Three Day Sign

What is starting to emerge in my study of this exclusive nature of a sign that Jesus talked about is that it was His own death and resurrection that He considered to be the only real sign that would be given to a wicked generation. He used both the story of Jonah being in the belly of a sea creature for three days and the analogy of the temple being destroyed and rebuilt in three days as indicators of what His plan was to produce a sign for this world.

I took a little time to peruse some of the references to demands for a sign and found some interesting clues that I would like to further pursue. But for right now I will simply list them.

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40 NIV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' "And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away. And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:1-6)

And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." (Mark 8:10-15)

While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed." But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. "For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. "The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:27-32)

The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. (Mark 14:56-59)

Signs for the Wicked

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah." (Luke 11:29)

As I have been contemplating the frequency of the mention of signs in the book of John, the above verse caught my attention. This brings up something I have not thought about much in my pursuit of finding out why John seemed so intent on this subject. Evidently there is a difference between the kinds of signs John talks about and the signs Jesus was talking about here. Or maybe there is yet another way to approach this. Maybe it has something to do with the difference between offering signs and demanding signs.

I have always been puzzled by the fact that many of the Jews in Christ's day seemed so out of it by repeatedly asking for signs when it seemed so obvious that the life of Jesus was chock full of signs. It seemed that even after dozens of very obvious miracles that the Jews could still turn right around and demand yet another sign claiming that they would then believe. What was really going on here? And are we just as inscrutable as were the self-conflicted Jews who seemed intransigent in their refusal to believe in Jesus despite an abundance of miracles?

I have long ago become very convinced that we are in at least as bad a condition spiritually as were the Jews in Christ's day. Therefore, since this is true we have the advantage of observing their mistakes, and by taking them to heart we can have the opportunity to recognize the same dangers and blind spots in our own hearts as what they had and take corrective action. It really is not necessary to plow through all the same mistakes that others have made before us when we have their examples as a warning to do something different.

Sometimes I have thought about this and have caught myself having similar feelings of wanting to see something miraculous, thinking that if only I could have something dramatic happen in my life that it would cause me to believe so much easier. But that kind of thinking is all too similar to that of the Pharisee's and others in Christ's day who seemed to always be looking for signs but unwilling to have their hearts changed by the many signs that were already right in front of their eyes.

So it seems that the real problem is not the lack of signs but the spirit inside of a person that shows itself by demanding more signs. According to Jesus, this spirit is what causes a whole generation of people to be seen from heaven's perspective as being evil and wicked. An attitude of wanting signs before one is willing to believe the truth about God creates a block in the heart which keeps God from being able to enter in and transform the life. An insistence on making signs a prerequisite before believing is a symptom of unbelief itself which is one of the most viral forms of the infection of sin.

On the other hand, according to John there are many who come to believe in Jesus because of the many signs that they see in His life. Evidently there is a different spirit in these people that causes them to respond differently than those who are demanding more signs before they are willing to believe. In this case, God seems sometimes happy to provide signs to attract as many as possible into a much deeper level of relationship with Him which later does not require the constant presence of signs in order to maintain belief.

Signs have their place, but they can either be an attraction to draw people into closer examination and embracing of the gospel, or they can become a stumbling block used as an excuse to cover over a spirit of insistent unbelief. So sometimes signs can be a real blessing but sometimes they can cause hardening of the heart depending on the spirit of the observer.

I also sense that what John and Jesus considered real signs were not often considered the kinds of signs the Jews were really craving to see. I strongly suspect that they may have had some specific ideas of the kinds of things they hoped Jesus would do in answer to their demands but that Jesus was not interested in doing. I am not sure right now what those might have been, but evidently the kinds of things that John viewed as good, legitimate signs that should have had an impact in helping people to believe were not considered as qualified signs according to the expectations of what the Pharisee's classified as signs.

I suspect that the kinds of signs that the Jewish leaders wanted might be signs that were more in line with their own spirit of selfishness and their distorted views of God. Because the signs of Jesus always proceeded from a completely selfless spirit of love, compassion and purity, the signs that flowed from Jesus' life were found to be repulsive to the Pharisee's because they tended to expose their own selfish spirit by contrast.

I want to know more about this subject and will continue to listen and study and meditate on this over the coming days and weeks. And I also want to be more attuned to noticing and remembering the signs that may be in my own life that can encourage me to believe more deeply in the truth about God. I want to not only be more aware of the signs that God is providing for my benefit but I also want to be available for God to make my own life a sign to attract others to want to know Him better.

Sanctuary Cleaning, Rain and Authority

He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored." (Daniel 8:14)

And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." (Daniel 8:14 NKJV)

And he said unto me, Until two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings: then shall the sanctuary be vindicated. (Daniel 8:14 DBY)

So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. (Joel 2:23)

Look at the parallels seen here.

The first rain was poured out on the early church and may parallel to the first cleansing of the temple by Jesus in some respects.

The second or latter rain will be poured out in our day near the end of time and may parallel the second cleansing of the temple by Jesus.

Just like the latter rain is to be greater than the former rain, there are three records of Jesus' second cleansing of the temple compared to only one record of the first cleansing.

There are interesting differences between these two cleansings that may or may not be significant.

1^st cleansing of sanctuary or temple.

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." (John 2:13-17)

2^nd cleansing of sanctuary or temple.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. (Matthew 21:12-17)

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS'? But you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN." The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. When evening came, they would go out of the city. (Mark 11:15-19)

Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, "It is written, 'AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' but you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN." And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said. (Luke 19:45-48)

Notice some interesting things connected between these events and the prophesies about the early and latter rain.

Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For the LORD has done great things. Do not fear, beasts of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:21-29)

On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening. (Mark 11:12-14)

As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions." (Mark 11:20-26)

Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered. Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither all at once?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:18-22)

The more I think and read about this the more I am beginning to think that possibly Jesus was ready and willing to pour out the early rain of the Holy Spirit right then when He cleansed the temple if the response of the religious leaders had been different from resenting His presence in His own house. Instead of having a dried up, withered fig tree as a symbol of the Jewish nation, the possibility existed that they could have received the Holy Spirit and could have produced abundant fruit like the prophecy in Joel had declared.

So, what made the difference? What postponed the presence of a fruitful fig tree until the day of Pentecost and bestowed on a new group of chosen ones instead of happening when Jesus cleansed the temple?

It seems from the context that part of the core issue was a proper recognition and acknowledgement of authority. Notice the striking contrast in attitudes between the Jewish leaders and the early Christian believers in the upper room when it came to acknowledging the authority of Jesus. This issue of authority shows up both at the first cleansing of the temple and the second.

The Jew's attitude about the authority of Jesus.

(after 1^st cleansing)

The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

The Jew's attitude about the authority of Jesus.

(after 2^nd cleansing)

When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. "The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' "But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet." And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Matthew 21:23-27)

They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?" And Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. "Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me." They began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?' "But shall we say, 'From men'?" --they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. Answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things." (Mark 11:27-33)

On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, and they spoke, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?" They reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet." So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, "Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things." (Luke 20:1-8)

Now notice the relationship and attitudes of those who came to choose Jesus' authority willingly and entered a much deeper acknowledgement of the real truth about Him from their hearts.

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:16-18)

But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy.

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

"This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." (Acts 2: 16-18, 22-24, 32-33, 36-39)

In essence, this whole speech by Peter was simply about who is really to be recognized as having authority in our life. The whole power struggle going on in this world is about who we should recognize as being the authority to which we should submit our lives and our wills. And more importantly, the real core issue is which authority we allow to pervade and dominate the atmosphere within our hearts and permeate our spirit.

And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." (Acts 1:24-25)

There is another very important thing to understand about this issue of authority. And I believe that a lack of appreciation for this most important aspect of authority may be one of the main reasons we are unable and unready to receive the latter rain ourselves. It prevents us from effectively recognizing and surrendering to the authority of Jesus despite all of our public claims that He is our Lord.

True authority can never be imposed. It must be given freely and from the heart, by those who choose to come under its dominion.

False or counterfeit authority on the other hand, is always attempting to employ force, intimidation, deception and fear to rule over others. This is the normal function carried out in Satan's kingdoms of this world. But God cannot be released to pour out His Spirit in our lives while we are using the methods of His enemy to exercise or impose authority. Just as God could not excuse Moses for using the wrong method and spirit to procure water from the rock, neither can He bless us by entrusting the Holy Spirit to us in its full measure while we are living in confusion about this issue of how to effectively acknowledge and live within His authority.

A large part of what took place in the days leading up to Pentecost was the processing and recognition of this issue of how to rightly understand and relate to the full authority of Jesus Christ in the minds and hearts of those believers. We have often assumed that what prepared them to receive the Holy Spirit was the fact that they spent enough time confessing their sins and putting away their differences, and that somehow they got themselves good enough for God to give them this gift. But that kind of thinking emerges from a legalistic, perfectionistic kind of belief system which is based on a false picture of God in the heart.

While it is true that confessing sins and putting away all differences is an integral part of preparation for the Holy Spirit, it must be understood from a very different perspective than as a means of twisting God's arm or convincing Him that we can be trusted with lots of power. I am starting to see that these things were merely symptoms of a change that was taking place much deeper in the heart of these believers as they saturated their imaginations with the real truths about God as revealed through the life and death of Jesus.

As the real issues became more and more clear to them, they also began to see more clearly their own faults, the ugliness of their own prejudices toward each other, the silliness of their own grudges and the danger of their own faulty concepts of God that had clouded their thinking and appreciation of Jesus the whole time He had been with them on earth. This is what always takes place when light is intensified in a dark place. As they allowed the impressions of the Spirit to reveal to them the real truth about God, about the things Jesus had been trying to show them about reality, and as they remembered so clearly His recent words to them about His having all authority in heaven and on earth, they found themselves ready to surrender fully to His authority at much deeper levels of their heart than they had ever considered doing before.

This surrender was not from a submission to imposed authority over them as we are too familiar with as humans. Jesus never imposed authority on anyone, for God only deals in truth and freedom and values only heart-based obedience that springs from a heart filled with appreciation for Him. God always respects and protects our freedom to choose.

But when a person begins to catch a glimpse of the real truth about God's amazing love for them personally, it naturally follows that they will feel compelled to surrender everything they thought was their own and plunge into a willing, joyful surrender to the service and Lordship of their beautiful, gracious Redeemer who has surrendered everything in heaven for them. Their complete surrender to the authority of Jesus is not from a sense of duty nearly as much as it is a reflection of His demonstration of willing submission to the perfect love and will of His Father while living here on earth as a human.

So what does all of this mean for me? How does this relate to the outpouring of the latter rain and the prophecy of the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 that was to begin in 1844?

I believe that for God to be allowed to genuinely cleanse the sanctuary, we must come to the place, like the early disciples in the upper room, of properly appreciating the real truth about who God really is and how He feels about us. For it will be impossible to surrender our hearts to His authority in the way God views authority before we have first come to a significant appreciation of the way God exercises authority. We must come to understand the ways of God in His dealings with us much better than what we now believe. We must let go of the misconceptions about how God relates to us and allow His Spirit to reveal His heart to us much more clearly. Otherwise, increased power in our lives would only serve to intensify our ability to spread false ideas about God mingled in with factual truths that we have come to believe.

The issue of belief that I am uncovering in the book of John is also central to this issue of authority. But to properly appreciate the kind of authority that God wants us to understand with Him, we must differentiate between the kinds of authority and their use that we are so familiar with in this world and the kind of authority that Jesus talks about and demonstrates. I believe that when we finally begin to perceive the kind of authority that Jesus wants us to enjoy, then we will eagerly begin to put away our differences, will readily confess the lies and pain and sins that have obscured our view of God's face and will begin to embrace the real truth about God in joyful abandon.

At the same time while this is happening our attitudes towards those around us will also be radically transformed. We will see others through the eyes of heaven instead of through our own prejudices and selfish desires. Our focus will move away from clinging to our possessions and seeking to get things for our own benefit toward spontaneously sharing all things with our fellow believers with a heart full of faith, gratitude and praise for our heavenly family. We we see ourselves as simply siblings who are all sharing the same household and as such, will be eager and willing to help our Father supply all the needs of those who share this family arrangement in the body of Christ.

This authority that Jesus is talking about is the authority that is seen modeled by a loving Father in a healthy family. This is not the kind of abusive, forceful, imposed authority seen in those who exploit their families or their neighbors for their own desires. This is an authority that is freely and joyfully created through the loyalty of those who choose to come under its structure and guidance. It is radically different than any earthly imitation claiming to use this word but which is contaminated by sin and selfishness.

The results of living life under the full authority of Jesus Christ is best described in these verses.

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:43-47)

Notice the stark contrast between this kind of relationship with those around us compared with the attitude of the Pharisee's in response to the demonstration of Jesus' authority in the temple.

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant... (Matthew 21:15)

"For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. (Matthew 21:32)

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:45-46)

And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. (Mark 12:12-13)

"But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' (Luke 19:14)

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." (Luke 19:39)

And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said. (Luke 19:47-48)

The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them. So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:19-20)

Notice how earthly authority is utilized to discount heavenly authority.

I want to know much more and to enter more fully into life under the true and kind authority of Jesus Christ. I want to learn and to experience the real preparation needed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my life and those around me that will empower me to speak the glorious truth about God with much greater boldness.

Cleaning House

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. (John 2:13-14)

I have generally viewed this reference to the Passover as simply a side note in this story to indicate the time of year and the holiday that gave Jesus reason to go to Jerusalem at this time. And I'm sure that this is a major part of the reason this was recorded here, but not all of the reason. As with a lot of details overlooked in the Bible, I believe there may be much more packed into these few words that will expand and deepen for those who are willing to meditate and listen to what the Spirit has to say about it.

What I am starting to see in these verses is a stark contrast presented. And I suspect that if I was a good Jew that contrast would very likely be even more intense because of a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the meaning and power in the story of the original Passover. That holiday feast and the ceremonies and stories that centered around it were one of the most potent defining events in the psyche of any good Jew who knew about his heritage. It was basically viewed by most Jews as the time when their very existence as a nation or large group of people became clear as a viable presence in the world.

The first Passover occurred at the center of a whole series of earth-shaking events that starkly defined the Israelites as a people specially chosen of God to be His representatives to the world. It was the day when, through most amazing and mind-blowing miracles, God freed these people from abject slavery, abuse and ignorance out of the hands of a most ruthless, cruel and uncaring system that had depended on force and fear for many years to keep them in bondage. They were thus launched into the freedom and protection and loving care of a God that they had never dreamed might even exist in such a way. In just a few short weeks these people experienced a whirlwind of events and traumas that catapulted them from feeling totally worthless and abandoned to being the center of attention not only of the whole world but were considered the object of supreme affection by the most powerful being of the universe.

God conducted events in such a way through this mighty act of deliverance that there could never be any serious doubts by reasonable people about the nature of the Source that released them to freedom. God did not come and assist the Israelites or help them to deliver themselves. He allowed no room for confusion as to whose power it was that had freed them from bondage. It was absolutely clear to them forever that their previous condition was completely beyond their ability to solve and on top of that, when the miracles displayed by Moses and Aaron began things had even gotten worse for them.

This act of delivering a helpless group of millions of people from ruin and despair and severe abuse in such a short time and in such a remarkable way became the touchstone of identity for these people for all generations to come. Even today thousands of years later that series of events is still one of the most defining stories cherished by all Jews who value their identity and heritage. And God intended it to be exactly that way for them.

But God intended it to be far more than just a means of helping Jews remember who they were as a special people chosen by God. He originally chose them to become His representatives to the whole world with the plan of having them reveal His goodness and His ways to attract all other people's to want to come and serve Him through appreciation and love. But the Jews instead turned inward and through selfishness, pride and fear became some of the greatest examples of apostasy and legalism that this world has ever seen. Because they failed to embrace the real truths about God embedded in these events that helped to shape their identity, they ended up eventually rejecting the very One who had so graciously chosen them and delivered them and given them everything that made them who they were.

Repeatedly throughout the Bible this event is brought up again and again to remind God's people everywhere of what God is really like. This event was intended to be a constant reminder of God's immense compassion, His ability to easily overcome any difficulties no matter how hopeless they may appear humanly speaking, and to reveal His goodness and all the various aspects of His character to a world filled with lies and distortions about His real attitude and feelings toward mankind. This event was specifically given, and the feast holiday in its commemoration was supposed to keep people aware of their continued need for complete dependence on the God who had so manifestly displayed His kindness, love and great power to draw a people out of fear and bitterness into a relationship of intimacy, love and trust with Himself.

When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them. Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:30-35)

The purpose of the Passover was to keep fresh in their minds the true identity of the God who loved them and the obligations and privileges of the covenant that they shared with this God as the descendants of those He had delivered from Egyptian slavery. The Passover was one of the most important focal points of the Jewish calendar designed to refresh in their hearts the reminders of His care and love, and so they would appreciate their God and would deepen their connection to His heart.

But instead the very opposite had become a reality by the time Jesus arrived on the scene. Instead of celebrating the goodness of God and remembering their intended identity as representatives to the world of a compassionate, caring Father in heaven, the Jews had turned this holiday event into another opportunity for enriching themselves through crass commercialism and exploitation. Even worse than that, they had chosen to do much of this right in the temple courts that was supposed to be the chosen spot on earth where God wanted to reveal the real truth about Himself to the world through His chosen people.

So what Jesus saw to His great dismay when He arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of His ministry was a system of religion and a group of people who had wholly given themselves over to the deceptions of the enemy of God. They were now exploiting others in such a way as to profane the very reputation of the God they claimed was their Father. Instead of celebrating the compassion and goodness of God in their deliverance from slavery in the past by reflecting that same spirit in the present, they were conducting themselves in a way more reminiscent of the spirit by which the Egyptians had treated them instead of the way God had treated them. They were robbing the poor, taking advantage of the strangers, crowding out the weak and the gentiles and causing all around them to be repulsed by a religion that had gone so sour that no one could see much reason to want to come to this God and be saved.

This is at least part of what Jesus found when He showed up at the temple that day. This was part of what must have stirred His emotions and aroused His intense jealousy for what was happening to the reputation of His loving Father who had sent Him to correct this terrible picture of God that His people were presenting to the world. This tragic misrepresentation of what God was like had become condensed even more in the leaders of the very people whom God had chosen years before to do just the opposite. And it was because of this spectacular failure to carry out their original purpose of exposing the real truth about their God to the world that God sent His own Son to pick up the fallen banner and re-establish a beachhead of truth in the land of the enemy.

In reality, this temple itself was the house of Jesus on this earth. Jesus Himself was God and the temple professedly was dedicated to and belonged to God. So if the Jews had had any perception of reality at all about them, had been in their right mind or had allowed their hearts to listen to the Holy Spirit through the many prophesies given to their forefathers, they would have realized that Jesus was simply there to physically move into His own house.

Given this context, why should it surprise anyone in the slightest that Jesus would act like a normal homeowner in His own house? If you came home one day to find that a bunch of squatters had taken up housekeeping on your front porch or in your living room and were partying and acting wild and stupid and even threatening you as you approached, wouldn't you feel like doing something rather obvious to let them know that this was no place for them to carry on as they were? It would only make sense for you to inform them that this was the wrong place to act as they were doing, especially if you discovered that they were abusing your own children right there in your house. You would most likely have some very strong emotions about insisting that they must leave the premises and must do it immediately.

I have actually never even seen it that clear myself before. Now that I think about this as simply Jesus coming home to His own house and finding it a big mess, it makes so much more sense that He would want to launch into some major housekeeping so that He could then entertain friends and visitors in His own place. Of course that never worked out very well because the intruders did not stay away very long. They were living under the illusion that He was not really the homeowner and they mistakenly believed as so many do yet today, that might makes right. So because they were in the majority from their perspective, they refused to acknowledge His rightful position as the true homeowner and eventually ended up killing Him because He claimed to be the very person they had been waiting for for generations – their Messiah.

Father, it is so easy to see the mistakes of people in the past. But it is just as easy to make similar mistakes in our own blindness today because of our terribly mistaken assumptions about who You really are even now. We are so much like the Jews who forgot the real meaning of the Passover and became clueless about Your true identity, all because of their unbelief and selfishness. We are no different than they were except we have our own unique ways of being deceived about You.

Please show us the real truth about Yourself more clearly and sweep away the dark clouds of lies that keep us so confused about Your real feelings towards us. Show us Your heart of passionate love and grace and tenderness, but if need be do it in ways so obvious that we can't miss it. I realize that there are times when you have to pick up a whip to get our attention so we can finally become aware of how much we are misrepresenting You. I give you permission to come into Your own house right now and start cleaning it up so You can move in and feel comfortable here. Come clean house in my church and in my own heart and move in Your furniture and fixtures so that this can become a place where You can feel at home and invite others in to enjoy Your company.