The Gospel of St. John - Chapter 2, Part 2 (b) - Bro. John "Ernie" Perez

We continue our journey into The Gospel of St. John with with Bro. Ernie.  Such a powerful book!  Get your Bible, your notebooks and let's go!!!

Tables get flipped in John 2, but the real shock isn’t the noise. It’s what Jesus is protecting. We walk through the cleansing of the temple at Passover and ask the uncomfortable questions: when does “helping people worship” turn into profiting off worshippers, and what does righteous anger look like when it’s holy instead of selfish? 

From the merchants selling sacrifices to the money changers taking advantage of travelers, we talk about why Jesus calls it “my Father’s house” and why His zeal makes everyone freeze, including the guards. We also bring it home with a plainspoken conversation about church fundraising, ministry support, and the danger of giving people the sense that we’re just here for their money. Greed is still sin, even when it hides behind religious language. 

Then we lean into the moment the leaders demand a sign and Jesus answers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” We connect that line to the resurrection and to some of the clearest “God in Christ” Scriptures in the New Testament, including John 14 and Colossians 2:9, plus a simple illustration that makes the idea stick. We also talk about Luke 24:45 and why we pray, “God, open my understanding,” because real faith goes deeper than being impressed by miracles. 

If this study helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find this Gospel of John Bible study and grow with us. (*Recorded on 6/23/2026)

Ways to Give at https://m3mi.org...Thank you for your seed!  :)

Transcript

Welcome And Listener Giveaway

SPEAKER_05 0:39

I'm your little sister Diana. So good to have you joining us today. We get to be in one of my favorite books. The Gospel of St. John. One of my favorites. We've been doing this series with Brother Ernie now, and it's just so good, so good. We're joined around the table and in the back with the class, Sister Audia.

SPEAKER_03 1:02

Good afternoon.

SPEAKER_05 1:04

Mama.

SPEAKER_03 1:04

Good afternoon.

SPEAKER_05 1:05

Who made us a delicious lunch? Brother Ernie.

SPEAKER_07 1:09

Hello, hello again.

SPEAKER_05 1:10

And Sister Ann. Good afternoon. And back there, I think, is Sandy and Joyce.

unknown 1:17

Good afternoon.

SPEAKER_05 1:18

All right. So we're going to continue the class going into this. We're in the Gospel of St. John, chapter two, part two. If you have not listened to any of the previous of this, I would urge you to go back and listen to the introduction and then the uh first chapter and then continue with this. But we are so thankful to have you joining us today. I want to do something that we have not done in a very long time. The first person not in the class who hears this and responds sends me a message via text or call at 214-600-7771. Gets one of our brand new M3 Ministry Simple Discipleship Unfiltered Cups. Thermal cups. What are they called? Thermal cups? Thermal cups, the ones that's got the straw with them. Yeah. They're really good. The ice keeps really good in that. Yes. So anybody that the first person that will listen to this and then uh message me with that number, we will ship you or get to you one of our brand new cups. So yes.

SPEAKER_07 2:27

You know, please remember if the study blesses you in any way, yeah, please remember to share it because you know, M3 Ministries, the outreach only goes so far, but you're all over the world. Yeah. And you can share this, you can download it and then share it with people you think might be interested, even. Share it to their page and share it to groups. Yeah. And people that we never know will hear this word, and who knows who will be inspired and what will be done. So if it blesses you, please share the blessing.

SPEAKER_05 3:02

Yeah, because it what happens is when you like and you follow and you share, then it helps us to move up in the algorithm. And then that helps us to reach more people. So so you're being you're a part of this. When you share, you're a part of this blessing that's going out, and you're taking

Reading John 2:13-25

SPEAKER_05 3:20

the word across the world. So we're excited about that. All right, Brother Ernie, here we go. We're gonna start the tape, and we're going into the Gospel of St. John chapter 2, part two.

SPEAKER_07 3:33

All right, so we're gonna start reading John chapter 2, verse 13, and we're gonna read through to verse 25. And the Jews' Passover was at hand. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and changers of money sitting. And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overthrew the tables, and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence. Make not my father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple. Excuse me. I lost my place. I don't normally do that, but I'm getting adjusted. Let me see. Verse 18. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. All right, so now we'll go back and I'll start with uh verse thirteen. And uh see how far I want to read here.

Passover Context And Temple Commerce

SPEAKER_07 6:11

Thirteen through sixteen. And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting, and when he had made a scourge of small courts, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overthrew the tables. Okay, so Saint John, beginning with verse 13, wants the readers to understand Jesus kept the Passover feast. Remember, Jesus came to fulfill the law of Moses. Therefore, we can safely assume he kept all the law of Moses. We would say he was a Jews Jew. He followed the law more than any Pharisee or Sadducee or any Levite. He was the word of God, walking and talking. So without fail, he would have never missed a feast. Now, if you want to learn more about Passover, write this down. You can study Exodus chapter 12, 1 through 27, and then Leviticus chapter 23. And if you have a reference study Bible, two of the ones that I'm most familiar with are the King James Version, the Thompson Chain reference, and then the Encyclopedia Reference Bible. Now there are other Bibles out there that study Bibles are probably just as good. I'm just not as familiar with them, and I'm familiar with those two and have used them. I also used a Schofield and a Dakes, but the ones I was most happy with are the Encyclopedia Reference Bible and the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. At any rate, when you use those reference Bibles, you can trace down Passover throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament. So as you study the Gospels now, see if you can determine the significance of the Passover feast in the life of Jesus. Determine that for yourself. Pick up the Word of God, taste it, enjoy it, meditate on it, talk about it, talk to God about it, and remember to listen to Him. Now, in the temple, at this time there are various merchants. They are there to do business and make a profit. And Jews who need to purchase animals for various sacrifices can buy them from these merchants. And listen, outside the tabernacle of the wilderness, you'll you'll figure this out as you study. And the the law of Moses, when he set it up, said if you can't get there when you need to be there for any of these feasts, if it's too far for you to go for you to bring your sacrifice, bring the money to buy the sacrifice and buy it while you're there. Or if you need to, bring the money that is the amount of the sacrifice would cost. So that this is not necessarily out of line, other than this. These merchants are not there to facilitate worship. They're not there to help them, they're there to make a living. And it's not wrong for you, you know, to make your living of the ministry. If you're an evangelist and you get offerings wherever you go, don't feel bad about that. But these people were not there just to be a help. Their whole goal was to make money and they charged exorbit prices. Look, also Jews from foreign lands came and they could exchange currency with the money changers. These money changers are also there to do what? Make a profit, but they're making a profit off of temple worship. If they were there just to facilitate, then they would be exchanging dollar for dollar. If they were there just to facilitate sacrifices, they wouldn't be overcharging for the sacrifices, okay? But as we read through the scripture, we note the reaction of Jesus when he sees the temple premises being used to make secular profit. If they were truly helping the people who came to fulfill the law of Moses, not for secular profit, but so that their offerings could be proper. This wouldn't have happened. Also, how many of these merchants and money changers dealt dishonestly with the worshipers? I'm telling you, Jesus knows everything. This is what prompted his response. And in Proverbs 11 and 1 is a statement. And God says he hates that when people cheat one another. When you're trading in those days, many people traded for their livelihood and for their sustenance. Why would you cheat a poor man? Why would you cheat anybody who worked just as hard as you to have what they needed? So the temple should never have been used to generate secular wealth. Yes, it if you've read the law of Moses, if you read the book of Joshua, you know that the Levites were provided for. They didn't get an inheritance. Their inheritance was their ministry to the Lord. And so there were offerings brought. They had a part of the offerings, part of it went to them. That's fine. But we can easily see what Jesus thought of this situation. How is it that one man with a scourge of small courts? That's what the scripture said. He had a scourge of small courts. How could he do all this damage? How was he able by himself to overturn all the tables of the merchants? And remember, this is not the temple proper, this is the temple complex, and there was plenty of room in the temple complex for people. We don't know how many merchants they were there or how many money changers, but we know that Jesus upended all of them, and he, as a single man, run them out, drove them out. How many temple guards would have been there to witness

How One Man Drove Them Out

SPEAKER_07 13:41

all this happen? This apparently unprovoked attack on these businessmen. What was it about this man, Jesus, who was either a carpenter or a builder or both, that his rage held them all at bay, one man? And they were not willing to try to stop him. It says Jesus drove them all out of the temple. Is that like when God drove out the man from the Garden of Eden? Can you read Genesis 3 and 24? Now I want to think about that for a minute. Go ahead and read that out loud, Mama. Genesis 3 and 24.

SPEAKER_04 14:34

So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of the garden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.

SPEAKER_07 14:48

Try to picture this in your mind. Adam and Eve had been warned about death, but they didn't know what the manifestation of death would be. But immediately their communication with God took on a different level. That was the death. Losing that relationship. Now, they were driven out of God. God drove them out. I got this picture in my mind. I don't know if you could you can see it, but we had a situation where someone was really taking advantage of the church. And I I went to defuse the situation. He was at the bus station. And I I bought him a bus ticket just to get him to leave the church alone. And I won't say I acted properly. I made it non-refundable. And then when he took the ticket, it just so happened the bus rolled up. This is a little town, Pecos, Texas. The bus station was at a like a old gas station. And he turned to see the bus. And he was staring at the ticket, and I grabbed the back of his shirt, the neck of his shirt, and I grabbed the belt on his breeches. And I lifted and pushed him and shoved him up on the bus. What do you think it took for the scripture to say God drove them out of the garden? How terrified were they to be on the receiving end of God saying you can't be here anymore? You getting out, putting you out. Can you imagine the power of God? I mean, were their feet dragging in the dirt? Were they stumbling? Did they fall and have to get back up? God drove them out of the Garden of Eden. I imagine that the voice of Jesus was booming out with eternal thundering, earthquakey, and heart-shaking power. And panic ensued. You don't read about any of the money changers trying to defend themselves. None of the merchants said, Oh, this is not happening here today. This is my livelihood. You're not doing this. Nobody tried to stop him. The temple guards were frozen in my mind in terror. They couldn't move. They were frozen in place as the voice of Jesus filled and reverberated throughout the temple complex. Remember, they're not in the holy place. They're not in the holiest of holies. They're not in the courtyard because you can't get people in there. Only the Levites can go there. But within the temple complex, there is room for people to come, give offerings, congregate. What did Jesus' voice sound like? Take these things, hence. Make not my father's house an house of merchandise. He told him, you're not here to facilitate worship. You're not here to help the worshipers. You're here to make a profit off of merchandise. You don't do that to this temple. We must be careful, church, when we're fundraising, that we never give the appearance that we're just here for your money. You know, we we were involved in a lot of fundraising in places. We're old-time Pentecostal. We sold that peanut brittle. We made that peanut brittle. We sold that peanut brittle. My children to this day could care less if they ever see another piece of peanut brittle or cotton candy. But we didn't do it, making the house of God a flea market. We sold it all around town. We told them what it was for. We're fundraising for this ministry, for that ministry to send kids to youth camp, to raise money for an evangelist so we can have a revival. We're doing this to the church house. All of that's fine. What you don't want to find is that you're doing fundraising to make yourself wealthy. Listen to me. If you don't fear God, you'll do something silly like that. I would hate, if Jesus did that at the temple, I would hate on judgment day for the Lord to speak to me and say, you used my money for self-aggrandizement. You use the money that the saints brought to propagate the gospel to make sure that you had everything they couldn't afford. Sometimes ministry makes a living for you. That's not a sin. Greed is. Greed is a sin. A false balance is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. Verse 17. And his disciples remembered that it

Fundraising Without Greed Or Hype

SPEAKER_07 20:55

was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Psalm 69 and 9 is what they quoted. So upon hearing these words, the disciples remembered the writing of the psalmist.

SPEAKER_04 21:17

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are falling upon me.

SPEAKER_07 21:26

I believe they heard the heavenly, righteous rage of the God of eternal judgment. That's why the guards were afraid to move. That's why they didn't try to put a stop to it. That's why the merchants and the money changers didn't stand up and say, This ain't happening now. That's why they didn't fight back. The power of God manifests in many ways, but they heard the voice of anger coming out of Jesus. You don't read that. I don't read very many times where Jesus evidently got angry and lifted his voice. It seems like most of the time he just spoke just like an ordinary person who was teaching, preaching, maybe making a point here, an exclamation there. But this is different in the temple. This is the rage of the righteous and holy God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Verse 18. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Now notice the Jews, most likely, a few merchants, the Levites, the Pharisees, the scribes, those people, members of the priesthood. They find to get up enough gumption to demand of Jesus. Give us a sign that shows us that God gives you the right and authority to do these things in the temple. I bet they were wishing that they could stone Jesus to death right then. Because what he did made them look so small and insignificant. They were trying to save face. They were like the bully or the coward who is trying to bow up once they know they've been called out and they got no place to go. Jesus, who was always in control of the moment, understanding the desire of the people that he was with, responded, destroy this temple. Why did he say that? Because he knew they wished he was dead. They knew that you wish you could stone me right now, but you can't. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Now, this is language John understands. Turn to the gospel of Saint John, chapter 14, verse 10.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he does the work.

SPEAKER_07 24:18

You think you're listening to the Son of God? Oh, that is who I am, but I am the tabernacle. I am the temple of the Lord. Don't you believe? Don't you understand? The Father is in me, and I am in the Father? Man,

Zeal For God’s House

SPEAKER_07 24:40

when he said that, that was so powerful. The apostle Paul would also understand this language. According to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 19, Paul is in harmony with what John writes. This is years later. Paul had his experience mostly with God by revelation. Then he went and checked himself out with the apostles to make sure his revelation is what Jesus taught them. That's humility. I've had a revelation. I better check it out and make sure that God told it to me that I didn't imagine it. Go on to Jerusalem, and the apostles are going to verify. So when you think of God in Christ, you gotta speak aloud now. How does that show up in your mind? Give me a one-minute synopsis and audio.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 26:00

One minute.

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Okay, when I think of God in Christ, what does that bring? That they are one in the same. Yet they are the father and the son.

SPEAKER_07 26:13

The human son, the divine father.

unknown 26:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 26:17

Okay. What about you? Ann, speak up loud now.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

Why does she always take my answer?

SPEAKER_01 26:25

Birds of a feather, yes.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

Well, yes, you know, the father is in the son, and the son is in the father. And if you're looking at Jesus, you're seeing the father.

SPEAKER_07 26:39

All right. Mama, can I have your glass? God fills all time and space.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 26:47

He's here right now. He's in the atmosphere, isn't he?

SPEAKER_03 26:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 26:50

You see, just like the atmosphere is in the glass that you see. And the glass is in the atmosphere.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 26:59

The only begotten son of God, the adopted son of Joseph, the human being Jesus. He had more than his human life resident. He said, The Father is in me. Remember that when you think about the fact God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, he didn't sit up there and say, You go suffer. God was in Christ exposing himself to every human failure and emotion. Yes. Every bit of pain. Right. Because he loved us. He was purchasing our redemption in Christ.

SPEAKER_03 27:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 27:41

This is why Jesus prayed in the garden, not my will but thine be done, because the love of God had to be on full display. It's why he cried on the cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because it came to the point of death, and God cannot die.

SPEAKER_03 28:02

Yes. No, he can't.

SPEAKER_07 28:04

And so that power, that presence of the Father that was manifested in him, like

Destroy This Temple In Three Days

SPEAKER_07 28:10

when you turn off the light switch, is the best way I can think of it. There's no more light in the bulb. Jesus cried, it is finished and gave up the ghost. Humanly, he had carried what no man had ever carried. And the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob subjected himself to all of that pain, emotional and physical, to demonstrate he loves humanity. Doesn't that make you feel small? Yes. Eternity looks at us and says, I say you're worth it. The world may not understand it. When you have problems with self-worth, remember who said you're worth it to me, and I will leave glory.

SPEAKER_03 29:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 29:08

I will go to the whipping post. I will carry the cross. I will wear the crown of thorns. I will take the nails in your place because you're worth it to me.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 29:24

If you have a child, you begin to know what that feels like.

unknown 29:28

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 29:31

You're worth it to me. So they demanded that sign, and he said, In three days I will raise up this temple. This prophetic utterance is beyond the comprehension of the detractors of Jesus. And even the crowd of bystanders, the concept of the mighty God in Christ is not yet plainly revealed to them. But you'll remember that when Thomas finally saw the resurrected Lord and Jesus told him, put your finger in the palm of my hands, thrust your hand into my side, Thomas fell to the ground. And he cried, My Lord and my God. Not only are you the rabbi and the Messiah that we've been waiting for, but I see the God of eternity is reflected in you. Remember, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. I didn't know I was gonna do this. Don't get mad at me. Turn to Colossians chapter one. And I can get there quicker than you. But please forgive me. And remember, as my old Bible college instructor used to say, we're gonna get on the bicycle.

SPEAKER_06 31:03

Seven and one.

SPEAKER_07 31:06

And 15. Speaking of Jesus, God tells the Colossian church, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. When you see your reflection in a mirror, what you're looking at is your image of God. This is why God said when He and He gave out the commandments in Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy, you will never make yourself a statue, any image, and worship it in any likeness. Why? Because he had a likeness. It was already established in eternity. His likeness would be the only begotten Son of

God In Christ Explained Simply

SPEAKER_07 31:50

God. He who fills all time and space said, You can never see me. Isaiah, you look up. The heavens is my throne. You can't well, you can't see a chair. Isaiah, get it in your mind, how big I am, how vast I am. So he knew that we needed something to see. And he reserved that vision for the appearance of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. In him, Colossians chapter 2. Verse 8 and 9. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Verse 9, read it loud, mama.

SPEAKER_04 32:49

For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

SPEAKER_07 32:53

That is, there is a complete revelation of the God who fills all time and space, demonstrated in the only begotten Son of God. Remember, we just looked at the glass. Let me have the glass again, Mom. We just looked at the glass, which God is everywhere, like the atmosphere. This glass is in the atmosphere, but the atmosphere is in the glass. Jesus said, You think I'm doing the work. It's not me, it's the Father in me.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

Father in me.

SPEAKER_07 33:29

I get so disturbed at translations that change where it says, and the Father says, I'm pleased in the Son, and they say I'm pleased with the Son. Look, I know you're smarter than me, and okay, but it doesn't seem to fit with the tenor of the rest of the New Testament. Because too many places it's written, God is in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. And the preposition in is very different than the preposition with. The atmosphere is not with the glass, it is in the glass. The glass is not with the atmosphere, it is in the atmosphere. This is what what makes the love of God so wonderful. The eternal God, who cannot know death because he is eternal, got as close to it as he possibly could for the purpose of demonstrating his love to us by paying the price for our redemption. I once read where Madeline Murray O'Hare, the famous atheist, said, I cannot believe in a God who would send someone else to suffer if he loved us so much. Why'd he send someone else? Why didn't he come? Why did he send his son? She didn't understand. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. This is the love of God.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 35:10

So Jesus was always in control of the moment. And this prophetic utterance was beyond his detractors. They couldn't see it. After the resurrection, then the disciples, I'm gonna go on and let me go back to John. I guess I'm getting carried away, folk. Please forgive me. Let's go back to John 2. And verse 17, and his disciples remembered that it was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. The Jews asking for a sign, Jesus said, verse 19, destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days. Verse 20 then said the Jews, 40 and six years was this temple in building. And you're gonna build it in three days? They had no clue. In spite of all the prophecy that was fulfilled in Christ. That's why he once looked at them and said, Search the scriptures, they testify of me, and you think you have eternal life in them. Search them.

SPEAKER_02 36:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 36:22

But they weren't willing to look with an eye that said, God, show me. They looked with an eye that said, I already know. We got to make up our minds, Jesus, we don't know enough about you. You are the infinite God. We are finite. But after Jesus' resurrection, the disciples remembered that Jesus had said this. When therefore, verse 22, he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered it. And we're going to talk about this in Luke 24. Turn quickly to Luke 24. We're going to read verses 44 through 49. I'll read it, but if you would turn there with me. Okay, you just let me get it up and you can read it then, Mom. Luke 24, we're going to read in specific verses 44 through 49. Go ahead, mom.

SPEAKER_04 37:24

And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to raise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things, and behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.

SPEAKER_07 38:14

Remember that when you're reading Acts chapter 1, you stay in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high. So we're looking at this now. I want you to key on verse 45. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures how desperately we need God to open our understanding. Be sure we pray that way. God open my understanding. I've been walking with Jesus since August 19, 1971, and I find myself enthralled and enthused and just so delighted to read the Word of God. But I catch myself praying, God, open my understanding, because this was written by infinity. This is why we need revelation from God. All right, back to Saint John chapter two. All right, and we're gonna go to verse 23. John, I hit chapter 20. Give me another chance. John chapter 2. There we go. Alright, so we're at verse 23 now. And when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, that's when he was there, in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. The Gospel of St. John chapter 1, 12, believing in his name is something very important. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 40:12

But as many as received him to them, gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

SPEAKER_07 40:21

There is something about the evoking of the name of Jesus that is of a necessity. If we believe there's power in the name, then we utter the name, we pronounce the name, we speak the name, we bring the name into our circumstance and situation. And many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. There was evidently too many miracles for John to write down and list.

SPEAKER_00 40:58

How awesome is that.

SPEAKER_07 41:05

Verse 24, but Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men. Jesus, knowing all about humanity, the author, the architect, knows his design. I don't need you to testify to me about humanity. I know all about men. I don't need to know you to convey to me their motivations. I do not need you to verbally declare these things to me. He was confident in his own identity and his purpose. Verse 25. And he needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. Let me say it again. Jesus is more than secure in who he is. He required no confirmation from anyone regarding humanity or regarding his personal integrity. So that that brings us to the end of this lesson. I hope that you enjoyed it. And I hope that if you did enjoy it, if it blessed you, that you will hit the like button, you will subscribe, and that you will share this with your friends and with groups that you think may be interested because we don't know them and we can't get it to them.

SPEAKER_03 42:37

Right.

SPEAKER_07 42:38

But you can help do that in the mighty name of Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 42:44

Amen. What a great lesson. I, you know, just love the gospel of St. John. But I love how he just digs into deeper of Jesus, and I love the illustration used with the with the cup. Um wow. Y'all got any comments? I was just back there going, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 43:04

Did

Fullness Of Godhead Bodily

SPEAKER_07 43:05

did anyone feel like you had a revelatory experience today? Was something revealed to you that you didn't know before?

SPEAKER_05 43:13

You know, I do that every week when I'm doing the workshops, you know, because I get a preview before everybody else. So I'm like, I'm I'm having uh audio can tell you last night it's like 10:30, 11 o'clock, and I'm going, oh my gosh. This is good. This is good.

SPEAKER_03 43:30

I I uh when I'm reading John, it feels like he's talking to me. It's like a conversation.

unknown 43:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:42

Kind of one sided because I try to talk back and I don't think he hears me, but oh you're wrong. But he triggers the conversation. And and I just I like that he has very, very Few, if any, parables.

SPEAKER_07 44:04

It's more all about him, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 44:06

It's more about Jesus and his life and why he's here, why he came here, why he did what he did. And to me, the other three, I've been going back and forth. And you can read Matthew, and then you can find the same thing in Mark, and you can find it again in Luke. And I'm like, did y'all copy each other's paper?

SPEAKER_07 44:27

Well, they think they think that Mark, Mark's gospel, was used, it was used by both Matthew and Luke.

SPEAKER_06 44:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 44:35

As far as their, you know, Luke is writing from research, but Matthew is writing from memory.

SPEAKER_06 44:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 44:41

And so he's a Mark is a good source. Hey, do you remember this? So they think that's scholars think that's the way it happened, either verbally or they just had the letter.

SPEAKER_03 44:53

Yeah, and then some people, well, they think that Mark wrote it, but it was narrated to him by Peter. That's the way I learned it. And some people might disagree, but I it sounds like Peter.

SPEAKER_07 45:11

So it's very in-depth into the character and nature of Christ.

SPEAKER_03 45:16

Yeah. And that's just like it does. It's it speaks to you. You can just sit here and you can read it again, and you can read it again, and you will miss something each time and find it again. You're like, why did I not see that the first time?

SPEAKER_07 45:36

Even though it had human writers, yeah, it has one author.

SPEAKER_03 45:40

Right.

SPEAKER_07 45:40

And his mind is so much bigger than ours. There are so many things hidden in the word of God for us to discover.

SPEAKER_05 45:48

I want to ask you a question. Wow. If you could go a little more deep into this, why does it say that then Jesus opened their understanding? I know that you, I know that you kind of alluded to it, but but why does that have to happen for them to see it?

SPEAKER_07 46:07

You remember in the Gospel of Matthew, the disciples asked Jesus, please explain the parable of the sower and the seed. Please explain this parable. And he said, It is given unto you. Oh, this is be this is exciting for me. When I I I taught this for several weeks when we were in Nuca, but it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But it wasn't given to the masses. Listen to what he's telling the disciples. You get a window into eternity. Pull up a chair. Let me show you why they couldn't comprehend it. Another reason is they didn't get the calling the disciples got. But the purpose of the disciples' calling was so those other people could have their understanding open so they too could understand the scriptures. It was the first domino in a row of dominoes that go all the way to the end of time, and people coming to a knowledge of the presence of the living God and what all he does in life.

SPEAKER_03 47:22

Yeah, yeah. He had to die and be resurrected for them to thoroughly understand what he had been telling them for three years.

SPEAKER_07 47:35

For them to see the mighty God in Christ?

SPEAKER_03 47:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 47:39

For Thomas to understand it?

SPEAKER_03 47:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 47:41

For Philip. Yeah, how long have you been walking with me, Philip? You don't realize?

SPEAKER_03 47:45

Right.

SPEAKER_07 47:46

You're looking at the Father? Yeah. No, I know I'm looking at, you know, the Son of Mary and Joseph, and I see the powerful miracles, and I know that you're mightily used of God. He said, No, you don't understand. The Father is in me.

SPEAKER_02 47:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 48:00

Everything changes when Jesus opens their understanding that they might understand the scripture. Isaiah prophesied about that generation, said, Hearing they will hear, but they will not perceive. They will not understand. And we see that fulfilled in the gospels. And then Jesus says, But I'm going to make you know it.

unknown 48:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 48:21

I'm going to tell you, when whenever I have received revelation from God, it has been explosive. It has marked my life. And sometimes I don't tell people about everything because they think I'm trying to build up myself and say I'm somebody special. But I know there are people around the world receiving revelation from God because the scripture promised God so loved the world. But I I even had a brother get upset with me one day, fine man of God. We were testifying about things that God had done for us and how he was revealed to us as Jehovah Jirah, our provider, right? And and you know, groceries coming to our house from nowhere, people giving us vehicles. Okay, clothes. Yeah. And after church, he was angry with me. And he comes up to me and he says, God has never done anything like that for me. And he is angry. So I asked him, I said, Brother, have you always been employed? I mean, since you left home. Yes. You've always had a job. You never was out with a no. You've always had a house to live in, vehicles to drive, yes, food to eat, yes. God has been doing it. Yeah. You're not giving him the credit. Right. Yeah. We must be careful of that. Go ahead. Ann? I mean, Audio. Um, y'all look so much alike, I get confused.

SPEAKER_05 49:59

When you're sitting down. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 50:01

The Bob C twins over here.

SPEAKER_05 50:04

This is a shorter version. Then you're like mutt and jeff, but I mean, that's a whole different story.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

Yeah. Um I I think the thing that John conveys to me is first of all, God, if you if you go back and you look at the the old testament and you see when God talked to people, prophets or different people in it, nobody could look at him. You could not look on God. Yes. You can see the back man, you could see the shekana glory. The shekana glory. You can see the burning bush that he spoke and things, but you couldn't look at him. Because he's everywhere. Because he's everywhere. And then you get here comes Jesus. And we get to see.

SPEAKER_07 50:55

I'm sorry, I'm a little excited. I know.

SPEAKER_01 50:58

We get to see God, his love, his compassion, but we also get to see his righteous anchor.

SPEAKER_07 51:07

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 51:07

And and we get to see that even though he has a human side, he was still perfect. And to me, that's the whole thing in John is showing us that side.

SPEAKER_07 51:24

And it also shows us we ought not to be judging ourselves, comparing ourselves one against another. At least I don't do this side, at least that because Jesus could have failed because he was human, but he never failed. And when you read his when you read John's narrative when Lazarus was raised from the death, when Jesus prayed, the things he prayed about himself, how he prays, I know you always hear me. I always thinks he made statements. I always please the Father. Can you say that? This is why we're guilty.

SPEAKER_03 51:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:00

And that's and that to me is like, okay, here he is. And he gives us

Believing Miracles And Jesus Knowing Hearts

SPEAKER_01 52:10

the you know, I don't know what the word I'm trying to use here. But he gives us the challenge.

SPEAKER_07 52:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

Almost is the best thing I think of. To go be just like him.

SPEAKER_07 52:25

That that to make disciples. When you read uh Matthew 5, 6, 7, you are reading what Jesus taught his disciples. A crowd may have been around listening, but he was teaching his disciples, and he was rewriting their character and their nature and their reflexes. If you're compelled to go a mile, go to. The reflex was to say that dirty old Roman soldier making me carry his stuff. Oh no, no, you just go to. You got to change your reflexes to reflect God. You got anything to say, Mom?

SPEAKER_04 53:03

I was thinking about John. John was the beloved. Yes. And the things that he writes are on a more intimate category than the others. I mean, yeah. Jesus loved them, but there was something about John that he saw, that John saw in him. So the things that we read in John are more personal.

SPEAKER_07 53:30

And maybe I would say it like this, Mama. I'm taking what you've said. I love you all. But there's something special right here.

SPEAKER_05 53:40

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 53:41

See, you can't write about mama like I can.

SPEAKER_05 53:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 53:44

You can't feel about mama like I can.

SPEAKER_05 53:46

Well, there's just something about intimacy that changes things. That changes how you perceive a person. Yeah. And that you can understand about a person.

SPEAKER_07 53:57

The end of John's gospel. Yeah. Yeah. He is so. Yeah, I know we're gonna get there. But the end of John's gospel. John says something that no other writer says. If all the miracles and the teachings Jesus began both to begin and do in this earth had been written down. All the books and all the world cannot contain it at all. There was only so much they could write. They wrote a narrative, each one according to their own memory. Yes, they were inspired from God, but when you read the gospels, you see how they make up for each other. You know, I witnessed, I remember this, you remember that.

SPEAKER_05 54:48

But you know, the two people, if you look in scripture, the two people that seemed to have the most intimate relationship with the Lord were David and John.

unknown 54:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 54:59

Right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 55:00

David just, you know, New Testament was, I was thinking Peter and John, but you're right.

SPEAKER_05 55:04

But from the old testament, David. So it but you un but if you look at the perspective of why, they were the two youngest.

unknown 55:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 55:13

And so they hadn't been defiled by life yet. Yeah. And so when they came to the Lord, it truly was with a childlike faith.

SPEAKER_00 55:21

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 55:22

You know, and so they weren't tainted, you know, by everything yet. And I think that that's where we've got to go. We've got to come to him with a childlike faith so that we don't know everything. We we don't know where we're going.

SPEAKER_07 55:36

And God said to Samuel, don't look on the lad's stature, yeah, size, appearance. Man looks on the outward. God looks on the heart. This is why we got to pray. Yeah. Oh, God, cleanse my heart. Yeah, it would give me a pure heart. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:56

I mean, and back to what you said about David and John, there's a contrast between the two. Yes, they were both young.

SPEAKER_07 56:06

They were both about the same age when God anointed had said, I think you're I I think you're right, because they think John was between 12 and 17.

SPEAKER_03 56:16

Yeah, and here you've got David, who's probably 14, 13 or 14. 14, okay. So yes, they did have the pure heart, the heart like God. And they were willing to follow and do what they were told. David always asked permission or opinion of God before he did anything, which was the what Saul never did. He just went ahead and did it. You know, it's like, do it now and ask forgiveness later.

unknown 56:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 56:52

Did not work.

SPEAKER_05 56:54

So it did not end well with him.

SPEAKER_03 56:57

It did not, did not, you know, but but it in in John following Christ, I think he may not have had a lot to say to

Group Reflections And Final Invitations

SPEAKER_03 57:10

him one-on-one, but when I think when they were maybe alone together, is when they had their best conversations.

SPEAKER_07 57:22

Remember this the night of the Last Supper when Jesus said, Yeah, I'm gonna be betrayed. One of y'all's a devil, yeah, they all started talking to each other. They were afraid to talk to Jesus. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You think it's you, you and then they all said to John, You asked him. You asked him.

SPEAKER_05 57:42

He put his head on his chest. It's okay.

SPEAKER_03 57:45

He likes you better than us, so you have his.

SPEAKER_07 57:48

He was young enough that he could do that. He was young enough that he could put his head on Jesus' chest chest without feeling silly.

SPEAKER_03 57:57

Yeah, right. Yeah, and every if somebody else did that because they were older.

SPEAKER_05 58:04

I couldn't say later. Like, Jesus, come in. He laid my head on your chest.

SPEAKER_07 58:14

Yeah, I'm not seeing it anymore. The walk on the water thing was powerful. Yeah, yeah. Old Pete was the only one that did it. I actually, when I first came into the church, I heard people occasionally preaching about Peter and mocking him for losing faith. And but I thought, okay, but who else got out of the boat?

SPEAKER_05 58:35

Who else?

SPEAKER_07 58:37

Who else has the testimony? Me and Jesus went for a walk on the water.

SPEAKER_05 58:43

I didn't stay up there very long, but I was on the water. I was there.

SPEAKER_07 58:47

I was there, yeah. He grabbed my hand and I was body surfing just on my feet.

SPEAKER_05 58:53

Oh man, that's feeling so good. All right, y'all. We got to close. We got to close. But we encourage you to go back and listen to all of this book of John and the Gospel of St. John as Brother Ernie is bringing it to us every week. And so we're so grateful. Thank you, Brother Ernie, for your time. Thank you, mama, for the lunch and audio for a place to be and all the little classroom people that are here. We so appreciate you. Um, we're gonna end with our slogan to go show some love, show some compassion, give mercy and go be Jesus today. Hey STU family. If you have enjoyed this podcast today, would you please like, follow, and share our podcast link? And we would love to hear your feedback and your podcast topic suggestions. To do that, simply go to our website at www.m3mi.org, scroll to the more tab, and select contact us. Also, if STU has been a blessing to you, you can also go to our website and select sew a seed. There are several ways that you can give, whether it's Zelph, Venmo, Cash App, or there's an address to send a check for money order. All your gifts are tax deductible, and we thank you so much for sewing your seed with us. I want you to remember this. A last person once said that a person has given you their time, they've given you their most precious gift because they can never ever get it back. Thank you for sharing this day with me. We love you, we'll see you soon.