John 2:12-25, "Cleansing the Temple"

1. An aside: Jesus lived in community (v. 12)
2. When Jesus finds sin, injustice and corruption in the Temple, he justly cleans it out... and with passion (vv. 13-17)
3. Jesus' cleansing of the temple foreshadows the passion of the cross—where Jesus would become the object of judgment for sin (vv. 18-21)
4. Hindsight and remembering helps faith (v. 22)
5. Sometimes faith based on an emotional reaction or a mountain top experience is shallow and doesn't last... (vv. 23-25)
6. But the call of the gospel is that faith can be real, lasting and based upon more than "signs" (which are important, but are signposts to Jesus). It can be based upon the space-time fulfillment of Jesus' mission in his perfect life, substitutionary death and physical resurrection. That is how I can stand before God as Father, knowing that I have been cleansed of my sin, injustice and corruption.