OCT 25

John 2:20
Memorise Ephesians 4:18
"...behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians."

The temple in our reading today refers to the one that was built by King Herod the Great. He took a total of 80 years to complete the temple. Construction started in 20 BC and completed in AD 64. When Christ spoke those words recorded in John 2, it was the 46th year of construction which meant the words were spoken in AD 27. King Herod wanted to outdo all those before him, including King Solomon. He wanted to build the most magnificent temple in the history of the Jews and he did succeed in doing that although he did not live to see its completion. However, he did not build the temple because he wanted to honor God, rather, he did it because he was motivated by his own pride and ego. He wanted to be known as the king who built the best temple.

When Jesus said that he would destroy the temple and raise it in 3 days, the Jews were obviously offended because the temple was sacred to the Jews. However, Jesus was actually referring to the crucifixion and resurrection of His own body. Jesus, nonetheless, knew that the Jews would not have understood His true meaning and He did not explain it to them either. Jesus intentionally left the Jews in ignorance and their lack of understanding of the truth would condemn them. This was a judgment for the great sins that they had committed.

Do you reject the Word of God? Do you persist in disobedience and rebellion no matter how much Christ has already shared His truth with you? If you persist in your ways of disobedience, it is possible that Christ may judge you in like manner; that is, He may stop revealing His truth to you and leave you in darkness. Being able to hear God’s Word is a privilege. If you continue to reject Christ’s approach to you, you risk becoming like the Jews, you risk being hardened in your ways and being condemned to eternal damnation. Please respond to God’s Word now! If you hear God’s Word preached over the pulpit, hear and receive every Word into your heart with faith and seek to obey it completely. If you read it from the Bible, pray for understanding and faith so that it can be made alive in your heart. Do not wait. Walk in obedience to the Lord today.

Thought: God is never wrong to harden the heart of anyone because we all deserve eternal condemnation in the first place.
Prayer: Father, I want to obey and trust in You, please help me.