Jesus Is Greater

Life in His Name – Part 4

Jesus Is Greater– John 2:1-25

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – Feb. 26th, 2023

Intro:

• The Apostle John continues to build his case to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His name. John 20:31 is the theme verse for the Gospel of John, and let’s say this together. John 20:31. These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
• In the opening prologue of this book, we see a glorious panorama of the greatness of Christ, who is the light of the world. Then we hear the testimony of John the Baptist, who calls Jesus “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). John then identifies Jesus as “the Son of God” (John 1:34). Jesus starts calling men to follow Him—changing their identities, telling them who they are and what they will see in the future—as they, too, declare Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God (see John 1:35-51). So you can see that everything John is telling us is to persuade us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
• In chapter 2, our text for this morning, John now records the first miracle, actions, and teachings of Jesus as signs that point to Jesus as the Son of God. At first, it’s hard to see why John put these particular stories together, one after the other, but they all bear testimony to who Jesus is and why He is worthy of our faith. We will see in this chapter that Jesus has authority over creation, the temple, death, and humankind. You will see that your faith may be built upon the solid foundation of Jesus, who is the Christ, that you can trust Him greater, love Him greater, and worship Him greater because He is greater than and is over all things.

John 2:1-11 ESV

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Jesus has authority over creation  

 Jesus changed one thing into another thing. He did not form a thing into another thing, like a chunk of marble into a statue, but changed the thing into an altogether other thing. Do you know who can do that? God. He can change dust into a human being. He an change a piece of wood into a snake, and then a snake back into a piece of wood as He did when Moses threw down his staff before Pharaoh. He can turn water into blood, dirt into gnats, and dew into manna. The Jewish people knew their history and knew that only God could transform one thing into another thing. Now we’re seeing that Jesus could do that too.

• Not only could He transform one thing into another, which is a foretaste of other miracles He would later do, but He could also take what was given as a provision of the Law of God to clean us on the outside—water—and change it into wine, which was a symbol of His blood which would cleanse us from the inside. He could transform us into someone new.
• Jesus also saves the best for last. This sign points not only to Jesus being God, but also to the wedding supper of the Lamb, where we, as the church, will be ushered as a bride into the most glorious and magnificent celebration of all time in a kingdom where everything will be made new. In this transformational miracle, Jesus showed a bit of His glory as an indicator of who He was and a foretaste of what was to come. When the early disciples saw this sign, they believed in Him. Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, who has authority over all creation?

 John 2:12-17 ESV

After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

 13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus has authority over the house of God

 Jesus cleaned the house because He owned the house. He did not need to ask anyone’s permission to do what He did. He did not have delegated authority, like the priests who were keepers of the house. He was the owner of the house. And those He entrusted to take care of it made it into a den of robbers instead of a house of prayer for all nations. Jesus was not having it.

• Jesus was zealous for His Father’s house, because He and the Father were one. This house was meant for communion and connection with God. Whoever made it into something other than what it was intended, would be dealt with by the owner Himself.
• Jesus had authority over the temple, His house of worship, because He was God. And just like then, Jesus Christ has authority over His church and our lives today because we are living stones who have become the living temple of the living God. He has authority to clean up our lives and clean up His church so that we and it will be functioning for the purpose that He has created us for. Jesus is not just another person like us. He is over us as His church and has authority to do whatever He knows is right, because He is the rightful owner of all He has created and called according to His purposes. He is the one to whom we will give an account, and He is the one who counts more than all things. Do you know Him? Do you recognize Him and give Him the honor He is due? Jesus is God and has authority over His temple.
• The Jews who were there questioned His authority to do what He was doing and asked Him for a sign to show them His authority. People do that today by insisting that we can each worship God in our own way instead of coming to God on His terms through Jesus Christ alone. You can’t do this by yourself or through other religions which don’t see Christ as God. We must be with Jesus and His people to worship Him properly because we are, together, His temple, and Jesus is the focal point.

 John 2:18-22 ESV

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

 Jesus has authority over death

 So the sign that Jesus said He would give them to show He has authority over the temple was the resurrection. That means that He, as God, also has authority over death itself. Jesus said this to them now with veiled terms, intentionally using veiled terms for what He was going to do. Later, at the right time, He told them clearly what He was going to do.

• After the resurrection, when the disciples thought about this event, their eyes of understanding were opened. They realized what Jesus meant, and they believed His testimony and the testimony of Scripture that pointed to the Christ giving His life and not seeing decay.
• If you are looking for proof that Jesus is the Son of God, look no further than the resurrection! There is no one on the earth who has died and has been resurrected in a resurrected body to never die again. No one can claim this and back it up with their life. No one other than Jesus, the Son of God.
• John gives this as a sign that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God, and that all who believe in Him will have life in His name. Do you know Him? Your faith has a solid foundation of evidence that Jesus is who He says He is. Your faith is built on historical facts, not science fiction or fairy tales.
• While Jesus was at this Passover feast, He did many other signs that caused many to believe.

 John 2:23-25 ESV

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

 Jesus has authority over humankind

 Jesus knew a thing or two, because He has seen a thing or two. At that time, He did not fully entrust Himself to them, because He knew and knows all people. How can this be true? Because He is God, and He created humans and knows what is in humankind in general terms, and He knows what is in humans in all individual lives. Only God knows this and knows us in truth. Only God can call us to account for what we are. And only God can give us the grace to be in right standing with Him. We can never tell Him something about ourselves, or about anything for that matter, that He does not already know.

• This means that there is never a prerequisite for us to clean up our lives before we come to Him. We just need to come to Him as we are, because He knows fully who we are. He receives and makes new, by the power of His love, anyone who calls on Him and believes in His name. He not only washes us clean from the inside out, but He also gives us a new heart and will give us a new name in a new kingdom for all time.

 Conclusion

• Today my hope is that your faith in Christ is strengthened and built upon the solid foundation of the life, teachings, and identity of Jesus Christ. That we will be reminded and renewed by who He is. That we will honor Him and treasure Him above all things because He is before all things and all things hold together in Him. Worship Him in spirit and in truth. Honor Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and make Him the center and the centerpiece of your life.