Jesus, the Temple, and You (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign #20)

John 2:18-22:
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us,
seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt
thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he
had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which
Jesus had said.
----Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon
series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with
unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the
main thing the main thing -- and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America
is not only disobedient presidents and politicians but disobedient pastors,
preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey God's Great Commission
and who have refused to obey God's repeated commands to pray without
ceasing for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. This campaign is
inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, "For I
determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified." Acts 5:42 which says, "And daily in the temple, and in every house,
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And 2 Timothy 2:4 which
says, No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he
may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of
those saints who still loves to hear the Old, old story of Jesus and His love -As the hymn says, For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to
hear it like the rest. This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and

understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is
hell. This is message number 20.
John Piper said, The material temple [in Jerusalem] that would be destroyed,
Jesus builds again in three days in the sense that he now replaces this temple
and becomes the new place where everyone may meet God and fellowship with
God. Remember what he said in Matthew 12:6, I tell you, something greater than
the temple is here. And he meant himself A church building is not the temple of
God. Jesus is. When Jesus died for us and rose from the dead, he replaced the
temple with himself. He is the universal Immanuel, God with us.
You can imagine that after Jesus cleaned out the Temple, the Jewish religious
leaders were stunned. They never thought that anyone would be bold enough to
challenge their authority. So, they confront Jesus, and basically say to Him, 'Who
do you think you are? What gives you the right to come up in here and do this in
our house?' Now, deep down, I believe these people knew that what they had
been doing was wrong and they also knew that what Jesus had done was right
and what needed to be done. But their pride, and their love of the wealth they
gained from the Temple, prevented them from admitting this. They were ready to
fight to maintain the status quo. They didn't like Jesus rattling their cages or
whipping their behinds.
So they ask Him, "What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these
things?" The Jews asked for a sign. They were seeking some kind of miracle that
would prove Jesus' authority. This,of course, shows how spiritually blind they
really were. Jesus taking it on Himself to clean the Temple was a sign. The
prophet Malachi prophesied that the Messiah would cleanse the temple. He wrote,
"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and
the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple... And he shall sit as a
refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them
as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in
righteousness." The religious authorities who prided themselves on their
knowledge of Scripture totally missed this.
Jesus answers their request for a sign, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up." Of course, today, we know what Jesus was referring to. He was
talking about His body and His crucifixion. But, to the Jews, this was thoroughly
confusing. Dr. John Walvoord and Dr. Roy B. Zuck state that one of Jesus'
purposes in giving this enigmatic answer "was to puzzle the hearers who
opposed Him. He desired that His hearers ponder the saying in order to perceive
its significance."

However, the Jews did not take time to ponder what Jesus meant. They
immediately answer, "Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt
thou rear it up in three days?" They thought Jesus was threatening to destroy the
entire Temple that He had just cleansed. In fact, during Jesus' trial, this is one of
the accusations they brought up against Him. They didn't understand that Jesus
was talking about His own body. Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, and three
days later, He rose again bodily. Even Jesus' own disciples did not understand
this until after Jesus' resurrection. John writes, "When therefore he was risen
from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and
they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."
Today, Christians are referred to as "the body of Christ." Jesus lives in us, and we
carry out His work. The Bible also says that everyone, individually, is a "temple."
First Corinthians 6:19 reads, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God's."
What you do with your body is a large part of how you honor Christ and God. If
you are constantly sinning, your body, your "temple", will be cluttered and
unclean. And God will not abide by a temple that is unclean. Just as Jesus
cleaned the physical Temple in Jerusalem, your temple needs to be washed clean
of sin and hypocrisy. The only way you can do this is through believing on Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior. His blood, applied to your life, will cleanse you
and make you clean in God's sight.
Why don't you believe on Jesus Christ today for your souls salvation and have
your temple cleansed so God can use you and bless you? Here is how:
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken Gods law.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory
of God.
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans
6:23: "For the wages of sin is death
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in
Matthew 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and

the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death.
Now that is bad news, but heres the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Just believe in your
heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by
the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask
Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved."
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and
rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please
pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and
that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I
choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins.
I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose
again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from
this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and
change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and
meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you
are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the
family of God! Congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that
is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help
you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and
read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door." Jesus Christ said in John
10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in
and out, and find pasture."