourself to. Others, you can't. It's not a judgment on them. May God work in them so that they become trustworthy. But at this moment, I'm not gonna give you my treasures because you're gonna share them with somebody else. So I am very selective who I entrust myself to. I will entrust myself to the one that is trustworthy. The one who has proven themselves. Now, if I have a friend who talks to me about other people, I guarantee you he talks about me to other people. And so, if he's talking to me about others, he talks about me to others. So that tells me right away, this isn't a person I'm gonna entrust myself to. I can love him and I do. I can care for him and I will. But will I tell him my heart? No. Of course not. Because this is a person who doesn't know how to be trustworthy yet. Now, we all have to learn to keep our mouths shut. We all have to learn when to speak and when not to speak. That's a good lesson to learn over time. You know, my dad, when I was a kid, my dad used to have a real problem with me because he says, David, you're too open-hearted. You just say things. And some of you have noticed that that's still true at my age, I still open my heart and share my heart. I still do. My dad had a difficult time with that because I used to say, you know what? If it's real for me, I'm gonna tell you about it. That's the way it is. But over time, I learned, hmm, some things I keep to myself. Some things I only share with some people. My wife knows everything that needs to be known about this man because I trust her with my life because I know she's trustworthy. And I have others that I can trust certain things to. But Jesus, he didn't show himself to everybody. He didn't say these things to everybody. He said them to certain things, certain people. That's what it's saying here. Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. So be careful. One, become a person that people can trust. Become a person that they know they could share with and they can trust you. Be that person. And two, be discerning who you trust when you're sharing. Be discerning. Not every person is capable of hearing the things that you share. Just be aware of that. Doesn't make them bad people, per se. Simply means they're people you don't share everything with. That's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. Because eventually they may learn to just shut up. Maybe they'll learn to be trustworthy. And there have been times when I've told people and I've said, you know what? You've got to learn not to speak. You've got to learn to listen. You've got to learn to just hold things to yourself. Take it to the Lord. But don't be sharing everything you know because some people will use information to hurt you with. Be wise with that. Be wise with that.