1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this 3rd Sunday in Lent is taken from John 2:13-22, it’s entitled, “Why Do We Believe in Jesus?” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. WHY do we believe in Jesus? It’s one of those foundational questions every Christian should be able to answer. In previous generations, we could skip this question. Christendom meant everyone believed, or, at least, that the conditions for belief were highly favorable. The question, “Why?” wasn’t pressing. Christians were more concerned with questions about WHAT we believe or HOW we practice the faith. But as Charles Taylor describes, in his book “A Secular Age,” things have changed. Belief in Jesus is no longer a given. Today, we need to make a case. Today, we must give an account.
3. This isn’t the first time Christians have had to explain themselves. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). Peter was writing to Christians living as a minority in a pluralistic context. When these earliest believers took the Gospel of Jesus Christ into their pagan communities, they needed to be prepared to give a credible, thoughtful, (and faithful) account of the reason for their belief.
4. This need has returned today in force, not only for people outside the Church, but also for us Christians. In our contemporary pluralistic context, many have serious questions. Why should we belong to a congregation? Why should we attend worship? Why should we listen to sermons? Why should we conform our lives to the Scriptures? In short, WHY should we believe in Jesus?
5. The Gospel reading for this week provides direction. Today we will examine three options that people often give for their belief in Jesus and we will see in the third answer for our belief in Him that which is both biblically faithful and Gospel dominated. The first two are commonly held by some in our land and, at first glance, may seem plausible, but upon further reflection we will see how they fall short for causing us to fully believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
6. False Answer #1: We believe in Jesus because the Christian faith is objectively perceived and scientifically reasonable. Modern approaches to apologetics often take this approach. There are good reasons for it. The Psalm for this Sunday (Psalm 19) reminds us how creation praises the handiwork of God. Any reasonable person, the thinking goes, can recognize in creation the existence of the Creator. This thinking extends to the idea that, on the basis of the biblical record of Jesus’ miracles, it is entirely rational to believe Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of all.
7. This account of why we believe in Jesus seems stable. But on closer examination, it falls short for two reasons. First, it underestimates the impact of sin. The corruption of our minds prevents us from perceiving things rightly on our own. Our ability to reason rightly is hopelessly unreliable. Second, the epistle reading for this Sunday reminds us that the message of the cross of Jesus is a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23). As Paul says in the next chapter, the Spirit alone enables us to accept it (1 Corinthians 2:12-15). To believe in Jesus because science or reason has proven the Gospel to be true is to abandon the entire notion of believing in the first place.
8. False Answer #2: We believe in Jesus because of the good things He promises us. Those who cling to the gracious promises of God are quick to embrace the gracious work of our Lord for us. Forgiveness, life, salvation, this three-word summary of God’s promises is central to our faith. It is the heart of our preaching, teaching, and evangelism.
9. But, we have to be careful here as well. We cling to these promises and give thanks to God for them, but they are not the reason we believe. To believe in Jesus because He gives us good gifts is to put the cart before the horse. It mistakes Christianity for consumerism and God for a therapist. While we rejoice in His gifts and give thanks for His goodness, His grace does not justify our belief. We cling to these promises and give thanks to God for them, but they are not the reason we believe.
10. The Biblically Faithful, Gospel-Dominated Answer: We believe in Jesus because He rose from the dead. Here is where the text for this week comes into the picture. John 2 records Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews were not pleased. They demanded an explanation. Jesus defended His actions with a promise: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Unsurprisingly, they missed the point. The disciples did, too. In verse 22, John explains, “When, therefore, He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the Word Jesus had spoken.” Notice the order. The disciples did not believe Jesus after His public preaching. They did not believe after His miracles. They did not believe Him after His private instruction. It was not until AFTER He was raised from the dead that they believed both Jesus and the Scriptures.
11. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes the resurrection of Jesus as the only foundation for our faith. Had Jesus merely died, his promises would have been nullified and we would be the most pitiful people on earth (1 Corinthians 15:17, 19). But, in fact, Jesus rose from the dead! In His resurrection we find the vindication of Jesus’ claims and the reason for our faith.
12. Here in John 2:18-19 it says, “18Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” Instead of addressing the faults Jesus had exposed, the Jewish leaders asked Jesus for a sign to prove his authority to clear the temple. They implied that if he did a miracle, they might recognize him as the Messiah. They asked for a sign. Jesus offered one. But, as we shall see, it wasn’t the kind of sign they wanted. “Destroy this temple,” Jesus said, “and I will raise it again in three days.”
13. The Jews responded: “This temple has been 46 years in the building, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But, Jesus was not talking about the temple he had just emptied of sellers. He was talking about the temple of his body. He was saying he would die and rise again. The image of the temple for Jesus’ body was significant. Just as the presence of God was manifest in the temple for God’s people, so in the Word become flesh was God manifest among the people. He fulfilled in person what the temple only foreshadowed. To destroy Jesus was virtually to destroy the temple. Unbelief doesn’t recognize a true sign when it’s pointed out; instead, it becomes a sign of judgment. So these Jews later tried to use Jesus’ words against him at his trial (Matthew 26:61).
14. Even when Jesus rose from the dead to fulfill this sign, these Jews hardened their hearts to the truth. The disciples, on the other hand, “recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” Notice how a disciple’s faith grows. They remembered Jesus’ words and looked to Scripture for understanding. Maybe it was Psalm 16:10: “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Then when they saw the risen Jesus, they believed. We today don’t always readily understand God’s Word to us. But following the disciples’ example, we remember his words and search the Scriptures for understanding. In that way, the Lord reveals his signs to us, and we believe and live.
15. We are still in the middle of Lent. There are four weeks left until Easter. But this is not an inappropriate time to remember that we only celebrate this season because of how it ends. WHY do we believe in Jesus? The answer is clear and simple: Because He rose from the dead. In fact, this is why we don’t include Sundays as part of the season of Lent, because every Sunday is a celebration of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead.
16. This is where the reason for our belief in Jesus must give way to the promises which we cling to BY faith. What are those promises? Take your pick, for all of God’s promises are, “Yes!” in Christ. They are the forgiveness of sins Christ has won for us on the cross, salvation from death and the devil, and the gift of eternal life with our Lord in heaven. They were all vindicated in His resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection was only the beginning. God promises to raise us with Jesus when He returns, and that promise sees us through both the season of the Lent and the rest of our journey through this vale of tears. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.
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