Why should I publicly tell anybody that I’m a Christian? The Bible exhorts, let the redeemed and the Lord say so. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel.
It tells us to confess with our mouth jesus is Lord. Why? Because in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word will be established.
What’s the point of that? It’s making yourself accountable to other people. This is what I believe.
I want you to know about it, so you can call me to it when necessary.
It’s Friday, and you found Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author, David Hocking. yesterday, we watched jesus turn the insides of a temple upside down. But today, we’re diving into the fallout.
The religious leaders demand a sign, and jesus hits them with a cryptic answer. destroy this temple, and I’ll raise it in three days. What?
Was he talking about the building or something bigger? Well, hold on to your study notes, because we’re about to uncover a prophecy that rattled the system and changed the world forever.
Turn back to the Gospel of John, chapter 2, verses 13 to 25. We’ll get started in just a moment. Just before that, I want to remind you that David’s sermon notes for our current series in the Gospel of John, they’re available for purchase.
Many folks tell us that when they use David’s sermon notes in conjunction with these daily radio broadcasts or even their own home Bible study, well, the Lord uses the notes to bring greater depth and understanding as they follow along with David’s teaching. And these notes, well, they’re just $10. So be sure to order yours today.
In fact, you can go to the website, make the purchase and download them instantly. Our website, davidhocking.org. Or you can get the print version by calling 800-75-BIBLE, and in Canada, 888-75-BIBLE.
And here’s David with day two of his message called Cleansing of the Temple.
Turn over to chapter 6 and look at verse 30. Therefore they said to him, What sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe you? What work will you do?
Go back to Matthew chapter 12 and I’ll show you what jesus thought about this request. It’s all the way through the Gospels. People kept asking him, What sign are you going to do to prove to us that you are who you claim?
Matthew 12, 30-38 will give you a clue of how jesus regarded all of this. Some of the scribes and pharisees answered saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.
And no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. What an interesting point. Listen to me, people.
When I preach and tell you the word of God, when I’m not giving my own opinions, when you know it’s what the Bible says and it’s the words of our Lord, this is God’s method, and we are accountable for the preaching of the word. That’s the point jesus is making. So it is a smoke screen when we say, give us a sign.
That’s a cover up for the evil heart that’s underneath. You’re covering up your sin by saying, what evidence can you get to prove to us that you are who you say you are? Do you think that miracles will make people believe?
Do you know that we’re accountable for the word of God? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We have to believe what God said.
And they’re constantly asking, what sign? jesus said, you believe the words that I speak to you. He said, the men of Nineveh will accuse you in the generation of judgment.
They’ll accuse you and condemn you because they repented at the simple preaching of Jonah. There’s a greater than Jonah here, namely, jesus Christ our Lord. Will we repent just by hearing the words of Christ?
Or will we sit there covering up our own sin and rebellion, not trusting his word by saying, show us a miracle, and then we’ll think about it? You’re talking to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You better believe what he says.
Let’s come back to John 2 again. They demanded a sign for what he’s doing, but the sixth thing we draw to your attention is he declared his power over death. What a startling answer he gave to them.
jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple. And that’s the Greek word referring to the Holy of holies. What he’s saying is that Holy of holies, where the glory of God would descend in the past, the Shekinah glory, God dwelling among us, God was dwelling in the physical body of jesus Christ.
destroy this Holy of holies, and in three days, I’ll raise it up. Imagine that. His control is clear there, is it not?
I will raise it up. He’s speaking of the temple of his body according to verse 21. jesus said in John 10, 18, no man takes my life from me.
I lay it down on myself, and I will take it up again. In ephesians 1, it tells us that the father raised jesus from the dead. In Romans 8, 11, it says the Holy Spirit raised jesus from the dead.
But here in John 2, and also in John 10, 18, jesus said, I raise my own body from the dead. The father, the son, the Holy Spirit, they’re all God. They were all involved in the resurrection of the body of jesus Christ from the dead.
He declared his power over death. I will raise it up. His control is clear.
But their confusion is obvious. Look at verse 20. They said, wait a minute, it took 46 years to build this temple.
And will you raise it up in three days? What are they talking about? Well, we go to Roman history for this one.
It is kind of interesting. It’s also recorded in the works of Josephus. Herod the Great began his rule in 37 BC.
Herod began the project of rebuilding the temple in his 18th year, according to Josephus. Approximately 20 or 19 BC is when he began it. Count 46 years, you wind up around 27 AD.
27 or 28. jesus’ ministry could have been three, maybe four years max. So jesus died on the cross between 30 and 32 AD.
Very interesting. They’re very confused. Why did they not understand?
He even changed the word. He said, you destroy this holy of holies, and I’ll raise it up in three days. It took Herod 46 years so far.
Oh, one of the interesting footnotes from history is guess what? They never did finish that temple until 64 AD, six years before it was destroyed and wiped to the ground. destroy this holy of holies, and in three days, I’ll raise it up.
It took us 46 years. You’re telling you’re going to do that in three days. Boy, did they miss the point.
The Bible teaches that the God of this age has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into them. Like many of us, they didn’t see the point at all. They saw something else, and they missed it completely.
The final thing I’d like you to see about these verses is his disciples decided after the resurrection that he was telling the truth. After the resurrection. 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.
Now, this is a very interesting story. Turn back to Luke 24, just a couple pages to the left. And I’d like you to see that the disciples, in fact, even though they followed jesus for over three years, did not believe in him.
Oh, they believed a number of things about him, but they did not have saving faith until after the resurrection. Here’s the proof, Luke 24, verse 1. jesus has arisen from the dead.
The women are coming to the tomb. We read in verse 5, then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, these two men in white apparel, shining garments, why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has 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, the women, remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of james, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. Are they believers? Their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
So much for the strong belief of the disciples. Let’s keep reading down to verse 36. That same night, that resurrection Sunday night.
Now, as they said these things, jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, Peace to you. But they were terrified and frightened. And suppose they had seen a spirit.
And he said to them, Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold, my hands and my feet, that it’s I myself.
Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Look at the next verse.
But while they still did not believe, for joy and marvel, he said to them, All right. My translation. Somebody hand me a sandwich.
You don’t believe? What do you want me to do, guys? I’ve already shown you.
You’ve touched me. You handle me. I’m eating.
I mean, come on. What a wonderful story this is. The Bible does say in verse 52 that they worshiped him.
Now, we’ve got belief and return to Jerusalem with great joy. Back to John 2 again. There is the problem of worship here, but folks, there’s also the problem of faith.
In some respects, the last three verses of John 2 are the most difficult in the book. Let’s look at them again. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, the Bible says, many believed in his name when they saw the signs.
But the next verse says, but jesus did not commit himself. That’s the same word, belief, as in verse 23. jesus did not believe in them, because he knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.
Now, according to this text, they’re not believers, but it does say they believed in his name because of the signs. I give you three statements, and I hope it will help you. There’s a lot of you who say, I believe in the Lord.
How do we know that you’re saved? It is really a serious question. jesus said in the last day, there’s going to be a lot of people who are going to profess to know me.
But he’ll say, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. It’s more important what the Lord knows than what we’ve told our friends.
I give you three simple things. In verse 23, the reason, the reason for faith is crucial. Why do you believe in the Lord?
The Bible says many believed in him because of the signs they saw. Are they true believers in him? No, just because he saw the miracle.
They say, oh yeah, I saw him do that. does that make you a believer in jesus Christ, born again, a part of that great crowd who will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and be with him forever? No, it doesn’t.
The reason for faith is crucial. Why are you a believer? To get your act together?
To get your family back together? To have more peace in your life? To be more successful in business?
You heard it would be better to attend church? Make a few contacts while you’re there? Why are you a believer?
The reason for faith is crucial. Number two, in verse 24, the response to faith is essential. And I’m not talking about your response and mine.
I’m talking about the Lord. The response of the Lord to our faith is essential. Not our response to Him.
It’s whether He has accepted what we have believed. Look at this in verse 24. jesus did not commit himself or believe in them.
He didn’t commit himself to them. Why? Because he knew all men.
The question is not whether you and I have responded to the Lord as we think we should. But the question is whether the Lord has responded to us. The Lord knows whether it’s real or not.
You could fool everybody around you. You could fool your husband, your wife, your children, your parents. You could fool all the people at work and at church.
The Lord even told us that there would be master deceivers like that. And they will appear to be Christians. You could fool everybody.
The issue is what does the Lord know about you and about me? The response of the Lord to our faith is essential. Has the Lord saved you?
Has the Lord redeemed you? Has the Lord delivered you from sin, death, and hell? We have a tendency in this generation to focus on what we have done.
Oh, well, I said the words. You know, the guy said if I said the words, I’d be in. Really?
It’s the response of the Lord to our faith that is essential, not our response to him. It isn’t our faith in the final analysis that saves us at all. It’s jesus Christ that saves us.
Number three, verse 25. The report of faith is unnecessary. Now, you got to think about this.
It says, He had no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. You say, look, I am a Christian. Let me bring you three guys.
They were there. They saw what happened. these three guys, tell them.
Go ahead. Tell them what I did. Not necessary.
The Lord already knows. There isn’t anything you can do today or tomorrow or anything else to convince the Lord that you’re saved. He already knows whether you are or you aren’t.
So the report about faith is totally unnecessary. You say, then, why publicly confess our faith? Well, it isn’t for the Lord.
I’ll tell you that. It’s for you. Why should I publicly tell anybody that I’m a Christian?
The Bible exhorts. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel.
It tells us to confess with our mouth jesus is Lord. Why? Because in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word will be established.
What’s the point of that? It’s making yourself accountable to other people. This is what I believe.
I want you to know about it, so you can call me to it when necessary. It isn’t for the Lord. The Lord already knows.
The Lord knows how many people right now listening to me really know him as Savior and Lord. He already knows. And every report you and I give about somebody, oh, you know, he, I know he’s a Christian.
I’ve known him for 30 years. He’s such a wonderful man. Listen, the devil can change himself into an angel of light, the Bible says.
Transform himself into a minister of righteousness. You could be deceived. So could I.
I don’t know whether you’re Savior or not, but the Lord does. You say, are you trying to scare us? No.
No, I’m not. But I am trying to bring a little sanity to a culture that has really not turned to the Lord. As Billy Graham often says, it’s the blessings from the blesser that we want, not the blesser.
Boy, is that ever the truth. Give me the goodies in life. Make my life happy, successful, and all of that.
Really. Folks, the issue is heaven and hell, and life and death. The issue is what jesus Christ did when he died on the cross for your sins.
Are you trusting in him? Or are you trusting in the religiosity that you went through to somehow identify yourself with him? Excuse me, but only jesus Christ can save you.
No one else can. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. We need to cry out to God.
We need to call on the name of the Lord in order to be saved. Have you ever done that? I can’t do that for you.
No one can. You must do it yourself. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Is it him or is it what he does for you that you want? Serious questions. Paul said, examine yourself, would you be in the faith?
Do you believe in him and him alone to save you? Boy, is this an issue. This is the whole theme of John.
That’s why the word belief appears more in his book than any other. God wants us to understand that we must believe on the Lord jesus Christ in order to be saved.
That’s Bible Teacher David Hocking, and this is Hope for Today. Well, our study time continues in just a moment. Stay tuned.
First, Matt and I want to share a powerful study tool by David with you. Matt, what do we have?
Our future resource for this month is principles of Joy. This is our book study of the Apostle Paul and his epistle to the Church of Philippi.
Philippians 4.4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. And to make the point, he says, again, I say, rejoice. I like this here.
Four principles in the book that take us through the book of Philippians. The first principle, the philosophy of your life must be centered in jesus Christ.
Can you accept difficult situations?
Again, yeah.
And do you really want to go to heaven? Yeah, amen.
And we’re going to heaven because of jesus Christ. Amen. Now the second principle, the pattern of your life must be conformed to jesus Christ.
Who is jesus Christ? And what does God want to do in your life? And do you show appreciation for that?
It’s all tied together.
And when we know who jesus Christ is and what he wants to do in our life, and we show appreciation for that and appreciation to others, we’ll find joy.
Gratitude and thankfulness. yes, amazing.
Third principle, the purpose of your life must be changed by jesus Christ.
And this helps really drive home that question of how important is your past? We all deal with that. And what are our goals in life?
So you got the future and you got the past, and do you want to change?
Talking about the future. Principle number four, the peace of your life must be controlled by jesus Christ.
And you can ask almost anybody, do you have peace? What are your priorities, and what advantage is it to trust in the Lord about those priorities?
And in this day and age, those are critical questions that are at the heart of everybody. Do you have peace? And do you have joy?
Folks, this again is our featured offer for the month of September. principles of Joy, David’s book, that is a study of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. We have this for you, just $15, and you can order in the US by calling 1-800-75-BIBLE.
If you listen in Canada, 1-888-75-BIBLE, or of course you can order online at davidhocking.org. And friend, please remember that every purchase or donation supports the Ministry of Hope for Today, helping us continue spreading the Word of God. Your support makes a huge difference.
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And we can’t do it without you. So don’t wait. Reach out today and help us continue spreading the truth that changes everything.
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And here’s David to close us in prayer.
Father, you know how many people in this meeting really know you. And sometimes, Lord, we admit that we are astonished and afraid for a lot of folks who seemingly have made some sort of commitment but do not live it and do not show it, and seemingly have little regard for it. And all of us who believe we are truly born again have those moments of doubt and question.
God, we are vulnerable. We, Father, are susceptible to the greatest temptations. And I pray, God, that you would help us in this moment to see that it is not our goodness or our performance that guarantees anything or the report and testimony of any other person about us.
It’s not our reputation, which is what men think we are. It’s our character, what God knows us to be, whether we are really partakers of the divine nature, whether we have been born again by the Spirit of God, whether or not we’ve been saved by the precious blood of our Lord jesus Christ. Father, you know whether we are clean by your work, or whether we are trying to clean up our lives by our own efforts.
Father, I pray for those in our meeting who are not really sure that, God, you will move in by your Holy Spirit. May they sense in their heart that they must get right with God, that they must call upon your name in order to be saved. God, we trust you to do what we cannot do.
We ask you, Lord, to draw men unto yourself. Men and women and boys and girls who put their faith in jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. We thank you in jesus’ name.
Amen.
Amen. Now, friend, do you know where you’ll spend eternity? Imagine having the rock-solid assurance that when you leave this earth, you’ll be with jesus Christ in heaven forever.
No doubts, no fear, just peace. We want to send you two powerful free resources to help you find that confidence. First, it’s David Hocking’s booklet, What is Christianity?
A powerful tool that cuts through the confusion commonly experienced by new disciples of jesus Christ. And second, we’ve got a Bible study by mail that takes you deeper into the truth of God’s Word. Both of these are free for those new to the faith or those who are seeking to know more about what a relationship with jesus Christ is all about.
Call 800-75-BIBLE to get yours. And if you listen in Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE. And for everyone else listening, if you’d like a copy of the booklet, What is Christianity?
The cost is just $5. Well, next time, David continues his line-up online survey of the Gospel of John. Join us then right here on Hope for Today.
