1. Pray. Ask the Lord to open your eyes, that you might behold wondrous things out of his Law (Ps. 119:18). 

2. Read Sunday's passage. Feel free to read it more than once, or in another translation.

3. Review the sermon outline. Try to see how the points came out of the text.

4. Answer the questions below. Focus on personal application.

5. Pray. Praise and thank the Lord, then ask him to work in mighty ways. 

Remember, we live not by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God (Dt. 8:3; Mt. 4:4).

12 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.”

18 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.

23 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.

Intro: Chapters 2 – 4 are bookended by miracles in Cana, and between these we see a repeated focus on Jesus' "signs," or mighty works which signify who he is and why he has come. In this famous scene where Jesus turns the tables, he doesn't perform a miraculous sign, but he points people to the ultimate sign. After the transitional verse 12, we see the following:

I. Jesus wants genuine worship (v. 13–17). He responded strongly to the merchants and moneychangers who had overtaken a sacred place of worship and turned it into a place of trade. Jesus wants people to remove every distraction and come to God with a genuine heart of worship. How do you approach God? Do you allow distractions into your worship? Do you come for a show? Or do you come for God?

II. Jesus is the true temple (v. 18–22). When the merchants demand a sign to prove he has the authority to cleanse the temple, Jesus responds by giving them the ultimate sign: if they destroy the temple of his body, he will raise it up in three days. This points to his crucifixion and resurrection, the ultimate proof that he is the Messiah. By faith in him we receive salvation, access to God. In this way, he is the true temple. Are you coming to Jesus, and through Jesus, to the Father? Or are you pursuing God outside of Jesus? 

III. Jesus wants genuine faith (v. 23–25). Some believed in him because of his signs. But this passage points out that it was a superficial faith. Many people are content to be wowed with wonders; fewer are willing to surrender themselves to live for Christ. Do we treat Jesus like our personal genie, whom we summon to work wonders for us, or do we treat him as our God, who calls us to serve him? 

Conclusion:  The structure of this passage has the main point in the middle, with the two supporting points on either side. Jesus is the true temple, who came to restore us to God through his death and resurrection, so that now genuine worship and genuine faith are in him! So ask yourself, are you in the temple? 

1. Genuine Worship.

- Why did Jesus respond the way he did when he entered the temple courts? 

- Read Malachi 3:1-4. How does this impact our understanding of this event?

- We don't have sheep or pigeons distracting from our worship, but what do we have? 

- What helps you approach God with a genuine heart and desire to worship?

2. The true temple is Jesus. 

- For the Jewish people, what made the temple special? What was it all about? 

- Describe the ways that Jesus is the fulfillment of the temple. (List as many as you can). 

- Where else in the New Testament do we see temple language applied to Jesus or to his people? 

- Is it significant that Christians don't have a physical temple? Why or why not?

- What might this lack of a physical temple mean for us? (Think of multiple ways to answer this).

3. Genuine Faith. 

- Is it surprising to you that of the thousands who were touched by Jesus' miracles, only 120 people remained with him after his death and resurrection? Why or why not?

- Why do you think his true following wasn't larger?

- Does the "crowd" still exist toay? (By crowd, we mean those who might have a superficial belief in Jesus, but who don't believe he's their Savior, Lord, and God who requires obedience). 

- Why does Jesus want people to have genuine faith?

- What has helped you give all of your heart to Jesus? 

- Is there anything you are holding back? 

1. Praise God for calling us to worship him in Spirit and in Truth. 

2. Thank Jesus for allowing the "temple" of his body to be destroyed, so that he could be raised from the dead. 

3. Ask God for genuine faith to follow Christ, not a desire to be wowed by wonders.

4. Pray for those who might be attempting to approach God outside of the true temple, Jesus. Pray he would open their eyes and draw them to Christ!

Thanks for reading the Bible Study Guide! I pray it helps us "continue to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Eph. 4:15).

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Tom Hansen, Senior Pastor