FBC Daily Devotional – September 2, 2021

Well, good Thursday morning to you today we are reading in John chapter 2 but I wanted to go back to chapter 1 for just a second and Just just a hemp emphasize the first publicly ascribed title

Given to Jesus. Did you notice that in chapter 1? Jesus comes walking by where John the

Baptist is preaching and teaching and he John Points to Jesus and he says behold the and here's the title behold the

Lamb of God and then he publicly for the first time publicly states

Jesus purpose for coming the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world

Now it might seem moving on into chapter 2. It might seem that given that title

That you know, he would be Powerless I mean a lamb what kind of power and strength and might and authority

Does a lamb have? Well this Lamb of God that is to take away the sin of the world

Does have Significant power and authority because he's the Lamb of God he is the

God man who is the Lamb and as God he

Demonstrates in chapter 2 three different areas where he exercises authority

The first area where he exercises authority is over the physical realm the first miracle that he performs at Cana is the turning of that those big urns of water

Into wine and the best wine that was available anywhere certainly the best of anything had been served yet at that feast so it said and and the the purpose of the that authority

Over the physical realm of changing the water to wine Was not just the purpose there was not just to meet a need

It was to demonstrate who he was to demonstrate his glory and we know that because in verse 11, it says this beginning of signs

Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and Manifested his glory and why did he do that?

What's the ultimate goal and His disciples believed in him he

He demonstrated that authority Manifested his glory to prompt faith to provoke faith in the hearts and minds of these disciples following him and So this authority an element of his glory

Calls us to believe in him But there's a second expression of his authority and it goes right after this it falls right after this as he goes into the temple where there's all this corruption going on in the temple buying and selling and making merchandise of of God's house and Jesus gets that gets that whip and he starts whipping the you know

People turn it over turning the tables whipping the people out of there these money changers and all the rest of that stuff or making merchandise of God's house and and he gets them out of there and So what he's doing here is expressing spiritual authority to cleanse

God's house Nobody else had the authority to do that. And in fact his taking that action provoked the

The spiritual leaders the priests and so forth to ask the question.

What what sign are you gonna show us? That you do this thing. What sign are you gonna show us in other words?

What evidence of authority are you going to demonstrate for us so that we know you have the authority to do this thing?

You remember how Jesus responded he said well, I'll tell you destroy this temple and in three days,

I'm gonna raise it up Now they took that very literally and thought he was talking about the temple there the where he just cleansed

He was talking about his body. In other words, he was talking about his resurrection So the resurrection of his body from the tomb

Was the sign to demonstrate to them that he did have the spiritual authority to cleanse the temple the third expression of his authority comes at the end of this chapter in verses 23 through 25 and here he

Demonstrates his authority over the interior of the human soul because all of these spectacular things that Jesus was doing and some of these teachings that he was expressing were

They were new and they they generated a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of people started following him and it says in verse 23 that during the feast of the

Passover many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he did But goes on to say

Jesus did not commit himself to them Why? Because he knew all men and he needed not that anyone should testify of man for he knew

What was in man? Jesus had the authority to look beyond the surface of things to look down in the hearts of the individuals who were proclaiming authority proclaiming

Loyalty and following to follow him But he knew what was really in their heart.

He knew just how fickle they were He knew that when push came to shove They would cry crucify

They would cry crucify and they'd turn their back on him. I wouldn't want to have anything to do with him so Jesus the

Lamb of God Who's to take away the sins of the world is the authoritative?

Son of God who demonstrates that authority very early in that public ministry.

Oh listen Let's rejoice today that the Lamb did come and he came he came to save us from our sins and he so clearly

Demonstrated his authority to do so Our Father and our God we thank you and praise you today for the

Lord Jesus Christ for the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world and thank you that he left us without a doubt of his authority

Demonstrating it in so many different ways as John brings them out. May we trust him?

May we trust him fully and we pray it in Jesus name. Amen All right.