Ezekiel #9

Ezekiel #9

Lying Prophets and False Prophetesses

Ezekiel 13:1 - 7 (NKJV) ¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’” ³Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! ⁴O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. ⁵You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. ⁷Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.”

Professing themselves to be prophets of God, “Thus saith the Lord” false prophets give utterance out of their own spirits. They say what they vainly hope is the word of God, they tell what they hope God will do. Prophecy in the NT church is different from that in the O.T.

1 Corinthians 14:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. ²For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. ³But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. ⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

New Testament Prophecy:

• Edifies
• Exhorts ( advise, give urgent recommendations, pleads for change)
• Comfort

Why the New Testament Prophet does not pass judgment

• The Christian was already judged on the cross
• The penalty was paid by Jesus
• What God has already judged and the penalty has been paid cannot be judged again!

Therefore if a prophecy is brought forth in a Church that declares judgment on any part of the Body of Christ that prophet is saying what he hopes will happen! The New Testament minister does not make people comfortable in their sins but it is the “goodness of God” that brings us to repentance and repentance gives a chance for blessing.

False prophets today tell people that they will escape the coming tribulation either by going through it without it affecting them or that they will be raptured even in continuing known sin! With the judge standing at the door they continue to cry peace, peace when there is no peace.

Ezekiel 13:8 - 16 (NKJV) ⁸Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD. ⁹“My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. ¹⁰“Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar— ¹¹say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. ¹²Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’” ¹³Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. ¹⁴So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵“Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, ¹⁶that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’” says the Lord GOD.

False prophecy is like building a wall for your protection with mortar that has not been cured. The concrete and sand have not been blended so that the blocks will not adhere to each other. When rain and wind come the wall will fall. The false prophets have built such a wall but God is going to see that the rain and winds come and what the prophets have built will fall on them. The ministry will fail and the minister will be brought down with it!

Ezekiel 13:17 - 23 (NKJV) ¹⁷“Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, ¹⁸and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms ^£on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? ¹⁹And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?” ²⁰‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. ²¹I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ²²“Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. ²³Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

Likewise, there are women, prophetess, who use guile and magic to get their words out. They are like Jezebel and apply manipulation, deceit, and trickery to accomplish their ends. They make amulets (magic charms and bracelets, on their arms and sleeves such as gypsies and fortune tellers wear, and use hair covers with magic trinkets and signs) to attract familiar spirits. ( a familiar spirit is a demonic spirit that is familiar with you and even dead relatives) They hunt Christians like a person with a net goes out to hunt birds – so they hunt souls. They are like harlots using their charms to lure the righteous toward their death!

2 Peter 2:1 - 3 (NKJV) ¹But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. ²And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction ^£does not slumber.

It’s not new but it hasn’t stopped!

II. Watch out for men with Big Bibles!

Ezekiel 14:1 - 11 (NKJV) ¹Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ²And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? ⁴“Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, ⁵that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.”’ ⁶“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. ⁷For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself. ⁸I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁹“And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, ¹¹that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord GOD.’”

These “Elders” came to Ezekiel. Oh how pious these men are! The sat at Ezekiel’s feet as a sign of submission. “See!” they said, “We haven’t put up any idols!” That’s what I mean by “watch out for men with big Bibles!” They were declaring that they did not serve idols they were there to help the prophet with his ministry!”

What Ezekiel tells them is, “That’s right you do not have any idols in your house, nor do you have them in your hand because they are in your heart!” God says that he will judge these men, they were hypocrites! Jesus used that word more than any other against the religious leaders of his day. How tragic this is, God is going to judge them not only because of their hypocrisy but because they cause His people to stumble and fall.

There are two spirits operating here. The Jezebel spirit and the Absalom spirit!

2 Samuel 15:1 - 13 (NKJV) ¹After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ²Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.” ⁴Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” ⁵And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. ⁶In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. ⁷Now it came to pass after ^£forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. ⁸For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” ⁹And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’” ¹¹And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. ¹²Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number. ¹³Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

Like Jezebel, Absalom was deceptive. The Absalom spirit pretends to be submissive, works his way in and then tries to steal the heart of the people. So were the Elders of Israel but Ezekiel recognized their spirit and declared that they had set up idols in their hearts.

Ezekiel 14:12 - 23 (NKJV) ¹²The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: ¹³“Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. ¹⁴Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD. ¹⁵“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. ¹⁷“Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, ¹⁸even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. ¹⁹“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” ²¹For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? ²²Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. ²³And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD.

The Fourfold Judgment

• Famine
• Evil Beasts
• Sword
• Pestilence

The sin was so great that not even intercession prayer could help

Noah spared his family

Daniel spared his friends

Job spared his friends

But if Noah, Daniel and Job had all been there the Jews would not have listened!

Increasing Faith

John 4:43 - 54 (NKJV) ⁴³Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. ⁴⁴For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. ⁴⁶So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” ⁴⁹The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ⁵¹And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” ⁵²Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household. ⁵⁴This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Introduction:

We need to get the sequence of events;

1. Jesus leaves Nazareth and goes to a wedding in Cana of Galilee there He turns water into wine – His first miracle!
2. He goes to Capernaum and from there to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover – He cleanses the temple!
3. He has an encounter with the Pharisee, Nicodemus where He reveals that “you must be born again!
4. He travels through Samaria were he meets the woman at the well
5. He returns to Cana of Galilee
6. Here in Cana He meets this frantic father!

I. Little faith

ILL : It is 20 miles by foot from Capernaum to Cana when the Nobleman had heard that Jesus was in Cana he walked the 20 miles – he had faith in what he had heard!

John 18:33 - 34 (NKJV) ³³Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” ³⁴Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

A. Belief in miracles is not faith in the miracle worker!

. ⁴⁸Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”

B. What the nobleman had faith in

• There is not one miracle of healing recorded yet in the scriptures
• He had heard that Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding
• He was a Jewish ruler in Herod’s court – so he had heard about Jesus driving the money changers and the animals out of the temple

C. Don’t confuse the story with the story of the centurion and his servant

Luke 7:1 - 10 (NKJV) ¹Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. ²And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. ³So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. ⁴And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, ⁵“for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” ⁶Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. ⁷Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” ¹⁰And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well ^£who had been sick.

· This event happed in Capernaum the other in Cana

· The centurion was a Roman the Noble a Jew

· The centurion was asking for a servant the Nobleman for his son

· The centurion’s servant had paralysis the nobleman’s son had a fever

· The centurion sent others to Jesus the Nobleman came himself

· Jesus started to the centurion’s home but refused to come to the Nobleman’s.

D. His little faith put a limit of time and place on Jesus

⁴⁹The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” ⁵⁰

II. How faith is increased

A. Love

Galatians 5:6 (NKJV) ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Matthew 20:29 - 34 (NKJV) ²⁹Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. ³⁰And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” ³¹Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” ³²So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” ³⁴So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

B. Obedience

2 Kings 5:9 - 14 (NKJV) ⁹Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ ¹²Are not the ^£Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

John 9:1 - 11 (NKJV) ¹Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ²And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. ⁴I^£ must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. ⁸Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was ^£blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?” ⁹Some said, “This is he.” Others said, ^£“He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” ¹⁰Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” ¹¹He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to ^£the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

III. The tables are turned

John 4:49 - 51 (NKJV) ⁴⁹The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ⁵¹And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”

The nobleman comes to a carpenter and tells him “come down to Capernaum and do it now!” The carpenter tells the nobleman, “go your way your son lives – now!” And the nobleman believed – what? The Word of God!

Romans 10:16 - 17 (NKJV) ¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”^{£ 17}So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

A. He obeyed

.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.

Do you understand who hard this was? The man loved his son, He believed that Jesus was his only hope and Jesus would not come with him.

· No sign was given

· No miracle was worked

· Jesus was not going to go with him

· He had to believe in the authority of the Word

1 Peter 2:22 - 25 (NKJV) ²² “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;^{£ 23}who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and ^£Overseer of your souls.

IV. He comes to full faith

John 4:51 - 53 (NKJV) ⁵¹And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” ⁵²Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.

Conclusion: What did the man and his household believe?

That the boy was healed? No! They knew that!

That Jesus is the Christ!

A Zeal for God’s House

Introduction:

John was the last Gospel writer. He had the gospels of Mark, Mathew and Luke before him when he started to write. He was an old man, at the time of the writing, and pastor of the church at Ephesus. His purpose in writing was so that we would know that Jesus is the “Son of God” and Messiah of Israel. So the events in the life of Jesus that he chose to write about are those that put the emphasis on Jesus’ God hood!

John 2:11 - 25 (NKJV) ¹¹This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. ¹²After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. ¹³Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. ¹⁵When He had 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. ¹⁶And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” ¹⁷Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house ^has eaten Me up.”^{ 18}So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” ¹⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” ²¹But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²²Therefore, 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. ²³Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. ²⁴But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, ²⁵and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

1. The Time of the Passover

A. The feast of Passover was to remember the Exodus of the Children of Isreal.

Exodus 13:3 - 10 (NKJV) ³And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. ⁴On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. ⁶Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’S law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

B. It was the time of the offering of the Passel Lamb

Exodus 12:1 - 13 (NKJV) ¹Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ²“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. ³Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. ⁴And 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 the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ⁷And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ⁸Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. ¹⁰You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. ¹¹And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’S Passover. ¹²‘For 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. ¹³Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

2. A display of Christ’s Majesty

John 2:14 - 17 (NKJV) ¹⁴And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. ¹⁵When He had 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. ¹⁶And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” ¹⁷Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house ^has eaten Me up.”^

1. He made a whip of cords

• He didn’t find a whip

• He deliberately made a whip from the cords the merchants used to tie the boxes

• He didn’t whip them but used the whip to drive them and the animals out of the temple

2. God had deliberately cleansed the temple before this!

Ezekiel 8:6 - 12 (NKJV) ⁶Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” ⁷So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. ⁹And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” ¹⁰So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. ¹¹And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. ¹²Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’”

3. Jesus cleanses the temple

Ill: can you see it? His voice - His eyes - His demeanor - His Kingly presence - His blazing anger – cattle are stampeding – sheep and lambs are crowding near the walls pressing to find a way out – traders are running about trying to separate and get a hand on their animals – money table are overturned and men are scrambling to pick up rolling coins from the pavement covered with the dung and escheatment – some have handfuls of coins covered with filth and its getting on their dress and faces. Caiaphas , Anas and the Sanhedrin, who had set up the unholy practices and were making a prophet from it, are looking on the scene from their balconies.

Blazing indignations gives a background for the majestic demonstration of divine holiness!

4. The disciples are reminded by the Holy Spirit

Psalms 69:7 - 9 (NKJV) ⁷ Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. ⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children; ⁹ Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

3. The Reaction of Religion

John 2:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

• They were offended by His power

• They challenged His authority

• They asked for His credentials

• How stupid can religious people be?

ILL: Just this week I received a “Pastor’s marketing” magazine. They offered me a profit for selling.

• Sacred key changes signs of the fish, cross or star of David

• Sacred door post signs – Christian and Jewish

• Sacred scarf – Jewish or Christian Ties

• Bottles of Holy Oil or Holy water

• One church I visited had a clothing store with copies of the Pastor’s suits for sale, or a gold crested “sword of the spirit.”

• I’ve been invited by church members, and other ministers, to sell – cosmetics, vitamins, phone cards, health drinks, insurance policies, - all of it you understand is “anointed” and “holy” – and to sell it in the church and, or, on television. One group even wanted me to open up a place in the Cathedral to sell “fairy stones”

The assembly on the “Lord’s Day” is not a place for you or for me to come in order to merchandise your products! Those who do so have the same motives as the temple merchants.

• Exhibiting

• Greed

• Disorder

• Extortion

• Dishonesty

4. Christ’s answer

John 2:19 - 25 (NKJV) ¹⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” ²¹But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²²Therefore, 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. ²³Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. ²⁴But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, ²⁵and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

5. What’s in your temple?

1 Corinthians 6:12 - 20 (NKJV) ¹²All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. ¹³Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. ¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! ¹⁶Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”^{ 17}But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. ¹⁸Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your ^body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

A. There is more than one way to be a harlot!

• People sell sex for pleasure

• Profit (economic security)

• To overcome a feeling of unworthiness

• Because they are lonely

B. Other ways to profane the temple

• Exhibiting

• Greed

• Disorder

• Extortion

• Dishonesty

Conclusion: If Jesus should come to your church, to your home, to your body what would He find?

Mark 11:11 (NKJV) ¹¹And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

• What would be His appraisal?

Matthew 25:21 (NKJV) ²¹His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

• Or would He start looking for some cords to make into a whip?