Give Us A Sign - November 7

Read John 2:18-22 (ESV)

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 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.

Reflect

How did Jesus’ response demonstrate His authority to cleanse the temple, even if they didn’t understand what He meant?

Have you ever heard a skeptic say, “I’d be willing to believe in Christianity if I had any sign that it was true?” Well, asking for another sign isn’t anything new. In fact, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to want someone to prove a truth claim. Anyone can claim to be anything. It’s smart to want to see some proof. For example, after Jesus was raised from the dead, Thomas had to see and touch Him before he would believe that He had really been raised. But once Thomas saw the evidence, he declared, “My Lord and My God!” He accepted the evidence in front of Him with adoration and praise!

In today’s passage, the Jewish leaders that questioned Jesus were not asking for a sign because they sincerely wanted to know if they could trust that He is the Messiah. They were asking for a sign because they wanted to challenge His authority. You see, they were in charge of the temple and Jesus had just cleaned it out. He drove out the money changers, merchants, and sacrificial animals. He poured out the money, flipped over tables, and told them to get out of His Father’s house. He didn’t want His Father’s house to become a business, especially a corrupt one.

So the Jews in charge demanded an explanation. Why in the world did this man, Jesus of Nazareth, think that He had any right to do what He did? The problem is, they should have already known that seeking greedy profits in the temple where the Lord God dwelled in the Most Holy Place was wrong. They knew that the purpose of the temple was to provide a place to worship and they shouldn’t have let anything interfere with the reverent worship of their God. But they seemed to care more about the loss of their corrupt businesses than feeling godly sorrow over their sin. So they wanted to know who Jesus was to think that He could come into the temple and tell them they were in the wrong.

They asked for a sign but missed a big one right in front of them. In John 2:17, John wrote that His disciples remembered that it was prophesied in Psalm 69:9 that “Zeal for your house will consume me.” His followers recognized this as a sign that Jesus was the Messiah, even if they Jewish leaders didn’t. Jesus appealed to divine His Sonship—He called the temple “His Father’s” house. Plus, in cleansing the temple, He showed His “zeal” or passion for reverent worship of the One True God just as it had been written. Because He’s God, He has the authority to tell people how they can and cannot worship Him.

But even though they missed or outright rejected the sign of His deity when He cleared out the temple, they also missed the next sign He gave them. He said that if they tear down this temple, He’ll raise it again in 3 days.

They were baffled. They were spiritually blind so they missed the signs right in front of them. Jesus was showing them His authority as God by displaying His power over the grave. He wasn’t talking about destroying and raising the temple, God’s building. He was talking about the temple, His body. Who can raise Himself from the dead? Only God. But even Jesus’ disciples missed the significance of what He was saying until after He had risen.

The apostle John later tells us that Jesus performed many miraculous signs but a lot of Jews still did not believe that He was the Messiah (John 12:37). Today, a lot of people still do not want to accept the evidence in front of them and ask Him for more signs. If you are on the fence about whether or not Jesus is who He said He is, you don't have to ask Him to show you any new signs. Instead, I encourage you to investigate the signs He’s already given us and I’d start with His resurrection, the greatest sign He gave to us.

Respond

Lord, I thank and praise You because You didn’t just say that You are the Messiah. You proved it by Your actions. You did what You said You would do. You are the resurrection and the life. You are the Messiah, the Son of God. I believe it. Amen.

Reveal

Invite a friend to read John 2:18-22 with you. Talk about the signs that prove Jesus’ authority, and what signs you may still miss. Commit to sharing one evidential sign—Jesus’ resurrection—with someone this week, and listen with humility and love.