John 2:13-17
13And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14And He found in the Temple the ones selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting.
15And having made a whip out of small cords, He
cast out all out of the Temple, both the sheep and the oxen. And He
poured out the coins of the money changers, and He overturned the
tables.
16And He said to the ones selling the doves, “Take these things from here! Stop making the house of my Father a house of trade!”
17Then His disciples remembered that it is written, “The zeal of Your house will consume Me.” (Psalm 69: 9)
Good Day Child of God! "Father? Your Will Be Done!" This
group
of verses is cut nearly in half for the purposes of a single lesson. It
is interesting that this story actually takes up the rest of Chapter 2,
but in it are three lessons,
so we will take it slowly.
The
scene above is likely familiar to any of you that have been going to
church for any amount of time. For those of you that are new to
Christianity, these verses are a staple
among nearly every sect of Christianity. Too bad it doesn't seem to hit
home.
Today's easy lesson:
Have you ever seen the movie where the prison warden says to one of
his most difficult prisoners, "What we got here is a failure to
communicate!" That's exactly how I feel when I go into any church
building that is supposedly hallowed ground. At least
that is how many people treat their church buildings. Most will only whisper once inside, and there I find more than just a place of worship. I find a gift shop.
The
bigger the church building, by the way, the bigger amount of goodies
they have for sale. One church I was a member of in my youth had its own
bookstore. I say book store,
but it was more than Bibles, it had how-to books of every sort,
trinkets, crucifixes, banners and on and on it goes. It all starts
innocently enough, usually giving away the sermon on tape or CD, but
then there is a small price put on to at least break
even. Of course the Pastor becomes so popular a new building goes up,
nice cameras are brought in with magnificent large HDTV screens. All
of a sudden DVDs are sold, his book(s) are sold, and of course everyone
needs to have access to so many different Bibles,
and all those Christian self-help books. It's only right. Why not put in a restaurant and a small cafe'? Oh, they already do in more than the many mega-churches these days.
What
is the message? If Jesus were to come down right now and see what
people dress like, behave like, what the "book store" sells, and how
much money it takes to run a local
church with its grandiose building, because we have to have a nice
place to worship, He would not be happy. Are you going to church to
focus on the Love of God, or to learn how to look a Christian? People make a living selling books and trinkets. Why does a church have to get involved? Making it convenient is not a
credible answer. Don't you think the people above were trying to tell
Jesus that? God mentions somewhere in the Bible, oh yes, the Ten
Commandments, that so
many of you cannot do without, that you should make NO image of Him.
Crosses, fish, infinity symbols, statues, decals. Do I need to go on? Are you there to learn about God and worship, or to shop? Listen closely to the sermon, worship with honesty and focus, and keep doing that. Lastly continue to study the Bible daily, with
the Holy Spirit leading, and you will be ahead in every way. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
This blog link: http://askgodsword.blogspot.com/
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
John 2:1-12
1And on the third day a
marriage took place in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Now Jesus also was
called, and His disciples, to the marriage feast. 3And when wine had fallen
short, the mother of Jesus says to Him, “They have no wine.” 4Jesus says to her, “What
to Me and to you, woman? My hour is not yet come.” 5His mother says to the
servants, “Whatever He says to do.”
6Now were standing there
six water jugs of stone according to the purification of the Jews, each
containing two or three measures (18-27 gallons). 7Jesus says to them, “Fill
the water jugs with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8And He says to them, “Now
draw out and be carrying to the head steward.” And they carried. 9But when the head steward
tasted the water having become wine and knew not from where is, the head
steward calls the bridegroom 10and says to him, “Every person first puts out the
good wine, and when they have drunk freely, then the inferior. You have kept
the good wine until now!”
11This beginning of the
signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory, and His
disciples believed (trusted) in Him. 12After this He went down
to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples. And there
they stayed not many days.
Good Day Child
of God! "Father? Your Will Be Done!" I wish there were a secret
message in these twelve verses. The truth is what it is. This is simply the
story of how things got started for Jesus' Earthly Ministry.
There are some
things to learn to be sure. Mothers have lots of power over their children in
the Israeli household, even the adults. There is also the idea of the naming of
the day of the week. Why do you suppose the Bible always says this day or that
day in a number rather than Tuesday or Saturday, with rare exception? Let’s
find out.
Today's easy
lesson: What occurred at Cana of Galilee during the wedding above would be
looked at these days as some kind of magic or trick. We have seen more
difficult things, yet similar to what Jesus has done, on a talent show on
television. We are jaded, but for those that were following Jesus, this small
miracle was enough to have them Trusting Him, not just Believing Jesus may be
the Messiah.
We in America
live in a Republic. Rome also was a Republic but we get to vote for all of our leaders.
The reason I tell you this is because Israel was a Theocracy. That means that
not only is God that whom they worship, He is supposed to be their only leader.
Because God is the Leader, the Ten Commandments become The Law, so the
Israelites gave numbers to the days, except for the Sabbath. Everything then
was spoken about in terms of either the day number, or the day before the
Sabbath, after the Sabbath, and so on. The third day then was a Tuesday.
Strange for us to think of that as a wedding day, but no one got married on the
Sabbath or the Day of Preparation for the Sabbath, which would be Friday, and
no work was done on the Sabbath, so that leaves Sunday out as well.
What is the
message? It is very simple to Believe in Jesus, but it is a whole different
matter to Trust what He has done through His suffering for your sin(s),
ending that issue on the Cross with the words; "It is finished." Then
being Resurrected from the dead to overcome death so that when you Trust what Jesus
did for you, you are marked with the Holy Spirit. You become a Child
of God, and you will always be a Child of God. It isn't a matter of days,
times, knowledge, work or lack there of, it is simply a matter of taking the
gift of Life He is offering and Trusting that it is Truth. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
This blog link: http://askgodsword.blogspot.com/
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
