Guest Speaker: Pastor John Farley
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The water at Cana was contained in jars used for Jewish purification rights.
The Jerusalem temple was the central Jewish sanctuary.
We must consider the meaning of these two events in light of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Animal sacrifices were performed at the time of the Passover.
Jews came from many foreign countries to make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
They knew they had a captive audience, and therefore they could command a price premium for their product line.
They took advantage of the situation greedily.
They followed that up with a brisk business in currency exchange.
These money changers also stood in as tax collectors, making sure no one got past their station if they had not paid up their annual Temple tax.
The priests and Temple handlers were taking advantage of their calling and God-given privileges to make a fast buck.
You have lies
You have greed
And you have blasphemous idolatry, perverting the things of God to satisfy the lusts of men.
The Temple of Jerusalem had been sanctified as the place of meeting between God and His people.
Money can be a big problem in life.
One of the big weapons systems that the cosmic system has is the system that feeds on greed.
Men who love money are operating on a satanic power source.
They must have sensed His authority, and His well-placed outrage.
They viewed His response to the abuse of the Father’s house as evidence of holy indignation.
The disciples and the Jews who saw Him in action that day both interpreted His actions as a demonstration of Messianic authority.
The psalmist is “consumed” both literally, in that he is close to death, and figuratively, in that he is passionate about God’s house and His people.
Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
When the phrase “My hour” or “His hour” is used in John’s gospel, it points to the cross.
JOH 7:30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
1 Co 5:7 For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
The very animals that Jesus chased out of the Temple were really only there to be pictures of Him on the cross.
In John’s gospel, the Jewish feasts are key signposts marking our Lord’s progress in manifesting His glory and sealing His fate.
The cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ are brought right into the thick of the conversation about this event in the Temple.
Transforming water into wine
Halting trade in the temple.