Sermons

What Led to Christmas Week 4 – John 2:13-22 – 12/28/25

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Sermon Series: Today we are looking at what led to Christmas! 

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

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,[a] 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.

Last week, to prepare ourselves for Christmas, we looked at Isaiah 53, a prophecy about Jesus’ death and how that offers us hope and peace. Today, we’re looking at another prophecy. This one though is from Jesus, about His own resurrection. By taking a look at it, we can learn that God can do…

  1. What is impossible for us to do

John 2:19-20, Luke 1:37, Matt. 19:26, Jer. 32:17

  1. Far greater things than we can do

John 2:20, Is. 55:9, Ps. 126:3, Rom. 4:21, 8:28

  1. What we can’t even imagine to do

 John 2:21-22, Eph. 3:20, 1 Cor. 2:9

Psalm 37:3-5                                                                                           

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

 

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

  • Take some time to read over John 2:13-22 and pray. 
  • Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
  • What surprised you as we talked about it?
  • As you reflect on this sermon series, what questions come to mind? 
  • Take some time in prayer asking God to help you to not just go through the motions this Christmas season. 

 

Diving In 

  1. Jesus makes it clear that He can do what we could never accomplish, namely, salvation. Spend some time in prayer thanking Him for offering you His grace. Afterwards, take some time and jot down who in your life needs God’s grace. How can you best point those people that you wrote down towards Jesus? 

 

  1. God can also do far greater things than we could ever do. Take some time thinking through a time in your life where you tried to do something, but you were unsuccessful until you handed it over to the Lord. Who can you encourage with that story? 

 

  1. God also gives us what we don’t even know that we need. What situation do you need to hand over to Him during this season of your life? 

 

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

  • What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
  • How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
  • Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?




 

Small Group Guide:

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?